Baby Got Books

Nicole’s Picks for ’09

It’s hard to believe that 2009 has come and is almost gone. I guess it is true that the older you get, the faster time goes by. When I first sat down to compile my “best of” list, my initial thought was that this was not such a great year for great reads. After reviewing my entire 2009 catalogue (love Shelfari….), I realized that I did read some really great books; it was just interspersed with a lot of mediocre books. And even worse than last year, I posted very infrequently - sorry Tim! If I can’t seem to get my act together to write a review, you can at least take a look at my Top 10 of 2009 (in no particular order other than I am listing non-fiction first)………

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQuarrie
River of Doubt, Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard
My Father’s Paradise by Ariel Sabar
Push by Sapphire
All Other Nights by Dara Horn
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamnada Ngozi Adichi

As Hanukah approaches this week and I have no answer for my husband who keeps saying “Do you want a Kindle or not?” I would like to know who amongst the BGB readers have made the switch.

Books | Nicole | December 9, 2009 8:14 am

4 Comments

By Anne, December 10, 2009 @ 9:42 pm

Nicole, I’m so happy to see Sarah’s Key on your list. I enjoyed every single page of that book and it left such an impression I will never forget it. I am a bit intimidated by all of you reviewers on this site so I’m happy to see a book on your list that I actually chose myself!
Happy Hanukah!
By Michael, December 10, 2009 @ 10:11 pm

Mister Pip! I love that book and am still a bit of an evangelist for it…

I just discovered BGB and I’m glad I did!
By Chris Pine, December 13, 2009 @ 9:04 pm

Nicole,

I’ve been using a kindle since about early April of this year (2009). I can say that I really do love it. I really enjoy reading the classics, which are in the public domain, so that can save a lot on book costs. There is a feature to automatically display the definition of words you don’t know at the bottom of the “page”, which I miss if I read a paper book. I’d probably rather pay $9.99 for a real book than $9.99 for a digital book (I never have so far), but I think I picked up the complete works of Shakespeare for like $3, complete works of Darwin for a couple bucks, excellent KJV Bible for $.49, etc. And they’re all searchable. I love Shakespeare, but no way I would ever carry around his complete works if I didn’t have a kindle.

So there are pros and cons, but definitely some benefits if you are a bookworm.
By Reading Happily, December 26, 2009 @ 12:25 am

Yes the year has passed more swiftly but I think for the book lovers only Time flies while you read a book…My latest pick, John Grisham’s Ford County almost consumed my two months and I was more than just happy to have purchased and read a thrilling short story collection…Bookstores like A1books always have surprises for the readers