Top 10 Books of 2009

Hi,

As is my annual tradition, I'm posting a list of the top 10 books I read this year. As always, only #1 is ranked, and the rest are noted chronolgically in the order they were read. For the first time ever, I had a tie for the #1 spot, so my list is actually 11 books long. It was an amazing year of reading; this was the best I could do. I've actually avoided any book that might be potentially wonderful for the past month to make sure I wouldn't have to strike any of the following off the list. They are all highly recommended. Oh, and reviews are linked to each title.

1. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

1. Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving

Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman

Fragment by Warren Fahy

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Steig Larsson

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon

Bite Me: A Love Story by Christopher Moore

Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron by Jasper Fforde


A few more year-end facts...

* I read 72 books this year, a significant improvement over the past several years, and I reviewed almost all of them.

* Two of the books were non-fiction.

* Eleven of the books were debut novels.

* I purchased 9 of those 72 books. None of the top 11 were paid for.

* Three of the books were audio books

* Only 6 of the books were published prior to 2009.

* Six of the books are young adult novels.

* I surpassed the top 1,000 and then the top 500 ranked reviewers on Amazon.com this year. On December 31, 2009, I was ranked as #378 out of 6,000,000+.

Okay, what's on your list?
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I wonder what Susan's reading:

http://inoneeyeouttheother.blogspot.com/

In no order . . .

The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
Fool
The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers
Drood by Dan Simmons
David Copperfield
Fragment by Warren Fahy
The Way Home by George Pelacanos
The City and the City by China Mieville
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
The Magicians by Lev Grossman

My year-end facts . . .

I read 74 books in 2009.
I own all of them in hard cover and 40 of them are signed by the author.
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Those who believe in telekinetics, raise my hand
-Kurt Vonnegut

http://manly-but-bookish.blogspot.com/

Hmmm, usually more people participate in this.

Well, thanks for sharing your excellent list, Sean. Yay, we overlap by two!
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I wonder what Susan's reading:

http://inoneeyeouttheother.blogspot.com/

I read way, way too few books this year. So I'm going to re-do my 2008 process, which was to read and review a book a week.

Maybe I should start posting to Sue's blog.

sgt_steve wrote:

Maybe I should start posting to Sue's blog.

Please do! Nothing would make me happier!
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I wonder what Susan's reading:

http://inoneeyeouttheother.blogspot.com/

No order whatsoever.

"Falling Sideways" by Tom Holt

"The Grapes of Wrath" by Steinbeck

"Fool" - Author Guy

"The Road" - McCarthy

"The Housekeeper and the Professor" by Yoko Ogawa

"Nine Kinds of Naked" by Tony Vigorito

"Ender's Game" by Card

"The Bonfire of The Vanities" by Tom Wolfe

"The Marriage of True Minds" by Stephen Evans

"As I Lay Dying" Faulkner


Bonus:
"Pillowman" by Martin McDonagh (Play)
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Homeless people need more seasoning, use bath salts.

I've read so few books in the past year or so, that I should be able to remember more of them.
Fool - The AG
Possum Surprize - Robert Tacoma
Nature Girl - Carl Hiaason

Ummmm....


Ummm...

I guess I have room for:

Saffire_21 - Alexandra Lander
Kite Runner -- Kahled Hosseini
The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon

OH, Zen! Did you send this book to me last year or the year before?
Mr Undesirable - Scott Carpenter

I thought that i had read more than seven books all year, but I can't remember any others.
I guess if I can't remember if I read them this past year, or the year before, then they must not be good enough to go on the list...
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Avoid being normal -- John Lennon

I see that your lists are based on books read last year but not necessarily released then-
lemme think about it cuz I read a bunch, new & otherwise...

Wonko wrote:

OH, Zen! Did you send this book to me last year or the year before? Mr Undesirable - Scott Carpenter

I sent it with FOOL, you weren't much in the mood for reading before that-
all my friends that work at the tattoo shop loved it...

THis year, I took the challenge and successfully read 193 books. Phew! I've been reading, typically, 3 books at one time - one as my "bathroom" book, one as my gym book, and one as my nighttime book. It's hard to keep up with...and several authors have disappointed me (thank you, Mr. Keene).
I guess here's the ones that have stayed with me the most this year (in no particular order):
Bonk by Mary Roach (I wasn't a fan of Spook, but loved Stiff. THis one's great);
Isis by Douglas Clegg
Fool by Christopher Moore
Drood by Dan Simmons
Fistful of Feet by Jordan Krall (although, it's a little strange)
Walt Disney by Neil Gabler (I realize that this did come out in 2009)
Under the Dome by Stephen King (I didn't like it at first, but it's certainly grown on me now)
Nuclear Jellyfish by Tim Dorsey
Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
Cloris: my Autobiography by CLoris Leachman
Raising Demons for Fun and Profit by Mark McLaughlin
(with some reservation) "Reposession Mambo" by Eric Garcia
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"I hold all the keys to the universe...but damn if I can remember where I left them."

These are my favorite books that I READ in 2009, not necessary those that were published in 2009. In no particular order.

Fool - Christopher Moore
Guilty - Ann Coulter
The Long Halloween - Jeph Loeb
Dark Victory - Jeph Loeb
The Ultimates Omnibus - Mark Millar
Astonishing X-Men - Joss Whedon
Kingdom Come - Mark Waid
Everything's Eventual - Stephen King
Beat the Reaper - Josh Bazell
Machine Man - Max Barry

I was on a serious comic book kick last year, I can't explain it.
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Scruffy|SRD Books

sugarraydodge wrote:

I was on a serious comic book kick last year, I can't explain it.

As long as you enjoyed it, no need to explain-
of course, that Coulter book requires some serious 'splainin'!


Hey, are you going to the signing in DC this year?
If so, you can chat with my husband about comics all you want...

zendao42 wrote:

sugarraydodge wrote: I was on a serious comic book kick last year, I can't explain it. As long as you enjoyed it, no need to explain- of course, that Coulter book requires some serious 'splainin'! Hey, are you going to the signing in DC this year? If so, you can chat with my husband about comics all you want...

Yeah, I'll be there. I scored myself a nice job with a Defense Contractor, so I'll be in the area for a while longer. As for Coulter ...c'mon, do you know me at all?
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Scruffy|SRD Books