Best Fiction of 2009

Here is another list of books compile by the subscribers of the Fiction_L mailing list (a reader's advisory listserve). This time, we have a list of Best Fiction of 2009.


Here is the list of new fiction titles that received multiple votes. The number following the title is the number of times it was mentioned.

Stockett, Kathryn The Help 12

Goolrick, Robert A Reliable Wife 8

Bazell, Josh Beat the Reaper 7

Waters, Sarah The Little Stranger 6

Mantel, Hilary Wolf Hall 5

Tropper, Jonathan This is Where I Leave You 5

Castillo, Linda Sworn to Silence 4

Hart, John The Last Child 4

Genova, Lisa Still Alice 3

King, Stephen Under the Dome 3

Verghese, Abraham Cutting for Stone 3

Chaon, Dan Await Your Reply 2

Davidson, Andrew The Gargoyle 2

Fallada, Hans Every Man Dies Alone 2

Ford, Jamie The House on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet 2

Johnson, Craig The Dark Horse 2

Nunn, Malla A Beautiful Place to Die 2

Penny, Louise A Rule Against Murder 2

Quinn, Spencer Dog On It 2

Rock, Peter My Abandonment 2

Atwood, Margaret Year of the Flood 2



Books with one vote:

Brooks, Geraldine People of the Book

Agarwal, Shilpa Haunting Bombay

Airth, Rennie The Dead of Winter

Arsenault, Mark Loot the Moon

Ashely, Jennifer The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie

Atkinson, Kate Case Histories

Bacigalupi, Paolo The Windup Girl

Baker, Kage Empress of Mars

Balogh, Mary Huxtable series

Barr, Nevada 13 1/2

Beecroft, Alex False colors

Berg, Elizabeth Home Safe

Berwin, Margot Hothouse Flower and the 9 Plants of Desire

Bolton, S.J. Awakening

Boudinot, Ryan Misconception

Box, C.J Below Zero

Bradley, Alan Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Bruen, Ken Once Were Cops

Bujold, Lois McMaster The Sharing Knife

Butcher, Jim Turncoat

Byatt, A.S The Children's Book

Cain, Chelsea Evil at Heart

Campbell, Bonnie Jo American Salvage: Stories

Cantrell, Rebecca A trace of smoke

Cleave, Chris Little Bee

Connelly, Michael The Scarecrow

Connelly, Michael Nine Dragons

Currie Jr., Ron Everything Matters!

Dolan, Harry Bad Things Happen

Durham, David Anthony Acacia

Fiorato, Marina The Glassblower of Murano

Flynn, Gillian Dark Places

Fowler, Christopher Bryant and May on the Loose

Gardner, Lisa The Neighbor

Grafton, Sue U is for Undertow

Hall, Tarquin Case of the missing servant: a Vish Puri mystery

Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia Fell Purpose

Haywood, Smith Ladies of the Lake

Heller, Zoe The Believers

Henríquez, Cristina The World in Half

Higner, Charlotte Deadly Descent

Hoffman, Alice The Story Sisters

Hornby, Nick Juliet, Naked

Hornsby, Wendy In the Guise of Mercy

Huston, Charlie The mystic arts of erasing all signs of death

Jensen, Liz The Rapture

Jones, Jaida and Danielle Bennett Shadow Magic

Kallos, Stephanie Sing Them Home

Kane, Cornelius Unscratchables

Kasischke, Laura In A Perfect World

Knight, Deidre Butterfly Tattoo

Laken, Valerie Dream House

Lansdale, Joe R. Vanilla Ride

Larsen, Reif The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet

Larsson, Stieg The Girl Who Played with Fire

Lee, Sharon and Miller, Steve Fledgling

Leigh, Julia Disquiet

Leon, Donna Wilful Behavior

Levine, James The Blue Notebook

Lipman, Elinor Family Man

Lovesey, Peter The Last Detective

Macy, Caitlin Spoiled: Stories

Marston, Edward The Wolves of Savernake

Martin, Clancy How to Sell

McBride, Stuart Blind Eyes

McCall Smith, Alexander Tea Time for the Traditionally Built

McInerney, Jay How It Ended: New And Collected Stories

Mills, KE (Karen Miller) Witches, Inc (sequel to Accidental Sorcerer)

