NY Times List of 100 Notable Books of 2008

Here's the NY Times list of what they consider to be, I guess, 100 exceptional books of 2008. There are two lists of 50 each, I think: one list of fiction and the other non-fiction. They list the books in alphabetical order, rather than attempt any sort of qualitative judgments.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/100Notable-t.html?pagewanted=1&am...

I have read only one of these, the Roth, which shows you where my reading habits are at.

Enjoy!

I've read more than I would have thought:

Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen -- I felt I didn't really understand this book.

Dear American Airlines by Jonathan Miles -- read this because of comments here on LT and enjoyed it more than I expected to.

Indignation by Philip Roth -- I'm a big Roth fan, but this was not among my favorites.

Lush Life by Richard Price -- One of my favorite books of the year; I'm afraid its presence on this list suggests it won't be one of the Times Top 10 this year.

A Most Wanted Man by John le Carre -- also one of my favorites of the year.

Netherland byJoseph O'Neill -- ditto.

The Dark Side by Jane Mayer -- Chilling and absorbing.

Traffic by Tom Vanderbilt -- Interesting, but I wouldn't consider it a top book.

When we do our own top books of the year, only a few of these will appear on my list.

And there are some books on the list that I intend to buy/read, but a surprising (to me) number I never heard of.

I usually run 3 year late in reading current books. The ones in this list deifinitely on my own list are:
"The Post-American World" by Fareed Zakaria Link = http://www.librarything.com/work/4986878 , and
Traffic: why we drive the way we do by Tom Vanderbilt

I only tried to read one of them, The Witches of Eastwick. I hated it and couldn't finish it.

I thought Atmospheric Disturbances was awful--an immature writer trying to show off. I didn't read Indignation, but NYT says it is "death bound"--that's how I'd describe Exit Ghost, which I didn't care for either.

..and I didn't like The Good Thief much either. :(

I rarely read new books unless they come from the library. The only book on the list I've read was The Blue Star by Tony Earley, which I enjoyed, but not as much as the book that preceded it, Jim the Boy.

I haven't read any and have only heard of a handful. Descartes' Bones is in my TBR pile and A Voyage Long and Strange is on my wishlist.