It's finally here... the year in review/best-of books post for 2009!
If you'd like to see a larger view of the above graphic, click on it and it should take you to the Flickr version (the "original" size is easiest on the eyes).
Stats:
35 - Number of Books Read
11,137 - Total Pages
77% / 23% - Fiction vs. Non-Fiction (Last year: 78% Fiction)
66% / 34% - Male vs. Female Authors (Last year: 56% Male)
3% / 6% / 91% - Paperback vs. Hardcover vs. Kindle (Last year: 65% Paper/16% Hard/19% Kindle)
66% / 34% - Never Read This Author Before vs. Authors I Have Read Before (Last year: 66% "new")
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Each of the below book links go back to my original "review" if you'd like to learn more...
Non-Fiction Notables: The 23% non-fiction stat above calcs to 7 books, with 5 of those being memoirs. I have to say it wasn't an outstanding non-fiction year and for the first time nothing really jumped out as top "best of" candidates. Still, I didn't want to do away with the "notables" category, so I'll give third place to Elizabeth Edwards' Resilience. It was really a quite good book about a woman who has had to deal with an awful lot of tragedy in her life, from the loss of her son to her repeated battles with cancer. But, while it is a very small part of the book, she kinda lost me on the most-publicized aspect of it, her husband's now high-profile marital infidelity. Don't think she was quite ready to write about it.
Non-Fiction Runner-Up: Eric Weiner's The Geography of Bliss probably should earn the the top spot as it really managed to be two books in one, part travelogue and part self-help book as well as he explored different countries and cultures trying to figure out what makes folks happy.
Non-Fiction Book of the Year: Even as pretty big fan of Kathy Griffin (just saw her stand-up for the 3rd time this past weekend), I honestly wasn't expecting much out of Official Book Club Selection, but this proved to be what every memoir should be very truthful, filled with lots of good dirt, and offering some insight into why the person has reached a point in life where they get paid some good $$ to write their story. Of course, this was a very fun and funny book, but far more serious than one would ever suspect.
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Fiction Notables: I thought naming my top fiction books would be pretty easy, since I had pretty easily settled on my top book of the year. However, when it came to ordering the rest of them, it proved to be quite a challenge (which is a pretty good/happy "problem" to have). But on a review of my GoodReads account, I was reminded I gave out four 5-star ratings this past year... so I'll honor that and highlight the others (all 4 stars, or perhaps even 4.5 stars if they allowed 1/2 star ratings) as notable:
Two of my favorite authors - one always fun, Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked and one always very quite serious, Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach.
Three books landed on many "professional" year-end best lists (either this year or last) and they are worthy of mention and earned that praise even despite not making my final cut: Netherland by Joseph O'Neill, Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon, and Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls.
Very enjoyable literary debuts from Alan Bradley (at age 70!) and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and easily the crowd-pleaser of the year, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Bradley already has two sequels in the works and Stockett has a built-in audience for life, though I am sure she can retire on the profits of this run-away, word-of-mouth debut.
... and finally (no, I'm not naming every book I've read), I certainly thought back in March The Book of Dahlia by Elisa Albert would be in a runner-up position, but this sarcastic book about a young woman with a brain tumor would likely be my "next in" book.
Fiction Second Runner-Up (Tie): Okay, I am cheating here a bit. But, I told you I gave out four 5-star ratings, so I think i should highlight each of them with an "award." The first is yet another debut novel, A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz. I am not sure how Toltz will top this epic Australian comedic and philosophical novel. This was a book that you just strapped yourself down with and went on quite a wild ride. Read in April 2009, I thought for sure Margot Livesey's The House on Fortune Street would be my top book of the year as as it was the first book I rated 5-stars since October, 2007! While a bit of downer, I loved the structure of this book with it's slightly overlapping, but time shifting, narratives and perspectives. It made for a challenging, but utterly fascinating read.
Fiction First Runner-Up: I think Jhumpa Lahiri's short-story collection, Unaccustomed Earth, is her best work yet... and that's really saying something given that her debut won a Pulitzer and her debut novel, The Namesake, was my runner-up fiction book of 2007. I've been reading a lot more short stories these days and Lahiri has proven to be one author where each and every one is of the highest quality, even more amazing since she does tend to explore similar themes.
Fiction Book of the Year: It may not be the most beautifully written work I read last year (I'd give that nod to Livesey and Lahiri), but I am not sure I have read as funny as a novel as Jonathan Tropper's This Is Where I Leave You. This is not a book for everyone, a bit edgy and definitely off-color... heck, the first page starts with jokes about a funeral! But there is a lot of heart and tragedy in here too, but it is the 'putting the "fun" in dysfunctional' Foxman family that were my entertainers of the year.
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Previous Years:
On your recomendation, I'm reading This Is Where I Leave You. I am thoughly enjoying it. This is one of those books, like any Sedaris book, I'm trying to read slowly but its very hard to put down. I tend to devour some books, this one I'm trying to savor every page. Its laugh out loud funny. Thanks for reviewing it. That little excerpt you printed totally hooked me. Judd's family reminds me of every Jewish family I knew growing up in New York!
Posted by: Scot | Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 12:39 AM
Glad you liked it, Scot! Thus far I have received all thumbs up from the folks I've recommended it to!
Posted by: Ed | Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 02:38 PM
Awesome post, Ed. You know I love lists!! I'm working on a similar post myself...now to get the time to finish it :) You have definitely given me some picks to add to my list.
Posted by: Amy | Monday, January 25, 2010 at 11:53 AM