Carolyn (MusicMom41) did this on her thread and several people remarked what a great idea it was, so this is the place for everyone's input! What were your best reads, month by month over the past year, both fiction and nonfiction?

Here are mine:

January
Fiction: Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Nonfiction: Crazy Horse by Mari Sandoz

February
Fiction: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Nonfiction: I did not have an outstanding nonfiction read for February.

March
Fiction: The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
Nonfiction: The Cobra's Heart by Ryszard Kapuscinski

April
Fiction: Tie - Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiongo and Germinal by Emile Zola
Nonfiction: Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov

May
Fiction: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Nonfiction: I did not have an outstanding nonfiction read for May.

June
Fiction: The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
Nonfiction: Lighthouse by Tony Parker (this was a toughie as I had 4 great nonfiction reads in June!)

July
Fiction: I did not have an outstanding fiction read for July.
Nonfiction: Columbine by Dave Cullen

August
Fiction: The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
Nonfiction: We Are Not Afraid by Seth Cagin and Philip Dray

September
Fiction: Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Nonfiction: The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

October
Fiction: I did not have an outstanding fiction read for October.
Nonfiction: The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

November & December: Pending

So, how does your list look?

Best reads for 2009 (so far)

January

Fiction: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Non-fiction: Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading by Maureen Corrigan

February

Fiction: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Non-fiction: I didn’t have an outstanding non-fiction read for February

March

Fiction: Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis
Non-fiction: The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell

April

Fiction: Doubt by John Patrick Shanley
Non-fiction: I didn’t have an outstanding non-fiction read for April

May

Fiction: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
Non-fiction: I didn’t have an outstanding non-fiction read for May

June

Fiction: Old Boys by Charles McCarry
Non-fiction: I didn’t have an outstanding non-fiction read for June

July

Fiction: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Non-fiction: The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

August

Fiction: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Non-fiction: I didn’t have an outstanding non-fiction read for August

September

Fiction: Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Non-fiction: The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

October

Fiction: King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett
Non-fiction: I am Spock by Leonard Nimoy

November

Fiction: Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett
Non-fiction: None read

Thanks, Alcottacre, for starting the thread!

Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, des 4, 2009, 2:47pm.

Best reads for 2009

My monthly picks will have to begin with July (I wasn't keeping track before then).

July
Fiction: Find Me by Carol O'Connell
Non-Fiction: 3000 Degrees by Sean Flynn

August
This is probably the hardest month, as I read a lot of great books . . .
Fiction: Death is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury
Non-fiction: Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy by Diana Preston

September
Fiction: Still Life by Louise Penny
Non-fiction: The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche, by Gary Krist

October:
Fiction: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Non-Fiction: for shame! I did not finish any non-fiction book in November, though I continued one, started several more, and posted one that I'd forgotten to post from an earlier month. Of the various ones I read parts of, the one (which I've since completed) which is most memorable is Report from Ground Zero by Dennis Smith

"Best of the rest" (2009, sometime pre-July)
Fiction: Judas Child by Carol O'Connell
Non-fiction: The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger

Best of 2009

January
Fiction: Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum
Nonfiction: The Disorganized Mind by Nancy A Ratey

February
Fiction: The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson
Nonfiction: Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

March
Fiction: Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Nonfiction: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, with honorable mention to Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson since it was a re-read

April
Fiction: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
Nonfiction: Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes (this was actually read in March, but I only read one non-fiction in April and it was terrible, and March had a ton of great nonfictions, so I'm sticking one of those here)

May
Fiction: Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz
Nonfiction: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

June
Fiction: Indemnity Only by Sara Partesky
Nonfiction: The Great Crash 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith

July
Fiction: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Nonfiction: Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook by James A Duke

August
Fiction: Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
Nonfiction: The State of Jones by Sally Jenkins

September
Fiction: Half a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nonfiction: Dangerous Games by Margaret MacMillan

October
Fiction: The Amateur Spy by Dan Fesperman
Nonfiction: One Soldier's Story by Bob Dole

This was actually kind of hard - I don't know if I chose the same books today that I would have chosen at the end of each month. Also, I recognize that some books are "better" than others, but some are more enjoyable. I chose the enjoyable ones whenever it was a close call.