Moerk, Christian Darling Jim

Moriarty, Laura While I'm Falling

Muller, Marcia Locked In

O'Neal, Barbara The Lost Recipe for Happiness

O'Connell, Carol Bone by Bone

Parkin, Gaile Baking Cakes in Kigali

Patterson, James Alex Cross's Trial

Pears, Iain Stone's Fall

Penny, Louise The Brutal Telling

Perry, Anne Execution Dock

Perry, Anne A Christmas Promise

Pratchett, Terry Unseen academicals

Putney, Mary Jo Loving a Lost Lord

Rahka, Naseem The Crying Tree

Roberts, Nora Vision in White (Book 1 of the Bride Quartet)

Roberts, Nora Bed of Roses (Book 2 of the Bride Quartet)

Robison, Mary One D.O.A., One on the Way

Robotham, Michael Shatter

Russell, Sheldon Yard Dog

Russo, Richard That Old Cape Magic

Scholes, Ken Lamentations

Shamsie, Kamila Burnt Shadows

Shapton, Leanne Important Artifacts and Personal Property...

Shortridge, Jennie When She Flew

Smith, Tom Rob Child 44

Stockbridge, Sara Grace Hammer

Trigiani, Adriana Very Valentine

Wall, Carolyn Sweeping Up Glass

Winspear, Jacquelyne Among the Mad

Book Twitter

I've found that between work and school I've been blogging less (obviously). But I have found another way to keep sharing my book interests that doesn't detract from study time. I'm now twittering about books.

If you want some quick book ideas, check out my twitter at http://twitter.com/GretchenBooks. I do promise to try to blog at least once a month until school is over.

Best Non-Fiction 2009

Here is a list of books compile by the subscribers of the Fiction_L mailing list (a reader's advisory listserve) of the Best Non-Fiction of 2009.

• Agassi, Andre - Open

• Albom, Mitch - Have a Little Faith

• Bourke, Anthony & Rendell, John - A Lion Called Christian

• Burton, Gabrielle - Searching for Tamsen Donner

• Chattman, Lauren - Cakekeeper Cakes

• Cooper, Gwen - Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned about Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat (2 votes)

• Cullen, David - Columbine (6 votes)

• Editors of Fine Cooking Magazine - Absolutely Chocolate

• Edsel, Robert M - Monuments Men (2 votes)

• Eggers, Dave - Zeitoun  (2 votes)

• Friedman, Andrew - Knives at Dawn: America's Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d'Or Competition
  

• Grann, David - Lost City of Z: A tale of deadly obsession in the Amazon 

• Gulley, Phillip - I Love You, Miss Huddleston: and Other Inappropriate Longings of My Indiana Childhood
  

• Hazleton, Lesley - After the Prophet: the epic story of the Shia-Sunni split in Islam 

• Hedges, Chris - Empire of Illusion: the End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle (2 votes)
  

• Karz, Zippora - Sugarless plum : a ballarina's triumph over diabetes
  

• Kennedy, Ted - True Compass

• Kidder, Tracy - Strength in what remains (2 votes)

• Krakauer, Jon - Where men win glory the odyssey of Pat Tillman

• Kurlansky, Mark - The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation's Food was Seasonal

• Lindstrom, Martin - Buyology

• Lobdell, William - Losing My Religion

• McClure, Tori - A Pearl in the Ocean

• McDougall, Christopher - Born to run : a hidden tribe, superathletes, and the greatest race the world has never seen  (3 votes)

• McGrath, Campbell - Shannon: A Poem of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 

• McPherson, James M. - Abraham Lincoln

• Mezrich, Ben - Accidental Billionaires: the founding of Facebook 

• Nelson, Craig - Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon

• Okrent, Arika - In the Land of Invented Languages

• Patterson, James - Against Medical Advice

• Penzler, Otto (editor) - The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives

• Plait, Philip - Death from the skies!: these are the ways the world will end 

• Reisen, Harriet - Louisa May Alcott: the woman beind Little Women 

• Sabbag, Rober - Down Around Midnight: A Memoir of Crash and Survival

• Satran, Pamela Redmond - How Not to Act Old: 185 Ways to Pass for Phat, Sick, Hot, Dope, Awesome, or at Least Not Totally Lame

• Sayrafiezadeh, Said - When Skateboards Will Be Free: A Memoir of a Political    Childhood

• Stockton, Shreve - The Daily Coyote: a Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming

• Thornton, Sarah - Seven Days in the Art World

• Uhlberg, Myron - Hands of My Father

• Wendell, Sarah and Tan, Candy - Beyond Having Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels