2009 Books I've Read

So I guess it's time to begin my 2009 list of books I've read. I read a total of 43 in 2008. Not a bad number, but I'd like to try and read even more. I think reading makes me smarter. Or at least it makes me feel smarter. Which is almost as good.

36. The Darling - Russell Banks 8.5/10

35. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden 9/10

34. The Go-Giver - Bob Burg and John David Mann 8.5/10

33. Small Business for Dummies - 8.5/10

32. Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson 8/10

31. Bound for Glory - Woodie Guthrie 8/10

30. Dandelion Wine - Ray Bradbury 7.5/10

29. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer 7/10

28. Don't Look Down - Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer 6/10

27. A Wedding in December - Anita Shreve 6.5/10

26. Tomcat in Love - Tim O'Brien 7/10

25. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer 5.5/10

24. Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult 8/10

23. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz 7.5/10

22. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Wells 9.5/10

21. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer 5/10

20. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer 4/10

19. A Cup Of Tea - Amy Ephron 7.5/10

18. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding 8/10

17. The Memory Keeper's Daugher - Kim Edwards 8.5/10

16. The Mermaid Chair - Sue Monk Kidd 7.5/10

15. The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler 7/10

14. Lying Awake - Mark Salzman 9/10

13. The Light of Day - Graham Swift 6.5/10

12. Peace Like A River - Leif Enger 9/10

11. Freakonomics - Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner 9/10

10. Towelhead - Alicia Erian 8.5/10

9. Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper - Diablo Cody 9/10

8. Trunk Music - Michael Connelly 7.5/10

7. No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy 9/10

6. Until I Find You - John Irving 7.5/10

5. Cause Celeb - Helen Fielding 7/10

4. The Long Night of Winchell Dear - Robert Waller 7/10

3. Merde Actually - Stephen Clarke 5/10

2. The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien 9/10

1. Under the Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer 7/10

My Top 15 Favorite Songs of 2008

Now, just because I write Top 15 Songs of 2008 does not mean these songs came out in 2008. These are just the songs I've listened to pretty much nonstop this year.

1. "The Reasons" - The Weakerthans
2. "Falling Slowly" - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
3. "Alabaster" - Ricky Votolato
4. "Bleeding Heart Show" - The New Pornographers
5. "Fourth of July" - Shooter Jennings
6. "Motorcycle Drive By" - Third Eye Blind
7. "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" - Death Cab for Cutie
8. "Neon Bible" - Arcade Fire
9. "Stick Around" - Reckless Kelly
10. "Break Me Out" - The Rescues
11. "She Is My Everything" - John Prine
12. "Banditos" - The Refreshments
13. "Hear You Me" - Jimmy Eat World
14. "Tell Me A Lie" - Griffin House
15. "Love and Some Verses" - Iron & Wine

It's kind of funny... my brother has this long-standing theory: Bands that start their name with "The" are automatically awful. His four exceptions to the rule are The Beatles, The Who, The Eagles, and The Rolling Stones. An iffy fifth - The Black Crowes. Clearly we have different tastes in music. Four of the bands on my list start with "The". Any other opinions on this matter?