Ninety-eight, ninety, nine, one hundred. Ready or not, here I come. One hundred and one. Okay, I'll stop, that's enough.

Whew. I did it, I made my goal for the year -- over one hundred books read. I don't think I'll be doing this again next year -- with school, I just don't have enough time to read and write voraciously at the same time. Of course I'll still read, but not at this aggressive pace.

Of the books I read this year, two really stand out as amazing works I'd highly recommend: David Mitchell's Black Swan Green and Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. While a lot of the books on the list below are excellent (several are major prize winners), these two pushed at the boundaries of my expectations and I came away very pleasantly surprised. To the other authors I say thank you -- I've learned a lot from you and had some very entertaining experiences along the way.

1. Acheson, Alison. The Half-Pipe Kidd.
2. Acheson, Alison. Learning to Live Indoors.
3. Acheson, Alison. Mud Girl.
4. Acheson, Alison. Thunder Ice.
5. Aiken, Joan. The Moon's Revenge.
6. Ali, Monica. Brick Lane.
7. Almond, David. Skellig.
8. Anderson, Laurie Halse. Catalyst.
9. Anderson, Laurie Halse. Prom.
10. Berry, Michelle, Timothy Taylor, and Michael Winter (jury). The Journey Prize Stories 15.
11. Bert, Norman A. One-Act Plays for Acting Students.
12. Bidini, Dave. The Five Hole Stories.
13. Blume, Judy. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
14. Bourgeois, Paulette. Franklin and the Thunderstorm.
15. Bowering, George. Standing on Richards.
16. Browne, Renni and Dave King. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.
17. Buffie, Margaret. Angels Turn Their Backs.
18. Buffie, Margaret. My Mother's Ghost.
19. Buffie, Margaret. Who is Frances Rain?
20. Bunting, Eve. Dandelions.
21. Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With a Thousand Faces.
22. Card, Orson Scott. Ender's Game.
23. Carrier, Roch. The Hockey Sweater.
24. Chabon, Michael. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.
25. Chayefsky, Paddy. Marty.
26. Cornwell, Bernard. The Last Kingdom.
27. Cornwell, Bernard. The Lords of the North.
28. Cornwell, Bernard. The Pale Horseman.
29. Doctorow, Cory. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.
30. Doctorow, Cory. Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town.
31. Fitzhugh, Louise. Harriet the Spy.
32. Friel, Brian. Faith Healer.
33. Galloway, Steven, Zsuzsi Gartner, and Annabel Lyon (jury). The Journey Prize Stories 18.
34. Gibson, William. Pattern Recognition.
35. Gilkerson, William. Pirate's Passage.
36. Glover, Douglas. The Life and Times of Captain N.
37. Glubke, Mark (editor). The Best American Short Plays 2000 - 2001.
38. Gugeler, Joy (editor). Write Turns: New Directions in Canadian Fiction.
39. Harper, Jennica. The Octopus and Other Poems.
40. Henkes, Kevin. Olive's Ocean.
41. Hollinghurst, Alan. The Line of Beauty.
42. Juby, Susan. Alice, I Think.
43. Juby, Susan. Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last.
44. Juby, Susan. Miss Smithers.
45. Khalsa, Dayal Kaur. My Family Vacation.
46. Korman, Gordon. Everest Book One: The Contest.
47. Korman, Gordon. Everest Book Three: The Summit.
48. Korman, Gordon. Everest Book Two: The Climb.
49. Kovalski, Maryann. Frank and Zelda.
50. Lansens, Lori. Rush Home Road.
51. Lansens, Lori. The Girls.
52. Larson, Bob. In the Name of Satan: How the Forces of Evil Work and What You Can Do to Defeat Them.
53. Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad Are Friends.
54. Lobel, Arnold. Frog and Toad Together.
55. Lyon, Annabel. Oxygen.
56. MacLeod, Alistair. Island.
57. MacPherson, Andrea. Beyond the Blue.
58. Madden, David. Revising Fiction: A Handbook for Writers.
59. Maillard, Keith. Gloria.
60. Maillard, Keith. Looking Good.
61. Maillard, Keith. Lyndon Johnson and the Majorettes.
62. Maillard, Keith. Morgantown.
63. Maillard, Keith. Running.
64. Marshall, Robert. A Separate Reality.
65. McEwan, Ian. Atonement.
66. Miller, Arthur. A Memory of Two Mondays.
67. Minarik, Else Holmelund. Father Bear Comes Home.
68. Minarik, Else Holmelund. Little Bear.
69. Mitchell, David. Black Swan Green.
70. Patchett, Ann. The Patron Saint of Liars.
71. Pessl, Marisha. Special Topics in Calamity Physics.
72. Robinson, Eden. Monkey Beach.
73. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
74. Rylant, Cynthia. Dog Heaven.
75. Rylant, Cynthia. Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble.
76. Rylant, Cynthia. Henry and Mudge: The First Book of Their Adventures.
77. Rylant, Cynthia. Mr. Putter and Tabby Bake the Cake.
78. Rylant, Cynthia. Mr. Putter and Tabby Pick the Pears.
79. Rylant, Cynthia. Mr. Putter and Tabby Row the Boat.
80. Rylant, Cynthia. Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book.
81. Rylant, Cynthia. Poppleton.
82. Rylant, Cynthia. Poppleton in Spring.
83. Sartre, Jean-Paul. No Exit.
84. Schroeder, Adam Lewis. Empress of Asia.
85. Schroeder, Adam Lewis. Kingdom of Monkeys.
86. Schwarzkopf, Tom. The Ghost at Mahone Bay.
87. Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are.
88. Shakespeare, William. King Lear.
89. Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman. Nate the Great.
90. Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman. Nate the Great Goes Undercover.
91. Siemiatycki, Jack and Avi Slodovnick. The Hockey Card.
92. Spalding, Andrea. The Keeper and the Crows.
93. Stein, Sol. Stein on Writing.
94. Stern, Howard and Glenn Young (editors). The Best American Short Plays 1993 - 1994.
95. Taylor, Timothy. Story House.
96. Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide.
97. Underwood, Jan. Day Shift Werewolf.
98. Wade, Bryan (editor). Brave New Play Rites.
99. Wiesner, David. The Three Pigs.
100. Winters, Kari-Lynn and Ben Hodson. Jeffrey and Sloth.
101. With, Cathleen. Skids.