What was your favourite read of 2009?

[Leo62]

Which book, that you read for the first time this year, really did it for you?

It doesn't have to have been published this year, just a book you discovered for the first time that will stay with you as a classic (or at least a memorable read that you would recommend to friends).

For me, it was two books: The Terror by Dan Simmons and The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. Two very different reads - one set on a 19th century Arctic expedition, the other in post-war England - that have in common an element of the supernatural.

I read a lot of good stuff this year, but it's really tailed off in the last few months. Was this a vintage year for fiction? Or not...

[Madeleine]

Not a vintage reading year for me, I've only read about 20 books, of which the best was probably Company of Liars.

[Ludmilla]

Correcting as I read the title wrong (as reads, instead of read). My two five star books were:

The Greenlanders, Jane Smiley
The Master Butchers Singing Club, Louise Erdrich

[boswellbaxter]

Henry and Clara by Thomas Mallon
The Taste of Sorrow by Jude Morgan (still working on this, but it's excellent)
The Sisters Who Would be Queen by Leandra de Lisle (NF)

[MLE]

For me, it would have to be Legacy, by Susan Kay.

[sweetpotatoboy]

For me, it has definitely not been a vintage year, both in terms of volumes and as regards great reads. Partly, this has been because most of my reads were book group reads, so I didn't always choose them.
On the one hand, this has led to some good discussions and reasonably enjoyable reads that I wouldn't have picked up myself. But I wouldn't say there has been much that I've absolutely loved.

Of them all, I'd have to pick two NF books as my favourites of the year:

Royal Subjects: A Biographer's Encounters - by Theo Aronson
Don't Sleep, There are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazon - by Daniel Everett

These were great books and very recommended. But will they go down as all-time favourites? Maybe not.

[Ash]

I read about 20 books less than usual - 50, but many of these were door stoppers, and worth two or three books so I guess it evens out. I do remember several times that nothing seemed to satisfy me, and I suspect I picked up and put down twice as many books as I finished!

Wolf Hall Hillary Mantel
Legacy by Susan Kaye
Company of Liars Karen Maitlin
Mudbound Hillary Jordan
Stone's Fall Ian Pears
The Falcons of Montebarn Eliz Chadwick
Vainglory by Geraldine McCaughrean
Post Birthday World

[Misfit]

I can't pick just one.

Mary Anne and The King's General by D du M
Cashelmara and Penmarric by Susan Howatch
The Two Dianas by Alexandre Dumas

There would have been an EC on the list but I didn't have one :rolleyes:

Is it May yet?

[Margaret]

Wolf Hall was the best. But there were lots of other really, really good ones. My "Best of 2009" list will be going up at HistoricalNovels.info soon, and I don't think I'm going to be able to whittle it to 10 this year.

[Chatterbox]

Not that many HF titles on my list, oddly enough...
1. The Fourth Part of the World by Toby Lester
A NF history book, about the process of exploration and thought that led up to the creation of the first map to identify America as a continent and name it America. Fascinating context; he connects the physical explorations of the Portuguese, Spanish, Italians with the earlier land-based explorers (Marco Polo) and even cosmologists of the early middle ages.
2. Yours Ever by Thomas Mallon
Another one of Mallon's quasi-anthologies; like taking a guided tour through the letters of fascinating literary, political figures and lots of unknown folks as well.
3. The Stieg Larsson trilogy: I'm a mystery/thriller afficionado and this grabbed me more than books have in years.
4. Crude World by Peter Maass: a look at the world that has been created by our dependence on oil. I know the author, who has been working on this book since about early 2001. Excellent.
5. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. A wonderful novelist, whose books I've been reading for 15 years.
6. Within the Fetterlock by Brian Wainwright. Could do with an edit simply to make it more accessible to non-history junkies and smooth the narrative flow, but a great book.

If I restricted myself to HF, it would probably look like this (no particular order)
1. Wolf Hall
2. Within the Fetterlock
3. A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin
4. The King's Daughter by Christie Dickason
5. The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
6. Martyr by Rory Clements (historical mystery)
7. Vanora Bennett's novel about Catherine de Valois, about to be released in the US under a different title.

[Ariadne]

My publisher asked me last week to list my top 5 historical titles of 2009 for a roundup they're doing for their blog, so I've already had to give this some thought. In no particular order, they were:

Jude Morgan, The Taste of Sorrow
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
Jennifer Niven, Velva Jean Learns to Drive
Dara Horn, All Other Nights
Robert Hicks, A Separate Country

I have more info on what each is about here on the Readers' Advisor Online blog (http://www.readersadvisoronline.com/blog/index.php/2009/12/21/best-books-2009-historical-fiction/).

My favorite vintage read (of sorts, it's only a few years old) for 2009 was Alan Brennert's Moloka'i.

