The Annual Book List.

It’s getting to be that time of year. Annual best of, worst of lists appear for everything under the sun. And with a new decade almost upon us there seem to be even more lists to wade through this time ‘round.

Rest assured though, this is not that kind of list.

As is my tradition, I kept a record of every book I read this year, which I’ll be sharing with my favorite group of literary college friends sometime in the next week. (For the one of them that actually reads this blog, he gets a sneak preview.)

I only read 21 books this year, a number that seems a bit low to me. I might bang out one more before the end of the year but I’m certainly not going to make 29 in ’09. Ah well, at least I had a goal. Still, I comfort myself by remembering that there are an awful lot of people (unfortunately) that don’t read one book, let alone 21 in a year. 2009 also wins the award for the busiest of my life so far. But that’s a whole different post…

Books I Read in 2009

1.) Then We Came to The End – Joshua Ferris

2.) Self-Made Man – Norah Vincent

3.) Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout

4.) Maus: A Survivor’s Tale (Parts I & II) – Art Spiegelman

5.) He’s Just Not That Into You – Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo

6.) Twilight – Stephanie Meyers

7.) The Moviegoer – Walker Percy

8.) Little Bee – Chris Cleave

9.) The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

10.) Love the One You’re With – Emily Giffin

11.) The Red Tent – Anita Diamant

12.) The History of Love – Nicole Krauss

13.) Wintergirls – Laurie Halse Anderson

14.) Expecting Adam – Martha Beck

15.) Neither Here Nor There – Bill Bryson

16.) Bella Tuscany – Frances Mayes

17.) The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Diaz

18.) Commencement – J. Courtney Sullivan

19.) The Help – Kathryn Stockett

20.) Under the Banner of Heaven – Jon Krakauer

21.) In the Woods – Tana French

On the whole it was a year for a lot of great books. Of course, there were some duds thrown in there too, but we can’t all pick winners all of the time, can we? Besides, how would you appreciate the really amazing books if you didn’t see some of the other (blech) junk that was out there, right? Right.

So – answers to the two questions that inevitably follow lists like this:

Best book? The Book Thief, hands down, no question. I loved every word, every page and was sorry when I finished it and closed it for the last time.

The worst? Bella Tuscany. Ugh. Torture. I adored Under the Tuscan Sun, but couldn’t finish this follow up fast enough.

Now I’m trying to decide on a goal for reads in 2010. I’d like to aim for 30, seeing as I’m 30 and all…but the realist in me thinks that’s a bit lofty. So let’s shoot for a healthy, well rounded 25. 25 in 2010. Happy reading!