Daryl Tay.net

Last year I managed to read 17 books, a far cry from the annual 30 target that Wanida and I set since 2006 (actually, we’ve never reached it). It’s actually a slip from last year (19 books) despite the year being slightly freer than last.

Fiction
Austin Grossman - Soon I Will Be Invincible
Dan Abnett - Ravenor Returned
George R. R. Martin - A Clash Of Kings
George R. R. Martin - A Game Of Thrones
Heroes: Saving Charlie
Interworld
Robin Hobb - Assassin’s Apprentice
Robin Hobb - Royal Assassin
The Bad Twin

Ravenor Returned

I was pretty focused on books in series this year. The two best were also drastically different: On one side of the spectrum are the first few books in George R R Martin’s fantasy series A Song Of Fire And Ice, a huge sprawling epic series with a multitude of characters and action. On the other is the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (reviews of the first two books here and here) which is very much a character piece focused on no more than ten main characters throughout each book. I also moved on to the second book in the Ravenor series and enjoyed it immensely.

The disappointments were Soon I Will Be Invincible (by Austin Grossman) and Interworld (by Neil Gaiman). The former was a painfully slow story, the latter one that didn’t demonstrate huge originality, which was a surprise as it comes from Neil Gaiman, the man behind Sandman.

Non-Fiction
Seth Godin - Meatball Sundae
Joseph Jaffe - Join The Conversation
David Allen - Getting Things Done
Cult Of The Amateur
Timothy Ferris - 4 Hour Workweek
Keith Ferrazzi - Never Eat Alone
Nikki Stafford - Finding Lost
Nikki Stafford - Finding Lost S3

Join The Conversation

The highlight of my non-fiction readings are probably Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen, which has totally changed the way I look at productivity. I can’t say I’ve mastered it, but I’m definitely working at it. Join the Conversation was a great book for me as well (review here). The first real “social media” book, but certainly not the last. Never Eat Alone wasn’t so much a revelation as a very good action map that I really enjoyed, and Nikki Stafford’s Finding Lost books were a great companion to my Lost obsession.

Hands down the worst book (not just for non-fiction, but all year) goes to Cult of the Amateur (read my review here). The digital revolution is happening, like it or not.

What were your best (and worst) books of 2008, fiction or otherwise? What are you most looking forward to reading in 2009?