bonniebook's Best of Your Best, 2009

I can't believe how many books I've read this year--couldn't/wouldn't have done it without all my favorite LT-ers! (That means you!) Since I've met my 50-Book challenge almost twice over and I'm about finished with my 999-challenge, I'm creating thread #3 to celebrate and to begin a new challenge. For the rest of 2009, I'm only going to read the Best of Your Best.

Thanks to all of you who listed your top picks for this year on bonniebook's 50-Book Challenge, Chapter 2, I've got a great list of books to choose from. I don't think I'll get even close to 50 books read in the next three months, but I'll have fun along the way! Listed below in the order received are your top choices (so far) for Best of 2009. I'll strike through the titles of the books I've read.

cmt/Cushla:
Here's my list... I've left the book numbers in in case you want to look at my thread for more comments.
1. The Untouchable by John Banville
7. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
6. The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro
11. The Lost Traveller by Antonia White
26. The Island Walkers by John Bemrose
29. Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan
40. Smiley's People by John le Carre
36. The File by Timothy Garton-Ash
19. Acheson: The Secretary of State Who Created the American World by James Chace
14. At the Still Point by Mary Benson
13. Waiariki by Patricia Grace

msf59/Mark:
Here are my choices and all can be found on my challenge, along with my patented mini-reviews:
1. Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada
2. Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips
3. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
4. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
5. What's the Matter With Kansas? by Thomas Frank
6. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
7. The Lost City of Z by David Grann
8. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
10.The Guards by Ken Bruen
*with several more in the wings!!

elliepotten/Ellie:
Lists are the best thing after books, so I have decided to bestow upon you TWO lists, just for the hell of it. Both are in no particular order because, well, that's just beyond me on this grey, miserable day...
My Top 10 Books of 2009 (so far!)
1) The Pleasure of Reading by Antonia Fraser
2) Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs: The Left Bank World of Shakespeare & Co. by Jeremy Mercer
3) Remotely Controlled: How television is damaging our lives and what we can do about it by Dr. Aric Sigman
4) The Complete Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
5) Firmin by Sam Savage
6) My Autobiography by Charles Chaplin
7) Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey - The Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World by Holley Bishop
8) Gold by Dan Rhodes
9) The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
10) Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction by Tom Raabe

My Top 10 Books of All Time
1) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
2) The Secret History by Donna Tartt
3) The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
4) Notes from a Big Country by Bill Bryson
5) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
6) Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
7) A Book Addict's Treasury by Lynda Murphy and Julie Rugg
8) The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
9) Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by Kay Redfield Jamison
10) Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs: The Left Bank World of Shakespeare & Co. by Jeremy Mercer

bell7/Mary:
Here's my top reads for the year so far in no particular order (I read a lot of YA so you'll find that a few of these are teen reads):
1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
2. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
3. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Volume 1 by M.T. Anderson
4. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
5. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
6. The Pleasure of Reading edited by Antonia Frasier
7. Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby
8. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
9. Maus (I and II) by Art Spiegelman
10. Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

SqueakyChu/Madeline:
My fave reads so far for 2009:
When The Emperor Was Divine - Julie Otsuka
The Master of Go - Yasunari Kawabata
Crow Lake - Mary Lawson
Rat - Andrzej Zaniewski
Goat: A Memoir - Brad Land
The Tennis Partner - Abraham Verghese
The Big Year - Mark Obmascik
The Wasp Eater - William Lychack
The Dawning of the Day : A Jerusalem Tale - Haim Sabato
The Twitter Book - Tim O'Reilly

sydamy/Susan:
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman
Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabom
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

karspeak:
FICTION
The Help
Out of Africa
The Handmaid's Tale
Peace Like a River
Sunshine (this was vampire fluff but I loved it)
The Power of One

NONFICTION
Collapse
1491
Three Cups of Tea
My Life in France
Omnivore's Dilemma
White Man's Burden
The Third Chimpanzee
Team of Rivals
Post-American World

myquillisquick/Tina:
Well, I can't resist a list. These are in no particular order.
My 10 Favorite Books of 2009 (Thus Far)
1. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
2. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
3. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
4. Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow 9/27/09
5. The Road by Cormac McCarthy (9/25/09)
6. French Milk by Lucy Knisley
7. Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
8. The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu
9. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
10. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll ("Yes, I know that I said I wasn't impressed with this when I read it, but I'm having second thoughts." Tina)

My 10 Favorite Books Not Read in 2009
1. The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll
2. King Dork by Frank Portman
3. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
4. The Raw-Shark Texts by Steven Hall
5. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
6. Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman
7. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
8. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Sussanna Clarke
9. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
10. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Berly:
Into the North Urrea
2. The Twin, Bakker
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie
4. Inkheart Funke
5. Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini
6. Lamb, Moore
7. The Book Thief, Zusak
8. The Shack, Young
9. Tinkers Harding
10. Last Night in Montreal Mandel

coppers/Joanne:
My 10 favorites so far this year...
84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
Columbine by Dave Cullen
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper
Jim the Boy by Tony Earley
Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

nannybebette/Belva:
So my 2009 faves in no particular order:
1) Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson
2) The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
3) Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
4) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
5) One Extra*Ordinary Day by Harold Myra
6) The Minotaur by Benjamin Tammuz
7) The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck
8) Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
9) Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg
10) Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman
11. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
12) Capote: A Biography by Gerald Clarke
13) The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien
14) The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
15) The Moment Between by Nicole Baart
16) The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
17) To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck
18) Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Some more "Best of 2009" lists I collected from other threads earlier in the year:

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
A Mercy by Toni Morrison
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich
The Wilderness by Samantha Harvey
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Beat the Reaper
The Outlander
DeNiro's Game
The Hunger Games
Olive Kitteridge
Then We Came to the End
The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread
Garden Spells
Rapunzel's Revenge
The Housekeeper and the Professor

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - ****1/2
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier - *****
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks - ****1/2
Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas - ****1/2
The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa - *****
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman - *****
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga - ****1/2
Old Goriot by Honore Balzac - ****1/2
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy - *****
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - *****

The Remains of the Day
A Mercy
A Fine Balance
The Road Home
A Room of One's Own
Sorry
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Wives and Daughters Elizabeth Ganskell
Miss Mole
Desertion

Iphigenia by Teresa de la Parra
At the Still Point by Mary Benson
A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII by Sarah Helm
The Silent Duchess by Dacia Maraini
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Life and Fate by Vasili Grossman
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Clara by Janice Galloway
Thirst: Poems by Mary Oliver
How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone by Sasa Stanisic

Fruit, Brian Francis
Return of the Soldier, Rebecca West--This one is my favourite of the year, so far
Jacob's Room, Virginia Woolf
Vile Bodies, Evelyn Waugh
Beautiful Boy, David Sheff
The Geography of Bliss, Eric Weiner (audiobook)
Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam, Peter Goldsworthy
The Shipping News, E. Annie Proulx
Portrait of a Lady, Henry James
The Robber Bride, Margaret Atwood
Oranges are not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson

The Time Travelers Wife
Body Count by PD Matin
Mutiny on the Bounty by John Boyne
Princeps Fury
The Hunger Games
Turn Coat
From Baghdad with love
On a hoof and a prayer
Triskellion
Halfway to the Grave

The Shadow of the Sun
The Radetsky March
Suite Francaise
Atomised
Things Fall Apart
Red Harvest
Hindoo Holiday
An Instance of the Fingerpost

5 STAR READS:
1) Sorry by Gail Jones
2) The Girls by Lori Lansens
3) The Hiding Place by Trezza Azzopardi
4) Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
5) Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

4.5 STAR READS:
1) Peace Like A River by Leif Enger
2) Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
3) One More Year by Sana Krasikov

There are some great books on these lists that I've already read. Some are even all-time favorites of mine. In fact, they're so good, I might even read them again! For those of you who have already given me suggestions, feel free to add to or change your lists. And MORE LISTS ARE WELCOME!

Wow, what a brilliant idea! I can see my list up there too. ;) And I'm taking notes on books I want to read now as well (argh, so many good books in this world!).

My top reads so far for this half of 2009 are:

Brooklyn, Colm Toibin
Gilgamesh: A Novel, Joan London
What I Loved, Siri Hustvedt
Small Island, Andrea Levy
The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon
Affinity, Sarah Waters
Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
Jasper Jones, Craig Silvey

Oh, I love lists of good books! Happy reading!

I only have three, Bonnie:

Black Swan Green, David Mitchell
The Secret History Donna Tartt
Wives and Daughters, Elizabeth Gaskell - you were going to read this soon anyway I believe :)

Awesome challenge, have fun!

I can't wait to see how you start picking and choosing from this lot! Obviously, we expect you to have read them all by December 31st to avoid disappointing any of your followers and fellow list-makers... ;-)

Bonnie, can't wait to see what your next list holds!

Hi Bonnie!!

My 2 best so far in 2009 were: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.. but will gladly second votes for The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Have fun choosing and happy reading!!

Kathy

Hey Bonnie- Excellent job with this posting! Although it does cause your head to spin with the immense possibilities swirling around out there! Amazing, friend!

Bonnie - What a great idea, thanks for starting this thread! I predict many happy hours of reading in your future ... and an ever-growing wish list in mine! ;-)

Have a great weekend!

Hi Bonnie, love this idea! I'm looking forward to reading what you think of all our favorites. :-)

>5 elliepotten: & 10: LOL! So I guess the first thing I should do is post a warning to everyone. I belong to Netflix and their prediction as to how much I'll like a movie is almost always a half- to a full star lower than the "average" rating. That means I'm more negative than the majority of their customers! L-not quite-OL! My mother would not be surprised! And, you-all, probably won't be either since most of you already know me, but just in case...

The next thing I'm going to do is strike out all the books I've already read. I hate to do it--some of these are my absolute favorites--but gotta slow down the spinning, Mark. I don't want my head to fall off!

Great idea Bonnie. Here are my faves so far:

1.A Thread of Grace - Mary Doria Russell
2. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams - Wayne Johnston
3. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson
5. Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery
6. The Plague of Doves - Louise Erdrich
7. Small Island - Andrea Levy
8. Shadow Country - Peter Matthiessen
9. The Idea of Perfection - Kate Grenville
10.The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson

Other close favorites:
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
City of Thieves by David Benioff
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
Olive Kittridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies
Out Stealing Horses by Per Pettersen

My TBR list just grew exponentially looking at all the good books listed in this post.

>3 wookiebender:: No fair, Wookiebee! You can't give me another ten to choose from! ;-) Homework: Choose your top 5 from each list.

>4 ChocolateMuse:: Yes, I'm committed to reading Wives and Daughters this year--as soon as I get it from the library. Thanks! :-)

>6 judylou:: Actually, I'm reading Lark and Termite which I think you recommended, so you won't have to wait long. :-)

>7 kmbooklover:: I enjoyed all four of your favorites too, especially Water for Elephants--just read it again last week--and The Time Traveler's Wife. Thanks!

>12 brenzi:: Brenzi, we have so many mutual favorites, I'll have to check out the ones I haven't read for sure!

This is fantastic!! Your compilation of lists is a great source for the rest of us, thanks!!!

I love this idea! Here are my top choices so far from 2009 (in the order I read them, not in order of preference):

1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
2. The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga
3. Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger's Love Story, Jerry and Mary Newport
4. The Ministry of Fear, Graham Greene
5. Grace River, Rebecca Hendry
6. Suite Francaise, Irene Nemirovsky
7. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, David Wroblewski
8. Still Alice, Lisa Genova

Some recent favourites:
Atonement, Ian McEwan
Three Day Road, Joseph Boyden
The Piano Man's Daughter, Timothy Findley
Fall on Your Knees, Anne-Marie MacDonald
Runaway, Alice Munro

My all-time favourites:
The Bourne Trilogy, Robert Ludlum
The Cider House Rules, John Irving
A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
Emma, Jane Austen
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
To Kill a Mockingbird, Haper Lee
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, Jung Chang (non-fiction)
Written on the Body, Jeanette Winterson

Hope there's something here that strikes your fancy!

>11 bonniebooks: oh, no worries if you like my favorites less (or even not at all). I like seeing why someone liked or disliked a book and getting a sense of what appeals to them - it's such a personal reaction, a mix of personality, interests, likes & dislikes, mood, and whatever-it-is-I'm-looking-for-in-my-book-right-now. It makes for an interesting discussion with someone who's read the same book that I have because even if they hate a book I loved (or vice versa), they might point out aspects of the book that I hadn't thought about or even notice and it still brings out an appreciation of the book for me.

Wow Bonnie - you've got quite a collection here to choose from! How will you decide which ones you want to read? A hat choice or will you actively pick? I see a lot of my favorites here on many different lists and I know this'll be a lot of fun!

>18 bell7:: ...even if they hate a book I loved (or vice versa), they might point out aspects of the book that I hadn't thought about or even notice and it still brings out an appreciation of the book for me.

Mary, everything you said feels so right to me about why I might like, or not like a book, and it always makes it better to discuss it with someone else. In the process, I learn more about the book, but also, hopefully, I learn more about them and myself too.

>17 spacepotatoes:: Thanks, Andrea! I've liked-to-loved all the books that I've read on your list, so I assume I'll like the rest of them as well!

>19 Copperskye:: I think that all these lists are a win/win for me, coppers. Whatever I don't read this year makes for a great start to the next, don't you think?! :-)

I am practically salivating on my keyboard as I read all the recommendations. Great suggestions and I plan to loot some ideas if I do the 10-10-10 thing next year. Happy reading!

I know, I'm already thinking about how I turn this into a 10-10-10!

Great idea to finish your year with Bonnie. I look forward to your reviews.

Congratulations on finishing the 999 Bonnie. The best of the best is a great idea, so here are two more:
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, and an oldie but goodie, E. F. Benson's Mrs Ames.

Great challenge idea and juicy lists! The Top 10 from my 999 so far … in an approximation of preference:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Stitches by David Small
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Border Songs by Jim Lynch
The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
ABC3D by Marion Bataille
Notes from the Underwire by Quinn Cummings
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Again, congratulations and great idea! I can't resist adding my own favorite 10 so far this year, though I think you've read some of them. In the order read:

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
The Hope by Herman Wouk
The Glory by Herman Wouk
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
The Secret Magdalene by Ki Longfellow
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

>24 pamelad:: Pam, I really liked Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight too; I'll check out Mrs. Ames.

>25 detailmuse:: MJ, you've got some really intriguing titles in your list. Are they about writing and/or education? I'll have to go check them out. I'm reading Cutting for Stone for sure, but am going to wait until it comes out in PB. I listened to, or read (I can't remember which) an interview with David Small which made me search out his book, Stitches. I "read" the first third of the book right there at the store. His combination of words and pictures really adds to the intensity of both his and your experience, don't you think? You don't have to hear about what someone did or said, and then wait for description of how the next person thinks, feels and reacts--it's all there, all at once. I'm not saying this very well, so hope you get what I'm trying to say (if only I could draw a picture!)

>26 ivyd:: Actually, I've only read one of your books, though I own The Alchemist and I was checking out The Lace Reader and one of Stieg Larsson's books yesterday. I love all the lists. Keep them coming! Hopefully, there will start to be some overlap in the lists to steer me toward your "favorite favorites."

Edited to add: I am seriously thinking about putting all this on a grid/graph though, as I take in information better when it's also visual.

>27 bonniebooks: bonnie, I can stretch only one of the books to education -- the three-dimensional alphabet, ABC3D. And two toward writing -- The Help involves a writing project and Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life made me want to drop everything and write my own version.

Stitches and The Help are my WOW! books so far this year. Stitches is my first-ever graphic novel (graphic memoir, actually) and I think it helped that it was much less dense (visually) than others I've seen. Outstanding.

Just remembered two more recent favourites that got left off the list somehow, you may have already them but just in case:

Life of Pi, Yann Martel
The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd (one with a nice cover AND a good coming of age story!)

>30 spacepotatoes:: one with a nice cover AND a good coming of age story

You got my number! :-)

Lots of people have already done this quiz. Just a little bit of entertainment until I review something.

Answer these questions using only the titles of the books you've read this year:

Describe yourself: (One of those) Women Who Love Books Too Much

How do you feel: Strange as This Weather Has Been

Describe where you currently live: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: (Truthfully) The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop (but I'd like to be the kind of person who was) Out Stealing Horses

Your favorite form of transportation: The Secret River

Your best friend is: The Optimist's Daughter

You and your friends are: The Flying Troutmans - as in smart, funny (at least they are) and a little wacky!

What’s the weather like: The Earth Hums in B Flat

You fear: Nixonland

What is the best advice you have to give: Talent is Overrated

Thought for the day: We are all Welcome Here

How I would like to die: Dreamers of the Day

My soul’s present condition: A Version of Truth

oh wow, so great lists! you're going to have fun.
Brenzi, I'm off to look at your profile because I loved about 5 of the books in your top 10...

You're really going to read all of these in four months? Well, I guess if you've already read 999 this year, that's not much of a stretch.

I'll give you some more suggestions because I'm an enabler.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Sophie's World by Gaarder Jostein
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk
Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

Smile! No, I don't think I'm going to read all these books, or even read 50 books. But the books I do read will all come from your top picks of 2009, so thanks for yours, Tina!

#13> Homework: Choose your top 5 from each list.

Aw! But, fair enough, really.

Does it count if you've already crossed six off my original list? :)

But here goes, a Top Ten from my original two lists (slightly weighted towards the second list - some didn't quite make a second round cut because they've faded a bit too much from my memory):

The Player of Games, Iain M. Banks (but only if you like sci-fi)
The Slap, Christos Tsiolkas
All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
Brooklyn, Colm Toibin
What I Loved, Siri Hustvedt
Small Island, Andrea Levy
The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon
Affinity, Sarah Waters
Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
Jasper Jones, Craig Silvey

>35 wookiebender: Your list looks great, Wookiebee! I've read two of them, but I wouldn't rule anything out. For example, I don't read much SciFi, but then again some of my absolute favorites (e.g., Sparrow, To Say Nothing of the Dog) are in that category. Now all I've got to do for the rest of the year is start reading!