November
Fiction: Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason
Nonfiction: none read

Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, des 4, 2009, 9:46am.

Monthly Best in 2009:

Best in Jan.:
Willis, Connie: Doomsday Book (fiction)
McGregor, Robert Kuhn: Conundrums for the Long Weekend (nonfiction)

Best in Feb:
Jerome, Jerome K.: Three Men in a Boat (fiction)
Horwitz, Tony: Confederates in the Attic (nonfiction)

Best in Mar.:
Kay, Guy Gavriel: Tigana (fiction)
Douglass, Frederick: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (nonfiction)

Best in April:
McKinley, Robin: The Hero and the Crown (fiction)
Weldon, Faye: Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen (nonfiction)

Best in May:
Lewis, C.S.: Till We Have Faces (fiction)
Oliver, Mary: Evidence (nonfiction)

Best in June:
Salinger, J.D.: Franny and Zooey (fiction)
McPherson, James: Battle Cry of Freedom (nonfiction)

Best in July:
McKillip, Patricia: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (fiction)
Steinbeck, John: Travels with Charley (nonfiction)

Best Aug.:
Willis, Connie: To Say Nothing of the Dog (fiction)
Granger, John: Harry Potter’s Bookshelf (nonfiction)

Best in Sept:
Windling, Terri: Wood Wife (fiction)
Brent, Frances: The Lost Cellos of Lev Aronson (nonfiction)

Best in Oct.:
Collins, Wilkie: The Moonstone (fiction)
Kamkwamba, William: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (nonfiction)

Great idea!!

Best of 2009

January
Fiction: Leftover Dead by Jimmie Ruth Evans
Nonfiction: Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life by Wynton Marsalis

February
Fiction: Night at the Vulcan by Ngaio Marsh
Nonfiction: Soldier's Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point by Elizabeth D. Samet

March
Fiction: Oolong Dead by Laura Childs
Nonfiction: The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood

April
Fiction: A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey
Nonfiction: John Adams by David McCullough

May
Fiction: The Fifth Floor by Michael Harvey
Nonfiction: Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip by Matthew Algeo

June
Fiction: A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
Nonfiction: Columbine by Dave Cullen

July
Fiction: In a Dark House by Deborah Crombie
Nonfiction: The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough

August
Fiction: Dare to Die by Carolyn Hart
Nonfiction: The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft by Ulrich Boser

September
Fiction: TIE:
--The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
--Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Nonfiction: none

October
Fiction: Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Nonfiction: Open Ice: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer by Jack Falla

November
Fiction: The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton
Nonfiction: The Ice Bowl: The Cold Truth about Football's Most Unforgettable Game by Ed Gruver

Looking back, I read a lot of great nonfiction early in the year. Lately, the fiction books have been better.

Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, des 10, 2009, 9:02pm.

How fun! Great idea to put them all in one thread.

Best of 2009

January
Fiction: Anthem by Ayn Rand
Nonfiction: If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Sappho and Anne Carson (poetry)

February
Fiction: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Nonfiction: The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson

March
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

April
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

May
A hard month, because I reread a lot of favorites...
Fiction: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Nonfiction: If Chins Could Kill by Bruce Campbell

June
Fiction: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Nonfiction: Necropolis: London and its Dead by Catharine Arnold

July
Fiction: Poppy Done to Death by Charlaine Harris
Nonfiction: The Female Malady by Elaine Showalter

August
Fiction: Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett
Nonfiction: The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti

September
Fiction: Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
Nonfiction: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

October
Fiction: Dracula by Bram Stoker
Nonfiction: Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach

Thanks for starting this thread!

January
Fiction: The Secret Magdalene
Non-Fiction: 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa

February
Fiction: Brave New World
Non-Fiction: The Genius Factory (sperm bank where the donors are Nobel laureates)

March
Fiction: The City of Ember
Non-Fiction: Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

April
Fiction: no noteworthy fiction
Non-Fiction: Race Against Time (AIDS etc.)

