As you may recall, I keep a list of every book I have read since 1999. Yes, yes, I’m lots of fun at parties! What follows is an annotated list of books I’ve read in 2008. Just to be clear, sometimes I start a book and never finish it. Those books don’t make the list. Also, I just finished my 35th book today but it’s entirely possible that I might read a book tomorrow before midnight. In which case–please do not worry–I will IMMEDIATELY add it to this post with an explanatory note. Here goes. Recommended books are in bold. (As in, you have to read this one.)
1. Confessions of An Organized Homemaker by Deniece Schofield
2. How to Organize Everything by Peter Walsh (These organization books are all the same and yet I have a compulsion to read them.)
3. Life Skills for Kids by Christine M. Field (I’ve read this before. It’s good.)
4. Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
5. A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Demille
6. You: The Owner’s Manual by Mehmet Oz
7. The Warmest Room in the House by Steven Gdula (A history of kitchens.)
8. Cesar’s Way by Cesar Milan
9. Take Two Chocolates and Call me in the Morning by Emily Watts (She might even sign it for you!)
10. Project Organization by Maria Ricks (This is worth reading.)
11. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
12. The Eyre Effect by Jasper Fforde
13. The Ultimate Career by Daryl Hoole
14. Father Knows Less by Wendell Jamieson
15. Litttle Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish
16. The Art of Tasha Tudor by Harry Davis (She’s kind of a weird bird.)
17. Amphigorey Also by Edward Gorey (Talk about a weird bird.)
18. Gifts From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (It’s weird to go back and read it knowing she was unhappy in her marriage.)
19. To Hell With All That by Caitlin Flanagan
20. Confessions of a Happily Organized Family by Deniece Schofield (Haha! I read it twice without even noticing.)
21. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
22. Is There Life After Housework? by Don Aslett (Short version: Nope.)
23. Why Do I Love These People? by Po Bronson
24. The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
25. Tiptionary by Mary Hunt
26. The Joys of Homemaking by Daryl Hoole (While I don’t necessarily recommend it, you should read Daryl Hoole for anthropological reasons.)
27. Little Things Long Remembered by Susan Newman
28. Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell
29. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (Could change your life.)
30. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
31. The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley (Could save your life.)
32. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
33. IV by Chuck Klosterman (Is there anyone better suited to being my pal?)
34. Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd
35. Clapton The Autobiography by Eric Clapton
I know that was a long list, but while I’ve got your attention may I say something about the last two books I read? I was excited to read about the woman who inspired George Harrison’s “Something In the Way She Moves” and Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight.” I mean, their fight over Pattie Boyd is the stuff of legends (VH1’s Legends, specifically). What would this woman be like to inspire such beautiful music and passion? (Eric Clapton also wrote “Layla” for her.) As it turns out, she’s fairly shallow. And everyone’s a major drug addict. It’s really disappointing and uninspiring. I know a little about having a song written for me and the pressure involved with being someone’s muse (Check out 1,000 Dreams’ Beautiful Brown circa 1988) and, frankly, it’s not such a cross to bear. Compelling reading though.
Eric Clapton, however, sees his way out of the debauchery to the other side of addiction. The first half of his book was getting me down–the quantities and logistics of drug and alcohol addiction are shocking. I guess I’m pretty naive. At around age 42 Eric Clapton finally gets it together. His story is quite moving and if you’ve ever heard “Tears in Heaven,” written about his little boy’s tragic death, you may have some idea of how the story unfolds. It’s worth reading to see the contrast between Eric Clapton hiding booze under the rugs in his car by the gas pedals and Eric Clapton recommending The Baby Whisperer and evaluating the success of a tour based on how well his children traveled. Pretty interesting. I’m sort of obsessed with it right now.
Any questions?
*Addendum: I forgot that I also read The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper by Lynn Rosetto Casper and Sally Swift, Carmindy’s 5 Minute Face, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney which is probably the funniest book I’ve read in a long time. I highly recommend it.
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