Books I Read in 2008

As the subject suggests, here are the books I read in 2008. I think I liked most of them, especially Spitz's Beatles book. I like keeping track of the books I read 'cause I think I might forget some of them, really. Also, I like looking back and reminding myself of the friends and family that I borrowed books from over the course of the year (Michael, Scott, Merideth, Mom and Dad) -- as well that old book-lending friend the D.C. Library system. It's also interesting to me to remember what I was doing when I was reading each book, which I'm fairly well able to place. Some places were good, others bad. I guess it's just a different way to reflect on the year. Anyway, here's the list:

“Nickel And Dimed” - Barbara Ehrenreich
“Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life” - Steve Martin
“Breaking Back” - James Blake
“Murder At The Watergate” - Margaret Truman
“Jim Brown: The Fierce Life Of An American Hero” - Mike Freeman
“Echo Park” - Michael Connelly
“The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy” - Jonn Christian and William Turner
“The Beatles” - Bob Spitz
“It’s Not Easy Bein’ Me” - Rodney Dangerfield
“Nine Innings” - Daniel Okrent
“The No Asshole Rule” - Robert Sutton
“Crime Beat” - Michael Connelly
“Murder At The Pentagon” - Margaret Truman
“Murder On The Potomac” - Margaret Truman
“Mr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of The Byrds’ Gene Clark” - John Einarson
“Since Then” - David Crosby and Carl Gottlie
“The Notorious Byrd Brothers” - Ric Menck
“Nightline: History in the Making and the Making of Television” - Ted Koppel
“The White Book” - Ken Mansfield
“Thunderstruck” - Erik Larson
“Rumsfeld” - Andrew Cockburn
“The One Percent Doctrine” - Ron Suskind
“Brave New World” - Aldous Huxley
“4 Way Street: The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Reader” - Dave Zimmer
“Roy Orbison: Invention Of An Alternative Rock Masculinity” - Peter Lehman
“Gotcha Capitalism” - Bob Sullivan
“Blackwater” - Jeremy Scahill
“The Turnaround” - George Pelecanos
“The Tommy Keene Handbook” - Geoff Cabin
“Simple Prosperity” - David Wann
“In Utero (33 1/3) - Gillian G. Gaar
“The Professor And The Madman” - Simon Winchester
“Buzzcocks: The Complete History” - Tony McGartland
“Catch A Wave” - Peter Ames Carlin
“Queens Noir” - edited by Robert Knightly
“Black Maps” - Peter Spiegelman
“Las Vegas Noir” - edited by Jaret Keene
“Act Of Creation” - Stephen Schlesinger
“America’s Splendid Little Wars” - Peter Huchthausen
“The Stepford Wives” - Ira Levin
“Decade Of Nightmares” - Philip Jenkins

Favorite songs of 2008

Jared at 5acts.com asked me to submit a list of my favorite songs from 2008. I gave him 15 and here they are, with a few others that I forgot to add:

Elvis Costello - American Gangster Time
Kelley Stoltz - When You Forget
Sloan - Cheap Champagne
Mountain High - St. John Bouvier
John Paul Keith And the One Four Fives - Lookin' For A Thrill
French Kicks - Abandon
El Perro Del Mar - Somebody's Baby
Julie Ocean - At The Appointed Hour
School Of Language - Rockist Pt. 1
The Week That Was - Scratch The Surface
Headlights - Market Girl
The Points - No Girl
Cale Parks - Some Sew, Some Find
Stereolab - Self Portrait With Electric Brain
Lake - The Places We'll Go
Edie Sedgwick - Sissy Spacek
Friendly Foes - Wild (Once In A While)
Edward Rogers - You Haven't Been Where I've Been
Gentleman Jesse - If I Can See You (You're Too Close To Me)

Nobody Bothers Me

D.C. people: Anyone remember this? I still quote this commercial (circa '82?). And what a tune! Lofgren, who knew?