Here are my picks. Some might be pre-2008, but I didn’t get to them until this year.
Best films: Juno, There Will Be Blood, and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Best fiction: Yiddish Policeman’s Union and Say You’re One of Them
Best memoirs: Every Day is for the Thief and The House at Sugar Beach
Best non-fiction: Beyond Plunder, The Wonga Coup, and How to Read the Bible
Best podcasts: New Yorker fiction, plus This American Life had a superb year
Best plays: Passing Strange and Passion Play
Best TV: I discovered The Wire and 30 Rock this year
Best albums: Boxer (The National) and Gossip in the Grain (Ray Lamontagne)
Have you seen Slumdog Millionaire yet? That should definitely be included among the best films.
And definitely to be included among the best books: “The White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga
The National are a fantastic band. Good choice.
I had such an odd experience with The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, I tried it twice and couldn’t get into it at all. Odd really, as I have read and loved all of Chabon’s other stuff.