Books in 140's Favorite Reads of 2008

shelved under Fiction and Bloggers' Picks

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.

 

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)

 

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)

 

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)

 

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)

This book also appears on Books About Words, Reading, and Readers

 

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!)

 

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)

 

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!)

 

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)

 

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)

 

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)

 

Whew! 29 characters to spare across the 10 reviews!