Ten excellent books on Dorothy's list, not necessarily favorites, but ones that made an impact and are unforgettable.

In no particular order and I'm sure I'm forgetting some choice titles (so many books, such poor memory!) , but these are stand-outs:

"Atonement" by Ian McEwan

"Love In The Time Of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"Crossing To Safety" by Wallace Stegner

"The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz

"Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides

"Falling Man" by Don DeLillo

"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

"The Reader" by Bernhard Schlink

"Everything Is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safron Foer

"Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safron Foer

And I'll add an 11th one just because it was one of the first books I had ever read that, to this day, has stuck with me...

"Death Be Not Proud" by John Gunther

I'm sure I'll want to add to this list, probably as soon as I publish this post, but it's a start. I'm anxious to contribute to the Magical Reading blog. I've been a silent observer since this was started last year and have really enjoyed reading everyone's reviews. Thanks, Andrew!!! (Now go clean your apartment!)

I READ 25 BOOKS IN 6 MONTHS, DOES THAT COUNT?

Reeeecap....

Actual Number of Books Read: 39 and 5 halves

Number of Books Read for the First time vs. Number re-read: 25/14

Best Books Read for the First Time: Sharp Teeth, Bel Canto, Chuck Klosterman IV, Then We Came to the End

Book that Held Up as Unimpeachable: Black Swan Green

Days Before the Release of the Twelfth Book That I Finished Rereading the First Eleven Books of the Wheel Of Time: 4

Number of Books Read to Impress a Girl: One

Number of Books Read that, When Speaking To a Girl, I Wouldn't Admit to Reading: 13

Worst Book that Was Finished (sorry Julie edition): The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Book that I Wasn't Able to Finish Due to Boredom (sorry Pat edition): Born Standing Up

Book that I Wasn't Able to Finish Due to It Being Stolen From the Bathroom By Our Subletter: Welcome to Monkey House

Books That I Read Exclusively In The Bathroom: Songbook, Nights Of Passed Over, McSweeney's Book of Poets Picking Poets, Shakespeare Wrote For Money

Books I Haven't Read But Plan to For Next Year (Other People's Lists Edition): Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, Inherent Vice, Consider the Lobster

Classic Books I Will Plan to Read But Won't: Infinite Jest

Classic Books I Plan to Read: The Satanic Verses

Number of Pages Read in Wheel Of Time Series Read, According To Wikipedia: 9,392

Number of Wheel of Time Books I Will Limit Myself to For Next Year: 1

Post Number of That Book: 1

FINALLY I've been invited to the cool kids table: Allison's 2009-2010 books

I'll take your 50 books in a year and raise you 25. Is that how this works? Now excuse me as I have to go find some intellectual books to add to my young adult novels so I look like a college graduate.

1. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma - Trenton Lee Stewart

2. The Gathering - Anne Enright

3. The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson

4. Her Fearful Symmetry-Audrey Niffeneggar

5. The Thirteenth Tale-Diane Setterfield

6. Revenge of the Spellmans-Lisa Lutz

7. The Maze Runner-James Dashner

8. Hunger Games-Suzanne Collins

9. Catching Fire-Suzanne Collins

10. Shutter Island- Dennis Lehane

11. The Forest of Hands and Teeth-Carrie Ryan

12. Beautiful Creatures- Tracy Chevalier

13. The Girl With Glass Feet- Ali Shaw

14. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang-Chelsea Handler

15. The Spellmans Strike Again-Lisa Lutz

16. The Corrections-Jonathon Franzen

17. The Road-Cormac McCarthy

18. Shanghai Girls-Lisa See

19. Gang Leader For a Day-Sudhir Venkatesh

20. The Bedwetter- Sarah Silverman

21. Me Talk Pretty One Day- David Sedaris

22. The Long Walk- Richard Bachmann (aka Stephen King)

23. The Dead-Tossed Waves- Carrie Ryan

24. Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives-David Eagleman

25. The Glass Castle-Jeanette Walls

26. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest-Stieg Larsson

27. The City of Ember- Jeanne DuPrau

28. Lucy- Lawrence Gonzales

29. The Lonely Polygamist-Brady Udall

30. The Passage- Justin Cronin

31. Sh*t My Dad Says-Justin Halpern

32. The Lost City of Z-David Grann

33. The People of Sparks- Jeanne DuPrau

34. The Prophet of Yonwood- Jeanne DuPrau

35. Outliers- Malcolm Gladwell

36. Why We Suck-A Feel Good Guide To Staying Fat, Lazy, and Stupid- Dennis Leary

37. Mockingjay- Suzanne Collins

38. The Cell- Stephen King

39. Everlost- Neil Shusterman

40. The Diamond of Darkhold -Jeanne DuPrau

41. Billy The Kid-The Endless Ride- Michael Wallis

42. The Other Boleyn Girl- Philippa Gregory

43. Alias Grace- Margaret Atwood
44. The Tent- Margaret Atwood

45. In Cold Blood- Truman Capote

46. The Weight of Silence- Heather Gudenkauf

47. I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil, and I Want to Be Your Class President- Josh Lieb

48. Earth-The Book- Jon Stewart

49. The Almost Moon- Alice Seebold

50. The Lorax- Dr Suess

2008 <----b----o----o----k----s----> 2009

The BEST:

Inherent Vice

Infinite Jest

White Noise

Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

The DUDS:

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Girl in Landscape

Airframe

The GAYEST:

The Little Prince (I'm sorry, but come on. He's looking for the men! Please show me where I can find the men!)

