So many books, so little time: my eternal lament. Larry, at OF Blog of the Fallen, has written a bit about the books published in 2008 that he just didn't get to. This is someone who read more than a book a day all year long, so imagine how I, one who has read fewer than 80 books this year, must feel. Not to mention that Larry limits his "wish I'd read" list mostly to speculative fiction, while I being the omnivorous reader that I am, have far more to be regretful about.

Just for giggles, here are a few of the books I think might well have made my list of favorite books of 2008, if only I'd had the time to read them:

Neal Stephenson's Anathem

Matthew Stover's Caine Black Knife

K.J. Parker's The Company

Roberto Bolano's 2666

Michael Gruber's The Forgery of Venus

Benjamin Rosenbaum's The Ant King: and Other Stories

Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge

Ethan Canin's America America

Tana French's The Likeness

Caitlin Kiernan's Tales of Pain and Wonder

Jo Graham's Black Ships

Richard Parks's The Long Look

All that is without leaving my study and its teetering piles of "read next" books -- that is, it doesn't count the books that went straight onto the shelves in proper Library of Congress order for one reason or another. It doesn't even include the books that my husband grabbed first and consigned to the "read next" piles in his study, right next door.

There are times -- fleeting, few, but still -- when I wish everyone would stop writing, just for a short time, until I catch up. But given how far behind I am, "catching up" is an impossibility. I should just have the words "I have it, but I haven't read it yet" set to music as my theme song, and be content in an era of such plenty.

As you may recall my idiosyncratic list of the Best of 2008 does not appear until early 2009, just in case I finish the best book of my reading year on December 31 at 11:59 p.m. It includes whatever I've read in 2008 that I considered "best," not just those books published and read in 2008. I hope to bring you a few surprises. Happy New Year!