Books of 2009
As promised, here's the list of books that I read this year. I did better than I ever have! I slowed down a few times, though, and especially in December, so hopefully I can read even more in 2010.
1. Troilus and Cressida (William Shakespeare)
2. Coriolanus (William Shakespeare)
3. The Well of Lost Plots (Jasper Fforde)
4. Hard Times (Charles Dickens)
5. Titus Andronicus (William Shakespeare)
6. Something Rotten (Jasper Fforde)
7. Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare - (*)
8. First Among Sequels (Jasper Fforde)
9. Thyestes (Seneca)
10. Timon of Athens (William Shakespeare)
11. Macbeth (William Shakespeare)
12. The Big Over Easy (Jasper Fforde)
13. Hamlet (William Shakespeare) - (*)
14. Tom Brown's School Days (Thomas Hughes)
15. King Lear (William Shakespeare) - (*)
16. The Fourth Bear (Jasper Fforde)
17. Kate (Kathleen Magill)
18. Othello (William Shakespeare) - (*)
19. The Humming of Numbers (Joni Sensel)
20. 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows (Ann Brashares)
21. Antony and Cleopatra (William Shakespeare)
22. Brida (Paulo Coelho)
23. Great Maria (Cecelia Holland)
24. Forever Princess (Meg Cabot)
25. The Bronte Project (Jennifer Vandever)
26. The Book of Love (Kathleen McGowan)
27. Little Bee (Chris Cleave)
28. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
29. The Fire Gospel (Michael Faber)
30. The Man with Two Left Feet (P.G. Wodehouse)
31. At a Loss for Words (Diane Schoemperlen)
32. Looking for Cardenio (Jean Rae Baxter)
33. The Night Villa (Carol Goodman)
34. City of Secrets (Mary Hoffman)
35. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling) - (*)
36. The Time Machine (H.G. Wells)
37. Confessions of a Pagan Nun (Kate Horsley)
38. The Joys of Love (Madeleine L'Engle)
39. Impossible (Nancy Werlin)
40. The Gospel According to the Son (Norman Mailer)
41. The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)
42. Keeping Faith (Jodi Picoult)
43. The Glassblower of Murano (Marina Fiorato)
44. Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand (Gioconda Belli)
45. The Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood)
46. Cuba and the Night (Pico Iyer)
47. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Muriel Spark)
48. The Tongues of the Dead (Brad Kelln)
49. A Mango-Shaped Space (Wendy Moss)
50. Stardust (Neil Gaiman)
51. Wicked: The Grimmerie (David Cote)
52. Dealing with Dragons (Patricia C. Wrede)
53. The World Without Us (Alan Weisman)
54. The Horse Whisperer (Nicholas Evans)
55. The Girl with No Shadow (Joanne Harris)
56. Port Out Starboard Home (Michael Quinion)
57. The Smoke Thief (Shana Abe)
58. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
59. Julie and Julia (Julie Powell)
60. Casting Off (Nicole R. Dickson)
61. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling) - (*)
62. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (J.K. Rowling)
63. Weight (Jeanette Winterson)
64. Dream Angus (Alexander McCall Smith)
65. The Danish Girl (David Ebershoff)
66. The Cement Garden (Ian McEwan)
67. Flowers in the Attic (V.C. Andrews)
68. The Hours (Michael Cunningham)
69. The Cleft (Doris Lessing)
70. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (Ben H. Winters)
71. Dog Stories (James Herriott) - (*)
72. Antonietta (John Hersey)
73. Stargirl (Jerry Spinelli)
74. The Library of Shadows (Mikkel Birkegaard)
75. Possession (A.S. Byatt)
76. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
77. The Sacred Blood (Michael Byrnes)
78. Her Fearful Symmetry (Audrey Niffenegger)
79. The Golden Mean (Annabel Lyon)
80. Avalon (Anya Seton)
81. The Crystal Skull (Manda Scott)
I think my Jasper Fforde love goes without saying at this point? Besides those...
My Top Ten of the Year (in the order I read them):
1. Othello (William Shakespeare) - my favourite tragedy
2. Little Bee (Chris Cleave) - comes with instructions to recommend this book to everyone basically without giving away anything about it!
3. The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy) - much to my dismay...
4. The Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood) - although I think I like the play better
5. Stardust (Neil Gaiman)
6. The World Without Us (Alan Weisman)
7. The Girl With No Shadow (Joanne Harris) - sequel to Chocolat; also called The Lollipop Shoes
8. Possession (A.S. Byatt)
9. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
10. Her Fearful Symmetry (Audrey Niffenegger)
Honestly, there are so many of these that I couldn't remember a single thing about without having to look them up, which is mildly worrisome. Then again, I read so many this year that a lot of really good ones got left out of my top 10. Have you read any of them? Let me know what you think!
