Allison's Favorite Read Books of 2009

With just a few hours left in 2009, I wanted to post my top books of the year. According to Goodreads, I read just 15 books in 2009 so rather than do a top ten list I thought I would just highlight a few of my favorites. And speaking of the number of books I read, my one and only resolution this year is to read more -- hopefully at least two books a month.

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide is the book that stands out to me the most this year. What should be very depressing subject matter is actually uplifting and inspiring. The book is very readable and offers practical suggestions for what the reader can do to help. I hope this book becomes a part of high school and college curricula.

Most of my other non-book club reading this year was mysteries and I read two excellent ones this year: The Likeness and What the Dead Know. I heard the word mysterary somewhere once (mystery + literary) and that is a perfect description of these two books. The ending of What the Dead Know actually brought me to tears.

Happy New Year! Hold me to my New Year's reading resolution!

List Time! Liz's Favorite Books Read in 2009

The New York Times released its Ten Best Books of 2009. I have not read any of them. (Although I do have Kate Walbert's A Short History of Women checked out from the library.)

For my top 10 list of 2009, I have to consider all the books I read this year. If I counted only 2009 releases, there would only be 1 or 2 on the list. But here's my list, in order (#1 is my fave of the year). What's on your list?

1. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (friendship, Victorian, magic)
2. The Host (body snatcher, not Twilight, love)
3. The Girl who Played with Fire (trafficking, justice, Sweden)
4. Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse #9) (southern, vampire, blondes)
5. From Dead to Worse (Sookie Stackhouse #8) (see #4)
6. The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical (Jesus, charity, poverty)
7. Whatever it Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America (schools, cities, equality)
8. What Happened to Anna K? (not Tolstoy, New York, modern)
9. NurtureShock (parenting, science, chatty)
10. Intuition (postdocs, cancer, truth)

Update: Inspired by Sasha Frere-Jones' best shows of 2009, I added three word descriptors to my book list.