I know this is an entire month late, but I analyzed my 2009 reading (all of which I managed to document on this blog, a new trick for me) and was pleased to learn that I managed one book more than in 2008 (that’s 68 books total, 45 fiction and 23 nonfiction, with 10 rereads and the rest new-to-me-titles). Of course, it’s the quality that really counts, not the quantity, and although there were a few books I now wish I hadn’t bothered with (The Food of a Younger Land, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier, for instance), I read a lot of stuff I really liked last year. Here’s a list of my 10 faves (at least, in retrospect—it’s so hard to recall my exact comparative levels of enjoyment at the time), in chronological order:
Maps and Legends, by Michael Chabon
Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Bleak House, by Charles Dickens
The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories, by Connie Willis
Shelf Discovery, by Lizzie Skurnick
The Magicians, by Lev Grossman
The Children’s Book, by A.S. Byatt
Blame, by Michelle Huneven
Juliet, Naked, by Nick Hornby
The Jeeves books, by P.G. Wodehouse—I can now say that I’ve read the entire series; I enjoyed them wholeheartedly and was quite surprised to discover that I’d barely read half of them before (apparently, I devoted more of my youth to reading the short stories over and over again than tracking down all the novels).
The Children of Men, by P.D. James, and Fray, by Joss Whedon, et al nearly made the list, so they get honorable mentions. And of course, a special “best reread” prize must go to the Betsy- Tacy series, which I’ve thoroughly loved revisiting so far (just one more to go!).
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