Best Book of 2004 (for me)

I joined a book club earlier this year, but it's only met twice. And both times, I was one of two who actually read the book. It was at the book club, where a friend Annette who had actually invited me to join the club, and recommended this book The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. This book is the book for me that I mentally chewed on well after I had finished it. I didn't think I'd be too interested in a book about Kabul, considering our current situation in Afghanistan, but this writer wrote so well that I was immersed in the scenery, the time, the place, and the situations that the main character was in. I am still reviewing and re-reviewing parts of this book that affected me. I even gave it to a co-worker (the same co-worker who gave pity on me for reading a crappy fluff book and donated The Curious Incident, et al)

But what I'm trying to get to is the fact that I am constantly coming upon books that I want to read, would like to read, and actually hope to read. And James gave me a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble. So to make sure I didn't step into BN and suffer sensory overload at ALL THE BOOKS AVAILABLE TO ME, I created a wishlist on Amazon.com. Which, of course, I have a link to on the sidebar. (of course I do)