Thursday, January 7, 2010

2009: A year in books

I've been talking (and thinking!) about it for some time now and decided it was the moment to put pen to paper, then fingers to keyboard to write a little summary of my reading adventures for 2009.

My year started off slowly with full-time work and travel plans to attend to. Attending a monthly book-club inspired me to try different authors. I didn't start racing through the books until I settled down in France and began ploughing through the English language section at my local library. Due to a limited selection, 2009 was all about trying different genres and extending my reading horizons. I faithfully read some classics that I'd been meaning to read, as well as "hype" books that people had been talking about. I read books that had been passed on to me as well as stories found in hostels. Essentially, I read whatever I came across, and am proud to have completed 43 novels in 2009. Perhaps next year the total will be higher!


Loved: The History of Love, Nicole Krauss.

Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. Its big screen adaptation is set to be released in 2010!

Didn't finish: The Book of Dave, Will Self.


I rarely, rarely give up on books. But I was 200 pages into this one and still not enjoying it one bit, so I put it down with no regrets.

Finally got around to reading: Twilight (to see what the hype was about); Lord of the Flies, William Golding; One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh.

Not my usual thing, but enjoyed nonetheless: When you are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris.


Discovered this "new" author:
Zadie Smith. I read White Teeth but enjoyed On Beauty more.

Was indifferent to: Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert; Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts.

....but I would recommend: Hard Boiled/Hard Luck, Banana Yoshimoto; Style, Kate Spade (in fact check out all three Kate Spade's if you haven't already!); The History of Love, Nicole Krauss (now.)


Now, friends! What are you recommending to me for 2010? It's going to be a good year, I can tell.

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