That's Life...: 2009 in books (and a peek ahead to 2010)

Since we have less than 48 hours left of 2009, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on 2009 and also to look forward to 2010. I think this will take a couple of posts, but I think I’ll start with a look back over the books I read in 2009.

2009 Reading Goals:
-Read 25 books this year… I’m about to finish 30 (+ the 7 audio books I listened to and the crap I had to read for school).
-Score 150 points on NBC’s Summer Book Challenge- I scored 155!

To see a full list of my 2009 books, click here.

Favorites of 2009

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Had I picked this book up on my own at a store or in the library I would have cringed or baulked and put it back down. However, thanks to the ladies on an online forum that I frequent, I decided to give it a whirl. I AM SO GLAD THAT I DID. This book had it all. Excitement, intensity, a romantic edge… everything. Collins takes you for a wild ride that you absolutely cannot put down. Collins is the queen of making her readers yell O!M!G! every few pages. Fantastic book.

Gossamer by Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry is simply a genius to me. Her imagination is stunning and her writing style is beautiful. The idea behind Gossamer was unique to anything else I’ve read and I flew through it in one short sitting. The story of these dreamgivers, although imaginative, offers a simple and logical explanation of the randomness of our dreams. My only complaint is that it wasn’t longer.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Okay, I admit that was not a first-read for me. My love affair with all things Cullen began in May of 2008. However, I did re-read this early in 2009 (for the third time) and couldn’t leave it off this list. It’s a favorite of all time and therefore one of my favorite reads of 2009.

Disappointments of 2009

Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty

After enjoying Sloppy Firsts and devouring Second Helping I was expecting to love Thirds. Eh-wrong. This book was so.incredibly.boring. It’s basically just a summary of JD’s life through University. Nothing really happens, and yet everything happens and you miss it. It’s difficult to describe, so all I’ll say is I wish it was better because I wanted to love this series.

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Not a whole lot to say about this one except that it just didn’t do anything for me. There wasn’t enough going on to make it enjoyable. I don’t regret reading it, it wasn’t awful by any stretch, but I haven’t read a Dessen since.

Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog

If I was 13 and getting ready to start high school, I probably would have loved this book. Unfortunately, it is not one of those YA books that adults can enjoy too… at least in my opinion. I think it’s written for a very young audience, so I didn’t really get anything out of it.

Books I’m most looking forward to in 2010.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I’ve heard raves and have been waiting months to read it.

Sizzle by Julie Garwood

Yes- I’ll admit it. She’s one of my favorite authors. I have been disappointed with the last couple (they were good, but not GREAT) but I still can’t help getting a little excited when a new one is released.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

This story is very special to me and yet somehow I have never picked up the novel. I promise myself to read it this year and I can’t wait.

2010 Reading Goals

With school, commuting and work bogging me down I’m not going to set myself any specific goals for this year other than to read as many books as I possibly can, and also to read a couple of those books that have been on my TBR list forever that I should have read long ago. Such as:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee