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2009 in books
I read 241 books this year, a sharp decrease from last year. One hundred ninety of them were text novels; three were graphic novels; 43 were standard nonfiction; two were short-story collections; two were essay collections; and one was graphic nonfiction. Thirteen were audiobooks; two were e-books from Project Gutenberg; one billed itself as the first diginovel; the rest were in print.
80 were published, or scheduled to be, in 2009 or 2010; 115 were from the past decade; thirteen from the nineties; seven from the eighties; five from the seventies; six from the sixties; six from the fifties; five from the first half of the twentieth century; and four from the nineteenth century.
I reread 20 books, so 221 were new to me. Authors by whom I read multiple books include Louisa May Alcott, M.T. Anderson, Andrew Clements, Caroline B. Cooney (the Janie series), E.R. Frank, Malcolm Gladwell (thanks, Matt), K.L. Going, Kathy Harrison, Josh Kilmer-Purcell (thanks, Mike), Stephen King, Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Wally Lamb, Jacqueline Mitchard, Audrey Niffenegger, Alyson Nöel, Stewart O'Nan (my favorite author discovery of the year), Frank Anthony Polito, Adam Rapp, Ann Rule, and Robin Stevenson.
I loveloveloved a lot of books this year - 43. Narrowing it down to a top ten is hard, but here's what I came up with.
American Wife, Curtis Sittenfeld, 2008. The year's best novel is supposed to be based on Laura Bush's life, in which case I want to be friends with Laura.
Zeitoun, Dave Eggers, 2009. Tied for best of the year with American Wife. The year's best nonfiction by a landslide. Eggers follows a businessman who chose to stay in New Orleans when his family evacuated pre-Katrina. What happened to him is incredible but true. Tightly written and intensely plotted like fiction. I'm going to see Eggers interview Zeitoun on City Arts and Lectures in the spring.
Last Night I Sang to the Monster, Benjamin Alire Saenze, 2009. The year's best YA novel. I reviewed it on QueerYA.
The Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon, 2003. Thanks to Becky for recommending this novel narrated by an autistic man who works for a pharmaceutical company and leads his peers to protest against an experimental cure for autism.
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, Peter Cameron, 2007. Becky again, and also again it's the incredibly strong, true, offbeat narrative voice that won me over. Not as much plot going on as in Speed of Dark, but I want to be James's best friend.
Marcelo in the Real World, Francisco X. Stork, 2009. Again with the quirky narrator, this time an autistic high-school student who agrees to work for his dad's law firm over the summer.
Life After Genius, M. Ann Jacoby, 2008. Okay, this narrator is not autistic but he is a genius and somewhat socially awkward, and he has collegiate adventures and yay.
The Likeness, Tana French, 2008. As in Daphne du Maurier's The Scapegoat, you have to suspend your disbelief for a little at the beginning, but if you can manage it, the rest of the book is an amazing answer to "What if two unrelated people looked so alike that even their family and friends get them confused?"
The Little Stranger, Sarah Waters, 2009. This classic ghost story made me wish for a thunderstorm outside and a quilt to wrap myself in while warming my feet against the backs of my calves.
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins, 2009. I didn't think Collins could think of a way to put Katniss back in the games, but she did and omg there's a reason why this series is so renowned.
80 were published, or scheduled to be, in 2009 or 2010; 115 were from the past decade; thirteen from the nineties; seven from the eighties; five from the seventies; six from the sixties; six from the fifties; five from the first half of the twentieth century; and four from the nineteenth century.
I reread 20 books, so 221 were new to me. Authors by whom I read multiple books include Louisa May Alcott, M.T. Anderson, Andrew Clements, Caroline B. Cooney (the Janie series), E.R. Frank, Malcolm Gladwell (thanks, Matt), K.L. Going, Kathy Harrison, Josh Kilmer-Purcell (thanks, Mike), Stephen King, Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Wally Lamb, Jacqueline Mitchard, Audrey Niffenegger, Alyson Nöel, Stewart O'Nan (my favorite author discovery of the year), Frank Anthony Polito, Adam Rapp, Ann Rule, and Robin Stevenson.
I loveloveloved a lot of books this year - 43. Narrowing it down to a top ten is hard, but here's what I came up with.
American Wife, Curtis Sittenfeld, 2008. The year's best novel is supposed to be based on Laura Bush's life, in which case I want to be friends with Laura.
Zeitoun, Dave Eggers, 2009. Tied for best of the year with American Wife. The year's best nonfiction by a landslide. Eggers follows a businessman who chose to stay in New Orleans when his family evacuated pre-Katrina. What happened to him is incredible but true. Tightly written and intensely plotted like fiction. I'm going to see Eggers interview Zeitoun on City Arts and Lectures in the spring.
Last Night I Sang to the Monster, Benjamin Alire Saenze, 2009. The year's best YA novel. I reviewed it on QueerYA.
The Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon, 2003. Thanks to Becky for recommending this novel narrated by an autistic man who works for a pharmaceutical company and leads his peers to protest against an experimental cure for autism.
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You, Peter Cameron, 2007. Becky again, and also again it's the incredibly strong, true, offbeat narrative voice that won me over. Not as much plot going on as in Speed of Dark, but I want to be James's best friend.
Marcelo in the Real World, Francisco X. Stork, 2009. Again with the quirky narrator, this time an autistic high-school student who agrees to work for his dad's law firm over the summer.
Life After Genius, M. Ann Jacoby, 2008. Okay, this narrator is not autistic but he is a genius and somewhat socially awkward, and he has collegiate adventures and yay.
The Likeness, Tana French, 2008. As in Daphne du Maurier's The Scapegoat, you have to suspend your disbelief for a little at the beginning, but if you can manage it, the rest of the book is an amazing answer to "What if two unrelated people looked so alike that even their family and friends get them confused?"
The Little Stranger, Sarah Waters, 2009. This classic ghost story made me wish for a thunderstorm outside and a quilt to wrap myself in while warming my feet against the backs of my calves.
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins, 2009. I didn't think Collins could think of a way to put Katniss back in the games, but she did and omg there's a reason why this series is so renowned.
