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2000s

Apple Computer launched iTunes in 2001, the Media Hardware Store closed in 2003, Trader Joe’s opened in the Media Armory in 2004, and Dining Under the Stars started and the Phillies won the World Series in 2008.

Books that spent time atop The New York Times Best Sellers list

YearFictionNonfiction
2000The Brethren by John GrishamTuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
2001On The Street Where You Live by Mary Higgins ClarkJohn Adams by David McCullough
2002The Summons by John GrishamSlander by Ann Coulter
2003The Da Vinci Code by Dan BrownLiving History by Hilary Rodham Clinton
2004The Da Vinci Code by Dan BrownAmerica: The Book by Jon Stewart and The Daily Show writers
2005The Broker by John Grisham1776 by David McCullough
2006Judge and Jury by James Patterson and Andrew GrossMarley and Me by John Grogan
2007A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled HosseiniThe Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
2008The Appeal by John GrishamWhen You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
2009The Lost Symbol by Dan BrownOutliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Interesting items (items of local interest)

2000

  • The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Gao Xingjian
  • Peanuts was printed for the final time following Charles Schulz’s death
  • The U.S. led the medal tally at the Sidney Summer Olympics
  • Cats closed on Broadway on September 10, after almost 18 years
  • A dozen eggs cost $0.91, milk was $2.84/gallon

2001

  • The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to British writer, V. S. Naipaul
  • 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked 4 planes on September 11th, 2,977 people were killed
  • Wikipedia was launched on January 15
  • Wizards’ forward Michael Jordan became the 4th NBA player to score 30,000 career points
  • Enron’s accounting fraud led to the company filing for bankruptcy

2002

  • The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Hungarian writer Imre Kertész
  • The Boston Globe published results of an investigation leading to the criminal prosecutions of five Roman Catholic priests
  • Norway won the most gold medals in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City
  • Halle Berry won Best Actress Oscar for Monster’s Ball
  • Alicia Keys won 5 Grammys at the 44th Grammy Awards and Alan Jackson led the Country Music Awards with 5 awards

2003

  • The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to John Maxwell Coetzee
  • The Iraq War began March 20th and lasted until 2011
  • Saddam Hussein was captured by the U.S. Army in December
  • Dan Brown’s blockbuster The DaVinci Code was published
  • Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed on February 1, killing all seven on board

2004

  • The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Austrian writer/playwright Elfriede Jelinek
  • The Sopranos won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series
  • Peyton Manning threw his 49th touchdown pass of the season breaking Dan Marino’s single season touchdown record
  • Julia Child died, and her kitchen was donated to the Smithsonian National Museum
  • A Microsoft operating system virus disabled 13,000 U.S. Bank of America ATMs

2005

  • The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to English writer Harold Pinter
  • The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was awarded to Doubt by John Patrick Shanley
  • Tiger Woods won his 4th Masters Tournament
  • In August, Hurricane Katrina caused 1,392 fatalities and $125 billion in damages in New Orleans
  • A gallon of milk cost $3.19

2006

  • The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk
  • Lemony Snicket published The End, the 13th and final novel in A Series of Unfortunate Events
  • Nancy Pelosi became the first woman Speaker of the House
  • Barry Bonds hit his 715th career home run
  • Kelly Clarkson won Grammys for Best Pop Album and Best Female Pop Performance

2007

  • The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Doris Lessing, who at 88 became the oldest awardee
  • J. K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold over 11 million copies in 24 hours
  • The first in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney was released on April 1st
  • The Boston Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies in the World Series
  • Just before the housing bubble collapsed, homes averaged $305,800, up nearly 14%

2008

  • The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to French author Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio
  • The Oscar for Best Film went to No Country for Old Men
  • The Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series went to Mad Men
  • The Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-1, to win the World Series
  • The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression occurred – a worldwide economic downturn starting in 2007 and lasted until mid-2009

2009

  • The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to German novelist Herta Müller
  • The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction was awarded to Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
  • Barack Obama became the first black U.S. President
  • Taylor Swift became the youngest person to win the Country Music Awards’ Entertainer of the Year award at age 19
  • The switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of TV service began June 12th