The LOVELY, WONDERFULLY MOVING BOOKS THAT DIDN'T QUITE MAKE IT TO THE "BEST OF" LIST BUT STILL DESERVE TO BE INCLUDED IN SOME KIND OF LIST, BECAUSE SECOND PLACE IS STILL WINNING, ACCORDING TO GYMNAST SVETLANA KHORKINA, RUSSIAN, SILVER-MEDALIST, OLYMPIAN:

Black Swan Green

Revolutionary Road

Lunar Park

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

The STEAMIEST AUTHOR AWARD:

Bret Easton Ellis (you could melt an ice cube on those words)

The FINEST PASSAGE ABOUT RIPPING A SHIN BONE OUT OF YOUR LEG AND USING SAID BONE AS LETHAL STABBING INSTRUMENT:

Beat the Reaper

The SPOOOOOOKIEST:

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Hiroshima

The BOOK TO BOYCOTT FOR NEXT YEAR:

Eating Animals (I love you Jonathan Safran Foer, but I can't have you crawling into my brain and convincing me with your flowery language why eating turkey sandwiches is not what I should be doing in any given moment of the day. I'm sorry. I really am.)

The NEW YEAR OF MAGICAL READING MEMBERS(!):

Michael Ian Lampl

Dorothy Samuels Lampl

(Julie, can you create profiles for them? Or can you tell me how to take matters into my own hands with easy-to-understand computer terminology?)

The YEAR:

2009.

Is OVER?:

Just about.

And WAS IT INDEED MAGICAL?:

Well, as you can see, this sword of stainless steel is clearly soaked in bunny blood, but when I open this cage here, well look at that, our bunny is still alive. So you tell me.

A Year in Review

Well, gang, here we all are.

I think we're all here, anyway. Dad? Are you still out there?

Either way. Here we are. One year older, one year wiser, and significantly more well read.

I'd like to take this moment to thank you guys for joining me on this journey. It has truly been a joy every step of the way.

A brief reflection on this book-filled year...

EVERYONE SHOULD READ

Black Swan Green and Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer

(Tie!)

NO ONE SHOULD EVER EVER READ

The Book of Lost Things

THE UNEXPECTED SMASH-HIT

Pastoralia.

THE ONE I EXPECTED TO BE A SMASH-HIT BUT WAS REALLY A BIG OL' LOSER

The Book Thief

THE BEST BOOK THAT WAS THE LEAST ENJOYABLE TO READ

What Is the What

THE STRANGEST ONLINE MOMENT OF 2008

The brief and unexpected series of blog-comment exchanges with Dr. Jane Nelsen.

THINGS I AM EXCITED ABOUT FOR THE 2009-2010 BOOKYEAR

Getting some other women folk into this sausage-fest! Welcome, Allison and Andy's Mom!

So I'm on board for 2009-2010! And I'm gonna make it to fifty this time, because all I want in the world is to be just like Andy Lampl!! Who's with me, eh?!

I Got So Lazy About Posting!

Or "Hats Off To You, Andy Lampl!"

I solemnly swear that all these books were read in their entirety by October 31, 2009.

Also, for some reason my computer isn't letting me add images. Curse you, Safari.

Lightning round.

Haikus.

Get ready.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass

by Lewis Carroll

I like these books less

Every time that I read them.

Not a thing happens.

Equus

by Peter Shaffer

Groundbreaking, I'm sure,

For 1973.

Now, a bit dated.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat

by Oliver Sacks

Don't take for granted

You know your face is a face.

The brain is fucked up.

Viewpoints

by Anne Bogart and Tina Landau

I used this book to

Teach students in Idaho

That they have bodies.

Mastering Shakespeare

by Scott Kaiser

Annoying structure:

It is written as a script.

Still, some good lessons.

Games for Actors and Non-Actors

by Augusto Boal

You've not read this book

for Actors and Non-Actors?

Do. Your life will change.

A Shakespearean Actor Prepares

by Adrian Brine and Michael York

Hands-down my favorite

Book about acting Shakespeare.

Such juicy language!

Heartbeat

by Sharon Creech

My favorite author

When I was in the sixth grade.

She's still really good.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma

by Trenton Lee Stewart

I'm essentially

A ten year old, but hot damn,

This book is perfect.

A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeline L'Engle

Much more religious

Than I seem to remember

From my younger days.

The Artist's Way

by Julia Cameron

A wacky hippie

Lady's advice on living.

Good Lord, I love it.

Admisson of Defeat.

Well. I failed. who's ready for round 2?!