[Sharz]

The best HF I read was Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem. I would probably put Colleen McCullough's First Man in Rome second.

[Kasthu]

Best of 2009 for me in HF, in no order (I can't choose just one, sorry!:

Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
Sophia's Secret, by Susanna Kearsley
The Last Queen, by CW Gortner
The Street Philosopher, by Matthew Plampin
In a Dark Wood Wandering, by Hella Haasse
The King's Mistress, by Emma Campion

Not-HF that I also loved:
Miss Buncle's Book, by DE Stevenson
The Priory, by Dorothy Whipple
The Making of a Marchioness, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Little Bird of Heaven, by Joyce Carol Oates

[gyrehead]

Gosh, I have no idea. It's been a very full year reading; something I realized when I finished my year's end travel log and figured out I was on flight every third day. Which meant a lot of reading.

Off the top of my head these are the 2009 releases I read that left a positive impression

Secretum by Rita Monaldi & Francesco Sorti
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Children's Book by A. S. Byatt
The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham
Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving
The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
In This Way I was Saved by Brian Deleeuw
The Girl Who Kicked Over the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson

[Susan]

Several favorites in no particular order:

Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland
Signora da Vinci by Robin Maxwell
The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick
Company of Liars by Karen Maitland
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

[javagirl]

I know this is a lot but I did pare down my 2009 HF reads to ones that I would rate higher than 4* and/or ones I liked enough to read again. Here's what I came up with in no particular order:

Jane Johnson - The Tenth Gift
Ariana Franklin - Mistress of the Art of Death
C J Samson - Dissolution
C J Samson - Dark Fire
Ildefonso Falcones - Cathedral of the Sea
Diana Gabaldon - Drums of Autumn
Schaffer/Barrows - Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Elizabeth Chadwick - A Place Beyond Courage
Elizabeth Chadwick - The Greatest Knight
CW Gortner - The Last Queen
Stephen R Lawhead - Byzantium
Sara Donati - Into the Wilderness
Sara Gruen - Water for Elephants
Allison Weir - The Innocent Traitor

[Ash]

The Children's Book by A. S. Byatt

Recently used my frequent reader points to get this one, looking forward to reading it.

[Amanda]

I think my favourite has been Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.

[Sheramy]

This was not a banner reading year for me, either. There were too many that I started full of enthusiasm and abandoned halfway through, or even if I finished them, it was with an overall feeling of 'meh.' I'm not listing those!!

I think for me the top read of 2009 would be Margaret George's Helen of Troy, with Michelle's Cleopatra's Daughter in second. Third, Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, Julia Gregson's East of the Sun in fourth, Sally Beauman's Rebecca's Tale (the big surprise of the year, did NOT expect to like it that much) in fifth.

I feel like I'm forgetting a big one, though. Maybe it'll come to me.

[Madeleine]

I think for me the top read of 2009 would be Margaret George's Helen of Troy, with Michelle's Cleopatra's Daughter in second. Third, Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, Julia Gregson's East of the Sun in fourth, Sally Beauman's Rebecca's Tale (the big surprise of the year, did NOT expect to like it that much) in fifth.


I read RT several years ago and also expected not to like it, given my love for the original and the fact that I'd read other books by this author which were, to put it mildly, trashy:rolleyes:! However it's thoroughly enjoyable and I'd recommend it, I was also very surprised at how good it was.:)

[emr]

These are the books that I carried with me all around the house while I was reading them, and I think I'll remember for a long time, in no particular order:

Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
Sophia's Secret by Susanna Kearsley
Hugh and Bess: A Love Story by Susan Higginbotham
Outlander and next 3 in the series by Diana Gabaldon
Silent in the Grave and next books same series by Deanna Raybourn
Dissolution and next 2 books by C.J. Sansom
Rakossy by Cecelia Holland
Firedrake's Eye and books 2 and 3 by Patricia Finney
The Ruso series by Ruth Downie

And I always hope that the next book is going to be special too...

[Divia]

I had more nonfiction than fiction books I liked this year. Nothing struck me(fiction) as like super awesome.


Little Women Abroad
Louisa May Alcott the woman behind LIttle Women
Mourning Customs
Morning Art
Mourning Dress


Fiction:
The Chosen One
Girl in a Blue dress or Girl in the blue dress.....whatever its called

[Tanzanite]

I couldn't pick just one:

Legacy by Susan Kay
The Time of Singing by Elizabeth Chadwick
Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
Born of the Sun by Joan Wolf
The Sisters Who Would be Queen by Leanda de Lisle

[boswellbaxter]

[
Girl in a Blue dress or Girl in the blue dress.....whatever its called[/quote]

That was one of my favorites too! Should have remembered it.

