2008 Overview & Book of the Year

March 1, 2009

Horrible– 3
Bad– 7
Okay– 20
Good– 7
Awesome– 15
Total= 51

Manga 2008- 12
(All of which were issues of Bleach)

Bleach Vol. 19 10/1/08 Awesome- The whole reason that I went on a Bleach reading binge was for this volume. Finally the fight that has been building for like 10 volumes happens: Ichigo vs. Byakuya for the rescue of Rukia. The only thing that’s lacking is the fact that the Japanese version had the big fight in color, and the English version only has black and white. I can only imagine how awesome the color version must be. The fight is awesome and well worth the wait. The best volume of Bleach yet.

My goal is to read at least 50 books, a year so I was right on target. Deciding on a “Book of the Year” is a little harder this year. I don’t know if I read anything that had a real lasting impression. Certainly nothing that moved me as much as my 2007 “Book of the Year”, “Wuthering Heights.” In fact something still stirs in my soul just thinking about that book.

For 2008 it’s between; Battlefield Earth, Hood, Stardust, The Waste Lands, and Rendezvous with Rama. Which seem too filled with sci-fi choices. I like sci-fi, but I read so much of it that something has to be really special to stand out from among the crowd. Hood was good, but Stephen R. Lawhead has many more memorable books. Stardust would be the immediate choice if it weren’t for the sex scene. Pretty much the graphic sex scene in The Waste Land is holding it back too.

So which book will I remember 2008 by? Battlefield Earth. As much as if seems cheesy to pick the first book of the year, and to pick a sci-fi book. “Battlefield Earth” was really the most outstanding story I read this year. It was truly epic, it drew me in, held me, and made me want to be part of the story.


I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~Anna Quindlen, “Enough Bookshelves,” New York Times, 7 August 1991

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