May
Fiction: no noteworthy fiction
Non-Fiction: Losing Confidence: Power, Politics, and the Crisis in Canadian Democracy

June
Fiction: Among the Hidden
Non-Fiction: Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller (peak oil)

July
Fiction: The Hunter's Moon (highly recommended)
Non-Fiction: no non-fiction read this month

August
Fiction: Among the Barons (Shadow Children Book 4)
Non-Fiction: Dangerous Knowledge: Orientalism and its Discontents (aka For Lust of Knowing)

September
Fiction: The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Non-Fiction: no noteworthy non-fiction

October
Fiction: no noteworthy fiction
Non-Fiction: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (highly recommended)

Overall
Fiction: The Hunter's Moon
Non-Fiction: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

edited for typo correction (Januarary....)

Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, nov 21, 2009, 4:41pm.

January
Fiction: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
Nonfiction: Not Quite What I Was Planning by Larry Smith

February
Fiction: Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill
Nonfiction: Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

March
Fiction: Still Life - Louise Penny
Nonfiction: Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz

April
Fiction: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Nonfiction: Jesus -Marcus J. Borg

May
Fiction: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
Nonfiction: Foreskin's Lament by Shalom Auslander

June
Fiction: The Believers by Zoe Heller
Nonfiction: Abraham Lincoln -James M. McPherson

July
Fiction: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Nonfiction: Closing Time: A Memoir by Joe Queenan

August
Fiction: A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
Nonfiction: Columbine by Dave Cullen

September
Fiction: Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
Nonfiction: No nonfiction

October
Fiction: An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris
Nonfiction: No nonfiction

Best of 2009:

January
Fiction: 'Salem's Lot and Brother Odd
Nonfiction: His Excellency: George Washington

February
Fiction: Ella Minnow Pea
Nonfiction: John Adams

March
Fiction: Let the Right One In, Drood
Nonfiction: The Lost City of Z

April
Fiction: Jailbait Zombies, All the Pretty Horses
Nonfiction: none

May
Fiction: The Road
Nonfiction: Go Down Together: the True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde

June
Fiction: Here, There Be Dragons
Nonfiction: Columbine, Arctic Grail

July
Fiction: Killing Floor
Nonfiction: The Cave Painters, Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times

August
Fiction: Perdido Street Station, The Name of the Wind
Nonfiction: none

September
Fiction: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Nonfiction: Dangerous Knowledge

October
Fiction: The Woman in White
Nonfiction: none

January
Fiction: Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
Non-Fiction: On Writing by Stephen King

February
Fiction: Hood by Stephen Lawhead
Non-Fiction: Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants by Katy Payne

March
Fiction: Sabriel by Garth Nix
Non-Fiction: Potatoes Not Prozac by Kathleen DesMaisons

April
Fiction: Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen
Non-Fiction: Wesley the Owl by Stacey O'Brien

May
Fiction: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Non-Fiction: The Firstborn Advantage by Dr. Kevin Leman

June
Fiction: Of Bees and Mist by Eric Setiawan
Non-Fiction: Through a Window: My Thirty Years With the Chimpanzees of Gombe by Jane Goodall

July
Fiction: Percy Jackson #4: Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
Non-Fiction: Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper

August
Fiction: The Rapture A Novel by Liz Jensen
Non-Fiction: Women, Work and the Art of Savoir Faire by Marielle Guiliano

September
Fiction: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Non-Fiction: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

October
Fiction: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Non-Fiction: no notable non-fiction

...November & December to come!

How fun!

January:
fiction: Return of the Soldier, Rebecca West
non: Terry Jones' Medieval Lives

February:
fiction: Vile Bodies, Evelyn Waugh
non: Great War and Modern Memory, Paul Fussell

March:
nothing to report for this month.

