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Jan
03
The Book Lady’s Best Reads of 2009
2010 at 8pm Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Making the “best of” list is a tricky a business. I didn’t read every book published in 2009, so how I can possibly purport to name the best ones? Some of the books I loved at the time of reading and reviewing them faded in my memory by the end of the year, and others that I thought I didn’t love as much ended up leaving a lasting impression. I envy the bloggers who can pull their “best of” lists straight from their ratings of books, but the honest truth is that my feelings about a book often change with time and distance, and while I don’t always go back to change the rating at the end of my review, I can’t guarantee that the books I rated most highly will be the ones I end up thinking of as the best of the year.
My unofficial mission statement here at The Book Lady’s Blog is to read and review literary fiction, memoirs, and an eclectic smattering of nonfiction, so I’ve divided this year’s best of the best to reflect those categories. As I look back on a year of pretty fantastic reading, these are the reads that stand out most.
Covers link to my reviews.
Best New Fiction
Contending for this category but not yet reviewed are Homer & Langley and The Little Stranger.
NB: Once or twice a year, I read something that it just too good for words or which I don’t want to ruin with analysis. This year, that book was John Irving’s Last Night in Twisted River. I was overjoyed to see a return to vintage Irving style with many of his signature themes and unparalleled handling of the passage of time….and I just couldn’t bring myself to review it.
Best Backlist Fiction
Best Nonfiction
Best Memoirs
Best New (or new-to-me) Voices
I can’t pull mine straight from ratings either…I let emotions and the distance of time play a bigger role in determining my favorites list.
(I like to call it favorites instead of best since best is such an emotionally charged word around these parts)
Nice list. I almost included Unlikely Disciple as well.
TheAlexie book was on my top ten for last year too. Looking forward to reading more about Arnold.
I don’t do ratings, so my best of list is made of those books that affected me the most for one reason or another. I’ve only read 2 of your books (and loved them both) but have many in my TBR pile.
I find that I can really tell which ones are my favorites if I’m still talking about them a month or two (or ten!) later. As for favorites vs. best, well, these are the best in my opinion, of the 99 books I read. I can’t speak for anyone else
My highest-rated books weren’t necessarily my top picks for the year (which I just call “Books of the Year” – not “favorite,” “best,” or any other qualifier), but that’s where I started. A few of your picks were on my year-end list as well, or are in the TBR or wish list to read at some point in the future (this year? next year? who knows?).
Happy New Year, and great reading in 2010!
I am going to do a list of the books that are still with me, not necessarily the best ones. I agree with you about things changing.
Glad to know I’m not the only one who finds my reaction to a book changing over time. I went with “best” here because these are the books I’d answer with if someone asked me what the best books I read this year were. And yes, “best” could also mean “favorite,” or it could mean just the ones who stuck with me….I think the oversensitivity about qualifiers is getting more than little ridiculous. I’m not saying these are the best books for everyone. They’re the best books I read, in my opinion, based on my knowledge of literature and my criteria for what makes a book good.
Great list. I loved the Irving, Trofimuk, Verghese and Cleave as well. Homer and Langley was one of my faves too.
So true: feelings about a book often change with time! That’s why I don’t have a rating system.
This year I will be reading Her Fearful Symmerty and Last Night in Twisted River, and I am really looking forward to that (as you can imagine). But 2010 started great already with Trespass by Valerie Martin. It is hard to say because a year has to pass first, but right now I’m thinking it will probably end up high in my fav list!
I hope 2010 will be a fabulous year for you!
I totally agree on _Little Bee_ and _The Help_. They were both in my top five!
I really enjoy your reviews and there are so many books I’ve added to my “To Read” list after reading your reviews. So I just wanted to say thanks for those efforts!
I don’t think I’ve read any on your list, yet. Several are on my to-read pile for the beginning of this year, though.
I have the same problem picking books for “best of” lists … my feelings change, I begin to forget what I liked about a book in the first place.
I’m so excited that I’m going to read a lot of the ones you liked — some of them I know I got directly from your recommendations!
I think I missed that Nerd book so I’m going to check out your review — it is calling to me.
You’ll love American Nerd! What could be nerdier than a social history of nerd culture?
Thanks for this list–I’m trying to catch up on fiction–your list gives me the push to get some of those I’ve been thinking about!
Great to see The Purity Myth on your list! I thought that one was great and would really like to read more of Jessica Valenti’s work.
[...] our return, I finally sat down to make my list of the best reads of 2009, then I got down to the business of reacquainting myself with the real world. In between, I managed [...]
I think I’ve only read 1 book on this list…the hunger games. Looks like a list of books I should consider
I was thinking I might have to go all Katniss on yo’ ass if I didn’t see a certain book on this list somewhere! LOL
“The Help” and “Unlikely Disciple” were two of my favorites from 2009 as well. I’m sure I’ll use your list as a reference for my “to reads” in the upcoming year. Thanks!