I always post a Top 10 Books Read Over the Course of the Current Year list around this time. I'm posting it a little earlier since I know I won't be reading much between now and NY Eve.
If it's good enough for the NYTimes to start looking backward it's good enough for me.
So here they are, in order from best to least best (huh?), my favorite reads of 2008:
1). The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig
2). Astrid & Veronika by Linda Olsson
3). City of Thieves by David Benioff
4). The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
5). How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
6) Keesha's House by Helen Frost
7). The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
8). Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer (Nonfiction)
9). In the Woods by Tania French
10). Monster by W.D. Myers
That wasn't too difficult. Usually I stress over it, taking a couple days agonizing. Why I was able to organize this so easily this year I don't know (meds). My focus was just extraordinarily good (more meds).
I read lots of good books this year, just not as many great books. And my number one this year, though a very good book, didn't blow me away like Jon Clinch's Finn from last year. That one's still resonating a year later. Still, no complaints. It was a good reading year.
The majority of my favorite books of 2008 were written by females. I'm glad to see that. I always seemed to choose more books by men before. No reason why; it just worked out that way. Four of the books were YA titles I read for a course during the semester that just ended. One is a mystery, and one nonfiction. The rest are literary fiction.
As for reading totals? I lost track of that a long time ago. Most of them are on my sidebar, but not all. I didn't get around to it. And I won't feel guilty about it, either (meds, redux). I made my goal of averaging at least one book per week. If you add course books I blew that one out of the water. I call that exceeding expectations.
One thing I didn't do was take a lot of time savoring books. I'm so used to my reading gear being set in fast-forward I don't slow down and smell the pages. I'm tired of that. One goal for 2009 is to slow down, to really enjoy books, forgetting about any need to hit a certain number. I wasn't consumed by exceeding 52 books this year, but it was in the back of my mind. I'm erasing that for 2009. Never mind the totals. It's about quality, not quantity.
As for other resolutions? Last year I resolved not to resolve anything. That's fine, but having no direction isn't the best way to move forward. More gentle, relaxed resolutions seem like a better idea. We're all too hard on ourselves, too harsh and judgmental. Time to slow down and be more dude. Stop and smell the White Russians. Listen to whale song in the bathtub. Find a rug that pulls the room together, then make sure no one takes it from you. Stuff like that.
Listing new resolutions is on my mind. Because I like to set an example - though some ideas should not be attempted at home - I'll post results here. If you have any ideas to share leave me a comment. Just remember, be dude about it. Relax. Put your feet up. If you don't treat this one self you're given with loving care whom can you trust to do that for you? Not a soul, sisters and brothers. Not a soul.
Before you make any resolutions put on some sitar music, ease into a hot bath filled with essence of lavender and rose petals, dot your eyes with cucumbers and just enjoy the silence. Meditate. Relax. Forget worldly cares and focus inward. Feel your inner dude.
We'll talk about what you decide later. Or I'll talk and you'll listen, until you click the little x of death.
2008 is almost done, not to freak you out or anything. 2009. It's no biggie. Just a new, pristine, blank calendar. Chill with it, dudes. Don't book yourself up. Sometimes you just have to drop everything and go bowling.
So ends the sermon of this Dudeist Priest, as the certificate on my garage door reads - the one stuck to the door with a magnet that reads, "Lisa is a Super Kid!" Super. Yes. Super.
And, last but not least, a Dude Haiku:
Throwing rocks tonight
Tender my resignation
That creep can roll, man
P.S.: I'm available for weddings and bar mitzvahs.
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I'm working on the inner dude, dude.
Posted by: ted | December 22, 2008 at 05:49 PM