Citizen Beta

I didn’t get my picks for best books of the year in over at Bookreporter in time so thought I would share with you my favorites.  These are not all new books, but the best ones I’ve read (that I remember) this year.  Some are new and some are just new to me.  

Fiction:

The Likeness…I think I liked this one better than In The Woods, which I liked a lot.  French has such a great writing style, blends genres well and has really compelling characters. Plus, it is creepy and I like creepy tales.  

The Master and Margarita…Okay, I admit I didn’t really understand much of what was happening in this novel but it was so much fun and so vividly described.  I felt a huge sense of accomplishment when I was done with it, too!

Oh Pure and Radiant Heart…As I have written before I really liked How the Dead Dream but I feel this novel was a bit better; the characters were interesting and well developed and the narrative at once super funny and quite thoughtful.  I especially appreciated how Millet played with history, morality and religion as themes. 

The Glister…Another creepy one with a strong moral (but not preachy) undertone.   This short novel is atmospheric and scary and the ending was so strange I had to read it a couple of times just to make sense of it.  Very powerful. 

The Elegance of the Hedgehog…This book is just so smart and literary and meaty and enjoyable.  Again there are well-developed characters and a compelling story line.  I really can’t say how wonderful this book is! 

Non-Fiction:

Wild Swans…I don’t know too much about modern Chinese history and this book taught me a lot (and scared the shit out of me).  It is a memoir but packs in so much history and culture and it is quite fascinating.

Abigail Adams…A really awesome examination of Adams and early American culture.  Adams was rebellious and headstrong, intelligent and crafty and this book told her story without the dryness typical of historical biographies.

When Everything Changed…An eye-opening look at the last few decades of women’s lives in the United States focusing on politics, law, journalism and the work place as well as the racial and gender equality movements.

Your turn!  What were your favorite reads of 2009??