The Second Annual Bibliolatry Awards

In keeping with last year's recap post, below I've linked to all the reviews I completed during 2008. (I still, unfortunately, need to review a couple more books finished in December.)

At the end of my recap, I'll give out some awards. All links are internal, and will take you directly to my review.

Enjoy.


JANUARY

1. 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day, edited by Billy Collins
2. The Fall of the House of Bush, by Craig Unger
3. King Dork, by Frank Portman
4. The Dogs of Babel, by Carolyn Parkhurst
5. Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography, by Andrew Morton


FEBRUARY

6. Three Dollars, by Elliot Perlman
7. Immortal, by Traci Slatton
8. Fragile Things, by Neil Gaiman
9. The Invention of Morel, by Adolfo Bioy Casares
10. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Spark
11. Lady of the Roses, by Sandra Worth
12. The Soul Thief, by Charles Baxter


MARCH

13. The Terror, by Dan Simmons
14. Enduring Love, by Ian McEwan
15. Larryisms: Book One, by Larry John
16. Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout
17. Rape: A Love Story, by Joyce Carol Oates


APRIL

18. Amnesia Moon, by Jonathan Lethem
19. Beautiful Children, by Charles Bock
20. Soldier's Heart, by Elizabeth Samet
21. Dead Star Twilight, by Chez Pazienza


MAY

22. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
23. The Wentworths, by Katie Arnoldi
24. The McSweeney's Joke Book of Book Jokes
25. Armageddon in Retrospect, by Kurt Vonnegut
26. Cake, by Doreen Fitzgerald
27. Emotionless Souls, by David S. Grant


JUNE

28. The Book of Air and Shadows, by Michael Gruber
29. Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity, by Kerry Cohen
30. Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane
31. Snuff, by Chuck Palahniuk
32. Brasyl, by Ian McDonald
33. When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris
34. Neurotica, by Elva Maxine Beach
35. Kockroach, by Tyler Knox
36. World War Z, by Max Brooks
37. The First 30 Days, by Ariane de Bonvoisin


JULY

38. The Answer is Always Yes, by Monica Ferrell
39. The Stone Gods, by Jeanette Winterson
40. The Enchantress of Florence, by Salman Rushdie
41. Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith
42. The French Lieutenant's Woman, by John Fowles
43. The Interpretation of Murder, by Jed Rubenfeld
44. A Wolf at the Table, by Augusten Burroughs
45. Apples and Oranges, by Marie Brenner
46. Moving Forward: Taking the Lead in Your Life, by Dave Pelzer
47. The Abstinence Teacher, by Tom Perrotta (abandoned)
48. My Sister, My Love, by Joyce Carol Oates


AUGUST

49. PS, I LOVE YOU, by Cecelia Ahern (abandoned)
50. Elephants on Acid, by Alex Boese
51. The Other, by David Guterson
52. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
53. Queen of the Road, by Doreen Orion
54. Runaway, by Steve Simpson (abandoned)
55. Marie-Therese, Child of Terror, by Susan Nagel
56. Soon I Will be Invincible, by Austin Grossman
57. In the Woods, by Tana French
58. No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy
59. boring boring boring boring boring boring boring, by Zach Plague


SEPTEMBER

60. A Good and Happy Child, by Justin Evans
61. The Rising, by Brian Keene
62. The Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly
63. The Power of Flies, by Lydie Salvayre
64. Hurry Down Sunshine, by Michael Greenberg
65. Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek


OCTOBER

66. Who By Fire, by Diana Spechler
67. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski
68. Capote in Kansas, by Kim Powers
69. The Development, by John Barth
70. Months and Seasons, by Christopher Meeks
71. The Dragonfly Secret, by Clea and John Adams


NOVEMBER

72. Death With Interruptions, by Jose Saramago
73. Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill
74. The Shape of Mercy, by Susan Meissner
75. Perfume, by Patrick Suskind
76. Just After Sunset, by Stephen King
77. The Tutu Ballet, by Sally Lee


DECEMBER

78. Living Dead Girl, by Elizabeth Scott
79. Being Dead, by Jim Crace
80. A Mercy, by Toni Morrison
81. The Missing, by Sarah Langan
82. Dirt, by Mark LaFlamme
83. The Interloper, by Antoine Wilson
84. Winterwood, by Patrick McCabe
85. Asylum, by Patrick McGrath
86. Jane Austen Ruined my Life, by Beth Pattillo
87. Travels in the Scriptorium, by Paul Auster (review forthcoming)
88. No one belongs here more than you, by Miranda July (review forthcoming)


First, I'm glad to say that I read more this year than I did last year, although I'm still not too pleased with these numbers. So I read 88 books this year, but abandoned three, bringing my net total to 85. Not too shabby, I suppose.

And now, without further ado, I give you the Second Annual Bibliolatry Awards!!


THE BEST: The Terror
Runners Up: Olive Kitteridge, Kockroach, Child 44, The Interloper


THE BEST (NONFICTION): Elephants on Acid
Runner Up: Loose Girl


THE WORST (FICTION)

There was a five-way tie in this category, folks. I couldn't choose which of these turds was the worst:

The Rising
Snuff
The Abstinence Teacher
PS, I LOVE YOU
Runaway


THE WORST (NONFICTION): Moving Forward
Runner Up: Larryisms: Book One


MOST DISAPPOINTING: Fragile Things
Runner Up: The Soul Thief


MOST SURPRISING: The Book of Air and Shadows
Runner Up: Immortal