Friday, January 1, 2010

A Year of Reading: 2009

1. Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan
2. Niagara Falls All Over Again by Elizabeth McCracken
3. Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie
4. Love in the Asylum by Lisa Carey
5. An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
6. The Condition by Jennifer Haigh
7. Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
8. Courtney Crumrin & the Night Things by Kelly Crumrin (graphic novel)
9. The Good Mother by Sue Miller*
10. Food Matters by Mark Bittman
11. Letter From Point Clear by Dennis McFarland
12. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
13. Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
14. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin
15. The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
16. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn
17. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
18. Shopgirl by Steve Martin
19. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
20. Here's Your Hat, What's Your Hurry by Elizabeth McCracken
21. What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
22. Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
23. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
24. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
25. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
26. A Proper Education for Girls by Elaine diRollo
27. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
28. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
29. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer*
30. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
31. Rumors by Anna Godbersen
32. The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman
33. Envy by Anna Godbersen
34. Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
35. I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
36. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer*
37. Turn of the Screw by Henry James*
38. Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
39. What Happened to Anna K. by Irina Reyn
40. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
41. Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
42. Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
43. Leadership Simple by Steve and Jill Morris
44. A Tale of Two Cities by Charlies Dickens
45. Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin
46. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
47. Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz
48. The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
49. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
50. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
51. The Hate List by Jennifer Brown
52. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (re-read)
53. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
54. Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
55. Map by Audrey Beth Stein
56. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
57. Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
58. Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
59. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
60. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
61. A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck (audio)
62. Splendor by Anna Godbersen
63. Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry (audio)
64. Shelf Discovery by Lizzie Skurnick
65. Fat Cat by Robin Brande
66. Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
67. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

A few less books than last year, which may seem surprising since I was unemployed for close to half the year, but I didn't spend a whole lot of time sitting and reading during my long vacation. There are also some time-consuming reads on this list - books by Charles Dickens, Salman Rushdie, and Henry James take a while to slog through, as well as Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban (which is totally worth reading, but is difficult.) I started reading Oliver Twist on December 17th but still have a way to go, so it will be on the 2010 list. Also of course, The English Patient is still languishing on my shelf waiting to be finished. I also usually read more graphic novels, but there only seems to be one on this list - I'll have to catch up on those this year! (I did read some great comics by Cathy Leamy - definitely check out her stuff.)

Should I include children's books? I've been reading more of them. I don't think I'd count Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse even though I think it may be the cutest book in the world, or The Polar Express which I just read for the very first time (!), or Owl At Home, which was one of my favorites as a kid and which I had forgotten about until I rediscovered it at the library recently. But I read a great non-fiction children's biography called Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations by Diane Stanley. I've decided that non-fiction children's books are wonderful and a great way for those of us with short attention spans for non-fiction to learn about something without having to force our way through an adult-length tome. I just can't decide if a book I can read in 20 minutes should be included here.

All in all, I'm very happy with this list - I read some great books this year! I considering putting * next to the ones that I especially enjoyed but there would be so many it's practically meaningless, so instead I've put them on the very few books that I didn't like. Most of the books on this list I'd recommend quite highly!

1 comment:

Emily said...

This is an awesomely impressive list - well done!! I just added Inside Mouse, Outside Mouse to Alastair's wishlist. It looks so cute!
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