Thanks for including my book, via Coppers' list. (Thanks, Coppers).

You've crossed some pretty great ones off your list. I need to reread All Quiet on the Western Front.

Dave, thanks for visiting my thread. A lot of people on LT have raved about Columbine. It's not often a single word can stand for so much. Considering the grim topic, it must be a great read. And, yes, we all need to reread All Quiet on the Western Front!

Here are Deborah's (arubabookwoman) top picks via my profile page:

The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta
Train to Pakistan by ? Singh
This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Jelloun
Family of Secrets by Russ Baker
2666 by Roberto Bolano
The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
The Whisperers by Orlando Figes
Iphigenia by Maria de la Paresa
Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
Little Dorrit by Dickens

My goodness....where does one start???? Such great recommendations!!!! Oh noooo......trying desperately to contain my TBR......ahhhhh!!!!

Not so many for me, I sadly admit. Am I getting harder to please? But I do have a few old and new that I feel as strongly about as some of the classics I've read and loved.

No order. Off the top of my head.

1. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
2. Life of Pi
3. The Secret Magdalene
4. Into the Wild
5. Blood Meridian
6. Alias Grace
7. All the Pretty Horses

I'm reading Flow Down Like Silver: Hypatia of Alexandria. That might make this list.

Thanks, Sparkyx. I really liked all the books on your list that I have read. Was the Perfume book made into a movie? I think I've got Blood Meridian on my list in spite of the title, so I must have liked what I read.

Edited to add: Oh, no, no, no! I'm shuddering still from reading the reviews of Blood Meridian. I loved All the Pretty Horses but don't want to go there.

The movie they made of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer was as close to the book as any I've ever seen. Except Gone With the Wind. And yes, Blood Meridian is violent and brutal, but, well, it's real writing and a real book and really worth it. I have to say I am tired of YA novels becoming the Big Book. Not sure what it means.

I had to read The Cellist of Sarajevo again for my book group last night. I'm making it sound like I was resistant to doing that, but actually it was my choice, both in recommending the book to my friends as a group read, and to read it again. This is a beautiful story, a beautiful book that I made ugly with all my dog-eared pages, scribbling in the margins, and repeated underlinings and circling of phrases that felt important to me. Its terrible condition reminds me of one of the characters who, while waiting for some signal, some feeling that it was safe to cross a street, was thinking about how ludicrous that the 6-lane street he was trying to navigate was called "Snipers' Alley." The city was so dangerous that there were NO streets that couldn't have this title. In his experience, this described basically every street in Sarajevo--it made more sense to try to find the one street that might be safe from the snipers and give it the "special" name. I feel the same way about this book. I would have been better off, underlining the few sentences that didn't make me pause, didn't make me think or care, then underline those!

The author's writing is beautiful and often poetic. For example: "One moment the people are walking or running through the street, and then they drop abruptly as if they were marionettes and their puppeteer has fainted." Or this line in describing bodies being loaded feet first into a van after a mortar shelling: "...their heads loll back as if taking one last look at the place where they died." Mostly though, what's beautiful about this book is just being able to experience with each of the four characters those moments that make them think, make them feel, make them decide to act in one way or another in the midst of a war that they're trapped in and afraid will never end. And that their lives, or their city, will never be back to "normal."

Amazing review Bonnie - I've read a few people's thoughts on this one and none of them have made me REALLY want to read it - except yours! :-)

Bonnie- Nice review of The Cellist of Sarajevo! Joanne encouraged me to check it out, so I have it sitting in my tbr, (with plenty of other company, I promise you), so I may have to bump it up a few notches.

Bonnie,
I'm on a long list for this one at the public library and can't wait for it to come. Your excellent review means I may have to just go out and buy it.

>45 elliepotten:-47: Read it, bump it, buy it! :-)

Hey, everybody, today's my anniversary! It's been exactly one year since I joined Library Thing!

Congrats Bonnie, throw yourself a party!

Wonderful review of The Cellist too. As you know I read it not that long ago and thought it was beautiful in spite of its harsh subject matter.

Happy Anniversary Bonnie.

Hey Bonnie- Congratulations!! Hope to see you around many more!!

Happy LT-versary Bonnie :)

Bonnie, it seems like longer than that!! Happy LT anniversary!
I loved your review of the Cellist of Sarajevo.

Happy anniversary Bonnie!

Has it only been a year? It feels to me like you were here when I arrived. Happy L.T. anniversary bonniebooks. I am so very glad you are here.
love,
belva

Thanks, all! I love listening and participating in all the conversations about books as well as your lives. You guys are all so funny and witty, as well as remarkably thoughtful--in both meanings of that word. The friendships made on LT are surprisingly satisfying--I wouldn't have thought that could happen. I even have a real-life LT friend (arubabookwoman) and hope to meet more of you soon. (I'm talking to you, nannybebette, teelgee, and Berly!)

Well, I said I wasn't going to do it anymore. I was not going to buy a book without at least reading the first chapter, the way I used to BLT. But I was so convinced that Lark and Termite was going to be my favorite kind of book--a heart-warming, funny/sad, coming-of-age story told in first person narrative by a smart, appealing, though not necessarily always likable, main character--that I didn't even read the first page. When my favorite book store had a used copy, I just grabbed it based on your reviews, the appealing cover and a cute title. But this wasn't a cute book, not at all, so at first I was disappointed. After reading the first few chapters, I even put it aside for a couple of weeks. It's hard to describe what I at first didn't like about the book. Those of you who have read it, may be able to describe Phillips's writing better than I. It felt to me like a sort of intense dream, stream of consciousness, or a non-stop poem in some places. And there's quite a bit of what I would call magical realism, but maybe someone who knows all the proper terms would call it something else.

Friday night, with nothing better to do, I started all over again, and with a more open mind this time, I found I really liked Lark and Termite. The writing is beautiful and I grew to love the characters. Most of the characters are somewhat to very much haunted by past relationships (or in some cases, their lack of a real relationship due to someone's death). The symbolism and magical realism for the most part added to the story for me.

Don't worry Bonnie - we've all done it, grabbed a book impulsively from the bargain-laden shelves because we've heard so much about it (or even if we haven't), 'JUST BECAUSE'. Sometimes it brings up duds, sometimes it brings up treasures we might never otherwise have discovered...

And I agree with you about the meaningful friendships on LT. When I left uni ill I left most of my friends behind me. I have a girl down the road from me who used to be my best friend, but when I went away to uni we inevitably grew apart anyway, and now we're very much busy with our own lives. Of course, the fact that I could barely leave the house for many months didn't help! We see each other every few weeks for a catch-up and a cup of tea, but not like the long gossipy evenings and DVD afternoons and shopping days we used to enjoy.

Then along came LibraryThing! Here we have attentive, bookish, lovely people who share our passions and are genuinely interested in what we have to say and how our lives are working out, be they a hundred miles away or a thousand. I spend more time here than amongst my old uni friends or passing acquaintances on Facebook, and feel more connected through our combined bookishness and our collective interest in each other's opinions and experiences and general wellbeing. It's a great place to be! :-D

OK, sorry for hijacking your thread with my sentimentality Bonnie - possibly the product of sitting in an empty shop feeling a little tiny bit poorly - as you were!

>Ellie- Very well said about our LT! A special place!
Bonnie- So glad you gave Lark and Termite a second chance. It was also an incredible experience for me and sits right there at the very top. She is an amazing writer!

Hi Bonnie--Just dropping in to read your thread between museums. Happy LT anniversary. I agree with everything you and elliepotten said about LT--it's a special place.

See you soon,

Deborah

Ha! I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away from LT! ;-) Jealous about the museums!

Hi Bonnie

What a great idea! I can't help feeling a mix of jealousy and awe at the amount of books you've read this year. Here's my current (it changes depending on what I can remember!) top 10 novels of all time FWIW. No particular order.

Midnight's Children by Rushdie
Vanity Fair by Thackeray
The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov
Cloud Atlas by Mitchell
Darkness at Noon by Koestler
Perfume: Story of a Murderer by Suskind
The Road by McCarthy
Secret River by Grenville
Silas Marner by Elliot
I,' Claudius by Graves

Well, Jinster, I started The Road this morning, so will have some comments for you later in the week. :-)

jintster- Very interesting list! I'm saving Midnight's Children for a possible group read, (right Bonnie?). I loved The Road and the 1st half of Perfume and I have Secret River waiting in my tbr.

>64 msf59:: Chuckle! Right, Mark! Just finished The Reader today. As I was reading, I kept remembering how the actors so aptly represented the author's internal feelings/dialogue--that's usually where a movie falls down. I don't know what I would have thought about the words I was reading, had I not seen the movie. I didn't not like the book, but I think this is one time that the movie was so good, and had such great actors, that it outshines the book.

I started The Road the other day, but then immediately lost it. Don't think it was intentional, but didn't pick it up again. That may be because I realized that I've already read this book. Funny, when I bought it, I thought it sounded like a story I had already read and remembered, but I didn't think that was possible as I thought I had read that book more than three years ago. I guess I'm wrong. Even though I thought it was very good the first time around, not sure if I'm going to read the whole thing again, in part because I had 10 books waiting for me at the library today. In no particular order they are: The Labyrinth, Rebecca, Sharp Teeth, Deaf Sentence, 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, The Radetzsky March, Wives and Daughters, This Hour I First Believed, Black Girl, White Girl by Joyce Carol Oates, and In the Footsteps of Marco Polo. I also still have So Brave and So Handsome which I checked out just because I loved Peace Like a River by the same author. I think a lot of these books are on your lists too, so I know I have some great choices. My plans for this weekend: Read and work in my garden. Have a good one, you all! :-)

Edited to try to fix the touchstone for The Reader. Why won't it work?! #%@*!

Hey Bonnie- That's quite a list to work through! I was not a fan of Labyrinth but am curious about Sharp Teeth. I loved the Lamb book and I too have So Brave and So Handsome sitting in the tbr. Have a great weekend friend!

Hey, Mark! I ended up not reading The Labyrinth (and am curious about what you didn't like). Instead, I finished The Road. Wow! That's such a stark, somber reality Cormac McCarthy presents, isn't it? I like those books that make you think about the choices you might make, and who you think you are as a person.

Hey Bonnie!
I too thought the movie The Reader was a very good adaptation. I saw it a very long time after I had read the book so some things I didn't remember clearly. I read Deaf Sentence earlier this year and enjoyed it and Rebecca is on my TBR list.

Hi Bonnie, I'd have to say that I found The Labyrinth a bit long-winded, I didn't like it overmuch. I am reading Schlink's latest one at the moment and it is a bit dull. Unfortunately, it doesn't stand up too well when compared to The Reader, which I thought was brilliant. As for your list of books, I hope you like the Oates one when you get to it!

Hi Bonnie. After reading your review, I am very excited to read the The Cellist of Sarajevo. It is waiting for me on my TBR pile. And may I wish you a very belated Happy Anniversary!! For my long list of excuses for not being here lately, check out my thread. I miss you!

I read The Labryinth yesterday and knew just what kind of book it was going to be a few pages in but continued anyway. I always like the first half of these kinds of books in spite of the mediocre writing, but am usually sorely disappointed by the resolution of these convoluted plots. The last third of this book was particulary pathetic, given all that the author had set up. People who like historical romances may rate it higher, but Judylou said it well, when she described it as "longwinded." So, you could say I broke my pledge to only read "the best of your best" and was punished for it! ;-) Learned my lesson, won't do it again! Next books up (mostly because they're library books): White Teeth, Wives and Daughters and The Hour I First Believed. Thanks again for your lists!

Bonnie- Sorry you had to plod through that! I had a difficult time muddling through it, myself. Yes, I remember the writing to be weak and lackluster characterizations. All I thought about as I finished the 2nd half of Labyrinth was how much I was looking forward to starting my next book, very similar to how I feel now as I finish up The Shack. Better luck next time friend!

White Teeth is a good one! It's kind of long, but I think it's worth it...interesting characters and I liked Smith's sense of humour. Hope you enjoy it!

Bonnie- I think you meant Sharp Teeth on message #71. Correct? Although White Teeth was very good. I read it a few years ago.

Oh, yes! Sharp Teeth! Just devoured it! Ooooh! Feeling shivery, but satisfied! ;-)

Bonnie, hope you like The Radetsky March. It's one to read unhurriedly, in peace and quiet.

Ooh! I just love lists! Really enjoyed looking at all of these lists and learning about other people’s favorites. The name of the books on the lists are pretty diverse but some names do pop up more than once.

Just one little thought, bonniebooks. I saw the book Smiley's People by John le Carre on cmt's list. I personally read it after reading Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy as a part of the Smiley vs. Karla trilogy. Not that it is not good as a stand alone book but reading it in that order just made it more interesting for me. Of course if you have already read the other two then that’s a different story. I must say nothing beats Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The Honourable Schoolboy is my least favorite of the three books.

#77 - I totally agree. I should've said that I read Smiley's People after the first two and I wouldn't read it on its own. I just pulled my list together from my 75 BC thread but it's out of context over here. (and in my top 5 for this quarter, I flip flopped and put Tinker Tailor instead of Smiley's People!) I really didn't enjoy the Honourable Schoolboy as much - quite a slog, but worth it to get to book #3.

#78 Yes, The Honourable Schoolboy is quite a slog. It is also probably the longest of the three books. But totally worth it.

#79 have you read Our Game by le Carre? I bought it for $2 at the charity book fair.

Hi Bonnie, hope you're well! (and on holiday with a book?)

# 80 No, I haven't read that one. But I've read some pretty good reviews about it. There are two other le Carre books that I've wanted to read for a long time but somehow or other never got around to, The Tailor of Panama and The Spy who came in from the Cold. Have you read these two books?

Just spying on the conversation here...sneaks off stealthily.

#82 LOL That was funny, Berly.

Thanks, you all, for bringing my thread up and reminding me that I've been neglecting to post. During the week, I was flitting from book to book, not quite settling down with one. A couple of comments about a book I haven't finished yet. The author of A Fraction of the Whole is wickedly clever, so witty. But he reminds me of some men I've known who are so in love with themselves and their ability to tell stories. You know, the kind who love words and think they have to tell you every outrageous thought that comes into their mind? And their complicated stories go on and on and on... And they're just a little bit crazy? So, I've been a little resistant to sitting down with the guy and spending a whole day with him. I've also been thinking about how many times the characters in the books I've been reading lately (and I suspect their authors too) live lives I don't respect. They drink too much, they do drugs, they steal, they're harmful to themselves and others. I admire both the characters' (and the authors') ability to turn themselves around, but do these things have to go together? OK, I have lots more to say, but I'm going to stop here and calm myself down. :-)

I chose to hang out with Elizabeth Ganskell and her Wives and Daughters this weekend. I realized a few pages in that I had seen the television series, so I knew pretty much everything that was going to happen, but that was OK because it's more about being a part of the conversation with these books written in the 1800's. I started thinking about how important talk and social gatherings were in these people's lives; it was a primary source of entertainment (well, and vexation). I have to say that this story also made me wonder if TV and all the other media that have been developed to entertain us have stunted our ability to stay with a good long tale. Most popular fiction is about half this length. I'm including myself in this comment. A couple of times, I thought, "Does this story really need to be this long?" even as I was enjoying it. But then I thought, "This book was the miniseries of its day."

Looking back at what I've written, it doesn't quite make sense, but I've got to be somewhere, so will post it and try to explain myself better later. Take care everybody and thanks for stopping by.

#84 Oh that's not ture, bonniebooks! You make perfect sense and it is wonderfully written!

~Big wave to Bonnie~ Funny, I have had A Fraction of the Whole on my wishlist, what seems like forever and you just reminded me why it's there! I need to snag a copy! See ya friend!

I think you'll really like it Mark. My son said it was the best book he's read in years. I'm going to have to see how the characters evolve before I can say whether it was worth reading. I was saying to arubabookwoman that your Best of 2009 maybe had the most overlaps of books that we both have read and enjoyed, so it will be interesting to find out what we both think.

>77 Porua:-81: Thanks for the advice you two! There are so many good books out there, I really appreciate it when LT-ers can steer me toward the best in a series. I think you gave me a heads up on that, Cushla, during our earlier discussion, so I was already planning on rereading Tinker, Tailer, Soldier, Spy. Then if I really love it, I'll consider going on.

I liked A Fraction of the Whole but it certainly wasn't without its flaws. For a debut novel it's amazingly ambitious but this tells against it in some ways too - you get the feeling that Toltz has crammed in absolutely every idea and witticism he'd jotted down in his notebook since he was a kid. The novel gets a bit silly at the end as well. Still it's well worth a read and I reckon Toltz will be a major writer in the future, especially if he can calm down a bit!

>89 jintster:: you get the feeling that Toltz has crammed in absolutely every idea and witticism he'd jotted down in his notebook since he was a kid

Yes! So well said!

How interesting. Just found your thread, here. Well, by now I'm sure you've got all the lists you need, but just for the record, here's my Top 10 list for 2009 so far, in no particular order:

Thirty Stories by Kay Boyle
Bonk: the Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
GraceLand by Chris Abani
The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters by Joseph Stanley Pennell
Up in the Air by Walter Kirn
A Mad Desire to Dance by Elie Wiesel
Top of the World by Hans Ruesch
The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
Satchel: the Life and Times of an American Legend by Larry Tye
The Black Flower by Howard Bahr

I would say The Line of Beauty, GraceLand and The Black Flower would be my top three, with the Kay Boyle story collection a close Honorable Mention and Satchel a must-read for any baseball/U.S. history fan.

