Book list for 2008

I just finished reading "Atonement" by Ian McEwan. Wow. It's been a while since I read an actual adult novel as most of my reading usually is from the middle grade/young adult genre. I enjoyed the beauty of this book, the stringing together of the characters lives--their conflicts and desires. The scenes capturing England's battle against the Germans transported me instantly. The sensory details, as you can imagine when writing about war, were raw, powerful and in many cases, just plain sad. It's been a while since I shed a few tears over a novel. The ending of this book, had me sitting in silence, weeping, for about five minutes. Read it.

So, Atonement begins my 2008 reading list. Luxe by Anna Godbersen is next. If that captures my attention, and I finish it, then it's onto Storky by Debra Garfinkle (She was a guest author at the 2007 Big Sur Writing Conference, and lucky for me, my one-on-one consultant. She was quite nice and helpful BTW).

I have a whole shelf of novels waiting to be read. Some I've already started and can't quite get into. I remember Lisa Yee at the 2007 Los Angeles Writer's Day saying that she gives herself permission to put down a book she's not interested in. I silently cheered, because I do it all the time. But I don't want to. I want to give the author the time and respect they deserve and read the whole dang thing. I also try to remember that the books I read are meant for a much younger audience. So by keeping this in mind, I vow to read every book I commit to cover-to-cover. We'll see if that works.