Books of 2009

Looking back at my list of books for the year is kind of like reading an abbreviated journal of my life. Last year you could tell when I was depressed and hiding from the world (I reread all of my "forbidden books," the ones I read when I want to escape from real life. But you've never seen them because I am too ashamed to display on the shelves. Or I have been. I think I've changed my mind about them; if my dad didn't have them in NY, I would put them out right now).

This year you can see the different genres I got stuck in (I do heart a good Muslim woman's memoir), the children's books I indulged in (oh, Mr. Popper!), and Harry Potter...yet again (this year my excuse was needing a refresher of #6 since I was attempting to read it in Italian. But once I got started I couldn't stop). I clearly read far too much fiction this year; I remember when I used to read educational books...once upon a time. And then there's the odd book club book that I would never ever choose for myself. But I was surprised to find that I actually liked most of them.

So here they are (at least the ones I can remember), in mostly chronological order, 12,739 pages of 35 books. Red = my very very favorite ones (and I really can't pick just 1. And obviously Harry Potter would be included). Blue = the worst.

1. The Alliance; Gerald Lund
2. The Good Earth; Pearl S. Buck
3. The Kid who Climbed Everest; Bear Grylls
4. Sold; Patricia McCormick
5. Howl's Moving Castle; Diana Wynne Jones
6. The Glass Castle; Jeanette Walls
7. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince; J. K. Rowling
8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; J. K. Rowling
9. The Picture of Dorian Gray; Oscar Wilde
10. Mr. Popper's Penguins; Richard and Florence Atwater
11. The Book Thief; Maruks Zusak
    
12. State of Fear; Michael Crichton
13. Angels and Demons; Dan Brown
14. Mrs. Dalloway; Virginia Wolf
15. Code Talkers; Joseph Bruchac
16. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff; Richard Carlson
    
17. Siddartha; Herman Hesse
18. The Mole People; Jennifer Toth
19. The Islamist; Ed Husain
20. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Douglas Adams
21. The Reluctant Fundamentalist; Mohsin Hamid
22. Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing; Mignon Fogarty
23. Britannia in Brief; Banker and Mullins
24. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood; Ann Brashares
25. Girls in Pants; Ann Brashares
26. Forever in Blue; Ann Brashares
    
27. Prisoner of Tehran; Marina Nemat
28. The Old Man and the Sea; Ernest Hemingway
    
29. The Amulet of Samarkand; Jonathon Stroud
30. The Golem's Eye; Jonathon Stroud
31. Ptolemy's Gate; Jonathon Stroud
32. Leadership and Self-deception; Arbinger Institute
33. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society; Mary Ann Schafer
34. The Art of Racing in the Rain; Garth Stein
35. Kristin Lavransdatter; Sigrid Undset