W&D is indeed very long, Bonnie, but sooooo immersive and delightful! One just sinks down into that sunny village and lives, laughs and cries with the characters. It's like having an alternate life for a while; peaceful and rather feminine, and not without tragedy. It's also very thoughtful and intelligent - particularly the depiction of Cynthia and Squire Hamley, both wonderfully deep and complex characters.

Looking forward to more of your thoughts on it!

Bonnie I've seen A Fraction of the Whole but haven't been tempted (yet) - the length is the main thing putting me off. Looking forward to your reaction when you finish it.

Rocketjk I am going to look at your list now...

rocketjk, I always welcome more lists, though I count more than ten books there. You've got to bite the bullet and tell me what your Totally Top Ten are if you want me to add them to my alphabetized list of books that I'm going to select from for the rest of the year. :-)

ChocolateMuse, your description of Wives and Daughters is much more descriptive and informative than mine was, so thanks for adding your comments. I think it helps other LT-ers get those multiple views. Have you read North and South? I'll probably put that one on my list for next year.

Cushla, my copy of A Fraction of the Whole isn't particularly big, but these library books I've been getting are monsters, so I can imagine this one might be too if you got it in hardback. The book is an easy read. And as I said, he's remarkably witty (I love jinster's comment--lol funny!), but I stopped reading it temporarily because I'm not in the mood for reading about the main character's life. But this is mostly about me right now, not the book at all.

I have to sheepishly admit to reading the third book in the Outlander series by Dianne Gabaldon. I said I wasn't going to read any more of them, but she was speaking at my favorite bookstore and one of the women who worked there said it was her favorite one. It was good escapist fun, except when I was snorting in disgust, or tearing my hair out at all the stupid plot points, and yelling at the characters (usually Clair). Again, why I expect a story that has time travel to be logical or realistic says more about me. Too many parts of this book read like a parody of the stereotypical "bodice ripper." My suspicion, though, is that people who love this genre will enjoy this book while the rest of us will wonder why we are wasting our time when there are so many good books out there. But, ahem, I did finish it, so...

I really fell off the wagon this week. Another book read that wasn't on my list was Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. All you runners out there, especially all you masochistic marathoners, and/or those of you with foot problems, will enjoy this book. I haven't run for twenty years and I read it in one sitting!

And I'm happy to announce that I'm reading The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb so I'm legal now.

Bonnie,
If that's the rule (read only books on my list) I would be in serious trouble a large majority of the time. Yes I have a very lengthy TBR list but then I make the mistake of coming on these threads and seeing someone (or many people) rave about a book so I abandon my list and run out to get the aforementioned book. (sigh) BTW I've had The Hour I First Believed on my list since it came out as I loved his first two. I will look forward to what you have to say about it and will probably bump it up.

Hi Bonnie- I hope you enjoy The Hour I First Believed. It is one of my favorites of the year. What a terrific writer! BTW, I just started Zeitoun. I think I am in for a treat.

Hi Bonnie! I know you are a solid, upright citizen, so I won't rat you out for straying off your book list. A girl has to have a little flexibility and fun, don't you think?! (I liked the third Outlander book, too. In fact, I have read them all! They do get a little old...have to space them out. Otherwise, the bodice ripping and kidnappings are just too irritating, LOL!)

I read somewhere someone saying (I think it was wisewoman) that suddenly diverging and unexpectedly reading books not on your TBR is all part of the fun!

I have attempted North and South several times, and never finished it. Somehow, I just can't get into it. It's nothing like Wives and Daughters. I think it's pushing a barrow, a fictional rant about important topics of Gaskell's day. Less timeless, and thus less of a classic. But that's just me, I know of many people who love it.

Thanks, Chocolatemuse; I'm always happy to get some feedback that will allow me to take a book off my wish list. I'm even considering erasing my whole list at the beginning of the year and starting all over again next year.

Well, Mark, I read The Hour I First Believed and can't say it's going to be in my top ten--don't think I would even put it in my top 500. Mr. Lamb just shoved way too many issues into one book. I don't want to be a spoiler or I'd start rattling them off right now. It got to be a little too much after awhile. But I was crying at the end, and Lamb did manage to wrap a lot of the various themes together finally.

I was trying to think of why else I didn't like this book as much as you did. When I was studying interpreting, we learned about "register." It was important as interpreters that we match the register of the person's words we were trying to translate. And it wasn't just about vocabulary, but also tone, formality/informality, culture, body language, use of slang, grammar, etc. So when I was reading this book, I kept thinking I don't like the register of this protagonist's voice, or of the author's voice either. It's probably a total misuse of this concept, but it's the only word I could think of for what was bothering me.

The protagonist had an anger management problem, so I could understand why Lamb had him think, say, and act in the ways that he did, but the whole tone of the book was just a little too rude and crude, too...crass? I can't figure out quite how to explain it. I wish I had kept the book, so that I could include a couple of quotes, darn it. On the other hand, Lamb was trying to get so much information in about all the various issues that sometimes it felt like I was reading a newspaper, or nonfiction, which I know was intentional some of the time, but other times it got tedious, especially the dissertation. So, sometimes, the tone of the book felt too personal, other times too dry. I'm not sorry I read The Hour I First Believed, but I think it would have been a better book if Wally Lamb had saved some of it for another book.

I have to reread The Blind Assassin for my book group meeting on Thursday, but also started The Well and the Mine which was recommended by a lot of LT-ers.

Bonnie- Sorry the Lamb book didn't work for you and it sounded like you got pretty frustrated. You explained your displeasure's very well and a couple I might even agree with. Well, I guess it would be boring if we were always on the same page! Later friend!

Nah! I wouldn't say I was frustrated; I enjoyed The Hour I First Believed well enough to keep reading. I was just trying to explain why the "critical editor" in me was wrinkling my nose sometimes.

It's raining books here in Seattle along with the usual stuff! I just started The Well and the Mine, have Brooklyn by Toibin sitting here as well. But at the library, I have even more wonderful books waiting for me: The Hummingbird's Daughter, Inkheart, It's All Too Much, The Lost City of Z, Small Island, Still Alice, The Things They Carried, and What I Loved. Can you believe that list? And all recommended by you! Big Thanks! :-))

Oh Bonnie great list and all waiting for you. I'm reading and loving Still Alice right now.

Oh, goody! We'll have to have our own little book group -- The Bonnie Book Group! ;-)

I would love to join The Bonnie Book Club!! That is an incredible batch of books you have from the library. The Things They Carried is a stunner! I have not read What I Loved but have heard great things. You sound like you will be very busy and also very happy! Good luck friend!

You're in, Mark! You can be our "Bonny Prince." Right, Bonnie?

Ooh, that's a fab list! You're going to have some fun reading there!

Whoops! Just saw I was over 10. Somehow unlearned how to count! OK, then: ten!

Thirty Stories by Kay Boyle
Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
GraceLand by Chris Abani
The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters by Joseph Stanley Pennell
Up in the Air by Walter Kirn
A Mad Desire to Dance by Elie Wiesel
Top of the World by Hans Ruesch
Satchel: the Life and Times of an American Legend by Larry Tye
The Black Flower by Howard Bahr

> 109 Yes Mark do join us. Small Island may be my #1 favorite this year although it's going to be a tough call. I have never had a year where I read so many 4 and 5 star books, all because of LT friends like you two making suggestions.

I wishlisted Small Island and yes it looks very good. I have also had a wonderful reading year, with many thanks to LT and I will be wrapping up Zeitoun later today and that will also soar right to the top.
Bonnie Prince

Got 'em added rocketjk, thanks! :-) For those of you interested, an alphabetized list of all your recs is coming soon.

Small Island is fantastic - not on my list because I read it a few years ago. I have Andrea Levy's Every Light in the House Burnin' and it looks great too.

My son was supposed to come home this weekend, but his visit has been delayed a week. Normally I would be disappointed, but now I can dig into this great pile of books from the library and read all weekend. Hope it rains too so that I have an excuse for not getting out in the yard and doing some very necessary fall clean-up. Some people complain about the rain, but not me! My best memories growing up include me curled up on my bed with my dog, a good book and an apple, and the rain drumming on the roof. Guess it's a good thing I live in the Northwest, huh?

Here's my top 10 books of 2009, so we can get our challenge going.

1) Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
2) Douglass' Women by Jewel Parker Rhodes
3) The Water is Wide by Pat Conroy
4) The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
5) Clara's War, One Girl's Story of Survival by Clara Kramer
6) The Highlander's Last Song by George MacDonald
7) Far Bright Star by Robert Olmstead
8) The Outlander by Gil Adamson
9) In Search of Stones by M. Scott Peck
10) Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier

So, bonniebooks, what will I be reading for our challenge?

I want in on the Bonnie Book Group, too!! :)

OK, that list was way too long! I've deleted it. If anyone wants the alphabetized list, tell me and I'll send it to you.

Wow! Get me to a deserted island!

Now THAT is what I call a list! Do you have a system in mind for how you're going to pick the titles or just go by whatever mood strikes you?

Oh Bonnie, I hope you haven't bitten off more than you can chew! You know us book-loving types; if we're not sitting buried in our latest read or trawling the LT threads, we do love nothing more than a good list, we can sense them from afar and swoop in to contribute... I echo spacepotatoes' question - however are you going to choose?!

>119 Berly:: OK, my Bonny Berly! ;-)

>121 brenzi:: LOL!

>122 spacepotatoes: & 123: Well, I wasn't overwhelmed until I had to post it on LT. It took forever to load, and didn't get loaded completely. I decided to delete it, so as not to mess you all up when you come to visit. But I love the list! I use it when I go online to reserve books from the library. I have more confidence in your Top Tens than I do in my own wish list, so I'll probably keep using it next year.

Sorry to have missed seeing the list. Was it taking so long to load because you were including touchstones? Maybe if you just listed the titles as text it would go more smoothly. Anyway, just a suggestion.

Yes, I posted it plain, no touchstones, last night, then spent time this morning adding all the touchstones so that LT-ers could click on titles they were interested in. It didn't work, but did it because I'm basically lazy--I want to click on those Touchstones when people list books that sound good. :-) Oh, well!

#126> Easy enough to highlight and copy a book title, open "Search" and paste, but it's your list to manage as you please!

I posted the list to your profile, Jerry. I'll do the same for anybody that wants it. :-)

Perfect! Thanks for taking the time!

>118 CharlesBoyd:: How about A Fine Balance? Have you read it?

Hi, Bonnie,
I finally got caught up on your new thread. There certainly are lots of enticing titles on the list. This makes it hard for me to not buy books these days. Have a wonderful day!! :)
--BJ

what a great idea, getting everyone involved like that! Hope you enjoy people's recommendations, bonnieB!

Thanks, I have been, gug! Read three books over this weekend. Two recs from my list and one just-for-fun chicklit.

Yesterday I finished The Well and the Mine. Though there is a basic plot line, this book is more a series of vignettes centered around the Moore family, Albert, Leta and their three children Virgie, Tess, and Jack. Tess starts her story first, having seen a woman in the dark of night drop a baby into their family's well. She and her sister try to find out who did this and their quest serves as one plot line, while their father's experiences in the coal mine (along with his increasing understanding of the wrongness of segregation and the continued subjugation of African Americans) serves as another. In between, we get to experience the day-to-day realities of what it might have been like to live in a rural, coal-mining town outside of Birmingham, Alabama during the depression years for each member of the family, as well as their neighbors Black and White.

The major weakness of this book for me was that the "voice" of every member of the family was pretty much the same, and the children didn't sound like children. Of course, you knew who was "talking" by the story they were telling, but it took me longer to develop a connection with each narrator because of that. I think this story could have been successfully told by Tess, but I have to admit that I would have missed hearing her father's voice. All in all, a good book, covering important issues and told mostly by 4 very likable, even commendable--though not perfect--characters.

I also read Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. Another good read. It struck me after reading The Well and the Mine how much better Toibin was at driving his story along. This is sort of a quiet book, but an easy read and probably most enjoyed by those who like to experience a little bit of history while they go live someone else's life for a few hours.

P.S. If you want to know about this book, read ridgewaygirl's review. Great one!

Fixed the Touchstone. Thanks, Terri!

Brooklyn was a funny read for me. I think I enjoyed it more when I was done and going back through it to write my review when I realized that I could give it 4 stars. As I read it, I have to admit there was not a lot of action but there are a lot of books like that that I enjoy. It was just another character driven novel.

Hi Bonnie. Thanks for the reviews! Stuck home again with round two of sick child. Sigh.

Read some chicklit yesterday, Jennifer Weiner's book, Best Friends Forever. Also have reading In the Footsteps of Marco Polo. Fantastic pictures and stories! May have to buy it.

Oh darn, Berly! My son (at U. of Oregon) didn't tell me he had the flu (could have just been a bad cold) until he was over it. He still has a minor cough, so have been warning him of the danger of a viral infection transforming into a bacterial infection. He acts way too macho sometimes. I'm thinking of buying him the Marco Polo book, though I'd hate for him to try even a fraction of a trip like theirs. (How did I go from the child who would climb on trains in the changing yard near my home and jump off them as they got going to being such a worrier?)

Well, duh! You were young and invincible and I don't know about you, but I worry far less about myself and way more about those around me I love. How does your son like U of Oregon? My oldest is a junior and she/we have to start looking at colleges.

It's been a good match for him. His dad lives in Portland and I live in Seattle, so he can come visit easily enough, but still feel independent. Plus, he's an outdoorsman (majoring in environmental studies) so loves getting out and walking/hiking out into the hills around Eugene whenever he needs a break. He has dyslexia so school has always been hard work for him, but he's sticking with it. One more year to go!

Bonnie, I am sorry that your son had the flu (and both your kids, Berly). My daughter just got over it as well. The flu is rampant on the college campuses. This is just going to be the year of the flu, I think. I am glad that he is better now.
--BJ

I'm so sorry to hear news of sick kids but I hope they are feeling better soon! It's going to be a tough winter.

My nose is all stuffed up from reading Still Alice and crying. It's sad, but also happy sad, and definitely worth reading.

Now I'm heading to bed with It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh--gotta figure out how to get rid of all the stuff that I don't want to dust, clean, and/or am never going to use again.

I loved Peter Walsh when he was on Clean Sweep. I miss that show! I'm looking forward to your thoughts on his book, we've got a basement that would benefit from some of his advice!

I used to see him on Oprah (yes, I watch) and it always made me feel better because he would choose people who tended to need a little more help than I did!! My daughter and I just did a Clean Sweep of her room this weekend. It looks so much better! It helped that I bribed her with some new decorations for her room for when she finished and we had fun assembling a new cubby unit with fun colored cloth baskets for storage.

Bonnie-- hope the nose has recovered. :)

My number one clutter item is books! I find it hard to pick out books to get rid of! It does sound like a great book and I am going to add it to my wishlist.
--BJ

My number one clutter item is books! ...going to add it to my wishlist.

LOL! I'm right there with you, BJ!

#146, #147 Oh, I am so there! Books being my number one clutter, that is.

Fie! Books are most emphatically not clutter! (Even if they pretend to look like it at times.) They are friends, the world, the past-present-and-future! And they look damned good lining the living room walls.

I agree, Tania! I was laughing at/with BJ because she said that her number one clutter item was books and then she was adding more books to her list of books to buy--and, I assume, add to her stacks.

I was laughing along with you on that one too! (Definitely with, definitely no at!)

But they are never clutter, even if they are in wobbly stacks all over the coffee tables, computer desk, bedroom floor, living room floor, bookshelves, etc. A dusting nightmare, yes, but not clutter!

Well, they would look better lining the living room walls if they were not in boxes!! I love them to distraction, and I still think they look like clutter, albeit of a sort that makes me look erudite and interesting. But on any given day, I will let my books run rampant rather than be neat and dust-free! LOL

I still think they look like clutter, albeit of a sort that makes me look erudite and interesting

Haha. Then it's useful clutter which means technically it's not clutter anymore. Problem solved. :)

After having trouble locating the laptop - I have finally found it - it was under the piles of useful stuff, um clutter, um wobbly stacks, um living room wall liners, um all right, I confess, it was under the towers of books!!!!!!!!!!!!

#153 GUG--All right I give!! My Tipping Tower of TBR Tomes are beautiful wall decorations, feats of mystery and wonder, leaning precipitously, continuing to defy the natural laws of gravity. And they make me look smart, too. Glad the problem is solved. THanks!

#154 So, Judy, the books actually are useful room neateners because they hid your laptop clutter!! See how quickly I've converted!

Still reading It's All Too Much. OK, the majority of my house looks neat: the living room needs dusting but is always neat, the dining room only gets used about three-five times a year, so also stays neat. My kitchen--if you don't count the dishes in the sink or look in the refrigerator--would also be considered neat. Even my office, bedrooms (except for my closet and that's getting purged soon) and bathrooms are neat. Again, I'm not saying clean, just neat.

The dirty (but not so little) secret in my house is my unfinished basement. Well, and my utility room...and my garage. I'm Peter Walsh's typical client when it comes to those spaces. But! He's just about convinced me to throw away the teacher materials, and donate the unused/neverused wedding gifts, art, furniture, toys, sports equipment, tools, and yard equipment filling up those spaces.

Yes, I could make money by selling it all myself and, yes, I resent that someone else is going to make a profit from my laziness when I give it all to Value Village or some other charity, but Walsh has convinced me that what it has cost me physically, emotionally, and financially to hold on to all this stuff way more than what I could earn by selling it myself. So! I'm ready to make a "Clean Sweep!" Wa-hoo!*

*Note: All proclamations to get rid of above said junk/valuable stuff does not include books. There's a limit to how much a person can change! ;-)

Well I'm not real familiar with Walsh. I did see him on Oprah once or twice briefly but that's it. However, I happen to reside with a real packrat and, luckily, his problem area is confined to the basement and our (very large and sometimes mistaken for an apartment) garden shed. So he's the one with the problem, not me. Oh maybe I have a tiny stack of books in the corner of the bedroom and an overflowing double bookshelf in the living room and boxes and crates of books in the spare bedroom, and... well ok I have a tiny book problem. But nothing serious. And if all you people on LT would quit raving about books that I feel obliged to run out and get this problem would go away:-D

I lived with a pack rat for 30 years, but it's been ten years since my divorce and I still have a full basement, so can't really blame him anymore! ;-)

Way to go Bonnie!! Brenzi, you are making me laugh. My house is not too bad. But I have a storage unit and I haven't been there in 6 months and I don't even remember what is in it! That's it. I'll not say anything more to incriminate myself. LOL.

