2009 looks to be a time for battening down the hatches. The economy is struggling and, at least in the UK, it is too darn cold to get out in the garden and get ready for spring. Last January I spent the whole month curled up in a blanket on the couch catching up on fun, but not necessarily world shaking reading material. Usually the only time I have to read is when I'm falling asleep, in a waiting room, or am on a trip somewhere, so there is nothing as satisfying as having the time to read a book through and enjoying the narrative flow all in one go. These were my favorites for the year. What were yours?
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones was satisfying as both as an inspirational tale of what people are capable of doing under duress, and as a commentary on the power of narrative. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak succeeded in emptying my tissue box but it was very good nonetheless.
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was pretty good. I liked it, but most other people I've met either thought it was confusing or just peculiar. Maybe I liked it because the people in it were the kind of people I used to hang out with and it made me nostalgic.
The links I put up were to Powell's, a fine bookshop, but nothing beats the public library. Our little branch where I used to live in Fort Worth was shrinking rapidly as computer stations took up more and more space. There is nothing wrong with making the internet available to all, but I mourned the loss of books as they were relegated to back corners, stacked two deep on out of the way shelves. Maybe 2009 could see a resurgence of reading for pleasure.