false 1 264 180 true 5675463 read 1 true 5109694 currently-reading 83 true 5109681 to-read 65 false 5151950 2009 40 false 5340032 own 38 false 7856556 botns-recommendations 32 false 7856615 4-star-reads 20 false 5152019 favorites--5-stars- 3 false 5339578 abandoned 2 false 5526386 audiobook 1 false 5171731 put-aside-til-later 0 false 7055924 ordered http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/243701-end-of-the-year-summary Shona made a comment in the The Next Best Book Club group:

Well I don't know if I can get 2500 words, but here goes :)
I didn't set a goal this year to read any specific number of books. I do like keeping track of all my book on GR though - So far this year I've finished 65 books, mostly all fiction.
2009 has been a GREAT year for books for me. I've read some really fantastic ones and discovered some new authors who I just love. Just some of the hits for this year were:
A Fraction of the Whole
The Shadow of the Wind
The Poisonwood Bible
Brazzaville Beach.
The Book of Joe
Skeletons at the Feast
The Book Thief

There are many more that I loved this year, including East of Eden by Steinbeck. Surprising I had never read anything by him. After the holidays, The Grapes of Wrath is on my list.
New authors that I fell in love with this year include:
Jonathan Tropper
Steve Toltz
William Boyd
Chris Bohjalian

There were just a few that I couldn't finish. I always hate to post that I didn't like a book, because maybe I just wasn't in the right kind of mood to read it at that time and I would hate to put anybody off of reading them. But I just couldn't get through:
Atonement - Ian McKewan
Where the River Ends - Charles Martin
The Boneman's Daughters - Ted Dekker
and I can't believe I finished it, because I really didn't enjoy it at all was The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Banks

But by and large 2009 was a banner year for enjoyable reading.

I've been a member of GR since May of this year I think and it has opened up a whole new world of books for me. I've always been a reader, but I normally would stick to popular fiction and usually the same authors, but with all the great recommendations between this group and the other one that I am a part of, I've expanded my horizons and my TBR list is growing at an alarming rate! ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78611856 to: But Inside I'm Screaming (Paperback) by Elizabeth Flock
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78611823 to: Tyrannosaur Canyon (Mass Market Paperback) by Douglas Preston
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78611800 to: The Loop (Paperback) by Nicholas Evans
bookshelves: 4-star-reads
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/26161-which-book-would-you-like-to-see-become-december-s-group-read-for-regula Shona voted on the poll: Which book would you like to see become December's Group Read for RegularFic/Nonfic? ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5426-what-are-you-reading Shona made a comment in the The Next Best Book Club group:

Just finished Something Missing A Novel. Really great story--I gave it 4 stars. Now on to The Thirteenth Tale. It's been on my TBR pile for ages and I've heard great reviews, but for some reason I'm not excited to pick it up...we'll see. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59329712 The Thirteenth Tale (Hardcover) by Diane Setterfield
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/45420-what-are-you-currently-reading Shona made a comment in the Books on the Nightstand group:

Just got done with Something Missing A Novel. What a great story!! Now on to The Thirteenth Tale. ]]>