books books.....

holy crap, i read a ton in 2008.....here's what I read (in no particular order).  I'll try to add some commentary if I remember anything......

1. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts - the semitrue story of an Aussie conman's journey into the infamous Bombay underworld.  fantastic book, and I look forward to the movie staring Johnny Depp
2. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffery Toobin - A deep book that attempts to bring laymen into the Supreme Court.  Most of the case details went way over my head, but I still enjoyed the read.
3. The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury - I picked this book up while stuck at LGA, and I regretted it from the beginning.  Tries to read like Dan Brown, but fails miserably.  stay away!
4. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell - Like all of Gladwell's books, this was an interesting read.  But remember to take his words with a grain of salt...he cites very little evidence, and the reasoning is a bit thin
5. The Beach by Alex Garland - Fantastic book about a backpacking trip gone very wrong.  loved it, still need to see the movie
6. Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin - written under a pen name, this book takes a fascinating look behind the Burmese junta.  As a huge fan of Orwell (and 1984 in particular), it was interesting to see where he came up with his ideas
7. Thunderstruck by Erik Larson - Disappointing follow up to his hugely successful "Devil in the White City".  Pick that book up instead
8. Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by Ben Macintyre - Came from way out left field, but ended up being my favorite book of the year.  Read it! Love it!
9. The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke - Fictional account of murder and theivery that occured during Katrina.  Nothing shocking, but an interesting and fun read
10. The Man Who Loved China by Simon Winchester - Interesting story about a fascinating man.  Some of the details went a bit too deep for me, but I still enjoyed it.
11. Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card - The same story as Ender's Game, but through the eyes of "Bean".  I loved Ender's Game, but this one just fell a bit flat.
12. Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande - A great treatise for how to become a better person.  I need to reread this, because I can certainly become better
13. The Innocent Man by John Grisham - True story that reads just like his fictional tales.  Interesting book
14. Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk - Another tale by the writer of Fight Club.  This one dwelving into the murky world of porn, and i felt a bit disgusted by what I read.  Interesting, but so wrong at the same time.
15. The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 by Lawrence Wright - Loved this book.  A history of Islamic terrorism from Egypt (circa 1925) to 9/11.  Read this and understand why these people are pissed at us!
16. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz - Hugely fun and irrerevent.  Check this out, I believe that this book won the Pulitizer Prize
17. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin - This book is getting lots of pub because Obama is allegedly using it as his playbook for selecting his cabinet.  Abe Lincoln picked his 4 biggest political rivals to join his cabinet, and they all served an important role. 
18. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris - Loved his older books, but this didn't do it for me.  skip it if you can
19. The Appeal by John Grisham - To be honest, I read this back in February, so I don't remember what its about.....i think i enjoyed it

I think that's all the books that I finished this year.  I definetly started some other books, but got bored with them......I'll edit this if I remember more!