2009 Reading List

I’m an avid book reader, and when I found myself re-starting books I’d already read, I figured it was time to help my brain out and keep a list. I’m amazed at how many books I actually read in a year. In 2009 I enjoyed reading 57 books from cover to cover—and that’s more than I read in 2008! This year I may start keeping track of the ones I dump. I’ll probably be surprised at that list as well.

My 2009 list is below. The first section are those books to which I gave a “thumbs up” and highly recommend to others. The second section are those books that are middle of road and you should consider them a grab bag selection. The last section are those books that I found disappointing. Of course, your reading tastes likely differ from mine, so take all of this with a grain of salt. After all, I’m one of the few that abhorred Julie and Julia and I refuse to watch the movie.

Top Notch Reads:
Non-Fiction:

• Blind Man’s Bluff, The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew—excellent book – a 10 star, 5 thumbs UP book.
• Dewey by Vicki Myron—a 5 Kleenex read
• The No Spin Zone by Bill O’Reilly—another good read that made me think.
• The Stoning of Soraya M Freidoune Sahebjam—a must read for every man and woman.
• Last Man on the Moon by Gene Cernan—fantastic book, delivers a personal side to the space race, as well as explaining some of the inside information. If you lived through these times – read this book. If you were born after these times – read this book.
• Highest Duty by Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger—an enjoyable, heart-warming read about a quiet man who lives his life in a simple, down to earth way. He goes about each day with an intensity that many of us lack. This book will introduce you to “Sully” and give you an insight into what makes him tick, and the depth and experience he had to draw upon as he piloted, and safely landed, Flight 1549.
• Berries by Roger Yepson—very informative, with good recipes and great sketches done by the author

Fiction (top 5 and balance in alphabetical order):

• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows—totally delightful, heartwarming book; the best for this year and in a class with Mrs. Mike
• Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn—best book I’ve read in ages!
• The Last Patriot by Brad Thor—excellent and timely.
• Whack ‘n’ Roll by Gail Oust—totally love the Bunco Babes and can identify with the main character – a 60 yr. old curious woman. HAHAHA
• Revenge of the Spellmens by Lisa Lutz

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• Charlotte’s Web by EB White—I read this after discussing the movie with a friend and I wanted to compare the book to the movie. Total fun read.
• Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke—enjoyable, and I’ve already picked up the beginning of the series from the library
• Double Eagle by James Twining—good book, but not as good as it might have been had I not read them out of order as it laid the foundation for the characters, which I’d already figured out.
• Hold Tight by Harlan Coben—another gripping thriller. I liked the way the different story lines all twisted around each other like ivy climbing up a wall. Pull one stem, and you have to unravel several others.
• Hooked on Murder: A Crochet Mystery by Betty Hechtman—good plot, well developed and interesting characters and I loved the whole crochet vs knitting bits.
• Hostile Intent by Michael Walsh—top notch political thriller.
• Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder—great thriller!
• No Second Chance by Harlan Coben (audio)—gripping thriller.
• Old Maid’s Puzzle by Terri Thayer (very good book).
• Paranoia by Joseph Finder—great non-creepy psychological thriller!
• Sew Deadly by Elizabeth Lynn Casey—fun, quick read – 24 hours with time off to eat, sleep, grocery shop and spend time with Mac – so really a good book,
• The Gilded Seal by James Twining—good book, starts a bit slow, pace picks up—totally caught off guard at page 359. I’m looking forward to reading more of his books.
• The Deceived by Brett Battles—very good, liked the characters.
• Wild Goose Chase by Terri Thayer—engaging book.

Middle Of The Road Reads:
Non-Fiction:

• Apples by Roger Yepson—interesting and informative, great illustrations, just old enough to not cover many of the newer varieties now available in the stores, and many of the apples he does cover aren’t in my area.
• Green Clean by Linda Mason Hunter
• Taylor to Lacey, the Long Road by Jessie Kinnear Kenton

Fiction:

• As the World Churns by Tamar Myers
• Death Dines at 8:30 edited by Claudia Bishop—a collection of 16 short mysteries. Interesting and great way to find new authors.
• Double Shot by Diane Mott Davidson—good, not her best - but important to the storyline.
• Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl—decent first entry.
• Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson
• Murder on the Rocks (#1 Gray Whale Inn mystery) by Karen MacInerney
• Owls Well That Ends Well by Donna Andrews—decent and better than her ‘Puffin’ book.
• Quilter’s Knot by Arlene Sachitano—decent, but Harriet needs brains.
• The Quilter’s Kitchen by Jennifer Chiaverini—more a cookbook than a story. The recipes look good and I marked several and put the book on my cookbook shelf.
• The Chinese Siamese Cat by Amy Tan—this was a audio book download experiment through the library. The story is read by Amy and is 19 minutes long. Cute story.
• The Apostle by Brad Thor—good thriller, but not my favorite in the series.

Disappointing Reads:

• 5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours by Jackie Gingrich Cushman and Newt Gingrich—stuff and fluff, a total skim read and I didn’t like many of the folks that they used as “good” examples – folks with low ethics and morals. I had to jump through hoops to get this book from the library (and that’s a whole discussion all by itself!) and it was a total disappointment. This was my only disappointing non-fiction. The rest of were all non-fiction.
• A Murder of Taste by Sally Goldenbaum—boring.
• A Peach of a Murder by Livia J. Washburn—okay, not great—might try the recipes.
• A Drunkard’s Path by Clare O’Donohue—a disappointing let down after her first mystery. In this book I found Nell most irksome. Not sure if I’ll buy the next book.
• Birds of Prey by JA Jance (audio)—story okay, audio version thumbs-down as I didn’t care for the reader.
• Black for Remembrance by Carlene Thompson—far too dark and upsetting.
• Dead and Berried (#2 Gray Whale Inn mystery) by Karen MacInerney—not as good as the first, but several good recipes. Why not as good? The main character is a total idiot in this book. An idiot with her ex-fiance, an idiot with her behavior mooring boat on rocks in bog, wandering around in the muck and mud without a coat, and the way she mismanaged her friendship. I wanted to toss the book she was so frustrating.
• Fire and Ice by JA Jance
• House Rules by Mike Lawson—good, but predictable.
• Mind Scrambler by Chris Grabenstein—good ending, but that doesn’t make up for the sleaze or the political digs. I’m sick of all the “sleaze” that is rearing it’s ugly head in books, TV shows and movies; and unless it’s a political thriller, I don’t want to read political digs. If this series continues, I doubt I'll continue along with it.
• Murder in Four Parts by Bill Crider
• Murder Most Maine (#3 Gray Whale Inn mystery) by Karen MacInerney—sadly this book is a shadow of the 1st one in the series. The recipes are good, but the mystery(s) is transparent, some things are too casually wrapped up (as though an editor said, ‘What about ... ?’), and the series is becoming way too soapy. Doubtful that I’ll purchase the next book—and since my library doesn’t carry them ... I’m done with this series. Sad, because I identified with the small town coastal living.
• Ocean Waves by Terri Thayer—not my favorite at all – too much personal introspection for a mystery.
• One Bad Apple by Sheila Connolly—too soapish/romancy.
• Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson—the story line was probably the worst she’s ever written. The best part of this book: the recipes.
• Tell No One by Harlan Coben—definitely not his best.
• Vanished by Joseph Finder—good book, not one of his best. Maybe I’ve read too many Finders, but enough of it was “apparent” to me to stop the suspense.