[Sharz]

The best was Wallace Breem's Eagle in the Snow. I read it Nov and it's still with me. I think it will be a Top 5 HF overall.

Filling out a top 5 HF for 2009 is:
First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough's
Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow
Sword Song by Bernard Cornwall
The Greatest Knight by EC.

[Kasthu]

[
Girl in a Blue dress or Girl in the blue dress.....whatever its called

That was one of my favorites too! Should have remembered it.[/QUOTE]

That was one of my favorites in 2008; excellent read. Not much "happens," but it's all good nonetheless.

[diamondlil]

I just did my best of 2009 HF post at Historical Tapestry. My two top reads for the year were The Winter Sea/Sophie's Secret by Susanna Kearsley and The Swan Maiden by Jules Watson.

I have a list of my almost favourites in this blog post (http://historicaltapestry.blogspot.com/2009/12/margs-best-of-2009.html).

[Sheramy]

I read RT several years ago and also expected not to like it, given my love for the original and the fact that I'd read other books by this author which were, to put it mildly, trashy:rolleyes:! However it's thoroughly enjoyable and I'd recommend it, I was also very surprised at how good it was.:)

I was inspired to pick up Rebecca's Tale after reading somebody's post on this forum about how good it was. It may well have been you. :-)

The original is one of my favorite books ever. So my expectations were exceedingly high!

[aarti]

My favorite read of the year was Wish Her Safe at Home, by Stephen Benatar, followed closely by Wolf Hall.

[Vanessa]

My favourite read for this year was The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, closely followed by The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Here's my top 10 for this year:

1. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
3. Company of Liars by Karen Maitland
4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
5. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
6. The Way the Crow Flies by Anne Marie MacDonald
7. The Time of Singing by Elizabeth Chadwick
8. The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark
9. Ferney by James Long
10. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters



All very close really, as I loved them all.

[Margaret]

2009 was a great year for historical fiction. I read lots of good books and have posted my list of the 15 general historical novels I liked best and the 5 historical mysteries I liked best at HistoricalNovels.info (http://www.historicalnovels.info/Best-Historical-Novels.html). They weren't all published in 2009, because these are the books I read this year, regardless of publication date, but lots of them were.

What books would be on your list of the best 5 or 10 or 20 historical novels you read in the past year?

[boswellbaxter]

Merged this with the earlier thread.

Now that I've thought about it, my favorites of 2009 were these:

Henry and Clara by Thomas Mallon
The Taste of Sorrow by Jude Morgan
A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin
King's Fool by Margaret Campbell Barnes
Drood by Dan Simmons
Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold

I confess to not having read Wolf Hall yet, though it's on my list for early 2010, and I've also got A Place of Greater Safety on its way to me. (Started it a few years back but got sidetracked and had to bring it back to the library.)

[Margaret]

I heard Thomas Mallon speak in January and have wanted to read Henry and Clara since then. Must move it up on my TBR list. Mallon was talking about the way research can turn up historical information that adds more interesting angles and texture to a story. He did original research for Henry and Clara (about the couple who were in the theater box with the Lincolns the evening Lincoln was assassinated) that showed the secondary historical sources had been perpetuating incorrect information about the couple and their relative ages. After he learned the accurate information, he completely reworked his novel and found aspects to their story that he found much more interesting. So he was encouraging writers to delve into primary sources.

[Ash]

I liked the book (didn't know he rewrote, good for him!), but I still think his best book is Bandbox, takes place in the roaring 20s, about a magazine publishing co at the time.

[LoisAnn]

Read some good books in 2009 & some not so good. Of the good ones, the standout - the one that keeps coming back to me; that I will remember for a long time is:

The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak

[tsjmom]

GREAT thread!!!

Mine are:

Sarah's Key
The Secret Life of Bees
A Game of Spies
27
Mistress of the Sun

Not necessarily the best books, just the ones I enjoyed the most :)

[tsjmom]

Read some good books in 2009 & some not so good. Of the good ones, the standout - the one that keeps coming back to me; that I will remember for a long time is:

The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak

Wasn't it amazing? One of the most phenomenal books I've ever read.

[4ever Queen]

If I have to pick only one or two that keep coming back (although I read many great books in 2009), that would be Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman and The Last Queen (my last 2009 read) by CW Gortner :D :D

[red805]

My favorite read of 2009 was The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm just a little:o slow to get to the TBR pile.

Based on many of your recommendations I can't wait to read Wolf Hall this year. I'm debating on waiting for the paperback (hardly ever buy hardcovers - would kill the budget even more), or getting on the list at the library. I don't know if I can wait long, so it may be the library for me.

