50 in 2009

I tend to read voraciously, but I've never set an actual goal for myself, and never really thought to do so. Then I became a flight attendant, which was short-lived because it is nowhere near as glamorous as it sounds; I spent a of time sitting in the bowels of JFK waiting for flight assignments. As much as this sucked, it certainly gave me a lot of time for focused reading. A flight attendant I roomed with mentioned that she had set a fifty-book goal for the year for herself, and knowing my tendency to blaze through several titles at a time and then ignore books altogether for what could possibly amount to months I decided I would attempt to accomplish the same. These are the fifty I got through, ranked in order from favorite to least favorite. While some might question the amount of graphic fiction in helping me to reach this goal, I say to you: some of the print in that shit is TINY.

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"fucking brilliant."	1) The Savage Detectives Roberto Bolaño; Natasha Wimmer Published by: Picador Edition: Paperback (ISBN #9780312427481) Buy it online from Greenlight Bookstore
"Little known classic of American literature in which every sentence swells the chest and shivers the spine. Highly recommended."	2) Housekeeping Marilynne Robinson Published by: Picador Edition: Paperback (ISBN #9780312424091) Buy it online from Greenlight Bookstore
"There are three chapters in the middle of the book that took my breath away entirely. The ending is gruesome and not for the faint of heart."	3) Giraffe J. M. Ledgard Published by: Penguin (Non-Classics) Edition: Paperback (ISBN #9780143038962) Buy it online from Greenlight Bookstore
"Absolutely beautiful; I'm surprised this book isn't more well-known."	4) Animal's People Indra Sinha Published by: Simon & Schuster Edition: Hardcover (ISBN #9781416578789) Buy it online from Greenlight Bookstore
"Stunning collection of stories, in particular "Sweethearts of The Rodeo"."	5) Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing Lydia Peelle Published by: Harper Perennial Edition: Paperback (ISBN #9780061724732) Buy it online from Greenlight Bookstore
"Like getting a transplant of Lynda Barry's heart; her quirky artistry meets poignant writing in illustrating demons both literal and lingering."	6) One Hundred Demons Lynda Barry Published by: Sasquatch Books Edition: Hardcover (ISBN #9781570613371) Buy it online from Greenlight Bookstore
"Especially recommended for those who think science is boring... Bryson's delivery is often hilarious and his commentary always interesting."	7) A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson Published by: Broadway Edition: Hardcover (ISBN #9780767908177) Buy it online from Greenlight Bookstore
"Quirky without sacrificing intelligence."	8) Wide Eyed Trinie Dalton; Dennis Cooper Published by: Akashic Books Edition: Paperback (ISBN #9781888451863) Buy it online from Greenlight Bookstore
"Bleak and heart-rending, McCarthy is a master."	9) The Road Cormac Mccarthy Published by: Vintage Edition: Paperback (ISBN #9780307387899) Buy it online from Greenlight Bookstore
"A great anthology from one of my favorite quarterlies."	10) The Better of McSweeney's Volume One McSweeney's Books Published by: McSweeney's Books Edition: Paperback (ISBN #9781932416336) Buy it online from Greenlight Bookstore

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