Oh, Peter Walsh would have something to say about you, Berly! But I can't say anything because my ex paid for a large storage unit for 15+ years because he didn't want to deal with his mom's things when she passed away.

Bonnie, I brought all the Walsh books home from the library and left them in conspicuous places for my husband to notice. However, they just got covered in piles of important leaflets, mail, magazines, receipts, etc, etc, and were never read by him! He has a double carport, double garage, huge shed, and small shed, which are all full of what I like to call "crap" and he likes to call "stuff that might be useful one day" or "temporary storage" (temporary to him means forever to me btw). I think we are going to have to buy yet another shed soon as all his current storgae space is becoming rather full!

#158 - 30 years of marriage - 10 years since divorce.

By my calculations, you can blame him for another 20 years! ;>)

I really need to pick up that book since I still live with my packrat and I'm a bit of one myself.

>161 judylou: Well apparently my husband has been cloned unbeknownst to me. "Stuff that may be useful one day" - omg I can't tell you how many times I've heard that.

My comments to CharlesBoyd re: our "I'll read yours if you read mine" challenge:

Hi, Charles! I read Dandelion Wine today. I had forgotten that you said it read like poetry and so I was going to tell you that! It's poetry, philosophy of life, old folks' tales, scary stories, and childhood memories all rolled into one. Bradbury writes a lot of beautiful sentences that you could stop and admire, but he does fall into the category of writers who (imo) are overly in love with their ability to sew words together. (He was just a little too flouncy for me.)

I liked Dandelion Wine better than I thought I would, but would never have gone past the first chapter if I hadn't taken on your challenge. Bradbury is just too fantastical, flowery and sentimental. The sophisticated thinking and comments of the children didn't ring true for me either. So much of the time, it sounded like Bradbury's voice waxing poetical about his childhood experiences--or that of an idealized boy. Really, all his characters were idealized and stereotypical.

Nevertheless, Bradbury does talk about some real truths in life that do make you think--and smile! And he did stimulate memories of my own childhood summers spent running around barefoot, roaming miles away from home with my friends, and exploring our own dangerous ravines. We even had our older friends that we would go sit and visit with too. Finally, even though his stories were sentimental, it was enjoyable to live in the 1920's with him--at least for the summer. Thanks for the challenge. Hope you enjoy A Fine Balance. Life is not quite so pretty, but lots of real truths in that book as well.

~Big waves to BonnieB~Hope you are having a great weekend, my friend!

I have so many good books from the library that it's been hard to stick with just one, but did finish reading Addition today. Even though the main character has a serious OCD problem (she's a compulsive counter and she's on disability), she's also very funny/sarcastic, so the book was a fun, easy read. There's some romance in there too, girls! :-)

Hey, Mark! I've been reading Small Island which is a great book so far (love the different voices), but City of Thieves is due back this weekend, so will read it over the next couple of days and give you a book report by Sunday! ;-)

Just noticed that I had the wrong title. Fixed it.

Hey BonnieB - I've wishlisted Small Island. It sounds like a winner, maybe I can snag a copy from Bookmooch. I loved City of Thieves! I'm wrapping up The Hunger Games today and it's been terrific!

Hi Bonnie! I hope you enjoy City of Thieves as much as I did! Have a great day. Joanne

Hi Bonnie,

Small Island may end up as my #1 read this year and I also loved City of Thieves. Happy reading friend. Bonnie

Sounds like the "Bonnie Bunch" back in action!
(Raiders of the Lost Ark theme music playing)

Finished City of Thieves today. Even though the underlying story included the siege of Leningrad during WWII and partisans out in the countryside fighting and losing to Nazis (and all the expected atrocities of war) it was still a fun, and even funny, thriller of a book with three very appealing main characters.

It's ironic that the "introduction" to this first-person narrative is by the grandson who is a screenwriter from LA and who finally wants to know the story of his Russian grandparents' experiences during the war. I think this could be a very successful movie--lots of good action scenes! There's even a little romance thrown in there for the ladies. (Speaking of romance, the guy who plays Kolya should be that super cute Australian actor in the TV show, The Mentalist!)

Thanks for recommending this book, Mark. You've hit a lot of "home runs" with your recommendations to me. Forget the Phillies and the Yankees--I'm gonna have to pronounce you the winner of the World Series! ;-)

Bonnie- I'm blushing like crazy! That makes two huge compliments in one day! I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!
Nice comments on City of Thieves and you are right on the money with describing it as "cinematic". I felt exactly the same way. No game tonight, so it's just us!!

Small Island by Andrea Levy. Thanks to Donna828, brenzi, and whoever else recommended this book to me. It was really good!

There are already great reviews that explain how this story--set primarily in London before, during, and after WWII--is told in 4 voices. Two Jamaicans (Hortense and Gilbert) who use each other to get to "The Mother Country" in hopes of a better life, and 2 Londoners (Queenie and Bernard) who represent opposite ends of the spectrum on many of the issues included in this story. To name a few: Racism as expressed by American soldiers vs. the English; the impact of emigration/immigration after the war, discrimination, xenophobia, living through war either as a civilian and/or soldier, colonialism, PTSD, and the realistic struggles inherent in many marriages--especially ones formed for reasons that had nothing to do with love. I'm making this book sound complicated--it's not. Levy does a great job of interweaving the lives of these four characters in a way that makes us care about each of them so that we also have to think about how these issues always do impact real people.

Spoiler alert! Two mild negatives: I loved the voices and stories as told by Queenie, Hortense, and Gilbert, but I didn't want to listen to Bernard by the time he finally got to "talk." This was obviously intentional by the author, but I'm still not sure that his experiences in India needed to be a part of this particular book and I wasn't convinced that he would have changed in the way he did. There was also one coincidence revealed late in the story that was also unbelievable and (imo) unnecessary. But overall, Small Island was a very satisfying story that I didn't want to end.

Bonnie-Nice review! I have wishlisted this one and am keeping my eye out!

Small Island sounds very good! Your description of it reminded me of White Teeth, except that this seems much more serious than White Teeth and not set in the present. I'll be adding to the TBR, and I'd recommend White Teeth to you if you haven't read it already!

You know, I thought I had read White Teeth because I bought the book, but I must have bought it for someone else and not read it, because the details don't sound familiar. I'm going to have to borrow it again from the library. Thanks for reminding me! :-)

OK, I'm going to try and post the alphabetized list of your Top Tens again. Here it is without links:

An Alphabetized List of Your Top Tens for 2009

Abani, Chris: GraceLand
Ackerley, J. R.: Hindoo Holiday
Adamson, Gil: The Outlander
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi: Purple Hibiscus
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi: The Thing Around Your Neck
Adiga, Aravind: The White Tiger
Achebe, Chinua: Things Fall Apart
Alexie, Sherman: Absolutely True diary of a Part-Time Indian
Ali, Ayaan Hirsi: Infidel
Allen, Sarah Addison: Garden Spells
Anderson, Laurie Halse: Wintergirls
Anderson, M.T.: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume 1
Antunes, Antonio Lobo: The Fat Man and Infinity
Armstrong, Kelley: The Summoning
Atwood, Margaret: Alias Grace
Atwood, Margaret: The Handmaid's Tale
Atwood, Margaret: The Penelopiad
Atwood, Margaret: The Robber Bride
Auster, Paul: The New York Trilogy
Azzopardi, Trezza: The Hiding Place
Bahr, Howard: The Black Flower
Baker, Russ: Family of Secrets
Bakker, Gerbrand: The Twin
Balzac, Honore: Old Goriot
Banks, Ian: The Player of Games
Barbery, Muriel: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Barlow, Tony: Sharp Teeth
Barry, Brunonia: The Lace Reader
Batataille, Marion: ABC3D
Bauermeister, Erica: The School of Essential Ingredients
Bazell, Josh: Beat the Reaper
Beals, Melba Pattillo: Warriors Don't Cry
Bemrose, John: The Island Walkers
Benson, E.F.: Mrs. Ames
Benson, Mary: At the Still Point
Bhutto, Benazir: Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West
Bishop, Holley: Robbing the Bees
Bolano, Roberto: 2666
Boyle, Kay: Thirty Stories
Boyne, John: Mutiny on the Bounty
Bourdain, Anthony: Kitchen Confidential
Bradbury, Ray: Dandelion Wine
Bruen, Ken: The Guards
Bryson, Bill: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
Bryson, Bill: Notes From a Big Country
Bulgakov, Mikhail: The Master and Margarita
Butcher, Jim: Princeps' Fury
Butcher, Jim: Turn Coat
Canfield, Dorothy: The Deepening Stream
Carroll, Lewis: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Cather, Willa: My Antonia
Cather, Willa: The Song of the Lark
Chabon, Michael: Yiddish Policeman's Union
Chace, James: Acheson: The Secretary of State Who Created the American World
Chang, Jung: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Chaon, Dan: Await Your Reply
Chaplin, Charlie: My Autobiography
Childe, Julia: My Life in France
Clarke, Gerald: Capote: A Biography
Coelho, Paulo: The Alchemist
Collins, Susan: The Hunger Games
Collins, Wilkie: The Woman in White
Conroy, Pat: The Water is Wide
Cooper, Gwen: Homer's Odyssey
Cooper, Helene: The House at Sugar Beach
Courtenay, Bryce: The Power of One
Cullen, David: Columbine
Cummings, Quinn: Notes From the Underwire
de la Parra, Teresa: Iphigenia
Dallas, S.: Tall Grass
Diamond, Jared: The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution of the Human Animal
Diamond, Jared: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Dickens, Charles: Hard Times
Dickens, Charles: Little Dorrit
di Lampedusa, Giuseppe Tomasi: The Leopard
Dinesen, Isak: Out of Africa
Dittmer, John: The Good Doctors
Djebar, Assia: So Vast the Prison
Doctorow, Cory: Little Brother
Donoso, Jose: The Obscene Bird of Night
Dunn, Mark: Ella Minnow Pea
Du Marier, Daphne: Rebecca
DuPrau, Jeanne: The City of Ember, The People of Sparks
Earley, Tony: Jim the Boy
Easterly, William: The White Man's Burden
Elliot, George: Silas Marner
Emecheta, Buchi: The Joys of Motherhood
Enger, Leif: Peace Like a River
Erdrich, Louise: The Plague of Doves
Erdrich, Louise: The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
Eugenides, Jeffrey: The Virgin Suicides
Evans, Pollly: On a Hoof and a Prayer: Exploring Argentina at a Gallop
Fallada, Hans: Every Man Dies Alone
Farmer, Paul: Pathologies of Power
Ferris, Joshua: Then We came to the End
Fforde, Jasper: The Big Over Easy
Fforde, Jasper: The Fourh Bear
Figes, Orlando: The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia
Follett, Ken: Pillars of the Earth
Ford, Jamie: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Francis, Brian: Fruit
Frank, Anne: Diary of a Young Girl
Frank, Thomas: What's the Matter With Kansas?
Fraser, Antonia: The Pleasure of Reading
Frazier, Charles: Thirteen Moons
Frost, Jeaniene: Halfway to the Grave
Fuller, Alexandra: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight:
Funke, Cornelia: Inkheart
Gaiman, Neil: The Graveyard Book
Galloway, Janice: Clara
Galloway, Stephen: The Cellist of Sarajevo
Garton-Ash, Timothy: The File
Gaskell, Elizabeth: North and South
Gaskell, Elizabeth: Wives and Daughters
Genova, Lisa: Still Alice
Goldsworthy, Peter: Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam
Goodwin, Doris Kearns: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Grace, Patricia: At the Still Point; Waiariki
Grandin, Temple: Animals Make Us Human
Grann, David: The Lost City of Z
Graves, Robert: I, Claudius
Greene, Graham: The Ministry of Fear
Grenville, Kate: Secret River
Grenville, Kate: The Idea of Perfection
Groff, Lauren: The Monsters of Templeton
Grossman, Vasili: Life and Fate
Gruen, Sara: Water for Elephants
Gurnah, Abdulrazak: Desertion
Haddon, Mark: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Hage, Rawi: De Niro's Game
Hakamura, Ishio: The Remains of the Day
Hajdu, David: The Ten-Cent Plague
Hale, Shannon: Rapunzel's Revenge
Hammett, Dashiell: Red Harvest
Hanff, Helene: 84 Charing Cross Road
Harding, Paul: Tinkers
Harvey, Samantha: The Wilderness
Helm, Sarah: A Life in secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII
Hollinghurst, Alan: The Line of Beauty
Hoesseini, Khaled: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Hoffman, Alice: Blackbird House
Hoffman, Alice: The Ice Queen
Hornby, Nick: The Complete Polysyllabic Spree
Hornby, Nick: Housekeeping vs. The Dirt
Houellebecq, Michel: Atomized/The Elementary Particles
Hustvedt, Siri: What I Loved
Huxley, Aldous: Brave New World
Ishiguro, Kazuo: The Remains of the Day
James, Henry: Portrait of a Lady
Jamison, Kay Redfield: Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illnes and the Jansson, Tove: The True Deceiver
Artistic Temperament
Jelloun, Tahar: This Blinding Absence of Light
Jones, Gail: Sorry
Jones, Lloyd: Mister Pip
Johnston, Wayne: The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
Jordan, Hillary: Mudbound
Kamkwamba, William: The boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Kapuscinski, Ryszard: The Shadow of the Sun
Kawabata, Yasunari: The Master of Go
Kay, Guy Gavriel: Tigana
Kent, Kathleen: The Heretic's Daughter
Kirn, Walter: Up in the Air
Kluger, Steve: Last Days of Summer
Knisley, Lucy: French Milk
Koestler, Arthur: Darkness at Noon
Kopelman, Jay: From Baghdad, with Love: A Marine, A War and a Dog
Krakauer, Jon: Into the Wild
Kramer, Clara: Clara's War, One Girl's Story of Survival
Krasikov, Sana: One More Year
Kristof, Nikolas: Half the Sky
Lahari, Jumpha: Interpreter of Maladies
Lamb, Wally: The Hour I First Believed
Land, Brad: Goat: A Memoir
Lansens, Lori: The Girls
Larson, Kate Clifford: Bound for the Promised Land
Larson, Stieg: The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo
Larson, Stieg: The Girl Who Played with Fire
Lawson, Mary: Crow Lake
Le Carre, John: Smiley's People; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Lehane, Dennis: The Given Day
Levy, Andrea: Small Island
Levy, Ariel: Female Chauvinist Pigs
Lewis, C.S.: Till We have Faces
Lipman, Elinor: Inn at Lake Devine
Lively, Penelope: Family Album
Llosa, Mario Vargas: Conversation in the Cathedral
London, Joan: Gilgamesh
Longfellow, Ki: The Secret Magdalene
Lovell, Mary: The biography of Jane Digby, A Scandalous LIfe
Ludum, Robert: The Bourne Trilogy
Lychack, William: The Wasp Eater
Lynch, Jim: Border Songs
MacDonald, George: The Highlander's Last Song
MacMillan, Margaret: Paris 1919
McCann, Colum: Let the Great World Spin
McCarthy, Cormac: All the Pretty Horses
McCarthy, Cormad: Blood Meridian
McCarthy, Cormac: The Road
Macintyre, Ben: Agent Zigzag
Mackinnon, Amy: Tethered
Maguire, Gregory: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Mandel, Emily St. John: Last Night in Montreal
Mann, Charles: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
Mantel, Hilary: Wolf Hall
Maraini, Dacia: The Silent Duchess
Marchetta, Melina: Jellioe Road
Mahjoub, Jamal: Traveling with Djinns
Martel, Yann: Life of Pi'
Matin, P.D.: Body Count
Matthieseen, Peter: Shadow Country
Maugham, Somerset: Of Human Bondage
Mawer, Simon: The Glass Room
Maynard, Joyce: Labor Day
Mee, Benjamin: We Bought a Zoo
Melling, O.R.: The Hunter's Moon
Mercer, Jeremy: Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs
Mistry, Rohinton: A Fine Balance
Mitchell, David: Cloud Atlas
Mitchell, David: Black Swan Green
Monroe, Alice: The View From Castle Rock
Montgomery, Lucy Maud: Anne of Green Gables
Moore, Christopher: Lamb
Morrison, Toni: Beloved
Morrison, Toni: A Mercy
Mortensen, Greg: Three Cups of Tea
Morton, Kate: The Forgotten Garden
Morton, Kate: The House at Riverton
Murakami, Haruki: Norwegian Wood; The Wild Sheep Chase
Murphy, Lynda and Julie Rugg: A Book Addict's Treasury
Myron, Vicki: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat
Nemirovsky, Irene: Suite Francaise
Newport, Jerry and Mary: Mozart and the Whale: An Asperger's Love Story
Niffenegger, Audrey: The Time Traveler's Wife
Nicoll, Andrew: The Good Mayor
Nolen, Stephanie: 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa
Novogratz, Jacqueline: The Blue Sweater
Obmascik, Mark: The Big Year
O'Brien, Tim: The Things They Carried
O'Connor, Flannery: Wise Blood
Ogawa, Yoko: The Housekeeper and the Professor
Olmstead, Robert: Far Bright Star
O'Reilly, Tim: The Twitter book
Otsuka, Julie: When The Emperor Was Divine
Palahniuk, Chuck: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey
Parker, Dorothy: Complete Stories
Patchett, Ann: Bel Canto
Pausch, Randy: The Last Lecture
Pears, Iain: An Instance of the Fingerpost
Peck, M. Scott: In Search of Stones
Pennell, Joseph Stanley: The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters
Petterson, Per: OUt Stealing Horses
Phillips, Jayne Anne: Lark & Termite
Plotz, David: The Genius Factory
Pollan, Michael: The Omnivore's Dilemma
Proulx, E. Annie: The Shipping News
Raabe, Tom: Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction
Remarque, Erich Maria: All Quiet of the Western Front
Reynolds, Sheri: The Rapture of Canaan
Rhodes, Dan: Gold
Rhodes, Jewel Parker: Douglas's Women
Roberts, Richard Samuel: A True Likeness
Robertson, Don: The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread
Robinson, Marilynne: Gilead
Robinson, Marilynne: Housekeeping
Rosenthal, Amy Krouse: Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life
Roth, Joseph: The Radetzky March
Ruesch, Hans: Top of the World
Rushdie, Salman: Midnight's Children
Russell, Mary Doria: A Thread of Grace
Sabato, Haim: The Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale
Sandoz, Mari: Crazy Horse
Safran Foer, Jonathan: Everything is Illuminated
Saramago, Jose: Death with Interruptions
Satrapi, Marjane: Persepolis
Savage, Sam: Firmin
Scheeres, Julia: Jesus Land
See, Lisa: Shanghai Girls
Setterfield, Diane: Thirteenth Tale
Shaara, Michael: The Killer Angel
Shaffer, Mary Ann & Ann Barrows: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Shamsie, Kamila: Burnt Shadows
Sheff, David: Beautiful Boy
Shields, Carol: The Stone Diaries
Shlink, Bernhard: Flights of Love
Sigman, Dr. Aric: Remotely Controlled: How Televison is Damaging...
Silvey, Craig: Jasper Jones
Singh, Khushwant: Train to Pakistan
Small, David: Stitches
Smith, Helen: Not So Quiet
Smith, Tom Rob: Child 44
Spiegelman, Art: Maus I; Maus II
Stanisic, Sasa: How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone
Stein, Garth: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Steinbeck, John: East of Eden; The Moon is Down; Of Mice and Men
Stewart, Amy: Flower Confidential
Stockett, Kathryn: The Help
Strout, Elizabeth: Amy and Isabelle
Strout, Elizabeth: Olive Kitteridge
Suskind, Patrick: Perfume: Story of a Murderer
Tartt, Donna: The Secret History
Thackery, William Makepeace: Vanity Fair
Thiong'o, Ngugi wa: Wizard of the Crow
Tinti, Hannah: The Good Thief
Toews, Miriam: The Flying Troutmans
Tobin, Betsy: Ice Land
Toibin, Colm: Brooklyn
Tremain, Rose: The Road Home
Triolet, Elsa: A Fine of Two Hundred Francs
Tsiolkas, Christos: The Slap
Tye, Larry: Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend
Unsworth, Barry: Land of Marvels
Urgresic, Dubravka: Thank You for Not Reading
Urrea, Luis Alberta: The Hummingbird's Daughter
Valenti, Jessica: The Purity Myth
Verghese, Abraham: Cutting For Stone
Verghese, Abraham: The Tennis Partner
Vincent, Norah: Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Looney Bin
Waugh, Evelyn: Vile Bodies
Waters, Sarah: Affinity
Waters, Sarah: Nightwatch
West, Rebecca: Return of the Soldier
White, Antonia: The Lost Traveller
Wiesel, Elie: A Mad Desire to Dance
Wiesel, Elie: Night
Wilde, Oscar: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Winterson, Jeanette: Oranges are not the Only Fruit
Wood, Charlotte: The Submerged Cathedral
Woolf, Virginia: Jacob's Room
Woolf, Virginia: A Room of One's Own
Wouk, Herman: The Glory; The Hope
Wroblewski, David: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
Wyndham, John: The Day of the Triffids
Yglesias, Rafael: Happy Marriage
Young, Emily HIlda: Miss Mole
Young, Fellicity: Harum Scarum
Young, William: The Shack
Zafon, Carlos Ruiz: The Shadow of the Wind
Zakaria, Fareed: The Post-American World
Zaniewski, Andrzej: Rat
Zusak, Markus: The Book Thief

