A few years ago, my sister and I began doing our own version of Oprah's Favorites List. We each listed 10 discoveries we had made during the year - could be a product, a recipe, a web site, a tv show... anything that we hadn't tried before but really liked (such as making your own Lime Diet Coke with real limes rather than the tinny tasting stuff in the can - yum-o!).
In 2007, I decided to add my selection for favorite book of the year. The books of Sarah Addison Allen - Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen - have taken the first two prizes. Unfortunately publication of Ms. Allen's third book, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, was delayed until March of 2010, so she's not in the running this year.
After reviewing my Goodreads account, I can't come up with a clear winner, so I have decided to list my 10 favorites in no particular order - plus a couple of Honorable Mentions:
1. Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz
2. Who killed the Robins Family by Bill Adler
3. True Blue by David Baldacci
4. The Lumby Lines by Gail Frazer
5. Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston
6. Look Again by Lisa Scottoline
7. Loitering with Intent by Stuart Woods
8. Pursuit by Karen Robards
9. Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz
10. Black Hills by Nora Roberts
2. Who killed the Robins Family by Bill Adler
3. True Blue by David Baldacci
4. The Lumby Lines by Gail Frazer
5. Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston
6. Look Again by Lisa Scottoline
7. Loitering with Intent by Stuart Woods
8. Pursuit by Karen Robards
9. Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz
10. Black Hills by Nora Roberts
Honorable Mention:
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich
Finger Lickin’ 15 by Janet Evanovich
Finger Lickin’ 15 by Janet Evanovich
Installments 4, 5 and 6 of the Body Movers series by Stephanie Bond
And two final addendums:
Under the Dome by Stephen King* - If a fraction of a book can win the award - and who's making up the rules here? - the third of this monster that we have completed would be a hands-down winner. With 10 hours of road trip coming up for Christmas, there is a chance that we will finish before the end of the year, so I am including it as the Roger Maris of my list - It's got the record, but with an asterisk.
The Irresistable Henry House by Lisa Grunwald. I am nearly through with this remarkable book and it would surely make the list, but since it will not actually be published till March 2010, it appears here with it's own proviso.
What were your favorite reads of 2009? Share them and maybe they'll make our list for next year.
I love the idea that you read together as a couple. Since I read a lot of historical books and it seems like it was a common practice before radio and TV to read as a family, I've always wanted to do that!
ReplyDeleteHow fun to make your own favorites list for anything at all. I still need to make a list of the best books I read in 2009 but now I'm going to have to ponder other things I might have discovered during the past year.
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