23/01/2010

Book List 2009

At the end of 2008 someone posted on their blog all the books they had read that year. I really enjoyed looking at the list and even read some of the books mentioned and I wanted to keep a list of the books I had read all year too, so here it is. I can't remember whose blog I originally saw this on so if it's yours give me a shout. Most of these are good reads, some are rubbish and were read out of desperation at having nothing else to read but the books marked with an asterisk I highly recommend.
The Eden Express - Mark Vonnegut Five Quarters of the Orange - Joanne Harris* Maybe Baby - Ben Elton Holy Fools - Joanne Harris The Buddha of Suburbia - Hanif Kureishi* Cries in the Night - Rodney Stone Black Dogs - Ian McEwan Sleeping Cruelty - Linda LaPlante To Be Someone - Louise Voss Life of a Slummy Mummy - Fiona Neill A Long and Lonely Road - Katie Flynn Winter in Madrid - CJ Sansom* Bookends - Jane Green To Hell in a Handcart - Richard Littlejohn The Van - Roddy Doyle Ecstasy - Irvine Welsh A Short History of Tractors in Ukrania - Marina Lewycka When Will There be Good News - Kate Atkinson* The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath* The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne The House at Riverton - Kate Morton* Goodbye Johnny Thunder - Tania Kindersley The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul - Douglas Adams The Northern Clemency - Philip Hensher* White Teeth - Zadie Smith* Under the Greenwood Tree - Thomas Hardy Dead Famous - Ben Elton Popcorn - Ben Elton Brick Lane - Monica Ali The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood* Afghanistan, Where God Only Comes to Weep - Siba Shakib* Lady Oracle - Margaret Atwood* Abel's Daughter - Meg Hutchinson Larry's Party - Carol Shields* The Buddha in you Mirror - Woody Hochswender, Greg Martin, Ted Morino Angels in my Hair - Lorna Byrne* Melted into Air - Sandi Toksvig Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis* The Mystery of Men - Guy Bellamy The First Casualty - Ben Elton* Mary, Called Magdalene - Margaret George Stand by, Stand by - Chris Ryan* Snow Falling on Cedars - David Gutherson Inconceivable - Ben Elton A Cat Affair - Derek Tangye Dead Air - Iain Banks Cue the Easter Bunny - Liz Evans Wicked - Gregory Maguire McCarthy's Bar - Pete McCarthy

16 comments:

radioactivegan said...

i love margaret atwood. i think my favorite is the edible woman. i really like that you kept this list; i honestly can't remember what i read in 2009 ... i might need to start a list this year :)

Jen Treehugger said...

That's one of hers I haven't read! I'll keep my eyes open for it.
Glad you enjoyed the list, when I first saw someone blog their book list for the year I really enjoyed it too so I figured other people would as well. This might become a regular January post for me.
:)

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

I've read all Margaret Atwood's novels except the most recent one (I wasn't a big fan of Oryx and Crake, so I didn't read the follow-up) and I've read several others on your list. Thanks so much for sharing!

Maybe I'll keep a list of what I read this year. I read a lot, but I've never kept track!

The Voracious Vegan said...

I love this idea! I am a huge bookworm, I always have at least 2 or 3 books going at the same time. But I'm always looking for new suggestions! Thank you!

jessy said...

this is such a great post, Jeni - i love it! it's so cool seeing what you've been reading! i have The Bell Jar, but for some reason i've never read it. i think i'm gonna read it next. yay!

Trinity (of haiku tofu) said...

lovely, thanks for posting this! i devour books, and I'm always looking for recommendations.

wingraclaire said...

What an amazing list! I kept a list for five years until last year, when I ..... stopped for some reason. But what a good idea. And I have never heard of many of those books, so that's food for thought right there. In fact, the only ones I have read are The Bell Jar (many years ago, like in high school) and I think there was one other, but of course I can't see the page now. At the moment I'm rereading He, She and It by Marge Piercy, which I recommend right back to you! Thanks for sharing.

Penny said...

Great list, Jeni! I keep a note, off and on, of the trillions of books I read, but will be more disciplined now! I've read quite a few of the books on your list. It was interesting to see the asterisks, but I'd have loved to have seen a sign of the ones you thought were rubbish! :o)
About your previous post: Vitalite costs less than £1 here! Some of us like it; some don't, so I buy both it and Pure.

For the Love of Guava said...

So sad... school impedes on my reading...

River - The Crafty Kook said...

Wow, Jeni you totally rock! I am ashamed of the tiny handful of books that I read in 2009. You've inspired me to get back to my heavy reading habits this year! :-)

Penny said...

Just a quickie to let you know I’ve nominated you for an Honest Scrap award! :o)

Cassie - Vegan Fox said...

This is a good idea! Margaret Atwood and Zadie Smith are on my 'to read' list ;)

Jen Treehugger said...

Penny - I'm always reluctant to rubbish books because what I class as not a good read someone else will think is a masterpiece!
But here ya go, just for you ;)

Sleeping Cruelty - Linda LaPlante
Dead Famous - Ben Elton
Popcorn - Ben Elton
Melted into Air - Sandi Toksvig

Jen Treehugger said...

Wingrclaire - there's a nifty little link at the top of the comment page that says "Show Original Post".
If you click on this it opens up the post on the same page so you don't have to navigate away from it!!
Cool huh!
Don't know if this is a new blogger feature but I've only just noticed it now.
:)

Anonymous said...

I used to be the biggest bookworm - thanks for reminding me to read more! I really miss it.

Jenn said...

Why do I always forget that I really enjoy Margaret Atwood? I read the Blind Assasin, but I had to look it up to remember what it was about. Barbara Kingsolver is another one that sits on the shelf and then when I read it I can't believe I didn't read it before. Poisonwood Bible sat around for years. Cool list. I'll have to start mine up again.