That is SOME list. You could read for years from that list. I'm noting lots of ideas from here (like I need any more tbrs).

Yeah, my list offline is already smaller in that I've deleted the books I've already read or ones that I know I won't read (not that many actually). I've been much happier with the books I've read since drawing from this list. And it's been great to refer to when I'm requesting books from library. Some of the titles are ones I wouldn't normally consider, but they're other people's Top Ten so they've all been good reads--so far! I think I'll use it as a base for next year's challenge.

And here's what I've read in the last couple of months:

92. Water for Elephants - Sarah Gruen (9/02/09) A re-read
93. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls (9/04/09)
94. Persuasion - Jane Austen (9/06/09) A re-read
95. The Earth Hums in b Flat - Mary Strachan (9/08/09)
96. We are all Welcome Here - Elizabeth Berg (9/09/09)
97. Lark and Termite - Jane Anne Philips (9/10/09)
98. Overthrow - Stephen Kinzer (Good book, didn't finish)
99. Blessed Unrest - Paul Hawken (Finally finished! 9/10/09)
100. Banker to the Poor Muhammad Yunus (Finally finished! 9/10/09)
101. Shake the Devil Off - Ethan Brown (9/11/09) An ARC

102. Stitches - David Small (9/12/09)
103. Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway (9/18/09) reread for bookgroup
104. The Reader - Bernard Shlink (9/25/09)
105. The Road - Cormac McCarthy (9/26/09)
106. Labyrinth - Kate Mosse (9/26/09)
107. Sharp Teeth - Toby Barlow (9/27/09)
108. A Fraction of the Whole - Steve Toltz (Witty, messed-up characters! Will come back to it.)
109. Wives and Daughters (10/05/09)
110. 1001 books You Must Read Before You Die (Just skimmed part of it)
111. In the Footsteps of Marco Polo (Really good! Didn't finish; will check out again.)
112. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes... (10/10/09)
113. The Voyager Diane Gabaldon (10/12/09)
114. The Hour I First Believed - Wally Lamb (10/13/09)
115. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood (10/16/09)
116. The Well and the Mine - Gin Phillips (10/17/09)
117. Brooklyn - Colm Toibin (10/18/09)
118. Best Friends Forever - Jennifer Weiner (10/19/09)
119. Still Alice - Lisa Genova (10/20/09)
120. Dandelion Wine - Ray Bradbury (10/24/090
121. It's all Too Much - Peter Walsh (10/26/09) Skimmed. We know what we have to do!
122. Addition - Toni Jordan (10/28/09)
123. City of Thieves - David Benioff (10/30/09)
124. Small Island - Andrea Levy (10/31/09)
125. Inkheart - Cornelia Funke (11/05/09)
126. Fruit - Brian Francis (11/07/09)
127. French Milk - Lucy Knisley (11/08/09)
128. Firmin - Sam Savage (11/09/09)
129. My Jim - Nancy Rawles (11/16/09)
130. What I Loved - Siri Hustvedt (11/24/09)
131. The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance - Elna Baker (12/04/09)
132. Family Meals - Michael Tucker (12/07/09)
133. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan bradley (12/11/09)
134. Language Visible - Keith Devlin (12/12/09)
135. Tethered - Amy Mackinnon (12/13/09)
136. When Will There Be Good News? - Kate Atkinson (12/19/09)
137. The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread - Don Robertson (12/20/09)
138. Child 44 - Tom Rob Smith (12/23/09)
139. Half-Broke Horses - Jeannette Walls (12/28/09)
140. Gold - Dan Rhodes (12/30/09)

When I look back at the last couple of months, the only novels I wouldn't particularly recommend are the books that were not on my "Top Tens" list. In other words, the ones I, alone, in my infinite wisdom picked out. (That'll teach me!) Specifically, Labyrinth, The Voyager, and Best Friends Forever were all just OK as escapist fiction. Oh, wait a minute, Labyrinth was an LT recommendation, so I'm not totally to blame for that one. In the Footsteps of Marco Polo was the best of the three nonfiction books I read and I still haven't finished that--but I want to! I couldn't bring myself to spend much time with 1001 Books.... With all of you to advise me, I just don't feel the need for a book like that anymore. And probably most people won't read, or need, It's All Too Much. For those of you who do, YOU know who you are! All the rest of the titles (again, YOUR RECS!) I highly recommend. THANKS! :-)

Edit. to close the italics and note that I didn't like The Hour I First Believed very much either.

OOOOhh I want to reread Water for Elephants. You just reminded me of how much I loved that book.

Yes, it's definitely in the "comfort food" category. Well, you're probably posting from school, Bonnie, while I'm still in my pj's. Ahhh, the advantages of working from home. :-)

Thanks for posting the list again, there are some great titles on there. I copied this list into a Word file for next year. I haven't gotten around to all of the LT recs on my TBR but the ones that I have read so far have all been winners. This group has very good taste in books!

By the way, as I was going through the list, I noticed that you've got my username after Still Alice...personally, I love it, but people looking for "Still Alice Spacepotatoes" at the library might be a little disappointed ;)

>184 spacepotatoes:: Ha! Ha! Oops! Glad you caught that! I have the list for myself with everyone's name next to the books they recommended. IDK, "Still Alice spacepotatoes" has a kind of charm to it--and didn't you feel special? ;-)

Wow!! What a great list. Thanks for compiling and sharing. Not that I lack for book ideas after joining LT, but still, I feel more secure with all those recommendations! :)

Hi Bonnie. Great list(s)! My fave from the last year is 107. A Fraction of the Whole - Steve Toltz. Fantastic. I think it was a debut novel as well. Extraordinary.

Good to know, sushidog. My son keeps telling me to get back to that book! Soon! :-) I just have to be in the mood for that kind of funny, but dark, humor. Plus, the main characters weren't the most likeable guys either--at least not the part I've read.

eta: That author is W-i-t-t-y! What author would you compare him to?

Berly wrote, Not that I lack for book ideas after joining LT, but still, I feel more secure with all those recommendations!

I know! I was considering, as one of my general reading goals next year, to have fewer TBRs on my shelves at the end of the year than at the beginning. But there's comfort in abundance, and now I'm thinking maybe different TBRs, not necessarily fewer :)

>185 bonniebooks: I thought the title sounded good too, I'm sure there's a YA story in there somewhere!

>189 detailmuse: But there's comfort in abundance...
That's a lovely way of putting it. I recently had a conversation with my husband about my stack of TBR books where I told him that in a strange way, having that stack around gives me comfort and hope. His response was "Hope for what? That you might actually read them all one day?"

re: 188

I'm not sure who I'd compare him to. Good question. Funny, but dark. Maybe a cross between Richler and Paul Quarington.

On my home page, I wrote that if I don't have a TBR pile by my bedside, I can't sleep at night, and I mean it! #190 The thought of reading them all and having no TBR pile is deeply disturbing. Clearly, Spacepotatoes, your dear husband does not get it. No, I definitely like #189 detailmuse's idea of not less TBRs, just different ones at the end of the year. :) That is true happiness.

Did I already post this quote from lunacat's profile? Oh well, it deserves to be said again! :-)

"The truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more." Gabriel Zaid

Much more elegant and succinct! ;)

I'm not even sure where this quote came from, somebody's profile though. It sums it up nicely too I think!

"Even when reading is impossible, the presence of books acquired produces such an ecstasy that the buying of more books than one can read is nothing less than the soul reaching towards infinity... we cherish books even if unread, their mere presence exudes comfort, their ready access, reassurance."
--- A.E. Newton

I just glanced over at my tbr piles and nearly wept with joy!! Thanks guys!

msf59: I hope you have a James Sallis novel in that pile! I have The Guards in mine. :-)

Re: TBR piles

My sister recently flew out for a visit and needed a new book for the flight home so she "shopped" my book shelves. The problem was, every time she mentioned borrowing a book, I hadn't read it yet. I was feeling a little guilty about that but feel better now after reading the above. She did finally take Water for Elephants.

Lucky sister! That's a great book! My oldest son always shops my shelves too. So he doesn't take a book I haven't read yet, or one I love too much to give up, I've created a special book case of books that he can feel free to grab without asking. (Listed in my library as "books I'm willing to trade.") I still have to watch out though. He was laughing and quoting from Ant Farm on the phone the other day and I thought "Wait a minute! That was mine!"

Ant Farm is a riot and my son and I both loved it! BTW, I saw Elephants on my library's used shelf about a week after she left and bought it for $1 "just in case". ;)

>200 Copperskye: "just in case" that's how I buy all my books. LOL
there's that Water for Elephants again. Note to self : reread!

> Charles- No Sallis yet, but I'm on the lookout, after your strong recommendation. Try to move up Guards, I'm getting ready to read his 2nd in the series The Killing of the Tinkers. Nice title, huh?
>Bonniebooks- I know all about your "books willing to trade" stack...hee hee!
Also a big fan of Water for Elephants. I like the connection at the end with Brookfield Zoo. A place I've been going and enjoying for 40 years!

>Mark--I have an extra paperback copy of Sallis' first novel in the "Lew Griffin" series I could mail you, if you're interested. Just pop onto my profile page and leave your address (private message if you like.)

"The Killing of the Tinkers" is a cool title. I'll try to get to "The Guards" in a week or so.

*sheepishly smiling* You caught me, Mark! Although I added some books to that list that I actually liked and would recommend, but I just didn't think I would read them again. On the other hand, there are books that are on the bookshelf that I think my son would like to read (e.g., that aren't in the list).

I trudged through Inkheart last week. I had to keep reminding myself this was a children's book, but Funke's resolutions for all the major crises points were so silly and disappointing that it was hard to keep reading. I did like it better towards the end, but the best part of this book was the title and the premise. Detailmuse and I were talking about this: Which books would you want to enter into? Which characters would you want to come be a part of your life? I think I would much prefer to enter into someone else's life. Usually, it's families I want to be a part of. I'll have to think about my library and figure out which book I would want to jump into. Anybody else have an immediate reaction?

I'm keeping to my promise to stick with your recs for the rest of the year. I've put in lots of requests at the library and it's been fun to see what comes in together. This weekend, I picked up French Milk, Fruit, Firmin, The Idea of Perfection amd Graceland. Plus, I've still got Hummingbird's Daughter and What I Love checked out.

I've already read Fruit and French Milk. Both were fast reads. Fruit was funny/sad and reads more like a Y/A novel for YA's than a coming-of-age type novel. Very Adrian Mole. Enjoyed it for the kind of book it was, but wouldn't put it in my "favorites" list.

I think I'm going to give the French Milk to my best friend's daughter for Christmas. She and her mom went to Paris as her high school graduation present; she'll so relate to this whole book. I was surprised how much I liked it, even though I was terribly jealous that the author had this kind of opportunity at age 22--a whole month in Paris with her mom to basically eat, go to art museums, and visit all the sites.

The cartoons and journal writing, even the descriptions of food eaten, were surprisingly captivating. (Fortunately, I had some chocolate pudding to go to when she started talking about all the chocolates and french pastries she ate.) I was both mildly impatient and laughing at Knisley's whining about being tired, or getting her period, or her moodiness and worries about her future. It felt so real and so twenty-something. Although Knisley talked about being that spoiled only child (even though her parents are divorced, her father came over from NYC to celebrate her 22nd birthday while she was there in Paris) you had to give her props for the talent and hard work that went into creating a whole book out of her experiences. Again, loved it for the kind of book it was. Oh, and loved the title! French Milk, and the story behind it, is a great title. Sounds silly, but I don't think I would liked this book nearly as much if if had been titled "My Month in Paris" or something boring like that.

I thought the same about Inkheart. I have a soft spot for YA / Teen urban fantasy series, even the cheesy and silly resolutions, but what I liked so much about this series was the premise. Being able to read things out of books, and to enter books, as well as the love of books displayed by the family. I like books that make kids read, and especially books that make reading itself, and other books, seem interesting - while I don't have kids so am really just speculating, I think it would get them more interested in reading. Anyone with kids here agree? It could just be that way for me of course ;)

Is anyone else getting a little nervous that they might have recommended something that Bonnie will read and hate?! It's like going out on a limb on a surprise birthday present or something, it's a bit nerve wracking!

I spy The Idea of Perfection on your list. I'm hoping you like it as much as I did.

Hi Bonnie - To your question in # 205:
"Which books would you want to enter into? Which characters would you want to come be a part of your life? I think I would much prefer to enter into someone else's life. Usually, it's families I want to be a part of. I'll have to think about my library and figure out which book I would want to jump into. Anybody else have an immediate reaction?"

I listened to Middlemarch about a year and a half ago, and once I got used to Kate Reading's voice, I fell totally in love with the book. It occurred to me one day while I listened, that George Eliot and Kate Reading really made me FEEL that I was there in Middlemarch. For months after finishing the audio, I kept wanting to "go back"!

There are probably lots of characters I'd like to have in my life, but the first ones I thought of are the main characters from The Book Thief, all of them -- Liesel, Max, Rudy, Hans, and Rosa -- except Death, though he's an excellent narrator. ;-)

>208 elliepotten:: LOL! I zipped over to my alphabetized list with the names of who recommended what to see whom I might have offended re: Inkheart. Oh no! Berly--I love Berly! Maybe she'll be too busy at her daughter's library to notice. Don't anybody tell! But, Ellie, I did warn you! (See msg. #11). Not to throw you into the fray or anything, detail muse, but come say what you thought of Inkheart. You were reading it too!

I was laughing, Ellie, but looked back at my comments about Fruit and French Milk and I'm thinking that the comment that I wouldn't put them in my "favorites" collection might sound more negative than I meant it. I mean it could sound like I was saying, "I wouldn't put them in my favorites..." like some of you did. Oh, no! That's not what I meant at all! *starts giggling in that weird way when one is in a situation where one should not be laughing!*

If I say a book wouldn't go into my "favorites" category, it just means it's not in my "Top 100" books of all time. That's not an insult, I'm just explaining... Gees! I'm not making this any better, am I? Anyway, I hope your knees aren't quivering, Ellie! I noticed Firmin was your recommendation! *Dum de dum dum...*

>210 HeathMochaFrost:: Marie, I wish I could remember the author who said she read Middlemarch every year for much the same reason!

I haven't started going through my "Favorites" collection yet to answer this question for myself, but I realized that I was already thinking about the characters I've loved and wish I were more like. This is going to be fun to pick out the ones I want in my life. Can I pick and choose? Can I have more than one at a time? What if they don't get along? Or what if they like each other more than they like me? I'm going to have to really think about this... ;-)

>209 brenzi:: Don't get your hopes up, Bonnie! I didn't enjoy The Secret River as much as most people on LT. Remember my story about Netflix? Both they and my mother (and my friends!) will tell you I'm way pickier than most people. I'm predicting I'll like The Idea of Perfection but not love it. How's that for a positive attitude?!

Edited to fix a misspelling.

Ok I will settle for a "like" since you are describing yourself as picky. I think I'm picky too but I've gotten myself into a niche here on LT where I'm finding many books that I just LOVE. Laura (lindsacl) recommended The Idea of Perfection and I've found I like a lot of her recs just as I do yours. Enjoy!

French Milk sounds like it's right up my alley. I have as much of a weakness for mother-daughter stories as I do for the coming-of-age stories.

It's an actual journal, spacepotatoes. I think you'll laugh at the mother-daughter stuff, so real. Their relationship sounds way too good, though; that's another reason why I'm horribly jealous. Good thing I have boys or they would have reason to complain as well.

Note to self: Tell Ellie I'm already laughing at, and hugely enjoying, Firmin, not to worry. But totally blame Tina (myquillisquick) for my continued craving for thick, rich hot chocolate.

Glad you enjoyed French Milk so much. People enjoying the same things I enjoy make me feel warm and tingly inside.

*heaves a huge, if slightly premature, sigh of relief*

Don't worry Bonnie, I don't fear that you'll devour me (and the books) and spit out the pieces or anything... More that people always hope that other people will like the things THEY like, if you see what I mean. Kinda like if you watch your favourite funny movie with someone and they don't laugh once, you don't either, because you so wanted them to enjoy it!

>211 bonniebooks:, still reading Inkheart ... slowest book I've ever encountered. I like the premise (books, authors) but the fact that I'm not a fantasy fan is working against me. Plus, people are held captive probably a dozen times; couldn't the author come up with another source of danger/tension? Reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean, which I thought was basically the same fight scene done over and over.

I just took a road trip, so switched from book to audiobook for many hours in the car. Now I have ~70 pages to the end. I'm committed to finishing because I need it to count in the long-books category of my 999 Challenge! :)

Yet -- since I've read and listened to the book, now I'm strangely tempted to watch the film!

Firmin. Listening to a rat's observations about life was surprisingly funny and entertaining, especially when said rat was so well-read. Thanks for the rec, Ellie.

I picked My Jim by Nancy Rawles off a library display about local authors because I thought it was on my list of recs , but I guess it wasn't.

It's 1884, and a 16 year-old girl is agonizing about whether she should go off to Nebraska with the man who asks her to marry him. She feels too young to get married and doesn't want to leave her nana and all that she knows--as harsh as it is--for the unknown.

Her grandmother challenges her, says, "You scare to love cause you scared to lose," and to encourage her granddaughter, she tells about her own first love, My Jim, as well as the harsh details of her life as a slave that she had never shared before.

"She back in slavery days. Back fore the war. Some old people talk bout them times but they grandchildren aint want to hear it. My nanna never talk bout her captive time. I scared to trouble her bout it. She mad at me for bringing back the shame of them days. Maybe it cause she thinking I gonna leave that Nanna Sadie decide to talk. Maybe she just want to tell somebody."

While Sadie Watson tells her granddaughter the story of her life, they piece together a memory quilt for the granddaughter to take with her. What makes this book additionally interesting is that nana's first husband was the Jim every reader of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn already knows. Now you get to read the story of his life before he escapes with Huck down the Mississippi, though this book is really mostly about the wife and family he left behind.

Told in first-person by Nana to her granddaughter, it feels like she is talking directly to you the reader which makes her story that much harder to hear. Though the dialect feels a bit thick at times, it's a very compelling story.

P.S. Quilters will love the ending as she's talking about what goes into the backing of the quilt.

Edited to try to fix the Touchstones.

Hey Bonnie!! Nice review! I'm sorry I don't quilt! :-(

You don't have to quilt to appreciate how something very little can hold a lot of meaning, or that a piece of a loved one's apron or a pair of jeans could be so comforting to the person who has the quilt they're made of. Really that's a very small part. I think the number of narratives you've already read about slavery will probably have more of an impact on how much you like this book.

eta: missing word

I'm proud of myself! I just took about 50 books off my wish list by deleting any book that didn't have a "rec by ..." tag. (I figure if they're good enough, they'll come to my attention again.)

Currently, kidzdoc is most guilty of adding to my wishlist (15), followed by teelgee (9), then arubabookwoman (7), detailmuse (7), berly (6), Cushla (6), Donna (6), Mark (6) and spacepotatoes (5). Oh yeah, Belva (4) and Ridgewaygirl (4) are major perpetrators as well. Really, with over 75 LT-ers responsible for adding at least one book to my wish list, no one gets off scott-free. Only hope I've done equal damage! ;-)

I have been in abstentia dealing with the library at my daughter's school. Dedication day is in December (no panic here)...but I am flitting in here for a quick hello. *waves* Bonnie, I am glad that you have not dropped all my recommendations off your rec list after the lack of chemistry with Inkheart! Thanks for having faith. I do think it helped that I was reading it out loud with my kiddos.

Jumping into books makes me think of the Jasper Fforde series, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It's a mystery, detective series in which the characters chase each other through lots of different classic novels. Quite inventive. I wish that I had a voice that could carry people into the stories. But I can't be all bad, as my kids still ask me to read at night to them and the oldest still enjoying this nightly ritual is 13!!

Much love,

That's great that you're still reading together with your girls, Kim. I was just at my book group tonight and one my friend's daughter (8 yrs.) is loving the whole Inkheart series. Gosh, November and December are busy enough without adding all your library work. Bet it will be so satisfying when you're all done. Thanks for doing a "wave-by!" And speaking of which, I'm going to be down in Vancouver over the weekend, so I'll be sure and wave to you from the other side of the river when I'm down there.

*sighs with relief*

I am glad you liked Firmin, Bonnie. At the start I was just finding it all a bit weird, but I really sunk into it and parts of it moved me so much I ended up in tears! What a little sweetie...

Hey Bonnie,

Just stopping by to say hello.

Hmmm. Quilting--I guess I need to read this one (although I'd heard of it before, and had it in the back of my mind because the premise sounded interesting).

My book group discussed Cutting for Stone this week, and everyone loved it. Don't know if that's one of the books still on your list.

Fun weather, huh?

Oh I loved Cutting for Stone, definitely one of my favorites for the year :) Firmin sounds like a fun book, I will have to add it to my wishlist.

>223 bonniebooks: And to respond to your post about the worst perpetrators, Bonnie, I would have to say that this thread and you in general are probably the worst for me!

ABW I have got Cutting for Stone sitting here and it might make it onto the "take to Switzerland" pile... chances of me getting it read in the next 6 weeks are low. Great that everyone in your group loved it!

Bonnie you have done at least 6 books worht of damage to my WL!

Hey, Bonnie! :-)

Deborah, quilting isn't that much a part of the story. I just think quilters will appreciate what's there.

Amckie, I don't know whether to feel bad or proud about that! ;-)

Cushla, I can't imagine you having time to read anything between now and "takeoff." You probably won't have time to do this either, but it would be fun to hear what books you are taking with you--and maybe even be a part of your decisionmaking. Come on, with all the other stuff you have to do, could you start a new thread?

Ex.: "I'm going to Switzerland and in my suitcase, I'm taking my toothbrush, my babydoll pajamas, my skis, and the book..."

Then list all the books you're considering taking and we can fill in our choices. Before you say no, think about how you can then blame us if your suitcase is overweight. Hmmm?

Hi Bonnie!

I quite like your idea but it feels a bit up myself!! Like anyone cares! (only, I know you guys do...and will be full of advice.) I will do it when a few more jobs are done - it would also force me to limit the books a bit more. I have whittled them down to about 300 and I need to whittle a bit faster...

OMG! I'm so excited! Be sure and tell us on your regular thread, OK? I mostly only read my starred threads, so I might miss it otherwise.

I'm listening to Cutting for Stone, almost done, I think I have 2 CD left. It's long, but great. The narrator is excellent. It's a real saga. The detail with which he writes is incredible. My book club also wants to do this book but they are waiting for the paperback to be released (Jan 2010) I couldn't wait.

January? That's not so bad--especially when I have a couple dozen books (many bought last January!) that I haven't read yet. *she says, hanging her head in shame* And I'll be able to use some of my Christmas money. :-)

So, you're liking the audiobook version, Susan? I've just requested some DB's from my library for the very first time, so I'm going to get to see whether I'll like listening to a book as well as reading for myself.

Hi Bonnie- I have Cutting For Stone featured prominently on my tbr and plan to start it in a couple of weeks. I can't get too far behind this group, they'll leave you choking in the dust! BTW, I left you a reply on my challenge!

I love the quotes about books, even in the tbr pile! Lots of interesting stuff here, thanks for sharing.

Hello Bonnie...

A hundred years ago, you were reviewing My Jim by Nancy Rawles. It sounds wonderful. Your comments about the memory quilt have me intrigued. Since reading The Help, someone on my thread mentioned To Kill A Mockingbird, which I've not read as an adult. That one, and My Jim, will go on my TBR.

Thanks so much for your rec of The Help. You assured me that I would love it. I did. Feel free to choose all of my books from now on!!!

Thanks so much for your rec of The Help. You assured me that I would love it. I did. Feel free to choose all of my books from now on!!!

LOL! It takes a village, Louanne! It takes a village. I, myself, am taking full advantage of all the lists above.

I spent a few hours at my neighborhood Barnes & Noble reading Wolf Hall. I didn't mean to read so much of it, but you all have been talking about it so much. I enjoyed it, but I think I can wait now until it comes out in paperback or it comes my turn at the library.

And, speaking of B & N, (by the way, I did spend money there) has anybody tried out the nook e-reader? I'm considering getting one for my mom. Though she keeps telling me she doesn't want a kindle, she shops at B&N and might feel more comfortable buying books online from them. Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy that she wouldn't trust Amazon, but she hasn't bought anything online before.

Why aren't the Touchstones showing up within the postings??? Aaarrgh!

I've added Wolf Hall to my Christmas wish list; I have so many I want to read already, I won't mind the wait. I owned a Kindle, and think it would be great for long vacations (instead of bringing pounds of books with me), but for at home, I love to see the cover of what I am reading and feel the book's heft and enjoy the different face types. The other disadvantage for me is that I have an almost photographic memory and I remember where I read something on the page, but since the Kindle has so little on a page and there is no left and right, I couldn't find anything again. Yes, I am aware that you can bookmark passages, but it didn't work as well for me as I do on my own with a real book. So I gave mine to a friend. Kindle does have the nice advantage of changeable font sizes (for those of us close to needing glasses). I haven't heard anything about the nook-e.

So I gave mine to a friend.

Do you need another best friend? ;-) I've been waiting to buy any type of e-book for all those reasons and more (well, can't claim to have a photographic memory!) but am considering buying one for my mom since her eyesight is getting worse. There was an article in the NYT about the nook. Guess it won't actually be in stores to hold/look at/try out until the first of December, and then deliveries won't happen until January--not a very good Christmas present!

That is very unfortunate marketing for the nook! If I chance upon another one, you can be my next best friend, okay?

Hey Berly- I thought I was your new next best friend! What's happening here? I guess I could be 3rd of 4th. I've given the Kindle much thought and I think, like you, I would miss holding and experiencing the "real thing".

I travel for work a lot and it varies but is usually 2 week trips. While on the road I tend to average about a book a day or every 2 days, and sometimes a book per flight on the way down and back (and I live in the middle of nowhere, so usually 3 flights). Needless to say - heavy heavy heavy suitcase. For this reason, I am looking forward to getting an e-reader... I still can't imagine NOT having the actual book though. I can see myself still buying a paper copy if I love it. I can't help it - I love having the book and being able to hold it and mark it up and smell it and share it. From what I've read about both I think I would prefer the nook rather than the Kindle, but alas, I am in Canada so it isn't available to me.

>245 amckie:: Don't forget that the "no electronic devices" rule during take-off and landing applies to electronic bookreaders as well. You might want to include a small book for these times and other book emergencies.

>240 bonniebooks:: Bonnie, I have been tempted to "sample" a book while in a bookstore but would probably be too distracted. Either that, or I would want to sit and read the entire book! I worked in a bookstore once upon a time and remember the customer who came in on Sunday morning to read the Sunday papers. Guess who had to fold them neatly and put them back on display for sale?

I have Wolf Hall waiting for me at the library. If I don't have time to finish it during the upcoming holiday season, it may very well go on my Christmas list as well.

Looks like I'm in for some good reading coming up. I'm next on the library list for The Help and added Wolf Hall last week. Hopefully they don't both come available at the same time.

While waiting for those, I picked up and have just started The Strain. Anyone read it?

With regards to e-readers, I use the library a lot and I don't think I can 'borrow' from amazon. I also don't like that I cannot lend my book out. The books I do buy I usually share with my mom. There needs to be some modification before I hope on board.

>246 Donna828: Definitely still some paper books :)
>247 sydamy: That is what I liked about the nook - from what I saw you could lend to anyone with a nook, or an iPhone, or other phones, or send to computers. *drools* Kindle doesn't do any of that. From the website: "Share favorite eBooks with your friends or family. Most eBooks can be lent for up to 14 days at a time. Just choose the eBook you want to share and send it to your friend's nook – or to any computer or cell phone with the free Barnes & Noble eReader software downloaded on it." I don't like the sounds of 'most eBooks' but I do love the sound of lending for up to 14 days!

>248 amckie: That is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately there are no B&N in Canada. The Kindle has just come here but it has no web browsing capability. Same price, less functionality equals paper books for me :)

>249 sydamy: I know, I am quite disappointed about our lack of good options on eBook readers :( We have the Sony eReader but it seems to be both pricier and not as functional. Plus no sharing. Sigh.

amckie, being able to loan/borrow books to/from someone with an iphone makes the nook really tempting as my son and I like to read a lot of the same books. My friend has access to an iphone so she could read them too. I just wish the nook was available for Christmas! Not much fun to get a picture of something. Plus, my mom would need me there to set it up for her and get her started.

amckie and Susan, don't you hate hearing about something you can't get? Makes you want it even more! Which reminds me (and my A.D.D. brain). One of my students came in with an "Oh, Canada" T-shirt and when I started belting out your anthem, he just stared at me in amazement. The connection to above? Ever since my teenage years spent at hockey games, I've coveted your national anthem. Why can't we in the USA have an anthem that has such a pretty tune and is so much more singable?

I finished What I Loved today instead of cleaning house and getting ready for Thanksgiving and traveling. At first, I was put off by the narrator's tone, it was a bit distant and somewhat flat (and he was an old guy!) plus some of the discussions about art made me feel dumb, but this story about three women, their two husbands and two children ended up being surprisingly intense. (Case in point, I was sobbing at one point!) The characters were complex and increasingly interesting; I grew to care about all of them.

Those of you who live in NYC, or who are interested in the question of what is art and the evolution of performance art may like this book even more.

Bonnie- I just received a copy of What I Loved recently, after much LT praise. I'm glad you liked it!

Not having the nook available for Christmas is really the silliest decision ever by B&N I think... They would have sold a lot more if not for that. As for the anthem, that is funny that you think that because I remember kids in school singing YOUR anthem and wishing ours was cool like that!
PS- you can just call me Amy :)

Thanks, Amy! :-)

Mark, I'm purposely not talking much about What I Loved because I like to know as little as possible about a book before reading it, but I meant to say that parents who have come through the child-raising years and/or watched good friends struggle through them should have lots to talk/think about with this story as well.

Glad you liked What I Loved! I thought it was marvellous. Just the sort of dense book I love.

From what I've heard not having the nook available for Christmas wasn't a marketing decision, they just didn't make enough of them and won't be able to get more until January.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/barnes-nobles-nook-sold-out-for-the-hol...

I thought the lending books feature on the nook was really great, especially since I often want to lend books to friends that live all over the country, although I was disappointed to hear that you can only lend each book once.

Bonnie--Waving Hi! I've missed you. :) Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.

I did, Kim. Thanks! You too, and everyone else as well! I'm heading off to the library tomorrow to pick up The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance which I have high hopes for. I heard the author tell a story on The Moth about a trip to Cyprus with her family that was hilarious! Does anybody else listen to those podcasts? They're stories less than 15 minutes long told live to an audience without notes. Many of the storytellers are authors, but just as many are regular people off the street who have a fantastic story to tell.

I've been reading Language Visible: Unraveling the Mystery of the Alphabet From A to Z by David Sacks. Don't know if I'll read every word of it now that I'm past the basic history of how and when our alphabet developed, but it's been pretty interesting.

