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Holiday Break Reading Activity #14: Top 9 of 2009

31 12 09 - 22:25 Alright, let me level with ya, I haven't read a lot of 2009 books, so I felt like maybe this list was a bit of a lie. But when I started to look over books I've read this year, a few from 2009 really stood out to me. So this isn't a "best of" list, it's a "favorite of" stuff I've read in 2009, that's from 2009. Because it's 2009 and as a part of the Holiday Break Reading Challenge, I have chosen my Top 9.

I did have to make some tough choices, even though I've only read 15-20 books published in 2009, there were about 14 that could have made this list. Also, I read a few of my favorite books of all time this year, a couple of which I read earlier this year and thought I'd plug. City of Thieves by David Benioff and Kendra by Coe Booth. Both are highly literary and underrated, and worth your time.

Ok--So on to my Top 9 of 2009:

9. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (published September 1, 2009):

The much-hyped and much-anticipated follow-up to The Hunger Games was, for the most part, worth the wait. The beginning, which some found boring, was a reality television fans delight, giving an insightful look into what players might be like outside of the game. And the action of the second half was more thrilling and inventive than that of the first book. The ending, however, felt rushed and left me unsatisfied. Good thing a 3rd is coming out in 8 months.

8. Going Bovine by Libba Bray (published September 22, 2009):

It feels almost irreverent to call this the funniest book about a dying sixteen-year-old ever written. But it is. Hilarious and imaginative. Bray is clever and imaginative, but manages to ground a totally-bonkers-no-holds-barred-anything-goes-fun-house road trip, making it both believable and poignant. It would be higher on the list, but sometimes Bray pushes her hyper-reality Juno-ishness over its tipping point, taking me out of the story completely.

7. The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan (published September 8, 2009):

This is the point where things got tricky. I really liked 8 & 9, but felt they were flawed. I didn't really feel the same about the next 7. Starting with Matt Phelan's magical The Storm in the Barn. Using beautiful watercolors Phelan tells a dust bowl story that is heartbreaking (the protagonists younger sister has never seen rain) and mixes in folklore to bring the story to an amazingly awe-inducing conclusion.

6. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (published September 29, 2009):

You know how sometimes when you are working on vocabulary and your teacher asks you to use a word in a sentence. Well, this book was like your teacher asking you to use the word "awesome" in a sentence. Zombies and Airships and Steampunk, Oh My!

5. A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (published April 14, 2009):

I just finished this one, I will have my review up tomorrow (it's done, but I don't quite have an ending.) Anyway, this epic cinematic manga-memoir is about post-WWII Japan, a history of modern manga, and the story of one of my favorite artists, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, growing up and pushing himself, and manga, to become better.

4. Amulet 2: The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi (published September 1, 2009):

It was a good year for sequels. Amulet 2: The Stonekeeper's Curse was also one of my biggest suprises. I love Kibuishi, his artwork and stories are whimsical, fantastic journeys, but the first Amulet was disappointing. So I didn't expect too much from the second volume. However, Kibuishi surprises with a more epic, more visionary, and more, well, more betterer. It floored me. It's impressing, Kibuishi turned a series I probably would have finished, because I like him, into a series I can't wait to finish.

3. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (published July 14, 2009):

Another big surprise. Stead earned a lot of praise for this book, so I figured I may like it, but I didn't think I'd love it. If anything, I felt it was underhyped (of course, people disagree with me). It's one of those books that will have its proponents and opponents. It's a delicate tale of childhood friendship, but the real kicker is mind-frying ending. It's mostly telegraphed, but it still hits all the right emotional notes, leaving me breathless.

2. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (published September 8, 2009):

I loved, loved, loved The Knife of Never Letting Go. Loved! But after reading The Ask and The Answer I can't tell you why I loved the first book in the Chaos Walking series so much. It pales in comparison to the second installment. The Ask and the Answer uses a dual narrative to look into the psyche of both Todd and Viola to tell an explosive and thought-provoking story of the divisiveness of war. It is the best, most honest, and truthful look at those involved in war of our time. And that from a book for teenagers. This is the kind of book that proves YA deserves to be held as highly as any adult lit.

1. The Photographer: Into Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders by Emmanuel Guibert (published May 12, 2009):

This book left me speechless. A mixture of real photographs and great drawing from Guibert, this book follows photographer Didier Lefevre as he documents a Doctors Without Borders mission into Afghanistan. It's fairly unpolitical, and gives a fascinating look inside a country that we only generally see one-side of.

Oh->Post Script: I am currently reading two amazing 2009 books right now, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld and Boilerplate: History's Mechinical Marvel by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett, but I probably won't finish either of those until this weekend. So they couldn't make the list, at least that made making the list easier though. Used tags: cool_stuff, favorites, ftw, knowledged, older_readers, pwnage, reading, reviews, scott, ya, younger_readers