The Best and Worst of 2009

Here are my favorite -- and least favorite -- books of the year.

First, the best. I picked my favorite ten, but they aren't ranked beyond that. I tried to rank them in order of favorites, but it was simply too difficult. Quite simply, these were all amazing novels.

THE BEST

- Benjamin, Alice I Have Been
- Collins, The Hunger Games
- DuMaurier, My Cousin Rachel
- DuMaurier, Rebecca
- Phillips, Angelica
- Phillips, The Egyptologist
- Savage, Firmin
- Simmons, Drood
- Waters, The Little Stranger
- Vidal, Julian

And now, for my least favorites. I gave decent reviews of some at the time but found they do not hold up in retrospect. Thus, this list is not so much about "bad" books as it is about books I simply didn't enjoy. (Labeling it "The Worst" is somewhat of a misnomer, but will work in place of the wordier "Books I Didn't Jive With.")

THE WORST

- Brown, The Lost Symbol
- Coupland, JPod
- Fforde, The Fourth Bear
- Freund, I Never Saw Paris
- Hyde, The Abortionist's Daughter
- Koja, The Cipher
- Millhauser, Dangerous Laughter
- Moody, Right Livelihoods
- Oppegaard, The Suicide Collectors
- Sijie, Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch

A Year in Reading: 2009

Well, folks, it's once again time for my Year in Review.

I didn't read as many books this year as I would have liked. I managed to finish 71, when last year, I read 88. In 2007, I read 77. So this was a pretty crappy year, reading wise. Oh, and my reading resolution? Pretty much crapped out on that one. That's okay: I'll be trying again in 2010.

I'm not going to be too hard on myself for reading fewer books this year than in the last two years; I had some chunksters in there (such as Drood and Armadale) that caused me to slow down a bit. (Sure, let's go with that.)

I'll highlight my best and worst later; for now, here's the full tally:

JANUARY

1. Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
2. Bachelder, Bear v. Shark
3. Coupland, JPod
4. Davidson, The Gargoyle
5. Diaz, The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao
6. Gottlieb, Now You See Him
7. Hyde, The Abortionist's Daughter
8. Lippman, What the Dead Know
9. McEwan, On Chesil Beach
10. Thomas, The End of Mr. Y
11. Tinti, The Good Thief


FEBRUARY

12. Collins, The Moonstone
13. Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
14. Hill, 20th Century Ghosts
15. Millhauser, Dangerous Laughter
16. Moody, Right Livelihoods
17. Przekop, Aberrations


MARCH

18. DuMaurier, Rebecca
19. Lehane, Mystic River
20. Moerk, Darling Jim
21. Moore, Fool
22. O'Nan, Songs for the Missing


APRIL

23. Ferris, Then We Came to the End
24. Freund, I Never Saw Paris
25. Lerman, The Blonde on the Train
26. Mabanckou, African Psycho
27. Matheson, Button, Button
28. Simmons, Drood
29. Thomson, The Book of Revelation


MAY

30. Brown, Angels and Demons
31. Oliver, Evidence: Poems
32. Vidal, Julian
33. Wray, Lowboy


JUNE

34. Brown and Presley, The Liberation Diet
35. von Daniken, Chariots of the Gods
36. Doyle, I Love You, Beth Cooper
37. Eco, The Name of the Rose
38. Irving, The World According to Garp
39. Kurlansky, The Food of a Younger Land
40. Waters, Fingersmith
41. Wood, Lottery


JULY

42. Dick, Martian Time-Slip
43. Fforde, The Fourth Bear
44. Hall, The Raw Shark Texts
45. King, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
46. Sijie, Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch
47. Smith, The Secret Speech
48. Stewart, The Ivy Tree
49. del Toro and Hogan, The Strain


AUGUST

50. Phillips, Angelica
51. Waters, The Little Stranger


SEPTEMBER

52. Benjamin, Alice I Have Been
53. Brown, The Lost Symbol
54. Collins, The Hunger Games
55. Maitland, Company of Liars
55. Sigler, Infected
56. Simmons, A Winter Haunting


