No 52 in '05... but maybe 46 in'06?

So I'm re-starting the list, and I know I'm 3-odd weeks behind the rest of the known universe in refurbishing to welcome 2006, but that is about par for the course around here. I managed to make it to 45 books in '05, more counting the trashy paperbacks that lulled me to sleep on some nights, and even more counting the horrifyingly dry books for clerkships that flung me into sleep with a vengeance :). After all that, a few highlights:
Favorite read of the year: So hard to call it; I read some truly great books this year. I would probably end up calling it as a tie between 7. The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Nighttime, 23. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and 44. Garlic and Sapphires . One a memoir with food writing that can make you drool on your dress pants on the bus, the other two told by naif narrators that nonetheless expose holes in the day-today fabric of life in a beautiful and heart-rending way. Gosh.
Worst read:22. The Devil Wears Prada without a doubt one of the biggest waste of time reads of the year. Probably the only one on the list that made me think, "Hmm...I could have studied instead of reading that..."
Favorite MEDICAL books(or book bundle): Unable to pick just one again - so I went with a quintet that I pre-read before passing them off to my family. As the black science-sheep of my art-crazy family, Numbers 16. What I Learned in Medical School, 15. On Call: A Doctor's Days & Nights in Residency, 36. Letters to a Young Doctor, 35. Becoming a Doctor : A Journey of Initiation in Medical School and 39. Singular Intimacies formed a pretty great quintet to hand off (along with the inimitable The House of God) to them to explain what I was doing in the echoing hall of the hospital all day & all night.
Overhyped & Underwhelming: 26. Haunted despite being by one of my favorite authors, Chuck really seemed to be floundering in this gross-out poorly edited mess of a book. It just didn't do it for me and I'm afraid the bloom may be off the rose for my reading of his next work. I have something of a different feeling about 30. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince , which, while I wasn't crazy about it, especially given all the hype, I am looking forward to the 6th book.

So with 45 down this past year, I'm hoping for 46 in '06... and a career decision, yikes! Plus maybe some more reflection on life on the wards. Time will have to tell for that latter one, though.
And now, the whole list, for posterity.
45. Son of a Witch 44. Garlic and Sapphires 43. Messenger Bird 42. A Primate's Memoir 41. Anansi Boys 40. Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science 39. Singular Intimacies 38. The Dog of the Marriage 37. Proof 36. Letters to a Young Doctor 35. Becoming a Doctor : A Journey of Initiation in Medical School 34. The Constant Gardner 33. Train Go Sorry 32. W;t 31. We Need to Talk About Kevin 30. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince 29. Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix 28. Highway 61 Resurfaced 27. Mysterious Skin 26. Haunted 25. The Healing Art: A Doctor's Black Bag of Poetry 24. Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures 23. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close 22. The Devil Wears Prada 21. Even Cowgirls Get The Blues 20. Autobiography of A Face 19. Truth & Beauty 18. Buying Dad 17. Neverwhere 16. What I Learned in Medical School 15. On Call: A Doctor's Days & Nights in Residency 14. The Best American Science and Nature Writing, 2004 13. Bee Season 12. Good Omens 11. Oryx & Crake 10. The Bonesetter's Daughter 9. Long for This World 8. The Pursuit of Alice Thrift 7. The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Nighttime 6. 2004's Best Science Writing 5. Out 4. Mendel's Dwarf 3. Heart Seizure 2. Ella Minnow Pea 1. The Girl in the Flammable Skirt