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Best Books 2009

By scott

Top 10 Books of 2009

1. Anne Tyler ? Noah’s Compass. One of the most consistently good writers on the planet, and frankly no one does this type of dysfunctional family /relationship stuff better.
2. Adam Foulds - The Quickening Maze. This was one of the most pleasant surprises on 2009. Whilst reading it did remind me of several other books taking on similar territory ? hard not to think of Pat Barker ? it was a surprising and lyrical book where not a great deal happened, but what did happened very well.
3. Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall The Winner of this year’s Booker was a big book, and one which I in turn loved and felt dragged down by> At its best it is an engaging romp through .
4. Simon Mawer - The Glass Room. I maintain that the first half of this book is the novel of the year, sadly the second half doesn’t quite hold up as well.
5. Nick Cave ? The Death of Bunny Monrow. So much more readable and less up his own bottom than ‘And the Ass saw the Angel’ The Audiobook is fab.
6. Dan Simmons ? Drood. Not really read much Dan Simmons, but this is an inventive thriller narrated by Wilkie Collins, about events that caused Charles Dickens, to write The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dickens’s last, uncompleted novel.
7. Carlos Ruiz Zafon ? The Angel’s Game ? Whilst not really in the same league at Shadow in the Wind, this was still an enjoyable thriller.
8. Richard Price ? Lush Life. Well crafted crime novel, but a writer on the top of his game.
9. David Simon ? Homicide. You have to commit to this in pretty much the same way you have to commit to the Wire, but like the Wire it does reward that commitment.
10. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ? Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith Surprisingly entertaining reworking of Austen’s classic

Full post as published by Information Overload on December 23, 2009 (boomark / email).