April:
non: Beautiful Boy, David Sheff

May:
fiction:Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, Peter Goldsworthy
non: the Purity Myth, Jessica Valenti

June:
fiction: Portrait of a Lady, Henry James and the Robber Bride, Margaret Atwood

July:
fiction: The End of the Alphabet, CS Richardson

Aug:
fiction: Green Grass, Running Water, Thomas King
non: Kingdom Coming: the rise of Christian Nationalism, Michelle Goldberg

Sept:
fiction: the Story of Lucy Gault, William Trevor
non: Hana's Suitcase, Karen Levine

Oct:
fiction: Kiss of the Fur Queen, Tomson Highway

January:
A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʾo (fiction)
Mishima's Sword by Christopher Ross (nonfiction)

February:
Travelling with Djinns by Jamal Mahjoub (fiction)
A Journey Round My Skull by Frigyes Karinthy (nonfiction)

March:
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (fiction)
Autonauts of the Cosmoroute by Julio Cortázar & Carol Dunlop (nonfiction)

April:
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie (fiction)
Books v. Cigarettes by George Orwell (nonfiction)

May:
The Fat Man and Infinity: And Other Writings
by Antonio Lobo Antunes (fiction)
C.L.R. James: Cricket's Philosopher King by Dave Renton (nonfiction)

June:
Conversation in the Cathedral by Mario Vargas Llosa (fiction)
(no non-fiction books read this month)

July:
Chess Story by Stefan Zweig (fiction)
Medical London: City of Diseases, City of Cures by Richard Barnett and Mike Jay (nonfiction)

August:
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer (fiction)
Literary Paris: A Guide by Jessica Powell (nonfiction)

September:
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (fiction)
Blood and Guts: A Short History of Medicine by Roy Porter (nonfiction)

October:
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt (fiction)
The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays by Chinua Achebe (nonfiction)

January

Fiction: Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Nonfiction: Poor People by William Vollman

February

Fiction: This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun
Nonfiction: Family of Secrets by Russ Baker

March

Fiction: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
Headhunters by Timothy Findley

January

Fiction: Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Nonfiction: Poor People by William Vollman

February

Fiction: This Blinding Absence of Light by Tahar Ben Jelloun
Nonfiction: Family of Secrets by Russ Baker

March

Fiction: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
Headhunters by Timothy Findley
Nonfiction: None

April

Fiction: Marrow of Tradition by Charles Chesnutt
Nonfiction: Confessions of a Thug by Phillip Meadows Taylor

May

Fiction: Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan
Nonfiction: The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia by Orlando Figes

June

Fiction: Iphigenia: A Diary by Teresa de la Parra
Nonfiction: A Journey Round My Skull by Frigyes Karenthy
Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum

July

Fiction: Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
Nonfiction: A Lucky Child (wrong touchstone)

August

Fiction: Sea and Poison by Shusaku Endo
Nonfiction: Zeitoun by Dave Eggars

September

Fiction: Little Dorritt by Charles Dickens
Nonfiction: None

October

None. Boohoo.

Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, nov 8, 2009, 4:24pm.

I was just looking at arubabookwoman's list, and realized that I had somehow forgotten about Zeitoun, which I also read in August. That was a far better read than Literary Cafes of Paris, the only other nonfiction book that I read that month.

Ooh, cool! Here are mine so far:

January:
Fiction: Book of a Thousand Days - Shannon Hale

February:
Fiction: Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures - Vincent Lam
Nonfiction: Confederates in the Attic War - Tony Horwitz

March:
Fiction: Ali and Nino - Kurban Said
Nonfiction: Two Kinds of Decay - Sarah Manguso

April:
Fiction: Repossessed - A.M. Jenkins
Nonfiction: Blue Latitudes - Tony Horwitz

May
Poetry: The Anatomy Theater - Nadine Sabra Meyer

June:
Fiction: Tigana - Guy Gavriel Kay
Nonfiction: A Voyage Long and Strange - Tony Horwitz

July:
Fiction: The Reformed Vampire Support Group - Catherine Jinks

August:
Fiction: What the Moon Saw - Laura Resau
Nonfiction: Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau - Martha Ward

September:
Fiction: The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery
Nonfiction: Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans - Dan Baum

October:
Fiction: French Kissing - Nancy Warren (I didn't read much besides fluff in October, and this romance was the best of the lot!)

