Best Books of 2008

This year I've read 441 books, and I will finish another two before midnight tonight! I went through my list and came up with my definite list of the best books I've read this year. Not all were published in 2008; I just read them this year. I can't actually name a top book in each category, so 1-10 are in no particular order. I hope this list inspires you to pick up one or two of these yourself!

Fiction

1. The Glass of Time by Michael Cox

2. White Stone Day by John MacLachlan Gray

3. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

4. The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan

5. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

6. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

7. Silver by Edward Chupack

8. Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

9. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

10. Queen of Bedlam by Robert McCammon

Non-fiction

1. Star Machine by Jeanine Basinger

2. Perfect Figures by Bunny Crumpacker

3. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee

4. Cheer! by Kate Torgovnick

5. Beautiful Boy by David Sheff

6. Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge

7. Waterwalk by Stephen Faulkner

8. Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall

9. Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam

10. Once an Arafat Man by Tass Saada

Devotional

1. Closer Than Your Skin by Susan D. Hill

2. The Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson

3. When Answers Aren't Enough by Matt Rogers

4. The God of All Comfort by Judy Gann

5. God's Prayers Book by Ben Patterson

6. Assaulted by Joy by Stephen Simpson

7. Love as a Way of Life by Gary Chapman

8. Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson

9. Trusting in the Names of God by Catherine Martin

10. Me, Myself, and I AM by Matthew Peters & Elissa Stanford

Christian Fiction

1. Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh

2. A Clearing in the Wild by Janet Fitzpatrick

3. Lady of Milkweed Manor by Juliet Klaussen

4. Embrace Me by Lisa Samson

5. Where Do I Go by Neta Jackson

6. Until We Reach Home by Lynn Austin

7. Wounded by Claudia Mair Burney

8. Isolation by Travis Thrasher

9. Searching for Spice by Megan DiMaria

10. The Face by Angela Hunt

Children's Book

1. Tutu Ballet by Sally Lee

2. The Giant Hug by Sandra Horning

3. Fire Fish by Davy Liu

4. God Gave Us Heaven by Lisa Tawn Bergren

5. God Loves Me More Than That by Dandy Daley Mackall

6. Buddy's Candle by Dr. Bernie S. Siegel

7. The Dragonfly Secret by Clea & John Adams

8. When Was God Born by Phillps W. Rodgers

9. The Gift of the Christmas Cookie by Dandi Daley Mackall

10. We Believe in Christmas by Karen Kingsbury

Young Adult

1. The Fall of Candy Corn by Debbie Vigiue

2. Do Hard Things by Alex & Brett Harris

3. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

4. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

5. Finding Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson

6. The Big Picture by Jenny B. Jones

7. Mixed Bags by Melody Carlson

8. Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton

9. The Winter of Candy Canes by Debbie Vigiue

10. Romancing Hollywood Nobody

That's my list for the year. It was surprising how many books that when I looked at the title I could remember little to nothing of the plot. Obviously those books didn't make the list. My criteria was simple. I needed to remember the plot, and something about it needed to stick with me; it had to impact me in a lasting way.

Jesse, Mia, and I are staying home tonight to play board games, watch movies, and eat copious amounts of junk food. I hope that your celebration is equally full of love, fun, and yummy food. Happy New Year!