Books in 140's Favorite Reads of 2008
a list by Erin Balser, entertainment writer & book critic
Peter from Flashlight Worthy HQ here. Erin didn't write an introduction for this list so I'm diving in.
Erin does something very cool. She uses Twitter* to publish book reviews — book reviews that are absolutely, positively no more than 140 characters in length.
I liked what she does so much that I got in touch and asked her for a Flashlight Worthy list... but a list where her comment on each book is no more than 140 characters. ;)
*Twitter is extremely simple... and yet extremely difficult to explain. If you don't know what it is, here's a thorough explanation.
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Be Good
by Stacey May Fowles
Stunning debut. Pitch-perfect quarterlife crisis of six friends/lovers. Canadian and twenty something? This is your life if you were cooler. (140 characters)
183 page paperback
|$11.66
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No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories
by Miranda July
The most uncomfortable, screwed up, brilliantly honest stories I've ever read. July is crazy. And a genius. Not an easy read, but worth it. (139 characters)
Kindle
edition available
224 page paperback
|$11.34
|58 reviews
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The Complete Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi
Satrapi's early life comes alive in this beautiful graphic novel, exploring growing up in Iran — its culture, politics, war, gender and more. (140 characters)
352 page paperback
|$16.47
|50 reviews
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The Uncommon Reader
by Alan Bennett
A delightful imagining of the Queen as a reader. Short & sweet. Evokes thoughts on reading, readership, royalty, loyalty and one's purpose. (139 characters)
Kindle
edition available
128 page paperback
|$9.41
|115 reviews
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The Yiddish Policemen's Union
by Michael Chabon
Imaginative Jewish alternate history, look at identity politics & detective thriller combined! It's complex, funny and worth the hype. (Only 134 characters!)
464 page paperback
|$12.44
|323 reviews
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Graceling
by Kristin Cashore
A great, mature YA novel, filled with originality, fantasy, romance, mystery, battles. Very on-trend w/ strong female lead and strong plot. (139 characters)
Kindle
edition available
480 page hardcover
|$11.05
|167 reviews
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The Boys in the Trees
by Mary Swan
A beautifully bleak and haunting story of a crime affecting a small community in 1800s, told from different views. Unique & compelling. (Again, 134 characters! Such waste!)
Kindle
edition available
224 page paperback
|$11.90
|5 reviews
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Good to a Fault
by Marina Endicott
Mid-life crisis at it's best (worst?) as Clary learns about selflessness, sharing, family and love by guiltily taking in homeless family. (137 characters)
376 pages
|$25.95
|2 reviews
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Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth
by Margaret Atwood
An insightful, well-researched, uncannily timely look at debt Explores debt through history, culture, literature. A current must-read. (134 characters)
280 page paperback
|$10.85
|12 reviews
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The Film Club: A Memoir
by David Gilmour
An honest examination of a father/son relationship and parenting, more so than a cinematic education. The emotions are raw and powerful. (135 characters)
Kindle
edition available
256 page hardcover
|$16.49
|35 reviews
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Whew! 29 characters to spare across the 10 reviews!