November & December to come!

#17 The Book of a Thousand Days was one of my favorite books this year, too, and I've loved Ali and Nino ever since I read it the first time about 30 years ago. Your review of it makes me want to read it again. Thanks for the reminder!

I think when everyone is done posting here, I will just print out the entire thread and throw every book into the BlackHole :)

January:
Fiction - Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri
Nonfiction - Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America - Rick Perlstein

February:
Fiction - The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
Nonfiction - The Zookeeper's Wife - Diane Ackerman

March:
Fiction - TIE
Song Yet Sung - James McBride
The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell
Nonfiction - What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakami

April:
Fiction - Krik? Krak! - Edwidge Danitcat
Nonfiction - My Own Country - Abraham Verghese

May:
Fiction - A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
Nonfiction - Enough: Discovering Joy through Simplicity and Generosity - Adam Hamilton

June:
Fiction - Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese
Nonfiction - How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas - David Bornstein

July:
Fiction - Little Bee - Chris Cleave
Nonfiction - It's Hard to Make a Difference When You Can't Find Your Keys - Marilyn Paul

August:
Fiction - The Rope Walk - Carrie Brown
Nonfiction - Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life - Winifred Gallagher

September:
Fiction - The Giver - Lois Lowry
Nonfiction - Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town - Warren St. John

October:
Fiction - TIE
Still Life - Louise Penny
Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout
Nonfiction - Writing for Scholarly Publication - Anne Sigismund Huff

Here's mine so far:

January: Candide or Optimism - Voltaire

February: 84, Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff

March: Skellig - David Almond

April: The Ground Beneath Her Feet - Salman Rushdie (Reviewd)

May: Prater Violet - Christopher Isherwood (Reviewed)

June: To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

July: after the quake - Haruki Murakami

August: Les Liaisons Dangereuses - Laclos

September: The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness

October: I would put Emma, but shan't as it's a re-read, so A Handful of Dust - Evelyn Waugh

updated:
November: On the Beach - Nevil Shute

...but the books that have particularly stood out for me so far are Candide, To Kill a Mockingbird, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and The Knife of Never Letting Go

Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, des 4, 2009, 5:36am.

My list:

January: fiction: Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay (love every single one of his)

February: fiction: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
nonfiction: The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton

March: fiction: Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
nonfiction: That Went Well by Terrell Harris Dougan

April: fiction: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
runner up: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
nonfiction: The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
Not Knowing Where by Oswald Chambers

May: fiction:
nonfiction: Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley

June: fiction: City of Bells by Elizabeth Goudge
still life by Louise Penny
nonfiction: Believing God by RC Sproul Jr

July: fiction: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
nonfiction: Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl by N.D. Wilson

August: fiction: The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccoult
nonfiction: John Adams by David McCullough

September: fiction: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
nonfiction: Let Go by Sheila Walsh

October: fiction: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
nonfiction: The Girl in the Orange Dress by Margot Starbuck
Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns

November: fiction: A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
nonfiction: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, nov 29, 2009, 2:38pm.

I've added Olive Kitteridge and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running to my TBR. I'm number 314 in line at the library for Olive Kitteridge so maybe I'll get to it sometime in 2010 or 2011 :-)

>23 - Lauranav - I also read Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout this year and liked it a lot. I checked it out while I was on the waiting list for Olive Kitteridge.

