Best Reads of 2009

In November, my reading was interrupted by working a full-time job outside the home. I am sad to say that there isn't much room for reading anymore, but I will continue to listen to audiobooks on my commute and read a novel whenever I can squeeze in a few pages. However, 2009 still crossed the finish line with a grand total of 143 books, so I'm not complaining! There were 6 books that I did not finish, and I thought that the 17 books listed below were excellent or above. The two in red, bold print are my favorites of the year.

1. The Darker Side (McFadyen)

Thriller

2. The Mystery of Mary Rogers (Geary)

Graphic Novel

3. Hitler Youth (Bartoletti)

YA Non-Fiction

4. Skeleton Creek (Carman)

YA Fiction

5. Chemistry and Other Short Stories (Rash)

Short Story Collection

6. The Hunger Games (Collins)

YA Science Fiction

7. Still Alice (Genova)

Realistic Fiction

8. The Help (Stockett)

Historical Fiction

9. Shanghai Girls (See)

Historical Fiction

10. Among the Mad (Winspear)

Historical Mystery

11. Manhunt (Swanson)

Historical True Crime

12. How Not To Look Old (Krupp)

Non-Fiction (beauty)

13. The Blue Notebook (Levine)

Fiction

14. The Murder of Abraham Lincoln (Geary)

YA Non-Fiction Graphic Novel

15. Escape (Jessop)

Memoir

16. Clara's War (Kramer)

Biography

17. Tears of the Desert (Bashir)

Memoir

Clicking on a title will link you to "Thoughts of Joy..."

DECEMBER READS

139. Labor Day (Maynard)

140.The Christmas Sweater (Beck)

Blood Drive (Grisham)

141.Comfort & Joy (Hannah)

142.Tears of the Desert (Bashir)

143.Slay Ride (Grabenstein)

Fetching Raymond (Grisham)

* Short Story (not counted)

BOLD titles made my Best Reads List

Clicking on a title will link you to "Thoughts of Joy...".

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Monthly - Yearly Genre Stats:

Chick-Lit: 0 - 5

Classic: 0 - 1

Fiction: 3 - 35

Memoir: 1 - 8

Mystery: 0 - 21

Non-Fiction: 0 - 2

Non-Fiction Graphic Novel: 0 - 1

Short Story Collection: 0 - 5

Thriller: 1 - 24

True Crime: 0 - 2

YA Classic: 0 - 1

YA Fiction: 0 - 20

YA Graphic Novel: 0 - 4

YA Non-Fiction: 0 - 1

YA Science Fiction: 0 - 7

Children's Historical Fiction: 0 - 1

Children's Thriller: 0 - 1

Children's Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 0 - 4

Short Stories: 2 - 62

Audiobooks: 3 - 83

Books: 2 - 60

Total: 5 - 143

Best Reads: 1 - 17

Series: 1 - 51

DNF: 0 - 6

FETCHING RAYMOND (2 of 7)

Author: John Grisham

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Ford County: Stories, 2009

Personal Rating: 4/5 (very good)

(ss) Yearly Count: 62

The family of death row inmate, Raymond, is traveling to see him for possibly the last time.

I could envision every movement and conversation in this story as being a real-life, unfortunate event. Sadly, this bird's-eye view has probably occurred many times over.

SLAY RIDE

Author: Chris Grabenstein

Genre: Thriller, Series #1

Published: 2006

Personal Rating: 4/5 (very good)

Yearly Count: 143

The lives of Scott Wilkinson (business man), Christopher Miller (FBI agent specializing in kidnappings) and Nicolai Kyznetsoff (cab driver - formerly KGB agent) cross paths during the holiday season.

Families, stolen diamonds, revenge, murder, Russian Mob, kidnapping and fast-paced storytelling are other aspects of the book. I enjoyed it. It certainly makes one rethink about "complaining."

TEARS OF THE DESERT

Author: Halima Bashir

Genre: Memoir, Standalone

Published: 2008

Personal Rating: 4.5/5 (excellent)

Yearly Count: 142

Halima grew up in a Darfur village with her mother, father, grandmother, 2 bothers and 1 sister. She shares the ups and horrific downs of her life beginning with her childhood. The customs of her people are explained and described - some of which were fascinating and others that were unbelievably atrocious. Eventually, Halima brings the harrowing event of genocide to the forefront, while sharing her heart and determination to live. Her story is remarkable and one that I will not soon forget.

COMFORT & JOY

Author: Kristin Hannah

Genre: Fiction, Standalone

Published: 2005

Personal Rating: 1.5/5 (ugh)

Yearly Count: 141

Joy is newly divorced and has a heavy heart regarding the circumstances. She decides she needs to get away and start over. Joy's travel plans take a dive. She finds herself in a plane crash and then discovers her life.

Hokey, hokey, hokey. This was so not a book for me. Why did I continue? It was an audiobook, and I was on the road - only reason. Often I found myself dizzy, due to the continual eye-rolling. Ugh. I was warned and didn't take the warning seriously enough. My bad.

BLOOD DRIVE (1 of 7)

Author: John Grisham

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Ford County: Stories, 2009

Personal Rating: 3.75/5 (better than good)

(ss) Yearly Count: 61

A town member was injured in an accident at work. A few men volunteer to drive into the city to give blood.

There were some peculiar twists and odd moments that had me thinking the characters were a little on the dull side - to say the least. However, it was a story that kept my attention.

THE CHRISTMAS SWEATER

Author: Glenn Beck

Genre: Fiction, Standalone

Published: 2008

Personal Rating: 3.5/5 (good)

Yearly Count: 140

Based on his own life, Glenn Beck tells the story of "Eddie" when he was 12-years-old and looking forward to receiving a bike for Christmas.

This was a very emotional book. At the times when I believed it was a true story, I really felt for Eddie and was touched by his story. However, during the times when it was beyond my experience and felt unrealistic and hokey - I didn't like it. Overall, I enjoyed the message.

I listened to Glenn Beck read this audiobook, and it was waaaaay too dramatic for my taste. If I had a "do-over," I would read it.

LABOR DAY

Author: Joyce Maynard

Genre: Fiction, Standalone

Published: 2009

Personal Rating: 4/5 (very good)

Yearly Count: 139

As an adult, Henry tells his story beginning at the age of 13. Henry lives with his divorced mom and barely tolerates his visits with his father and his new family. Trying to figure life out as he's muddling through adolescence, he meets a man in need of help during a trip to the grocery store with his mom. His mother decides to help the man out and life then becomes even more difficult for Henry to figure out.

This book carried an off kilter vibe for me, but I think that was part of the charm. Explaining details about it to someone else makes it sound a little preposterous, but I was too drawn into the characters to even care. What made the book for me was hearing it from Henry's perspective. I thought that was done very well and totally believable.

This was my first encounter with Joyce Maynard, and I have already acquired another one (Where Love Goes) since reading this book. I'm looking forward to reading her work again. I like her style.

I tried to get this ARC when it first came out, but unfortunately I was not one of the lucky ones. However, Les from Lesley's Book Nook had a copy of it and promptly sent it to me when she was done. Thank you so much Les! I really enjoyed it and appreciate your generosity.