Supposedly the "Best Book of the Year" as chosen by the Seattle Times is: How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone by Sasa Stanisic. I had to go to Grants Pass, Oregon to find this out! (That's because I choose to read the New York Times online everyday rather than read my own paper. Bad Bonnie!) Anyway, I'm really loving this book and wondering why I had never heard of it before. Or maybe when I read that it was another book about war (Bosnia), I thought to myself, "I don't need this!" If any of you reviewed or recommended the book to me, I'm sorry I ignored you!

eta: OMG! How embarrassing! It's already on my list of your "Top Tens" for heaven's sake! LOL! Sorry, Christina! You would think I would take a look at my list before posting, but the title didn't sound even a little bit familiar. And I've typed up that list several times. Have pity on me. It's obviously Alzheimer's. :-(

And now this bulletin: I'm getting ready for 2010 and I need your help, LT-ers, before you get too busy with all those "banana" activities. I'm going to continue to use your recs to drive my book choices for next year, so if you haven't told me what your favorite ten books of 2009 were, I would still love to hear from you! And don't be afraid to recommend a book that's already on my list. Those redundancies just tell me how popular a book is.

Hey Bonnie! I've just completed The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds. My review of the book is both on my 50-book challenge thread and in the book's review section. At any rate, while I've already sent you a Top 10 for 2009, as you know, this book definitely crashes that list. If I must be held to 10, you may (and I say this reluctantly) remove Jasper Fforde's The Fourth Bear.

The Rapture of Canaan sounds really good! I'm a total sucker for coming-of-age stories, so I'm glad you recommended it because the title would have kept me from even looking to see what it was about. That's what I keep loving about LT! And not to worry, I'm too lazy to take Fforde's book off my list, so it's safe. :-)

"banana activities"????

Oh Bonnie I laughed out loud actually several times while reading your post but most of all that you were raving about a book that you had no recollection of at all. That is funny and oh so likely to happen to any of us who manically add books that may stand only a very remote chance of ever actually being read.

That said, I will be adding How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone based on your enthusiasm. BTW I never read our local paper either.

>263 brenzi:: I'm glad my "faulty faculties" could entertain you! ;-) I can't remember (Oops! memory problems again! Do you have Alzheimers if you know you're having forgetting problems?) who first started substituting the word "banana" for "Christmas" on her thread (Ellie maybe?) but that's what that was all about. :-)

And, Bonnie, I haven't gotten very far into How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone but I think it's going to push some books off my "Top Ten" List!

According to my Mom, you're OK if you can't find your keys. You have a problem if when you finally do find your keys, you can't remember what to do with them.

Mom's 90. We took her keys away (actually one of my sisters just took her car along with the keys) but she still knows what they're for.

Just thought I'd stop by and say hi **Hi!**

>265 Copperskye:: OK, sigh, I feel a little bit better. Still, I worry that the only reason I can find my keys is because I always put them in the exact same place when I walk in the door. And I sometimes go from one room to another and have to stand there trying to remember what I came to get. I have to go back to the first room to jog my memory, then head back again. My mom is 86 and so far she has got a better memory than I do! She only repeats stories occasionally and I just read some research about why we don't remember who we did/didn't tell a story to, so I'm not worried about her yet.

eta: And "Hi!" back to you, coppers! :-) I love that the weekend is coming up and I've got some great books to curl up with. Happy reading!

I am adding Cutting for Stone to my Top Ten, making it eleven. Not sure what I will take off because I may have another great read before the end of the year. All major book decisions will be made on December 31. I'm sure you must already have this one on your list, but it deserves many accolades.

Re: "Bananas"....I just thought you were referring to the way many of us "go bananas" with all the hype of the Christmas season. You know, all that shopping, cooking, partying, etc. We are actually having a quiet Christmas at our house this year. Still in recovery from the 5 dogs we had here last year!

>267 Donna828: I believe I have 14 on my Top Ten;-)

Glad to hear Cutting for Stone is on your "Top Ten" list too, Donna, since your library is most like mine.

Re: "bananas," yeah, I that was my reaction too as to why that word was used. Do you know who started all that? I thought it was amusing, so I'm doing my part to keep it going. My own Christmases have gotten much more relaxed now that I'm divorced (no office parties and not as many holiday parties to go to--don't miss those!) and my children are grown up (no cookie making or caroling parties--do miss those). This year I'm not even going to put up a tree (mixed feelings about that) because I'm going to my mom's to celebrate Christmas with her--she's not driving on long trips anymore--and my boys. I miss some of the old traditions and my friends, but I'm forced to keep it simple because my mom's place is so small, so that makes it all easier too.

>268 brenzi:: That's to be expected from the other "Bad Bonnie!" ;-)

Bonnie- We love your "faulty faculties"! It's your most endearing quality! :-)
I plan on starting Cutting for Stone next week! BTW, I thought you were joining me in the migration? Change of mind?

>271 msf59:: Hi, Mark! Not my most endearing quality--please!!! That hurts! You are so going to get coal in your stocking! And, hey, I'm glad you're still visiting the "special ed" group--ooh, you're sooo not going to live that one down! ;-)

No change of mind on joining the 75-ers! :-) I'm just waiting for the new year and the new group challenge to get set up. I understand that it's going to take place mid-December so may make the change-over then. Hey, are you leading/managing the group discussion on Rushdie's book, Midnight Children, because I plan on being there for that one.

And, I may be jumping the gun on How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone as I haven't read that much of it yet, but it might be a good one to put on your Christmas list--though you might not want to read it right away since you just finished The Cellist of Sarajevo. Not that it's anything like that book--not at all!

edit. to fix italics.

I had the audacity to choose 10 books from Alcottacre's "favorites" lists to add to my "Best of your Best" list, because no way could I expect Stasia to do it when I look at how many books she reads in one year. Please note I take full responsibility for the list below:

Beals, Melba Pattillo: Warriors Don't Cry
Dittmer, John: The Good Doctors
Kay, Guy Gavriel: Tigana
Larson, Kate Clifford: Bound for the Promised Land
Mackinnon, Amy: Tethered
Roberts, Richard Samuel: A True Likeness
Sandoz, Mari: Crazy Horse
Smith, Tom Rob: Child 44
Thiong'o, Ngugi wa: Wizard of the Crow
Urrea, Luis Alberta: The Hummingbird's Daughter

Bonnie- Yes, I'm continuing to make the rounds of the "special ed" groups. It's my civil duty. Midnight's Children was your suggestion and I'm honoring that one and yes I will run that show, sometime early March.

I'm in if Midnight's Children is the selection, Mark.

OK, here is my list for so far... I managed to cut it down to a top fifteen, which will just have to do I guess until I can cut more :)

Betsy Tobin - Ice Land
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - The Thing Around your Neck
Assia Djebar - So Vast the Prison
Jose Saramago - Death with Interruptions
Alan Paton - Cry, the Beloved Country
Liz Funk - Supergirls Speak Out
Jessica Valenti - The Purity Myth
Abraham Verghese - Cutting for Stone
Benazir Bhutto - Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West
Paul Farmer - Pathologies of Power
Elsa Osorio - My Name is Light
Margaret Atwood - Payback:Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth
Edwidge Danticat - Breath, Eyes, Memory
Peter Hoeg - Smilla's Sense of Snow
Ariel Levy - Female Chauvinist Pigs

Just found this thread and looked over my list of 70+ reads of the year. It seems I've been hooked on a lot of great YA lit this year so I'll list them separately.

Here are the grown-up faves:
1. The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama
2. An American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
3. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear -the whole series of 6!
4. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
6. Consequences by Penelope Lively
7. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
8. When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka
9. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
10. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and gloriously recorded by Sissy Spacek

Now for the YA list:(Don't be fooled. Many of these books have fairly adult themes.)

1. What I Said and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
2. Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik
3. The New Policeman by Kate Thompson
4. A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz
5. Dear Enemy by Jean Webster
6. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
7. Children's Story by James Clavell
8. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
9. Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
10. Inkeart by Cornelia Funke and marvelously recorded by Lynn Redgrave, the best children's book narrator in the biz.

Bonnie, I am only 10 pages in but I feel confident in saying that I have a new book to add to the top ten (OK, top ten-ish) list already submitted.

Thank you for Not Reading by Dubravka Ugrešić

It is a collection of essays about books, reading, publishing, writing, etc. And it is hilarious. It is written by a Croatian author, and is a critique of book publishing, bookstores, 'famous people' turning into authors, and other random topics.

OK, Amy, you lucked out because I've read some of your books and/or somebody else has already recommended the same book. Plus, I know and like you, but everybody else please only give me 10 recs!

Anne, thanks for splitting your lists since I'm ignoring YA books. And thank you, also, for not worrying about whether or not your books were already on my list. Those multiple recs really help me to choose when I'm being indecisive (another one of my charming attributes, Mark!). ;-)

What?! Amy, no! You are totally banned from adding any more books to my "Best of Your Best" unless you are willing to subtract books. You are so taking advantage of my wimpiness (another of my charming qualities, Mark!) ;-)

eta: missing words

Yeah, I am bad. hehe. OK, let me try harder. Here is ten! (Though there is still another whole month!)

Fiction:
1. Abraham Verghese - Cutting for Stone
2. Betsy Tobin - Ice Land
3. Assia Djebar - So Vast the Prison
4. Jose Saramago - Death with Interruptions
5. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - The Thing Around your Neck
Non-Fiction:
6. Jessica Valenti - The Purity Myth
7. Ariel Levy - Female Chauvinist Pigs
8. Benazir Bhutto - Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West
9. Paul Farmer - Pathologies of Power
10. Dubravka Ugrešić - Thank you for Not Reading

It is funny to note that looking back over the year some of the ones that I am looking at for a top ten pick are not necessarily the same as the ones that I rated as five stars. I wonder if that is the sign of a truly good book - one that you have good memories of even months past.

eta: touchstones

Bonnie- I forgot the sheer volume of your many qualities! No wonder we are friends!
I am truly blessed!

I've looked over the top ten lists everyone has been giving you and here are some I haven't seen:

1. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat by Vicki Myron
- a quick read and very heartwarming-
2.Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart
-I seem to like to read flower and gardening books in Jan. and Feb. to scare away the winter doldrums.
3. The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
4. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
5. My Antonia by Willa Cather
6. Night by Elie Wiesel
7. Tall Grass by S. Dallas
8. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
9. Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Loony Bin by Norah Vincent
10. We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals that Changed Their Lives Forever by Benjamin Mee
I didn't realize I read so much non-fiction this year until just now. Wishing you happy choosing and reading fullfillment.

Are those your favorites, Tammy? Or are most of your favorites already on the list?

Kidzdoc/Daryl's Top Ten:
Donoso, Jose: The Obscene Bird of Night
Llosa, Mario Vargas: Conversation in the Cathedral
Mahjoub, Jamal: Traveling with Djinns
Mantel, Hilary: Wolf Hall
Mawer, Simon: The Glass Room
O'Connor, Flannery: Wise Blood
Shamsie, Kamila: Burnt Shadows
Toibin, Colm: Brooklyn
Verghese, Abraham: Cutting for Stone

I'm looking forward to Voluntary Madness myself, and hadn't really seen it before - glad to see you enjoyed it, Tammy! I'm trying to make a list of some of the books I really want to sink my teeth into over that oh-so-precious festive break, and it's proving to be more difficult than I thought!

Oh, and by the way Bonnie - you were half-right: 'banana' was my fault, not on my thread but over with ChocolateMuse, just so you can set your faculties to rest on that one! Not because you go bananas, but I'd heard it was one of the most commonly used codewords and it made me giggle! So Banana it is... :-)

>285 elliepotten:: Ohhh! I get it! As in "sometimes a banana is just a banana!" ;-)

I read a hilarious book this morning titled: The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance. As an Atheist/Humanist, I wouldn't have looked twice at this book--probably even avoided it--but I heard Elna Baker tell a story on The Moth and couldn't stop laughing. I don't think you have to be Mormon or even a used-to-be Mormon to enjoy this book. I loved this slightly manic, but hilarious, memoir about life and trying to find your "true self" while also searching for love--and failing a lot! Which only makes sense when you consider that the author (who used to be fat, so has body issues) is trying to find a cute and sexy Mormon man who will mesh with her wacky and adventurous spirit--she is so not the type to want sit home and take care of the babies while he goes off to work--but also accept the fact that she wants to remain a virgin until she's married. In New York City? Come on! But I respect her for trying! And you really will like her!

P.S. I tried to create a link so you can get an idea of what this book is like by listening to the author tell an abbreviated version of one of her stories on Moth, but couldn't do it, darn it!

The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance sounds really funny. I've gone and put myself in line for it at the library. Thanks for posting about it!

These are my favorites. I like hearing other people's stories and learning about different cultures. Each one made me think and I learned something from all of them.

I read Voluntary Madness, because for the last five years I've been working with disabled adults. The company I currently work for offers community based living for individuals with chronic mental illness, TBI or dementia. In some ways the book made me sad, because many people out in the world feel that not every person has human worth. In other ways it reminded me why I do what I do.

I'm bipolar myself, so I'm always interested in books like Voluntary Madness, particularly given how close I was to a total breakdown over the hormonal teenage years. Nowadays I rather like my inner fruitcake, but it's been a long journey! Right now I'm reading one by Janet and Paul Gotkin called 'Too Much Anger, Too Many Tears' about Janet's experience with mental health care, and how they as a couple worked against some of the dreadful realities of that 'care' to triumph regardless. My mum's old GP-turned-psychiatrist donated it to the shop and I nicked it!

Ellie, have you noticed how some really great writers are bipolar? Or at least on the continuum? Well, I guess we're all on the continuum, huh? I like reading all those books too, though they can be uber-scary and depressing. When are our health care systems going to admit that our brains are a part of our bodies and stop separating out mental health care from health care?!

Some of them are pretty miserable, you're right - I kinda have to be careful not to read them if I'm a bit wobbly because they can make the problem worse. The one on your reading list - Touched with Fire is great though, it's all about writers and artists with manic depression and it's very positive. There's a lot of good that comes with bipolar too - like creativity, appreciation of the sweep of human experience, empathy and all sorts of other Good Things!

OK, I stole (with permission) alphaorder's favorites list from her thread to add to mine.

Half the Sky by Nikolas Kristof
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias
Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
Family Album by Penelope Lively

# 290 One of my distant relatives (she's third cousin once removed I think!) is bipolar. She's not a writer but she's an artist and quite a talented one at that. She paints, designs jewelry and sculpts.

While at the library picking up Lost City of Z, I took a look at the "Staff Picks." I don't think those books are really staff picks. I'm thinking that librarians read and and want to recommend all the same books that we love, but they can't because those titles are always checked out. My guess is that the books my library has on the "Staff Picks" shelf are good enough books, but not ones that most people are coming in search of, so the librarians, good mothers that they are, want to give them a little attention. Family Meals by Michael Tucker definitely falls into that category.

For those of you who watched L.A. Law, Tucker and his RL wife played husband and wife attorneys on that T.V. show. And I loved that show, and loved his character, so of course I had to check it out. Anyway, he talks a lot about selecting, preparing and eating food (he loves to cook and his daughter is a personal chef), but this is not a cookbook. He's written a cookbook but I couldn't tell you anything about that.

Tucker and his wife don't exactly live a life like you and me--they have a beautiful old farmhouse in Italy along with an apartment in New York City--but, no surprise, they have a lot of the same trials and tribulations we all have in trying to live our lives as best we can. Soon after they thought they were going to be able to retire to their Italian villa, Tucker's father-in-law dies and his mother-in-law's forgetfulness rapidly devolves into full-blown Alzheimers.

Michael Tucker is a writer--this is not an "as told to" kind of book. He's droll, self-deprecating, and loves his wife. He tells a good story about how the two of them struggle to find a balance between living the good life and making the sacrifices that come with family and relationships. Tucker's not afraid to show the warts, but he's a very positive guy and he makes for a very charming and funny dinner companion. At one point, I thought the "dinner" was getting a little long, but overall I enjoyed it. And if truth be told, I could just eat him up!

I saw that book at Barnes and Noble on Sunday and wondered if it would be any good. I too watched L.A.Law. thanx

~Big Wave to Bonnie~ Now you have "Z" in hand! Anxious to hear your thoughts! And remember my friend, you don't owe me anything! We do things here, because we want to!!

Holy smokes, I fall behind a little and end up with a mountain of new recommendations!

Enjoy The Lost City of Z, I'm considering suggesting it for a future book club read so I'm curious about your thoughts as well.

Thanks Bonnie and friends - just more books added to the wishlist and mount TBR!

I have lots of good books stacked up on the tables around me, but just wanted something else--something lighter--so downloaded The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie from the library. This isn't really a mystery so much; I mean it is, but I kept reading because I love, loved 11-year-old Flavia de Luce! She's an incredibly smart, funny, and bratty over-the-top character--much like the children in Lemony Snicket's books or Artemis Fowl--and so much fun!

Note: For those of you who hadn't tried it, I was surprised at how comfortable it was to read a book on my laptop. I didn't have to scroll or anything; the book was presented page by page. With the cursor permanently hovering over the arrow, I just had to click once to get to the next page. Stretched out on my bed, under a cozy comforter (it's been cold here in Seattle) it was actually more comfortable than reading a library hardback, propping myself up on an elbow, having to hold up the book or my head at awkward angles. Yeah! I love learning new tricks! :-)

I have to read Alice Sebold's book Almost Moon for my book group meeting on Monday which I so don't want to do! I didn't even want to read the much better reviewed The Lovely Bones and with my sister in hospice right now, Almost Moon doesn't seem like the right book for me. Has anybody read it and liked it?

eta: P.S. Decided not to read Almost Moon now.

I've enjoyed what I've read so far of Lost City of Z, but with all the Holiday stuff to do, and my sister being sick, I'm leaning toward good escape-type fiction. I do want to read it, though, so I think I'll put it back on my list for 2010. Ditto with Wild Swans. Sorry, Mark, Belva, Andrea and Deborah!

