Book Picks For 2008...Well!

I just finished reading the book picks for 2008 from the New York Times. I sat and read every little blurb about the 100 Notable Books of 2008, the 10 Best Books of 2008, the Notable Children's Books of 2008, and the Notable Crime Fiction of 2008. I found a few interesting books, but a lot of them were just plain uninteresting to me. Don't know what the reason was...they just were.
One fiction that seemed interesting, however, was The Other by David Guterson. He's the fellow who wrote Snow Falling on Cedars, which was made into a movie. The new book is an exploration of how one should live in a flawed world, the choices we make and the values we reflect. It's about two guys and their friendship, their hardships and the compromises of adulthood. Sounds like a good read for
2009.
Then there was a fantastic children's book I think I'm going to have to put in my personal library. It is Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein. The book was chosen as a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book. The first time I heard about it was on the Sunday Morning television show. It's about a cat named Wabi Sabi who seeks her name's meaning. Wabi Sabi's quest and the splendid pictures will please children, and the rest of us will enjoy the subtle interconnections among dialogue, poetry and collages fashioned from "time-worn human-made, as well as natural,
materials."
When I closed down the NY Times website, I headed for our library shelves of new books. Well, new to us, anyhow. I wasn't looking for notable books picked by our library staff. I was looking for a few interesting books.
The book cover of Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts always catches my eye. It's a glowing jar of lightning bugs set in a nighttime sky. The picture and the title make me want to read the book. Even better is the story...about two gutsy children who must discover how cruel, unfair and frightening the world is before they come to a place they can finally call home.
Sons of Glory is a Christian Fiction by Craig and Janet Parshall. This is the third book and conclusion in The Thistle and the Cross series. It's about three brothers in Boston in 1770 living during the building of a new nation and political system, who are trying to remain true to God's will in the midst of dangerous and uncertain times.
And Superior Saturday, The Keys to the Kingdom is the sixth in the Kingdom series. This is where Arthur Penhaligon discovers the secret to his identity, the identity of The Architect, the complete Will of the House, and the fulfillment of his fate.
I've heard many good things about Three Cups of Tea. It's written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It's about building schools for kids who really need them.
Of course, you can never go wrong with one of Dr. Wayne Dyer's books. The one I picked up today is Inspiration. I've seen his shows on PBS...The Power of Intention, Your Ultimate Calling, etc. This book can change your life also.
There were several books with "Christmasy" titles. But then it's getting to be Christmas time.
Debbie Macomber has books titled Where Angels Go, When Christmas Comes, and Christmas Letters.
Thomas Kinkade's three books will also get you in the mood for Christmas...A Christmas Promise, A Christmas Star, and A Christmas to Remember.
And if you want something a little, just a little, deeper, you could read The Snowball by Alice Schroeder. It's about Warren Buffett. Don't know who he is? Now's the time you can find out.
I even saw a book about Joe Biden, Barak Obama, and Robert Kennedy on the shelves.
So, if you read what the New York Times and a few other newspapers or magazines tell you are the top books of 2008 and you don't like any of them, come on over to the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library. I believe we have a few hundred top books that you'll enjoy reading. They're a great way to break up all that television-watching.