The “Books” section of the Columbus Underground Messageboard is our unofficial online book club, and 2008 saw a surge of new titles being discussed there. The one that stood above the rest in our online reader survey and won the title of “Best Book of 2008” was Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman.
Friedman’s topics of environmental crisis, American consumption, and globalization resonated with the readers of Columbus Underground in many different ways and sparked a thoughtful discussion around the book that has been ongoing here for years in one form or another. If you’ve already read the book, feel free to jump into the ongoing discussion here. If not, you can pick up a copy at any of the great bookstores or libraries in Columbus.
Second Place: When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Third Place: Tribes by Seth Godin
#4 Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
#5 Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
#6 The Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
#7 The Road by Cormac Mccarthy
#8 The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
#9 The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow
#10 Anathem by Neal Stephenson