And now on to a recap of the books I read in 2009, in the order read. Click on the title to read each book’s Goodreads synopsis and reviews:
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The Time Traveler’s Wife |
Niffenegger, Audrey* |
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Outlander (Outlander, #1) |
Gabaldon, Diana |
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter, #1) |
Rowling, J.K. |
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time |
Haddon, Mark |
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A Certain Slant of Light |
Whitcomb, Laura |
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The Tales of Beedle the Bard |
Rowling, J.K. |
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The House on Fortune Street: A Novel |
Livesey, Margot |
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Revolutionary Road |
Yates, Richard |
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Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1) |
Harris, Charlaine |
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2) |
Rowling, J.K. |
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4) |
Rowling, J.K. |
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5) |
Rowling, J.K. |
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6) |
Rowling, J.K. |
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7) |
Rowling, J.K. |
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Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, #2) |
Gabaldon, Diana |
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The Thirteenth Tale |
Setterfield, Diane |
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The Art of Racing in the Rain |
Stein, Garth* |
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This Lullaby |
Dessen, Sarah* |
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Water for Elephants |
Gruen, Sara |
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Voyager (Outlander, #3) |
Gabaldon, Diana |
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Drums of Autumn (Outlander, #4) |
Gabaldon, Diana |
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) |
Rowling, J.K. |
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The Road |
McCarthy, Cormac |
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Moloka’i |
Brennert, Alan |
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Remember Me |
Pike, Christopher |
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The Gunslinger (Dark Tower, #1) |
King, Stephen |
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Heath Ledger: Hollywood’s Dark Star |
Robb, Brian J. |
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On Writing |
King, Stephen |
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1984 |
Orwell, George |
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Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1) |
Brown, Dan |
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Sloppy Firsts |
McCafferty, Megan |
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Second Helpings |
McCafferty, Megan |
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Charmed Thirds |
McCafferty, Megan |
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Fourth Comings |
McCafferty, Megan |
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Perfect Fifths: A Novel |
McCafferty, Megan |
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The Book Thief |
Zusak, Markus |
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The Reader |
Schlink, Bernhard |
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Q & A |
Swarup, Vikas |
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The Catcher in the Rye |
Salinger, J.D. |
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The Lovely Bones |
Sebold, Alice |
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The Truth About Forever |
Dessen, Sarah* |
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I Am the Messenger |
Zusak, Markus |
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The Great Gatsby |
Fitzgerald, F. Scott |
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Then We Came to the End |
Ferris, Joshua |
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The Hobbit |
Tolkien, J.R.R. |
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The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) |
Tolkien, J.R.R. |
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The Bean Trees |
Kingsolver, Barbara |
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The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane |
Howe, Katherine |
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The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) |
Riordan, Rick |
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The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, #1) |
Collins, Suzanne |
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Getting the Girl |
Zusak, Markus |
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The Color Purple |
Walker, Alice |
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Pride and Prejudice (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) |
Austen, Jane |
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Shutter Island |
Lehane, Dennis |
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To Kill A Mockingbird |
Lee, Harper |
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Thirteen Reasons Why |
Asher, Jay |
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Catching Fire (Hunger Games, #2) |
Collins, Suzanne |
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Needful Things |
King, Stephen |
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The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3) |
Brown, Dan |
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Under the Dome |
King, Stephen |
Most were first time reads, but a few (the Harry Potter series, for example) were my second time through. As a child, teen, and even early 20’s I was an avid reader, but like all of my other hobbies reading took a back seat in recent years. I guess you could say I was in a reading slump. When I did read, it was always the same books over and over (mostly Stephen King novels, but The Poisonwood Bible and Brave New World were also on standby at any time).
My online book club lists personal challenges for its members, so I chose to commit to 50 books in one year. As you already know, faithful few readers of this blog, I met my goal and was able to exceed it by 10. Most of the books I read on recommendation from the book club, but I picked up a few based on reviews from Barnes and Noble or Amazon.
Book club hyped books that actually lived up to the hype:
The Time Traveler’s Wife, Outlander (the series, though I ran out of steam after book 4), The Thirteenth Tale, The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Book Thief, Water for Elephants, Moloka’i, Jessica Darling Series (starting with Sloppy Firsts), The Hunger Games/Catching Fire, Shutter Island, and of course, Harry Potter.
Book club (or generally) hyped books that didn’t do it for me:
Thirteen Reasons Why, This Lullaby, The Lost Symbol, The Lightning Thief, Sookie Stackhouse series (to be fair, I only read book 1), Revolutionary Road, The Hobbit (I know, I know)
If forced to list 5 must-reads out of my list for the year, I would have to pick:
1) The Time Traveler’s Wife
2) The Book Thief
3) Shutter Island
4) Water for Elephants
5) The Road
I didn’t set a book goal for 2010. I think I might focus on finishing, then re-writing, my NaNo and I would love to conjure up another screenplay for Script Frenzy in April. I’m going to read as many books as I can now that I’m back in the habit, and I’ll continue to review them here as extras. Thanks to the book club, I already have a long list of to-reads for 2010.
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Hmmm…just now noticed that a couple of books are out of order (hp #3, for example) but I’m too lazy to fix it now. You get the picture, anyway.
Hi Ally,
I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed reading your blog. Since I am doing the 101 mission myself I find it interesting to read about other people doing the same thing. I know how hard it is to be constant in blogging about achievements and I think it is really funny to read about yours!
Greetings, Jirrine
Impressive! And inspiring. I have quite a few on my list, but I’ve not come remotely close to your 2009 accomplishment. I’ll have to step up my game for 2010! Very interesting selections.