OCTOBER

57. Atwood, The Year of the Flood
58. DuMaurier, My Cousin Rachel
59. Niffenegger, Her Fearful Symmetry
60. Sigler, Contagious


NOVEMBER

61. Collins, Armadale
62. Cottam, The House of Lost Souls
63. Koja, The Cipher
64. Preston, The Hot Zone
65. Sapphire, Push


DECEMBER

66. Clark, The Great Stink
67. Klein, The Moth Diaries
68. Long, Year Zero
69. Oppegaard, The Suicide Collectors
70. Phillips, The Egyptologist
71. Savage, Firmin

A mystery, some history, and a whole lotta poop

The Great Stink
Clare Clark

This is a crazy bit of a book right here. Quite a large...erm, chunk (gag) of the action takes place in the London sewers (the sewers of 150 years ago, mind you), where all sorts of filth rush past one's feet. Filth. And disease. And rats. Oh, and did I say filth? Because I meant poop. VOMIT.

Anyway, our story follows two different individuals, both of whom rely on the sewers to make their livelihood, albeit in entirely different ways. There's Long Arm Tom, a "tosher" who enters the sewers to find and trap rats used aboveground in dogfighting. And then there's poor William May, so traumatized by his time spent in the war that he enters the tunnels for reasons far darker than those required by his official job. (He is an engineer helping to map the current sewer so that it might be improved.)

The two stories twist and turn and ultimately collide at the end -- but in the meantime, readers are treated not only to a look at one of the grossest places ever -- and May does WHAT there?!?!? Does he not understand DISEASE??? -- as well as a look at life in England during the Victorian period.

In a nutshell: A bit slow in places, but an overall an enjoyable read with a satisfactory resolution.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: Yep, another one I bought. I'm sensing a pattern here.

Another day, another apocalypse

The Suicide Collectors
David Oppegaard

Another book about the end of the world! What can I say, I've been feeling a little apocalyptic.

Anyway, this one's an odd duck. So, right: the end of the world has come, this time due to the suicide of nearly everyone on the planet. After some time, these odd "suicide collectors" arrive to collect the body of the deceased. Time passes, and, as our novel opens, our protagonist (Norman) and his friend (Pops), hearing rumors of survivors in Seattle, decide to leave their homes in Florida to see what's up.

As our story unfolds, taking us through the ruins of America, we encounter survivors, who are handling the apocalypse in different ways. Some are good, some are bad, you get the point. Onward to Seattle.

Upon arriving in Seattle, Norman becomes mixed up with the scientists attempting to solve the suicide problem. And then he blows something up, although what it is, I was never sure. Unfortunately, that's the major problem with The Suicide Collectors: there's no explanation. Why did everyone start killing themselves? I dunno. Why do the collectors collect the bodies? What are they doing with them? Not sure. What is this mysterious thing Norman blows up? Not sure of that, either.

The Suicide Collectors suffers from other flaws as well; some scenes are simply too incredible, the characters somewhat flat. On the positive side, however, the plotting is fantastic and the novel barrels along, allowing me to read it entirely in the course of a few hours.

In a nutshell: Interesting idea, but a lack of explanation and clunky writing undermines the intriguing premise.

Bibliolatry Scale: 2 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: Yep, bought this one too.

I can't believe I cried over a rat

Firmin
Sam Savage

If you're a book lover, you absolutely must read Firmin. Firmin is, well, a rat -- but he's the most likable fellow I've met in a long time.

Living in the basement of a bookstore in the 1960s, Firmin survives his early years by munching on the likes of Joyce and Melville. Soon, however, he learns that books are not for eating, but for reading -- and read he does, becoming arguably the most-educated rat to ever live.

Unfortunately, with his increasing knowledge comes a self-awareness that is none too kind. As Firmin becomes all-too-aware of his own limitations, he yearns for a greater life than the one he must endure.

Filled with allusions and pathos, Firmin is a book for everyone -- but especially for those who love literature. And look: the book comes replete with its own little bite mark. Sigh. I love you, Firmin!

In a nutshell: This is one rat you can't help but love. You can live with me, little buddy!

Bibliolatry Scale: 6 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: I bought this one myself.

A disease from the past? Great, something else to fear.

Year Zero
Jeff Long

About two years ago, I happened upon Jeff Long's Deeper, and I knew I had to read more by this author. A month ago, when searching for some good "Kindle books," I found my second opportunity to hang out with this author.

The plot for this one sounds rather complicated (it doesn't feel complicated when reading the novel, thankfully), so bear with me. A big earthquake levels much of the Middle East. Boo. However, parts of Jesus' actual neighborhood are now accessible. Yay! Unfortunately, some of the artifacts are tainted with disease. Boo. Now a deadly plague is tearing across the globe. Poop.

Nathan Lee, our intrepid protagonist, after numerous adventures that culminate in his imprisonment in a Tibetan jail, finds himself unguarded once the plague begins to rear its ugly head. Finally free, he slowly makes his way to America, specifically Los Alamos, where surviving scientists struggle to find a cure for the plague. Lee's in for an even bigger surprise, though: the scientists are making clones from the DNA found on the artifacts! And then things go from bad to worse. Oh boy.

Year Zero provides readers with an interesting, thrilling scenario. While I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Deeper, I was entertained enough to want to search out more by Jeff Long. And I won't wait another two years to do it, either!

In a nutshell: Intriguing and fast paced, Year Zero was an original and fun read.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: I bought this one for the Kindle.

Christmas loot!

Santa was, once again, very good to me. Here's a list of all the books I received for Christmas. Have you read any of these?

The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories
Sebastian Barry, The Secret Scripture
Christopher Buckley, Boomsday
Tracy Chevalier, Burning Bright
Deborah Eisenberg, Twilight of the Superheroes
George Eliot, The Lifted Veil and Brother Jacob
Rachel Klein, The Moth Diaries
Flannery O'Connor, Wise Blood
Arthur Phillips, The Egyptologist
Douglas Preston, The Monster of Florence
Peter Straub, Ghost Story
Terese Svoboda, Trailer Girl
Peter Watts, Blindsight
Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Shadow of the Wind

There isn't enough Purell in the world

The Hot Zone
Richard Preston

The Hot Zone is a book I read in November. Thankfully, after this, I'll be all caught up and will be able to cover some December reads. NICE.

I don't know why, but I've been reading a lot of disturbing books lately, mostly one that involves end-of-the-world scenarios. And while The Hot Zone doesn't necessarily concern the end of the world, it was apocalyptic enough for me.

The Hot Zone is all about EBOLA. In fact, that's how I imagine the word in my head: all in caps. It's just that intense. Lord knows I'm paranoid enough about such things, so I can only wonder what possessed me to read this book. (Actually, I do know. It was Heather's review of it. Gee, thanks, Heather.) Needless to say, if EBOLA ever hits my area, I'm throwing myself in front of a bus at the first warning symptom. I'll be damned if I'm going to endure the grueling progression of this disease.

Wait -- what? It sloughs...off? And comes out where???
FML.

Besides the disturbing nature of the book (which the sick part of me took delight in), there were some drawbacks. I had an issue with the organization of the book, since it jumped around a bit in parts, and a few parts dragged while others were repetitive. Overall, however, The Hot Zone was a frightening, all-too-real read. And I won't even mention the part about how EBOLA arrived in Washington D.C. a little over a decade ago. FEARPARANOIAVOMIT.

In a nutshell: Not for the faint of heart, The Hot Zone is a terrifying true story that reminds why I hate leaving my house and interacting with dirty humans.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: I bought this one for my library, in case I ever want to enjoy the gruesomeness again.

