As I mentioned before, 2005 wasn't the best year for books, for me. Determined to do better this year, I posted on AskMe to ask for recommendations of people's favorite books. I got a lot of answers and got started reading them one by one. This year, I hope to post about each of the books as I read them. So to catch up, I'll write about the ten I've read so far in the next few days.

First up, is Kissing in Manhattan by David Schickler. I have never been a big fan of short story collections so I am not even sure why I picked this out to be my first book of the year. Maybe it's because the MeFi reader said it was the book that got her out of her 2005 book-slump. Whatever prompted me, I am really glad I decided to read it. Kissing in Manhattan is fantastic. It's not the kind of book I would have picked up in a million years. Each of the short stories is about a different tenant who lives in a fictional building in Manhattan. The stories, while different, sort of weave through each other in that the same characters pop up in different stories and you sort of find out some more about them through another tenant's story. It's very well-written, sort of weird stories but good imagery, great character development and very visual. I thought about the characters and the stories well after I'd finished the book, which, for me, is a sign of a great read. What a wonderful way to start the year.