With all the Christmas festivities winding down, I’m in the mood to curl up with a good book. So I thought I’d share the books I read in 2009 with my dear readers who might be looking for a good story. You’ll notice that I liked pretty much every book I list here. That’s because if I start a book and it’s really awful, I can usually put it down. If I force myself. Also I just had really good luck with books this year.
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney. Okay, I read this one last year but I loved it and had to include it in this list! It’s probably one of my all-time favorites.
If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny by Lucy Adams. I reviewed this one for Mama Lit and it was pretty dang cute. Adams writes funny essays about her life with 4 kids.
Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman. This follows the lives of the residents over a 200 +- year span. I was intrigued and could not put it down. I hated for it to end – she could have written another 200 pages and I’d be happy.
Dave Barry’s Book of Bad Songs by Dave Barry. The usual hilariousness that is Dave Barry.
The Last Girls by Lee Smith. I’m not sure I’d recommend this. It was okay but certainly not Smith’s best work.
Mary – A Novel by Janis Cooke Newman. This is historical fiction told from the point of view of Mary Todd Lincoln. An excellent book.
Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson. A story about love. Love of parents, children, friends, grandparents. It was a really sweet story.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck is one of myfavorite authors. This book didn’t disappoint. I’m sure I’m one of the 4 people in this country who didn’t read it in high school though!
Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff. This is technically a young adult book but it was still pretty sweet. A little slow for me, but probably the right pace for a young lady.
Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler. Funny, funny, funny. But what else would you expect from Chelsea?
North and South by John Jakes. The first in the trilogy. I loved it and I have a crush on Orry Main. This was my favorite one of the three.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon. I have to confess this one sat on my shelf for a couple years before I read it because I thought it looked weird. But it was really good!
Garage Sale America by Bruce Littlefield. Littlefield writes about his garage saling adventures. It sounds dull, but it was really interesting. And it put me in a garage sale kind of mood!
Love and War by John Jakes. This is the second in the North and South Trilogy. Very good.
Soft Landing by Laurel Hermanson. This was another one that I didn’t want to start, but once I did I was pleasantly surprised.
If Life Is A Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing In The Pits? by Erma Bombeck. This is probably my favorite Bombeck book. Totally hilarious.
Fatherhood by Bill Cosby. Hilarious.
Heaven and Hell by John Jakes. This is the third in the North and South Trilogy. Also good.
When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It’s Time to Go Home by Erma Bombeck. Very funny.
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez. I had a hard time getting into this one, but after the first few pages, I was hooked. It starts in the present and works its way back to the past and I didn’t want it to end!
Gods In Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson. A pretty good story. It moved a little slow, but wasn’t bad at all.
Savannah: A Gift for Mr. Lincoln by John Jakes. It was okay. It was kind of unrealistic though.
Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession by Erma Bombeck. (I went through an Erma phase this year.) Erma has a rare mix of sentimentality and hilariousness that really drew me in to this book.
Wyoming by Dana Fuller Ross. Part of the Wagons West Series. It’s fluff reading, but I like it.
Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck. Great book about friendship and its fragility. The ending was melancholy though – as Steinbeck will tend to be.
The Professor’s House by Willa Cather. Very dry and I never got the point of the story. I wanted to shout, “Great story, Jeopardy contestant!”
Charleston by John Jakes. Not bad but some of the conversations and stories are recycled from the North and South Trilogy.
Family – The Ties That Bind … And Gag! by Erma Bombeck. hahahahaha.
The Glory Cloak by Patricia O’Brien. A fictional account of the life of Louisa May Alcott as told through the eyes of a cousin. Very interesting read.
The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle. I couldn’t put this one down!
Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton. If you’ve never read anything by Clyde, I highly recommend you do. He’s very funny but in a subtle way. His stories are ridiculous but never so ridiculous as to be implausible.
Aunt Erma’s Cope Book by Erma Bombeck. I told you I went through an Erma phase!
1776 by David McCullough. Excellent. But not light reading by any stretch of the imagination.
You Can’t Drink All Day If You Don’t Start In The Morning by Celia Rivenbark. Celia is a southern writer who is also a hoot!
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough. Very melancholy but also an excellent story. I couldn’t put this one down either.
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank by Erma Bombeck. See previous comments.
The Sands of Pride by William R. Trotter. There were too many half-baked plot lines and then it just ended. It was like Trotter just got tired of writing one day so he stopped.
The Bible Salesman by Clyde Edgerton. Hilarious! And sweet.
So there you have it. Pick up any of these books and you probably won’t go wrong. If you’d like more detail about the plots, just let me know!
Mi Vida Azar 