Bonnie, but I couldn't get much past Page One of The Almost Moon. My mother died of Alzheimer's Disease two years ago, and I couldn't bear reading this account then...or now. Strange that I read and enjoyed Still Alice a few months ago so it's not the A.D. that gets to me as much as the daughter's reaction to it in Almost Moon. Now that I think of it, maybe the mother didn't have AD, but whatever, her symptoms were much the same. I did like The Lovely Bones and will probably see the movie if it ever opens here in SW Missouri.

It's so sad about your sister. I think you need to pick and choose your books carefully during her illness. Light reading is good. If you like Garrison Keillor and his quirkiness, then The Christmas Blizzard might tickle your funny bone.

Bonnie,

I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. Another light read you might enjoy is The Earth Hums in B Flat if you haven't already read it. Very uplifting.

>299 bonniebooks: Bonnie, I found your comments about the e-book to be quite interesting. I might give it a try. I've given audio books a chance, and it's only okay for me. I had never realized how visual I am, and that important aspect of seeing the printed word is missing when I listen to a book. But, e-books would satisfy that for me. Thanks for the info.

You have so many wonderful Top-10 lists here. I've not given mine since it would just be repetition, and the year is not yet over.

Hi Bonnie- How are you, my friend? I'm sorry about your sister's illness! I haven't had much interest in reading The Almost Moon, due to lackluster reviews but I really enjoyed The Lovely Bones. Maybe you can get back to "Z" after the New Year. I'm glad you enjoyed the 1st part!

Hi Bonnie...I was looking over my list for the year to see what might fit the bill for you now and the only one I can think of to suggest (I seem to lean towards the more depressing stuff) is Schooled, by Anisha Lakhani. It is not necessarily uplifting but it is a light, fun read. It's written by a teacher about a teacher, and it's pretty entertaining - especially if you are a teacher!

Bonnie, here is my memorable reads list for the year. I hope you will include some of them in your upcoming reading.

Nonfiction
Bound for the Promised Land by Kate Clifford Larson
Crazy Horse by Mari Sandoz
The Plays and Poems of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Volume 1
The Cobra's Heart by Ryszard Kapuscinski
The Eaves of Heaven by Andrew X. Pham
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
Love Letters from Cell 92 by Ruth-Alice von Bismarck and Ulrich Kabitz, editors
The Diary of Mary Berg by S.L. Shneiderman, editor
Lighthouse by Tony Parker
The Good Doctors by John Dittmer
Columbine by Dave Cullen
The Diary of Gideon Welles by Gideon Welles
The Peabody Sisters by Megan Marshall
Dr. Seuss Goes to War by Richard Minear
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
Lower East Side Memories by Hasia Diner
A True Likeness: The Black South of Richard Samuel Roberts 1920-1936 by Richard Samuel Roberts
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals

Fiction
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Tethered by Amy MacKinnon
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Maus and Maus II by Art Spiegelman
The Girls by Lori Lansens
The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Peace Like A River by Leif Enger
A City of Bells by Elizabeth Goudge
The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Young Adult/Juvenile
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Treasure of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston
The BFG by Roald Dahl
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
Summerland by Michael Chabon
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
The Grey King by Susan Cooper

OK, Stasia read 500+ books, so I'm forgiving her for posting 50+ books--ten percent, not 10 total, but nobody else gets to do that! I chose ten books that I wanted to read and added them to the alphabetized list, but it's so difficult to choose--that's why I want you all to do it for me! ;-)

Tethered

I told my book group I couldn't read Almost Moon right now, then went and read a book that centers around a funereal home and a damaged young woman, Claire, who deals with her major losses and the hurts done to her by becoming a mortician. I had to rush by the beginning with my eyes closed, but she and the owner were so loving and respectful toward the dead that this book wasn't hard to read; it even made me feel a little better. And it's a murder mystery with a bit of romance, so it served its purpose to help me escape RL for a few hours. *Spoiler Alert!* There are also issues of child pornography and pedophilia to deal with--never easy to think about--but this story is mostly about Claire and whether she can learn to love, to trust, to deal with people who are alive--and to believe in something beyond this life on earth.

Darn! I tried to add the picture of the cover, but it didn't work! And my efforts to bold aren't working either. They're even disappearing when I open the post back up. Hmmmm? Spirits about?

I *am* a teacher! I'll go look for it! Thanks, Andrea! And the books I tend to read are often considered depressing by others too, so we may have more in common than you think.

Ha! I went to wish list it and found that I already had--and based on your recommendation too! :-)

*waves hello* :)

Ha, that's right! With all the great people on LT, it can be easy to lose track sometimes of who's doing what and reading what at any given time. Enjoy Schooled if you do end up reading it!

Bonnie,

Just wanted to say I read three pages of Almost Moon and couldn't do it; not for me. BTW I have no idea how you make italics, bold or anything on this site. What's the secret sister? :-)

SqueakyChu taught me, so I'll teach you, although it wasn't working the other day, or half-working, so will see. Just change ( ) parentheses to the pointy brackets on the comma and period keys. And don't forget the forward slash within the second set of brackets or the changes will go on forever.

For italics: (i)words you want italicized(/i) becomes words you want italicized

To bold: (b)words you want bolded(/b) becomes words you want bolded

To strike out: (strike)words you want struck out(/strike) becomes words you want struck out

Oh! That is super great info Bonnie (and SqueakyChu). Thanks! (Oooh! It worked!)

Ok so know I know for sure that I am stupider (more stupid?) than Berly and SqueakyChu). What are you talking about? What brackets? I'm afraid for me, Bonnie, you're going to have to get down to basics. :-O

Look on the keys on your computer that have the comma and period symbols. See the those side-ways v's above them?

OK here we go:

is this what you mean

this is what you mean

Thanks Bonnie.

Whoo-hoo! :-) Good going, sis! I guess I'm the smart one and you're the pretty one? ;-) LOL!

As you can see it kept going on just like you said. Guess I forgot the forward slash. I'll get this dang new-fangled computer gizzy or die trying. LOL! Thanks again smarty.

I'm laughing...since I had no idea how to do it either until Bonnie, that is Bonniebooks, shared the secret with me a few months ago!

You can also underline by subsituting the b/i/strike with a u - like this!

Good to know, Ellie! Thanks!

So, in between popping on and off LT, I have been reading. I don't normally read very many mysteries, but in honor of my sister who adores them, and because I'm totally distracted and needing light reading, I'm reading When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson. I've also read the middle of The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread. I've got to get going, though, so may have to cut out posting this week and concentrate on Christmas stuff.

>319 bonniebooks:: Are you absolutely certain that you two Bonnies were not separated at birth? You guys are a hoot. We are going to have some very expressive messages from now on. And I learned to mark out strike words. Thanks, BB.

Thank you bonniebooks and SqueakyChu! I've seen instructions on how to do fancy things in your pants posts but they never made sense to me...

Oh, and I loved When Will There Be Good News. I hope you like it, too! Have you read the two that precede it?

I've read Behind the Scenes of the Museum and Case Histories by Atkinson.

Bonnie- Not bad for a "non-mystery reader"! Maybe there is hope for you yet.. hee hee! I loved the 1st 2 Jackson Brodie books but have not got to the 3rd. Will Bonnie cause me to bump it up a little? Mmmm!

Mark, is there something I should know from book two? I didn't think about the fact that I was reading a series when I picked it up at the library. When I saw it, I just thought, "Oh, I've heard people talk positively about that book and I really liked Behind the Scenes of the Museum, but Case Histories not as much. What the heck, I'll try it."

I've been reading The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread but am going to give this back to the library unfinished. This book is definitely an easy read, and sometimes funny, but just way too cutesy for me right now. It just drones on and on and on with the obsessed worryings (I know that's not a word) and stories of Morris Bird the Third's everyday life. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood. I do have a cold and am distracted by the need to go Christmas shopping, but I just can't stay with Morris as he travels across town with his little sister in a borrowed little red wagon. But don't pay any attention to me. Stephen King says if you want to know what it was like to be a little kid growing up in the Midwest in the mid-century, read this book!

Well, we all like different things, but I'm always amazed when someone doesn't like a book I really like. The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread is, in my view, a wonderful book. I could see some possible critisisms (help my spelling brain just crashed!) of it, but I'd never have expected "cutesy." Try Paradise Falls, also by Don Robertson. Nothing cutesy about that one.

The last part of the book is the ending which makes everything make sense.

"Cutesy" may not be the best word to describe Robertson's ramblings. I'm not trying to back off from my words, but I know that this is not a good time for me with my sister being so sick--I just feel sad and crabby. Plus, I have a cold, so don't take my comments too personally. The author is trying to paint a picture of that time--1944, during the war. It feels a bit cutesy and/or romanticized as seen through a little boy's eyes. I didn't get to the "disaster" part of the story though (no spoiler here because the author warns you about this in the prologue), so maybe I wouldn't choose "cutesy" if I had read the whole book.

I hope you and your sister get well soon.

I wrote "The last part of the book is the ending which makes everything make sense." That should have been "The best part..."

Bonnie- I'm sending you a warm cheery hug! I hope you feel better, my friend!

hope you feel better soon!!! Being sick at Christmas time stinks!

Bonnie - I hope you're feeling better soon.

Aaah! Thanks, all! I forget when I'm whining (or whinging, as wookiebender would say) that more than the one person I'm responding to is going to read my post. I curled up under a comforter and finished reading When Will There be Good News by Kate Atkinson today. It was a great read that served its purpose in allowing me to forget about the dirty dishes and Christmas shopping still to be done. (And that week's worth of laundry didn't walk itself to the laundry room and get done either. Oh well, it was worth it!) And except for the non-stop sneezing--all the rest of the Christmas shoppers can be glad I wasn't out there with them--I'm feeling better. Again, thanks!

P.S. Another mystery, Mark!
P.P.S. I'm sort of regretting I skipped a book in this series, copper, since I'm enjoying it so much!

Bonnie- I'm glad you enjoyed it! You'll have to track down One Good Turn next! It's also a lot of fun! Now I have to get to the 3rd one! Sheeesh!

Hope you are feeling better Bonnie. And if not, that you have a decent supply of Kleenex handy! I am sure all the shoppers thank you for staying home and reading. Hugs.

Bonnie, I'm a fan of Kleenex Lotion *3 ply* tissue. So soft, treat yourself to a box when you pop to the grocery for more tea :) Hope you feel good soon!

Hi Bonnie--

Glad you are over your cold. I'm recovering from the flu.

I loved Kate Atkinson's early books, especially her first, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, but then like you did not care for Case Histories. Even though I like mysteries, I decided her mysteries were not for me. Maybe I'll have to try When Will There Be Good News??

I have a few suggestions for you for books you might like now. They're not necessarily humorous, but they are lovely quiet family stories:

Wish You Were Here by Stewart O'Nan
Mr. Bridge and Mrs. Bridge by Evan Connell--2 related novels
Mary and O'Neil by Justin Cronin--interrelated stories of one extended family.

See you after the 1st!

I LOVED Mary and O'Neil (but gave up in hte middle of Wish You Where Here, although I am a fan of O'Nan in general)

Feel better.

Oh, I loved the first two Jackson Brodie books by Kate Atkinson - Case Histories and One Good Turn. I'm yet to source a copy of When Will There Be Good News, and I've got Behind the Scenes of the Museum on Mt TBR. (One day!)

It seems to be that you either like her crime (Jackson Brodie) or her literature (Scenes). I'm hoping to buck that trend and like both. :)

Feel better soon, Bonnie! And merry Christmas to you and your family.

I haven't read Mary and O'Neil (on to the list it goes!) but I really enjoyed Justin Cronin's The Summer Guest. I also loved Wish You were Here. I found them to be good, comfortable reads.

>344 wookiebender: wookiebender - I loved Atkinson's Jackson Brodie books and Behind the Scenes at the Museum. I haven't read any of her others though.

I'll look for those books, Deborah! Thanks for coming up with some ideas for me. I had heard about the Bridge books and then had forgotten them until you mentioned them last week. They're on my wishlist now. Hey, how are you feeling? You actually had the flu! :-{ Hope you're all better.

I started Child 44 last night and this morning had to finish it. It's not really that much of a mystery for the reader, and it's quite sad and dark, but it is still a very exciting/tension filled thriller. It's depressing to think that people had to live under a crazy political system where "the state" couldn't admit that there was any crime, but if there was the slightest question about your behavior or loyalty, you would be found guilty, no matter what. It sure makes you feel grateful for the freedoms we have.

I liked Child 44 too. He's got another one out; can't remember the title.

Behind the Scenes of the Museum is definitely due another re-read for me! I'm going to try to read more of my Top Favorites this next year to see how they're holding up.

My husband and I both have Child 44 on our TBRs, good to know you enjoyed it! Hopefully we get around to it in the new year.

Love this thread Bonnie! I'm not sure what kind of challenge I'll do for 2010, but I had fun with the 999 challenge (even though I didn't finish!) so I'll probably do something. If I have categories, one will definitely be books from LTers Top 10 lists. Here are my top 9 of the year:

North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
The True Deceiver - Tove Jansson
Hard Times - Charles Dickens
Complete Stories - Dorothy Parker
Jesus Land - Julia Scheeres
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery

Good luck with your 75 challenge! =)

S.

Thanks, Shauna, I'll add them to my list! :-)

The official list of everyone's Top Ten Favorites of 2009 is in msg. #177.

I added a few more books to the list of books I've read since starting this thread in September (See msg. #180)

For Christmas, I bought myself a used copy of the "true-life novel," Half-Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls. Her grandmother was quite the character! Saying Lily Casy Smith was "hardworking and adventurous" would definitely be damning her with faint praise. I have to admit that a big reason why I read this book was to better understand Jeannette Walls's mother, Rosemary after reading The Glass Castle. I still would like to read the book that would go in between these two.

My last book read in 2009 was Gold by Dan Rhodes. I would have to say that it truly was a little gem of a book! It was a great ending to a fantastic year of reading. Thanks Ellie!

I looked back to msg. #180 to see that I've read fifty books since the beginning of September which is more books than I read in all of last year! My one-year total is 140 books read. Yay! I'm "little-kid proud" about the numbers, but it's not just about quantity. The quality of the books I've read this year has been SUPERB thanks to all of my friends here on LT.

I'm looking forward to continuing to use your recommendations to drive my book selections for next year too, so I hope we'll continue to talk no matter what group we're in. You can find me in the 75-Book Challenge in 2010--and I hope you will--and I promise I'll come looking for you wherever you choose to be! Happy reading everyone! And Happy New Year!

Here's the link to my new thread for 2010: bonniebook's Best of Your Best 2010 Challenge

My last book of 2009 was Firefly Cloak by Sheri Reynolds. Not as good as The Rapture of Canaan, but pretty good nonetheless.

Wow, you've got (rather, received - I suppose I was vague, lol) a lot of suggestions! I probably missed these since your thread is so long (aaawesome! it'll take two days to read all the way through, but it'll be so worthwhile!), but I'll make up a short list of my all-time favourite books for you:

~Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
~The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
~Cosmos by Carl Sagan
~The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
~A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows from the series A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin
~The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
~The Tower at Stony Wood by Patricia A. McKillip
~The Riddle-Master Trilogy by Patricia A. McKillip
~Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
~Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
~2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
~Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I have a lot of fantasy listed :/ that's because it was the first major genre I was a fan of, way back when I started reading. I may change this around a bit when I get through the rest of your suggestion lists. :3 Happy reading!

The year is done, so I'm ready with my list! In the order I read them:

The Secret Magdalene by Ki Longfellow
28: Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Genius Factory (not the best-written, but such an interesting premise) by David Plotz
The City of Ember and The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau (but avoid the third book at all costs!)
The Hunter's Moon by O.R. Melling
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

>356 teathief:: Wow, you've got a lot of suggestions!

Not me, teathief! It's all your awesome fellow LT-ers! :-)

>357 _Zoe_:: Thanks, Zoe! I'll add them--and I'll see you on the 2010 challenge. :-)

>357 _Zoe_:: There's The Secret Magdalene again calling out to us, Bonnie.

Well, it would certainly be "outside the box" for me! :-) But now it's on the "best of the best" so...

Oh yay, you liked Gold! Skipping across to your 2010 thread now, Bonnie - over and out!

I really did, Ellie. It was even in the running for my #10 spot on My Favorites of 2009 list (see below).

Well, I finally made my Top Ten list to add to everyone else's. I was surprised that 2 mysteries/crime detective novels made it onto the list along with Lush Life--not my normal genres at all, but you LT-ers convinced me that they were great stories and you were right!

I'm know I'm cheating by recommending two books about books here, Ex-Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman and Housekeeping vs. Dirt by Nick Hornby, instead of putting them in my list; but I loved them both and I wouldn't have gone looking for A Complicated Kindness if not for Hornby's quote about Toews which I think could be used to describe all of my favorites:

"You may think you don't want to read about the problems of growing up Mennonite, but the great thing about books is that you'll read anything a good writer wants you to read."


My favorite books in 2009:

1. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
2. The Cellist of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway
3. Mudbound - Hillary Jordan
4. A Complicated Kindness - Miriam Toews
5. The Coroner's Lunch - Colin Cotterill
6. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
7. The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon
8. What is the What - David Eggers
9. Still Alice - Lisa Genova
10. Lush Life - Richard Price

Other books in contention for the #10 spot:

A Case of Exploding Mangoes - Mohammed Hanif
Gardens of Water - Alan Drew
Property - Valerie Martin
Sharp Teeth - Toby Barlow - because it surprised me how much I enjoyed a book about werewolves--and I just loved that cover!
Gold - Dan Rhodes

My favorite re-reads in 2009:

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Special Topics in Calamity Physics- Marisha Pessl
During the Reign of the Queen of Persia - Joan Chase
Isabel's Bed; Inn at Lake Devine - Elinor Lipman
Water for Elephants - Sarah Gruen

Glad to see you are an Ellie Lipman fan. Have you read all of her books? Her novels are such a treat when you need something with humor but still depth. Inn at Lake Devine is one of my favorites.

PS - Added more books to my wish list off your top 10...