Best Books of 2009

As before, these books focus solely on my reading, not the publishing date, but 2009 was covered in good reads!

10. Angel's Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Good, but not comparable to his Shadow of the Wind. The Angel's Game

9. Garden Spells, by Sarah Addison Allen. A fun fantasy that makes one wish we could really do this now and again. Garden Spells

8. Hunting and Gathering, by Anna Gavalda. Getting into the French way of viewing the world took a few chapters, but by the end I felt like lighting a clove cigarette, grabbing an espresso, and sitting outside at a cafe for contemplation time. Beautiful. Hunting and Gathering

7. The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry. The Lace Reader

6. The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries, by Marilyn Johnson. I've read obits forever, and this book just made me feel a bit more "normal" about it ;) The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries

5. March, by Geraldine Brooks. So beautifully written. It sucks you to the time and place; the painful parts and the good ones. March

4. Necropolis: London and its Dead, by Catharine Arnold. For some reason, while I was out of work after my surgery this last year, people kept lending me books about death. This, like all of them, where incredibly interesting and well-written... Necropolis: London and Its Dead

3. Monsters of Templeton, Lauren Groff. The Monsters of Templeton

2. Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. A lovely Gothic-feeling novel. Full of dark book-filled corners and secrets--LOVE it! The Thirteenth Tale

1. The Sugar Queen, by Sarah Addison Allen. This novel was a bit of a sugary fairy tale, but that is what was best about it: escapism into happy! Made me a little sad, too, that as adults we don't go to those imaginary places much. The Sugar Queen