Downer Avenue Bestsellers, 2008 Edition

as we here at the Inside Flap are so obsessed with lists, it is fitting to sum up the whole of the year 2008 in a single, simple fashion. with that end in mind, we now present to you our 25 bestselling books of 2008:

fiction:

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
• Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
  

"Beautiful, sparse and unforgettable."
-Stacie Williams

• The Road by Cormac McCarthy

"The shock and viscera presented in The Road is made all the more striking when contrasted with the quiet desperation and deep bond between a man and his young son facing the end of the world. Fear and love are rarely presented in tandem with such class."
-Justin Riley

• Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut
  

"These short stories blur and break the line between fiction and memoir, between criticism and submission to human barbarism."
-Jordan Gower

• Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
  

"Beautifully written. Stunningly so, considering the circumstances of its writing."
-Conrad Silverberg

• Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
• Gathering by Anne Enright
• Lamb by Christopher Moore
  

"The funniest book you'll ever read."
-Conrad Silverberg

• Chicago Way by Michael Harvey
• No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July
  

"Miranda July's interpretation of everyday situations culminate in these grand stories of most appropriate misunderstandings. Through her art of romanticizing the ridiculous she has brought the reader close to the page and left them thinking about chlorine smells and swimming lessons for days."
-Sarah Marine

• Girl on the Fridge by Etgar Keret
  

"Keret is a master of everyday language, yet his plots are always fresh, brilliant, wild and inventive. His characters go crashing through life, facing love, facing death, facing confusion, and often getting lost in the most wonderful and unimaginable blunders."
-Joe Lisberg

• City of Thieves by David Benioff
  

"Delivering a buddy story that is really about great acts of humanity during times of evil, this novel is the true definition of 'unputdownable'."
-Stacie Williams

• Best American Short Stories 2008 Edited by Salman Rushdie
• Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
  

"This tightly woven novel sings with a clear & beautiful voice, it deserves to be heard by all."
-Carl Hoffman

non-fiction:

• This I Believe by Jay Allison
• Milwaukee’s Brady Street Neighborhood by Frank D Alioto
• Goodnight Bush: A Parody by Gan Golan & Erich Origen
• Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
• Art of Living by Epictetus
  

"This book saved my life, and brought me back to the bookstore."
-Doug James

• The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria
• Milwaukee at Mid-Century by Lyle Oberwise
• Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
  

"When opportunism knocks, Klien is there to knock some sense into us - and, in a perfect world, into the filthy lucre mongers."
-Myra Poe

• Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft & Design by Faythe Levine
  

"This book is invaluable in its presentation of some of the hardest working crafters in the nation. Faythe is our own renaissance lady; co-owner of Paper Boat, organizer of the righteous Art vs. Craft, and overall champion and supporter of all things indy creative."
-Sarah Marine

• Nixonland by Rick Perlstein

there you have it, folks.

tune in next year for our followup segment.

call me copy cat

i think we're a bit late for the 2008 lists, we're behind the vogue. but here they are, my lists for the past year.

my top five (in no exact order) of...

... books i read and loved, from 2008:

1) machine by peter adolphsen

2) little brother by cory doctorow

3) the gone away world by nick harkaway

4) armageddon in retrospect by kurt vonnegut

5) the view from the seventh layer by kevin brockmeier

... books i wanted to read, but never accomplished, from 2008

1) milk & melancholy by kenneth hayes

2) ringolevio: a life played for keeps by emmett grogan

3) userlands: new fiction writers from the blogging underground edited by dennis cooper

4) content by cory doctorow

5) girl on the fridge by etgar keret

... books i read (and loved) in 2008, returning from the past

1) the mayor of castro street by randy shilts

2) the passion by jeanette winterson

3) i am not myself these days by josh kilmer-purcell

4) exploits & adventures of brigadier gerard by sir arthur conan doyle

5) willful creatures by aimee bender

that's as far as i go. it's a new year, suddenly, and countless prospects are already appearing on the horizon. this'll be a good year for the bookish types, i can feel it.

until next time, friends.

"read that book!"

2008 Pages (list version)

In honor of end of year lists, here are a few 2008 lists about books.

Five Books I...

...Read & Loved (Newly Published in 2008)

1. The Tsar's Dwarf by Peter H. Fogtdal
2. The View From the Seventh Layer by Kevin Brockmeier
3. Serena by Ron Rash
4. City of Thieves by David Benioff
5. Outlander by Gil Adamson

...Read & Loved (published prior to 2008)

1. Selected Poems (1945-2005) by Robert Creeley
2. Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
3. Poachers by Tom Franklin
4. No Shortcuts to the Top by Ed Viesturs
5. Herland by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman

...Intended To Read, Really Wanted To, But Didn't

1. 2666 by Roberto Bolano
2. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
3. Burning Down the House by Charles Baxter
4. Other Colors by Orhan Pamuk
5. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

...Think Look Good That Other People Read

1. Machine by Peter Adolphsen
2. As a Friend by Forrest Gander
3. Farther Along by Donald Harrington
4. The Invention of Morel by Alfredo Bioy Casare
5. A Better Angel by Chris Adrian