Books to Read!

There are so many books I want to read all the time but here is the beginning of my list. I am starting to read the Sherman Alexie book first so obviously my list is not in any order...I will probably add to it and hopefully will review each one at some point too. Here goes my reading ambitions...oh, I do want to give a shout out to Norman McLean's A River Runs Through It and any Faulkner. Both authors are on my 2009 list despite their exclusion from the list below. With that said, Happy Reading!

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz: This book seems to be an urban heart lifter, heart breaker, and everything in between. I am usually a huge fan of the underdog and eveything I have read suggests this book is written with awesomeness.
2. Shadow Country by Peter Matthieson....this book seems so overwhelmingly intense...in a good way and I look forward to reading it when I have the time and mental energy...it seems really comprehensive and I like books by Peter Matthieson. Any meaty fiction based on real history and gritty folklore can be good, right?
3. The Poverty of Progress by E. Bradford Burns...this book is one that has been sitting on my book shelf for several years but I haven't actually read it yet but I am proud to own it....time to buckle down and read about how modernization in Latin America is actually crippling the culture and economy rather than helping it.
4. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie....another book that sits on my shelf....I have started it several times but am resigned to finishing it in 2009!
5. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.....I want to know what all the fuss is about...and I like to read the book before I watch the movie, as a general rule.
6. Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama...my mom is reading this now but when she's done, I will borrow it and we'll chat it up real good
7. The Old Farmer's Almanac 2009....I am all about the practicality and usefulness of this here book
8. The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan....another favorite author of mine...and something to satisfy my western landscape historical curiosities
9. The Loop by Nicholas Evans....is a good sweeping book to transport you in a weekend without draining your brain power....I want to read it again as the details are now fuzzy....
10. March by Geraldine Brook...is a pulitzer prize winning twist that may surprise me....I'm going to give it a try....
11. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin... is a book that my husband will probably steal from me and read it before I do.
12. Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.....I really hope I am not disappointed by this book.....I want it to be really genuine and not conservative cheesy crap.
13. I Think I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris...is a book that will hopefully make me laugh and want to throw a party at the same time!