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#1 Favorite Book you had read in 2009
Pfffffft! *water through my nose* *cough, cough*That's EXACTLY why I didn't choose the title "As if my to read pile wasn't big enough" Ha-ha!
OK...The Book Thief going on my list!! :)
Brenda,I bought "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" in December and I'll have to read it soon since you thought it was great!
My two favourites of 2009 were Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, a wonderful family saga and Joseph Boyden's Through Black Spruce.
Cindy wrote: "OK...The Book Thief going on my list!! :)"Mine, too. I've heard about people liking it here, but hadn't put in on my list. Now it's a 2009 favorite? It's time.
I have too many favorites, but I REALLY REALLY loved The Autobiography of King Henry the VIII.
I've been reading Mrs. Kimble at night before I go to sleep, and it's good, although I feel so sorry for some of the characters. Makes you want to just give them a big hug.
I so enjoyed The Devil in the White City for the historical value of our own country and the architectural perspective and learning about someone who seems so very normal and pleasant turning out to be someone so evil. Very well written and researched.
A Thousand Splendid SunsA Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I read and LOVED all the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. They are naughty and fun and sexy too! I also LOVED "The Gathering Storm", the latest in The Wheel of Time saga by Robert Jordan. I re-read a few favorites, Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird. Books, what lovely friends they are!
Olive Kitteridge was my favorite, followed closely by The Help.
I think probably Resident Evil: Caliban Cove was probably the best book I read in 2009. But I can't be so sure, I read a few books in '09 that were real good, Like Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind. Something happened in that book that about halfway in I had to stop reading for a month because I couldn't erase a part from my mind. Anytime I picked it up all I saw was the brutal death of a character I'd grown fond of. It just totally blocked me from reading. I don't know if that's good or not. Most of the time it was really hard to put down. But when I got to that part, I guess I just felt torn for a bit. Anytime I tried to pick it up and continue reading, I found myself unable to follow the words I was reading! Like my mind was distracted on that one scene. It was so descriptive! It was written really well.
Like some others, I could not pick just one...For non-fiction, So Damn Much Money: The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government really helped me understand so much of what is happening in American politics. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books was a close second because it spoke to me both about women's trials in Iran and about how close relations among women can help them endure and give them courage to improve their lives.
For short stories, Say You're One of Them introduced me to perils in a part of the world that is not often focused on.
Novels: there were so many good ones. Jane Eyre, The Poisonwood Bible and The Red Tent are all wonderful, rich books. Outside of CoL reads, The Wasted Vigil was just a beautiful book. And the novel Still Alice was a wonderful story and also helps me to understand what is happening to my mother.
Thanks Rose for a great question. There were so many good books listed. I will return to this post in the future to pick books to read.
My favorites from '09 were The Gargoyleand Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Palby Christopher Moore!
Brenda wrote: "Kaliki wrote: "A Thousand Splendid SunsA Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
..."
Ummm, yeah I kinda liked that one ;)
I liked The Help for 2009, but also enjoyed The Lightning Thief and the rest of the "Percy and the Olympians" series. YA books sometimes are just what I need, and this fit the bill this year.
I loved, loved, loved My Name Is Will: A Novel of Sex, Drugs and Shakespeareit was highly entertaining. I read it in one sitting! For those of us that teach English, it is an interesting view of Shakespeare :)
I am torn between Animal Dreams and Love in the Time of Cholera. I read quite a few great books last year, but these two stand out. I began both of them thinking there wasn't a chance they'd live up to my other favorites by these authors(The Bean Trees, One Hundred Years of Solitude) and they both surprised me. I still can't say they won, but it is at least a photo finish!
I had so many favourite books that I read last year but it has to be Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind. It was just perfect: the plot, the characters, the eerie atmosphere you feel when you read it...I was completely drawn in to the story xD
I am torn between several books, but my first instinct was to pick "The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet," a fantastic book about a young cartographer who wins a prize and runs away from home to collect it. If you have not read this book, you should. It is amazing.
No question about my favorite book in 2009 - it was "Sarah's Key". I listened to the audio version and I was totally mesmerized.
Firefly Lane Kristin HannahI really liked this book and how it chronicles the relationship of Kate and Tully. They have there highs and their lows but always remain loyal. I look forward to reading more by this author.