Note: books marked with an asterisk are ones that will make it to my best of the year list

January
Fiction: The River Between by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
Nonfiction:* The Great Crash 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith

February
Fiction: *2666 by Roberto Bolano
Nonfiction: The Snows of Yesteryear by Gregor von Rezzori

March
Fiction:*Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada
Nonfiction: *Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War 1929-1945 by David M. Kennedy and
Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre

April
Fiction: The Drinker by Hans Fallada
Nonfiction: *The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 by Barbara Tuchman and *Only Yesterday by Frederick Lewis Allen

May
Fiction: *Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Doblin, with runner-up In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien
Nonfiction: No nonfiction winner

June
Fiction: *Bosnian Chronicle by Ivo Andric, followed by John le Carre's Karla Trilogy
Nonfiction: No nonfiction winner

July
Fiction: *A Perfect Spy by John le Carre
Nonfiction: *The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expedition by Susan Solomon

August
Fiction: *Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Nonfiction: no nonfiction winner

September
Fiction: Homer and Langley by E.L. Doctorow
Nonfiction: No nonfiction winner

October
Fiction: *Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann, *We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, *Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, *Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner, and *The Cost of Living by Mavis Gallant (sorry, but October was just too incredible a reading month to choose!)
Nonfiction: No nonfiction winner

November so far
Fiction: *A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel and *The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa
Nonfiction: None so far

Updating:

November
Fiction - The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Nonfiction - Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals

November
Fiction: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Non-Fiction: none completed this month, but I started The Heavenly Writing and am finding it fascinating so far.

November:

Fiction: Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Nonfiction: A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux

My list (I can't believe how little non-fiction I've read this year - very bad)

January:

Fiction - A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe
Non-fiction: - zippidee doo dah

February:
Fiction: Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
Non-fiction: Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

March:
Fiction:Killing Mr. Watson by Peter Matthiessen
Non-fiction: Nothing

April:
Fiction: In the Courts of the Crimson Kings by S.M. Stirling
Non-fiction: The Crofter and the Laird by John McPhee

May:
Fiction: The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
Non-fiction: The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown

June:
Fiction: Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Non-fiction: nothing

July:
Fiction: Property by Valerie Martin
Non-fiction: The Sun King by Nancy Mitford

August:
Fiction: a tuffie - there are 3 candidates, but I will settle on - Blindspot by Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore
Non-fiction: - nothing

September:
Fiction: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Non-fiction: Almost French by Sarah Turnbull

October:
Fiction: An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
Non-fiction: Old Jules by Mari Sandoz

November:
Fiction: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Non-Fiction: Boswell's London Journal by James Boswell - I'm not done with this puppy, but it's very good and I think it deserves to go here.

I updated my complete list in msg #4 above to add November:

Fiction: Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Inridason
Nonfiction: none read

July

Fiction: Inkheart by Cornila Funke
Non-Fiction:none

august

marked by p.c and kirstin cast (fiction)
non ficition:none

september

fiction: Betrayed by p.c and kristin cast
non fiction carrie's war by ?

october

tie in fiction: untamed, chosen both by p.c and Kristin cast
non fiction: I only read one but it was crap. it was Going solo autobiography of Roald Dahl

November

non fiction: Dancing in my Nuddy-pants by ?
Fiction tie: Hunted, Tempted by P.c and Kristin cast

December

Fiction: Re-Read harry Potter 6
Non fiction tie:Cookie by ?, The boy in the striped pjamas

please help me decide which is better in the ties

This is so much fun reading all these wonderful titles. I'm with Stasia upthread -- I wanna read all of them!

January:
A Mercy by Toni Morrison (F)
The Faith Club by Ranya Idliby (NF)

February:
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan (F)
Being Dead Is No Excuse by Gayden Metcalf (NF)

March:
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (F)
Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard J. Foster (NF)

April:
Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips (F)
Mockingbird by Charles Shields (NF)

May:
The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips (F)
The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown (NF?)

June:
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane (F)

July:
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (F)
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee (NF)

August:
Roxanna Slade by Reynolds Price (F)

September:
The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea (F)
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (NF)

October:
Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving (F)

November:
Cutting for Stone by Abrahan Verghese (F)
Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer (NF)

Update for November:

Fiction: Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett
Non-fiction: None read (though started two)

My list for the year - rereads not included:

January
The Road - Fiction

February
Alias Grace - Fiction

March
Any Known Blood - Fiction

April
The Blind Assassin - Fiction

May
The Cellist of Sarajevo - Fiction

June - not a great reading month
The Tent - Short Stories/Sketches

July
In the Skin of a Lion - Fiction

August
The Children's Book - Fiction

September
Too Much Happiness - Fiction

October
The Boy Next Door - Fiction

November
I Met the Walrus - Non-fiction

December
To be decided!

