It's that most excellent time of the year for me. I have time to read.
So, what to choose?
The best books, of course.
A simple Google search, right?
See for yourself.
Publishers Weekly Best Books 2009 Top of the top included Shop Craft as Soul Craft which bored me to tears. But it also had In Other Rooms, Other Wonders which I am reading and loving right now. Hey, all the authors are male. How can that be?
Library Journal Best Books 2009 I ought to like this one as I am in that occupational group. The librarians chose their favorite 31 reads of 2009. Though I have a goodly number on my wishlist, I've only actually read one, This is Where I Leave You. Not for all tastes; I wanted to wash the narrator's mouth out and send him off to timeout, but there is no denying that the book vividly depicts a young man's perspective.
Goodreads Best Books of 2009 If PW is all male, GR looks to be mostly female. And fiction. This list is based on votes by readers.
New York Times 10 Best Books of 2009 I've only read (well, I'm reading...only fifty pages in) one book, A Gate at the Stairs. Not much on this list pushes my buttons. I wonder why.
Best Books of 2009: NPR Lots of little quirky lists here. I went ga-ga over Best Books for a Book Club this morning and added almost everything to my Amazon wishlist.
Librarian Nancy Pearl's 2009 Under-the-Radar Books Truth is this is actually a subset of the NPR Best-of lists, but I love Nancy Pearl so much that I wanted to give her a spot of her own here. Not that I always agree with her, but she is Uber-Librarian, dedicated to helping readers find good books. I've only read one of this list, When Wanderers Cease to Roam, but it was very, very fun. Now adding a few of her other picks to my wishlist and reveling in the news that Pearl is working on a new Book Lust, Book Lust To Go, filled with travel picks. Good news.
Top Picks from Indie Bookstores Another from NPR. I've read an astonishing 4/15, so I like this list.
Amazon Best Books of 2009: Editors' Picks I've read 14/100 here so I'm feeling pretty bold. There is also Amazon's Customer Favorites, for a list of books you read, but never talk about at your book group.
The Atlantic Books of the Year These people only choose 5, but with 20 runners-up.
Washington Post Picks Its 10 Best Books of the Year
And, for a very comprehensive list, check out Largehearted Boy's Blog.
Soooo...What do I pick? What books from 2009 must I read?
Thank you for putting up all the links!
ReplyDeleteAck! I need a list of the best books of 2009 list like I need a whole in my head. :-) I can see I'm about to spend hours pouring through all these lists when I should be putting Christmas stuff away. Thanks a lot!
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