If you have tears, prepare to shed them now

Push
Sapphire

Woohoo -- I've finished reviews left over from October; now it's time for some tardy reviews from last month. No more tardy for the party!

So, I was doing a little Amazon shopping a few weeks ago, when I needed just a wee bit more for free shipping -- six buckies, to be exact. Amazon kindly made some recommendations, and I found Push for exactly six bucks. Six bucks?!?!? And it didn't even have the annoying movie tie-in cover? Sold!

Most of you are probably already aware that Push is the novel that has been made into the movie Precious, which has lately taken Hollywood by storm. While I haven't seen the movie, I have seen enough interviews with the actors in the film to know that I wanted to know more about this story.

Prose-wise, Push is a simple enough read, and I read it entirely over my Sunday-morning coffee. Prose aside, however, Push is not an easy book to read. Precious is badly abused by both her mother and her father, and her struggle to escape the cycle of violence is heartwrenching. Some passages are quite difficult to read, and -- I'm sure you could see this coming -- I cried more than once.

In a nutshell: Precious's story might disturb you, but her spirit will enchant you.

Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: Dammit, I just said I bought this for myself from Amazon!

The real horror is next door to us

Contagious
Scott Sigler

Another day closer to 2010, another late review.

This time, I'm reviewing another of October's reads -- Contagious, the sequel to Infected, which I read in September. Contagious follows our intrepid hero and anti-hero as they seek to stop the impending invasion.

Contagious, like its predecessor, is relentless in its pacing; once you commit to the opening pages (actually, scratch that -- once you read Infected), you won't be able to put this book down until the last page.

Contagious picks up pretty much where Infected left off. Margaret Montoya and Dew Phillips have teamed up with badass Perry Dawsey to stave off the new wave of the invasion. Doing so won't be easy, however -- these aliens are feisty buggers with more than one trick up their sleeves.

The only thing that didn't polish my brass was a few overly-political scenes in which the President and his Cabinet debate how to handle the attack. I also hated how the female Secretary of State was a bleeding-heart liberal who felt that the loss of any innocent life was unconscionable. I consider myself a pretty liberal person, but in the event of any invasion -- alien, zombie, Canadian -- even I say shoot first, ask later. Sorry, Canada.

In a nutshell: Not as awesome as Infected (I actually felt a slight pang in ye olde heart after reading the ending, which was heart-wrenching, albeit utterly appropriate), but pretty awesome nonetheless. In fact, I'm looking up other Sigler titles as I type this. Hello, Ancestor. I'll be seeing you in 2010.

Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: I purchased Contagious for the Kindle.

The end of the world as we know it

The Year of the Flood
Margaret Atwood

Gah! The end of the year is when????? And I'm how many reviews behind???? Erm.

Anyway -- Atwood. I read this one back in October, and have been pondering my review ever since. Now, I'm rushed and won't give it the attention I intended. Oh well.

If you aren't familiar with TYoTF, Atwood returns to the world she created in Oryx and Crake. It's the future, things are bad, evil corporations do evil things...you get the point. Now a disease has wiped out much of humanty, and the survivors struggle for survival. TYoTF focuses on some of these survivors, while Oryx and Crake focused on the origins of the plague.

To get to the point, I enjoyed TYoTF, even if I didn't think it was one of her best works. And, while I didn't think it was necessary to have read Oryx and Crake immediately before (I had read it in 2004), I was annoyed that I didn't remember more of the connections. Since some of the characters in Oryx and Crake reappear in TYoTF, I was frustrated more by knowing I was forgetting something, which might have prevented me from better enjoying the book.

One thing that bothered me by TYoTF were those passages I found "skim-worthy," -- for example, the hymns and sermons that precede the chapters. At first they provided an interesting look into the world of TYoTF, but after awhile I felt they were just slowing me down.

In a nutshell: Not her best, but admirable nevertheless.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: I purchased this one for my library.