Everybody’s doing it, so I might as well too. Here is my list of the best books I read in 2009, in no particular order:
I read mostly fiction. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan (a first book, and I can’t wait for her to write another.) is historical fiction at it’s best. Similar in theme (the race issue) is another favorite, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. David Small’s Stitches ( autobiographical graphic novel) was absolutely relavatory. Who knew I’d enjoy a graphic novel so much??
Moving on, we have Little Bee by Chris Cleve. I was attracted to the cover of this book, picked it up and never put it down. The voice of the refugee narrator is both comical and tragic. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stout sneaks up on you, gets inside your head, and stays there. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (translated from the Japanese,) is about a math genius who, after an accident, has a memory that lasts only 80 minutes. This one was totally original.
Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen has the best ending! Loved everything about this one, plot, characters, setting, theme and tone. Don’t miss it. An oldie by goodie just discovered was The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham. Read it and watch the DVD with Edward Norton. Old School by Tobias Wolff is wonderful for those who love literature. Cost by Roxana Robinson examines the cost (mental, financial, emotional, etc.) to a family whose son is a heroin addict. William Boyd’s Restless is a historical mystery of hidden identity.
I do read some nonfiction (more than I think I do, looking back on it.) I enjoyed Barbara Ehrenreich’s eye-opening Bright-Sided: How the relentless promotion of positive thinking has undermined America, and Elizabeth Edwards’s Resilience: Reflections on the burdens and gifts of facing life’s adversities. I had a preconcieved notion of her that was proved wroong by this book.
Right now, I’m reading Andre Agassi’s Open: An Autobiography. It’s honest, funny, and insightful. I can’t wait to get home to finish it! (A tip: it was “ghostwritten” by J. R. Moehringer, who wrote The Tender Bar, one of my favorite memoirs of all time.)