January:
Fiction: Too Close to Home
Nonfiction: Maus I & Maus II

February:
Fiction: The Hour I First Believed
Nonfiction: A Night to Remember

March:
Fiction: Titanic Town
Nonfiction: Nothing notable.

April:
Fiction: Missing May
Nonfiction: Columbine

May:
Fiction: Wintergirls
Nonfiction: Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?

June:
Fiction: Nothing notable.
Nonfiction. We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families

July:
Fiction: After You'd Gone
Nonfiction: An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography

August:
Fiction: Nothing notable.
Nonfiction: There Are No Children Here

September:
Fiction: In the Woods
Inbetween: Schindler's List (heh, heh..cheating)
Nonfiction: Warriors Don't Cry

October:
Fiction: The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Nonfiction: Blood Diamonds

November:
Fiction: Dark Places
Nonfiction: 102 Minutes

It's interesting to look back and see how patterns emerge. Some of my Top Ten aren't even listed because they were read in the same month as other books which will be on my Top Ten. I also see so many books I never would have read without the 75ers. Thanks guys!!!

Some of my Top Ten aren't even listed because they were read in the same month as other books which will be on my Top Ten.

I was actually thinking we could probably use another thread for our Top Tens....

My top 10 is actually probably closer to 50 (the size of my memorable reads list for the year) - I do not think I can chose just 10!

I think we could make an exception for you, Stasia... or maybe it could be Top 10%?

50 would be about 10% so that works for me! lol

Here are my monthly bests so far...

January
Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain - Fiction

February
Graceling by Kristen Cashore - Fiction

March
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin - Fiction
Honorable mention: Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

April
Nothing notable.

May
Fiasco by Thomas E. Ricks - Non-Fiction

June
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill - Fiction

July
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See - Fiction

August
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - Fiction

September
Sandman: Brief Lives Vol. 7 by Neil Gaiman - Fiction

October
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Fiction

November
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - Fiction

December
...

I am getting all kinds of reading ideas for 2010 from this thread!

I'm going to have to add an extra category to my list as I read a lot of YA/children's books.

Jan:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson - Fiction
Maus 1&2 by Art Speigelman - NF
The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert de Jong - children's fiction
Feb:
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti - Fiction
Surprised by Joy by CS Lewis - NF
Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess - YA fiction
Mar:
Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino - not quite a fiction read but nothing else stood out
Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer: A Golden Treasury of Classic Treats by Jane Brocket - NF
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation Vol II Kingdom on the Waves by MT Andersen - YA fiction
Apr:
Beaufort by Ron Leshem - fiction
-
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome - children's fiction
May:
Say you're one of them by Uwem Ukpan - fiction
Lewis Carroll in Numberland by Robin Wilson - NF
Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud - YA fiction
Jun:
Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon - fiction
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell - NF
The underneath by Kathi Appelt - childrenm's fiction
Jul:
The Ignorance of Blood by Robert Wilson - fiction
Beautiful Shadow ; a life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson - NF
Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy - YA fiction
Aug:
Flowers for Mrs Harris by Paul Galico - fiction
All this and a bookshop too by Dorothy Butler - NF
The Loblolly Boy by James Norcliffe - children's fiction
Sep:
We have always lived in a castle by Shirley Jackson / Regeneration by Pat Barker - fiction
-
The Cry of the Wolf by Melvin Burgess - children's fiction
Oct:
The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox - fiction
Bright Star : Beatrice Hill Tinsley, astronomer by Cate Catley - NF
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan - YA fiction
Nov:
The Secret River by Kate Grenville - fiction
Epileptic by David B - NF
Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd
Dec:

tba

Update for November, in which I didn't read much, but what I did read was excellent:

Fiction: The Girl in the Flammable Skirt - Aimee Bender
Runners-up: Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel and The Wednesday Wars - Gary Schmidt
no nonfiction