1. Troilus and Cressida (William Shakespeare)
2. Coriolanus (William Shakespeare)
3. The Well of Lost Plots (Jasper Fforde)
4. Hard Times (Charles Dickens)
5. Titus Andronicus (William Shakespeare)
6. Something Rotten (Jasper Fforde)
7. Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare - (*)
8. First Among Sequels (Jasper Fforde)
9. Thyestes (Seneca)
10. Timon of Athens (William Shakespeare)
11. Macbeth (William Shakespeare)
12. The Big Over Easy (Jasper Fforde)
13. Hamlet (William Shakespeare) - (*)
14. Tom Brown's School Days (Thomas Hughes)
15. King Lear (William Shakespeare) - (*)
16. The Fourth Bear (Jasper Fforde)
17. Kate (Kathleen Magill)
18. Othello (William Shakespeare) - (*)
19. The Humming of Numbers (Joni Sensel)
20. 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows (Ann Brashares)
21. Antony and Cleopatra (William Shakespeare)
22. Brida (Paulo Coelho)
23. Great Maria (Cecelia Holland)
24. Forever Princess (Meg Cabot)
25. The Bronte Project (Jennifer Vandever)
26. The Book of Love (Kathleen McGowan)
27. Little Bee (Chris Cleave)
28. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
29. The Fire Gospel (Michael Faber)
30. The Man with Two Left Feet (P.G. Wodehouse)
31. At a Loss for Words (Diane Schoemperlen)
32. Looking for Cardenio (Jean Rae Baxter)
33. The Night Villa (Carol Goodman)
34. City of Secrets (Mary Hoffman)
35. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling) - (*)
36. The Time Machine (H.G. Wells)
37. Confessions of a Pagan Nun (Kate Horsley)
38. The Joys of Love (Madeleine L'Engle)
39. Impossible (Nancy Werlin)
40. The Gospel According to the Son (Norman Mailer)
41. The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)
42. Keeping Faith (Jodi Picoult)
43. The Glassblower of Murano (Marina Fiorato)
44. Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand (Gioconda Belli)
45. The Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood)
46. Cuba and the Night (Pico Iyer)
47. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Muriel Spark)
48. The Tongues of the Dead (Brad Kelln)
49. A Mango-Shaped Space (Wendy Moss)
50. Stardust (Neil Gaiman)
51. Wicked: The Grimmerie (David Cote)
52. Dealing with Dragons (Patricia C. Wrede)
53. The World Without Us (Alan Weisman)
54. The Horse Whisperer (Nicholas Evans)
55. The Girl with No Shadow (Joanne Harris)
56. Port Out Starboard Home (Michael Quinion)
57. The Smoke Thief (Shana Abe)
58. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
59. Julie and Julia (Julie Powell)
60. Casting Off (Nicole R. Dickson)
61. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling) - (*)
62. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (J.K. Rowling)
63. Weight (Jeanette Winterson)
64. Dream Angus (Alexander McCall Smith)
65. The Danish Girl (David Ebershoff)
66. The Cement Garden (Ian McEwan)
67. Flowers in the Attic (V.C. Andrews)
68. The Hours (Michael Cunningham)
69. The Cleft (Doris Lessing)
70. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (Ben H. Winters)
71. Dog Stories (James Herriott) - (*)
72. Antonietta (John Hersey)
73. Stargirl (Jerry Spinelli)
74. The Library of Shadows (Mikkel Birkegaard)
75. Possession (A.S. Byatt)
76. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
77. The Sacred Blood (Michael Byrnes)
78. Her Fearful Symmetry (Audrey Niffenegger)
79. The Golden Mean (Annabel Lyon)
80. Avalon (Anya Seton)
81. The Crystal Skull (Manda Scott)
I think my Jasper Fforde love goes without saying at this point? Besides those...
My Top Ten of the Year (in the order I read them):
1. Othello (William Shakespeare) - my favourite tragedy
2. Little Bee (Chris Cleave) - comes with instructions to recommend this book to everyone basically without giving away anything about it!
3. The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy) - much to my dismay...
4. The Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood) - although I think I like the play better
5. Stardust (Neil Gaiman)
6. The World Without Us (Alan Weisman)
7. The Girl With No Shadow (Joanne Harris) - sequel to Chocolat; also called The Lollipop Shoes
8. Possession (A.S. Byatt)
9. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
10. Her Fearful Symmetry (Audrey Niffenegger)
Honestly, there are so many of these that I couldn't remember a single thing about without having to look them up, which is mildly worrisome. Then again, I read so many this year that a lot of really good ones got left out of my top 10. Have you read any of them? Let me know what you think!