Li wrote: "I had so many favourite books that I read last year but it has to be Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind. It was just perfect: the plot, the characters, the eerie atmosphere you ..."I agree with you, Li. I'm not sure it is #1, but it is way up there.
I also loved "the Zookeeper's Wife". There are so many wonderful books!
My favorite was Sarah's Key as well. I always find my self so interested in books about the holocaust & this one was no exception. I could not put it down!
Heather wrote: "My favorite was Sarah's Key as well. I always find my self so interested in books about the holocaust & this one was no exception. I could not put it down!"It was good! Did you read Zookeeper's Wife? I think, from your description that you would like it!
Barbara, I haven't read that yet. I actually was so close to buying it the last time I was at B&N but put it back at the last minute. I'll definitely have to pick up next time!
Hands down, my favorite for 2009 was Best Friends by Martha Moody.Best Friends 2nd best in 2009 was Firefly Lane by Kristin HannahFirefly Lane
I really, really loved Water for Elephants. I got so caught up in the story and in the end I was yearning so badly to go to an old school circus, I forced my husband to take me to Ringling Bros. (not that it was anywhere near an old school circus, but it was the closest I could get). I can't wait for them to make the movie!
I really enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha. It was very well written. I also really enjoyed Panic - I'm a big espionage novel fan. I'm really glad I discovered Sookie Stackhouse last year - those book are very fun to read.
I loved The Thirteenth Tale, but the book that made my year was Nineteen Eighty-Four. Really powerful book, even if you're not a dystopia fan. I mean I'm a Jane Austen fan, I never thought I'd like this book as much as I did.
I hope it's okay to still add to this topic. My two favorite books that I read in 2009 were: Any Bitter Thing: A Novel by Monica Wood and Beloved by Toni Morrison. Both amazing books!
My favourites for 2009 are a close run thing between A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Other Boleyn Girl.
My number one read for 2009 was The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society. It just swept me away.
Okay I'm torn between 2 different books!The Woman in White and The Historian I absolutely loved both of them. In fact I got my mom listening to the Woman in White right now on my i-touch.
Leslie wrote: "Okay I'm torn between 2 different books!The Woman in White and The Historian I absolutely loved both of them. In fact I got my mom listening to the Woman in White right now..."I loved The Woman in White! Such a great mystery! I also loved Firefly Lane in 2009.
My favs in 2009 were...1. The Art of Racing in the Rain
2. The Help
3. The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society
But I loved many last year! So far 2010 has been promising, too!
Mine ais a tie between Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne and The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It is one of my favorite books ever! A must read!
My favorite books from last year are: Cutting For Stone, The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Letters, Twilight Series, I reread Water for Elephants, most of the Stephanie Plum series, The Blood of Flowers, Pillars of the Earth, can't remember them all.
Hi Danielle, yes didn't you just love The Art of Racing in the Rain, I am a dog lover and it was so great having the dog narrate the story, very cute,sad, and funny. Yes, thanks for reminding me of The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society. It was such a clever book, from the story itself to the format it was written, loved it!!! I just finished The Help so that doesn't count for 09' but loved it as well.
I forgot to mention how much I liked Dan Brown's latest book, The Lost Symbol, I read it in less than a week.
Last Of The Crazy PeopleI love Timothy Findley. He narrates this novel in the perspective of a young, depressed boy, witnessing the deterioration of his beloved family. The Last of the Crazy People actually had me in tears at parts. It's only under 300 pages long, but I had to put it down so many times just because of how depressing it was.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel Garcia Marquez-- how happy am I that to have discovered you. One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the Buendia family over generations, and how history can repeat itself by not learning from past mistakes.
The Secret Life Of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain - so easy to make monumental mistakes when you are young, and have the rest of your life to live with guilt
They were The Kite Runner, Redeeming Love and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan thats all I can remember.
Chicks On Lit
Books mentioned in this topic
Still Alice (other topics)Belong to Me (other topics)
The Shadow of the Wind (other topics)
The Book Thief (other topics)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jules Verne (other topics)Lisa See (other topics)
Khaled Hosseini (other topics)
Toni Morrison (other topics)
Monica Wood (other topics)
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And this is the reason I have over 175 books on my Wish List!