[Telynor]

Some books that I read in 2009 that made me really happy:

Anything by EC (that's a given...)
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Julie_and_Julia_My_Year_of_Cooking_Dangerousl y_Julie_Powell_2047107719/content_474902204036 -- Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell (nonfiction)
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Heaving_Bosoms_and_Throbbing_Members_The_Smar t_Bitches_Guide_to_Romance_Novels_Sarah_Wendell_Ca ndy_Tan/content_476164230788 -- Beyond Heaving Bosoms by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan (nonfiction)
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_The_Devil_s_Company_A_Novel_David_Liss/content_482582302340 -- The Devil’s Company by David Liss (fiction)
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Shanghai_Girls_Lisa_See/content_462438370948 -- Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Girl_in_a_Blue_Dress_Gaynor_Arnold_2047375003/content_479267688068 -- Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold (fiction)
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Calico_Palace_Gwen_Bristow/content_493191138948 -- Calico Palace by Gwen Bristow (fiction)
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Hugh_and_Bess_Susan_Higginbotham/content_494419873412 -- Hugh and Bess by Susan Higginbotham (fiction)

I'm certain that there must be more, but that's what I can think of as the high points of the year.

[parthianbow]

but I hardly dared open it, because I read so few books (no time with writing) and my TBR pile is immense. But I did, and have seen lots and lots which tempted me. Very deliberately, I haven't written down any titles, but it's there for me to look at, if I manage to get further down my TBR pile in 2010 :eek:
Thanks to everyone who posted.

My favourite book (and it was HF) in 2009 was the outstanding The Law of Dreams by Peter Behrens, about Black '47 - 1847, the worst year of famine in Ireland (there were more than 20 between 1820 and 1850).

[EC2]

well I managed to delete my reading diary half way through the year and gave up registering them.
Nothing has struck me as massively wonderful this year but these 4 are excellent five star reads that I do remember.

Carpe Jugulum - Terry Pratchett
Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
Company of Liars - Karen Maitland
The Host - Stephenie Meyer.

[princess]

My favourite reads of 2009 were: -

"Company of Liars" by Karen Maitland
"Within the Fetterlock" by Brian Wainwright
"Daughter of Time" by Josephine Tey
"The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruis Zafon

I'm sure there were more but my mind's blank just now!!

[CindyInOz]

Some of my favourites for 2009 were:

Here be Dragons by SKP
The Greatest Knight by EC
Sophia's Secret by Susanna Kearsley

I've just noticed the majority of books listed in this thread are on my TBR pile, so I can see I'm in for a real treat in 2010 - the biggest decision is what to start with!

[juditharnopp]

Daughter of Time is one of my all time favourites. this year i think the best reads were Katherine McMahon's, i was given the Rose of Sebastobol and enjoyed her writing style so m uch that i tracked all her stuff down. the best by far for me was Footsteps. i love the way she presents layers of history in one story. also her representations of troubled women are superb.
Rose of SEbastobol -Katherine McMahon
Footsteps -Katherine McMahon + her other stuff.
Flambard's Confession - MArilyn Durham
Memories of the Curlew - Helen Spring

[MrsMorland]

I have to go with The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

[Michy]

For me, it was The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. Very well-written.

[Telynor]

About 8 or so books from 2009 hit my best of list, all of them for different reasons. So I can't really say if something is my 'one' favourite for the year.

http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Shanghai_Girls_Lisa_See/content_462438370948 -- Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Girl_in_a_Blue_Dress_Gaynor_Arnold_2047375003/content_479267688068 -- Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold (fiction)
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_The_Devil_s_Company_A_Novel_David_Liss/content_482582302340 -- The Devil’s Company by David Liss (fiction)


Nonfiction
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_We_Two_The_Marriage_of_Queen_Victoria_and_Pri nce_Albert_Gillian_Gill/content_473972772484 -- We Two: Victoria and Albert by Gillian Gill (nonfiction)
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Heaving_Bosoms_and_Throbbing_Members_The_Smar t_Bitches_Guide_to_Romance_Novels_Sarah_Wendell_Ca ndy_Tan/content_476164230788 -- Beyond Heaving Bosoms by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan (nonfiction)
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Legionary_The_Roman_Soldier_s_Unofficial_Manu al_Philip_Matyszak/content_477800468100 -- Legionary: The Roman Soldier’s Unofficial Manual by Philip Matyszak (nonfiction)
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_The_Medieval_Cook_Bridget_Ann_Henisch/content_483892760196 -- The Medieval Cook by Bridget Ann Henisch (nonfiction)
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_The_Queen_Mother_The_Official_Biography_Willi am_Shawcross/content_497696018052 -- The Queen Mother: The Official Biography by William Shawcross (nonfiction)

[kayskate]

I liked:
Borgia Bride
I, Mona Lisa
both by Jeanne Kalogridis

In the Company of Liars,
The Help
and Devlin Diary and The Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips

Kay
www.skatejournal.com
Currently reading Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins.