I found this meme-ish list (actually it is a Weekly Geeks topic) at ReadingAdventures that I thought was kind of interesting, so I nabbed it.
"Compile your list of favorites. Please be sure that books you choose actually were published in 2008, or at the very earliest in the winter holiday season of 2007. Sometimes books that come out then are left out."
I'm mostly just curious about how many of my reads have been new books. I tend to like all the shiny new novels that I see in the library (or at the bookstore), but I'm not sure how many I actually end up reading. So here's what I've read this year that have also been published this year (most recent reads at the top, moving back in time):
- Deception's Daughter, Cordelia Frances Biddle
- Star Gazing, Linda Gillard
- Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Mary Ann Shaffer
- Red Leather Diary, Lily Koppel
- Sacrifice, S.J. Bolton
- The Loveliest Woman in America, Bibi Gaston
- The Sister, Poppy Adams
- Chez Moi, Agnes Desarthe
- American Priestess, Jane Fletcher Geniesse
- The Savage Garden, Mark Mills
- The Tenth Gift, Jane Johnson
- Bound, Sally Gunning
- The Dark Lantern, Gerri Brightwell
- Mistress of the Revolution, Catherine Delors
- Ice Land, Betsy Tobin
- A Fatal Waltz, Tasha Alexander
- Speaking of Love, Angela Young
- Child 44, Tom Rob Smith
- The Reserve, Russell Banks
- The Redbreast, Jo Nesbo
- The People of the Book, Geraldine Brooks
- An Incomplete Revenge, Jacqueline Winspear
That's 22 books, or about a third of what I've read this year that was also published this year--I thought it would be more. I know the instructions said to choose your favorites, but I enjoyed nearly all of them, so I can't pare the list down more. Can I mention my least favorite? The Reserve and I just didn't get on well at all. Banks is a talented writer, but this was just not the story for me. Only eight of these were library books, so I guess I do read a few of my own occasionally! And I have to say I've really enjoyed every nonfiction title I've read this year (even those few not listed), and nearly all of them were also published in 2008 and the rest were from 2007. Now, how many newly published books I've bought but not yet read is another matter entirely!