105 books read in 2009 – I changed the background of the blog so that bolding will work better. I’ve bolded the ones I’d most highly recommend, added comments here and there. * means that I read it for Book Club, and I’ve provided links if I discussed it previously.

Comments always welcome!

January

The Summer Garden by Paullina Simons (I joke that the first two books of this series are 80% good historical fiction, 20% smut. This one is 80% smut and 20% marginal historical fiction. It really could have been a 200 page book)
Jack’s Widow by Eve Pollard (what if Jackie Kennedy became a spy after the assassination?)
Dream When You’re Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg (historical fiction about a family during World War II)
The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell
A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith (read for my historical fiction book club and HF challenge. Engaging story about Richard the III’s mistress)
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski* (a modern retelling of Hamlet)
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron (Jane Austen as a cozy mystery sleuth)
The Reader by Bernhard Schink* (also a movie I’d recommend. Beautifully spare)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society* by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer. (cute story, told in letters)

February

Fires in the Dark by Louise Doughty (about the Romani people during World War II)
A Crowning Mercy by Bernard Cornwell and Susanna Kells (many on my HF board love Bernard Cornwell. I find him iconoclastic and boorish)
Sarah:A Woman of Genesis by Orson Scott Card (extremely rushed ending)
The Apostles by Pope Benedict XVI (one of the winners in the most beautiful cover of the year award)
Hugh and Bess: A Love Story by Susan Higgenbotham (I read her blog, she’s delightful. And, anytime a book has the subtitle “A Love Story” I’m there)
The Sugar Camp Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini (I like this series a lot. This one was historical fiction)
The Reluctant Queen by Jean Plaidy (about Anne Neville. I like Plaidy/Holt/Carr)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (probably the best book I read in 2009)
Grania by Morgan Llywelyn (about Grace O’Malley)

March

The New Year’s Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini (see above)
Prove It: God by Amy Welborn
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union* by Michael Chabon (I usually feel like I don’t “get” Michael Chabon – full disclosure, I won this book at Book Club Girl)
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (another in the “classics I should have read but hadn’t” category)
Orthodox Prayer Life and the Interior Way by Matthew the Poor
Looking For God in Harry Potter by John Granger (sometimes, I felt he tried too hard, but overall good)

April

Facing East by Kh. Frederica Mathewes-Green (one I like to re-read often)
First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew by Kh. Frederica Mathewes-Green (I’ve read this every Lent since I received it, and I find I learn something every year. This year, a dear Facebook friend posted a thought daily from it, and I was greatly edified by the discussion)
A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin (non-fiction)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle (would you believe I’d never finished it before?)
Jo of the Chalet School by Elinor Brent Dwyer
Catherine: The Great Journey by Kristiana Gregory (this is apparently my YA phase of 2009)
Daughters of Spain by Jean Plaidy (about the daughters of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand)
Escape by Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer
The Three Junes by Julia Glass *
Courage to Pray by Metropolitan Anthony Bloom and George Lefebvre
The Red Scarf by Kate Furnivall (not as good as I’d hoped)

May

The Book of Abraham by Marek Halter (excellent historical fiction – the blurb on it said “It out Michener’s Michener” and I agree)
Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriet Scott Chessman (interesting, short book about art and artists)
Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan (one I still think about a lot)
Living God: A Catechism (Volume 2)
Black and White by Dani Shapiro
Birth: A Surprising History of How We are Born by Tina Cassidy (an admitted birth junkie, I don’t think I was surprised)
Nadia by Susan K Downs and Susan May Warren (this is a four part series that unfolds backwards, I should have read them in the opposite order)
Something Rising Light and Swift * by Haven Kimmel (I was underwhelmed, and I like her non-fiction A Girl Named Zippy very much)
Lady MacBeth by Susan Fraser King
Gifts of the Desert by Kyriacos Markides (this and his Mountain of Silence are modern classics)
Miss Garnet’s Angel by Sally Vickers (three storylines: one fabulous, one good, and one totally creepy)
1916: A Novel of the Irish Rebellion by Morgan Llywelyn (this is a fantastic series about Ireland in the 20th century – a good blend of a fictional family and Irish history)

June –

Quilter’s Homecoming by Jennifer Chiaverini (see above)
Plain Jane by Laurin Gardner (not as fabulous as it could have been)
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan (non-fiction. An odd book)
Marina by Susan K Downs and Susan May Warren (see above. This may have been the one that kept talking about the “challis” – oh editors, how we yearn for thee)
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Sister Bernadette’s barking Dog by Kitty Burns (fabulous about diagramming sentences, less fabulous parts about her politics – even though I agree with them – as it is out of place. And, it seems to me I need to loan this to XK, is that right? Non-fiction)
Father Arseny Translated by Vera Bouteneff (non-fiction)
Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry* (I liked it, but the Book Club reaction was mixed)

July –

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (writing this badly should hurt)
Trespassers Will be Baptized by Elizabeth Emerson Hancock (cute memoir about growing up as a Baptist Preacher’s daughter)
The Sisters of Henry VIII by Maria Perry (non-fiction)
Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I learned From Judy Blume (Oh how true that is! A collection of essays)
All Shall be Well, and All Shall Be Well, And All Manner of Things Shall be Well by Tod Wodick (the title indicates it should be about something totally different than it is. Quirky characters that I still think about, but the overall story was not quite good)
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling (I had to get ready for the movie)
From Baptist to Byzantium by Father James Early (Thank you, Father. Non-fiction.
Killing Yourself to Live 85% of a True Story by Chuck Klosterman (kind of a kicky read.Non-fiction)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling (once I’d reread the sixth one…)
Beloved Enemy: The Passions of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Ellen Jones (cheesy)
The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin* (fantastic book, and ironic to read during our heat wave. Non-fiction)

August -

The King’s Daughter by Sandra Worth (about Elizabeth of York)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Desert Pilgrim by Mary Swander (non-fiction)
The Holy Angels by Mother Alexandra (non-fiction)
Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson (what a delightful find – this cozy mystery series was recommended by my Historical Fiction message board, it is the story of a midwife at the turn of the 20th century in New York City. Great historical detail and sweet stories. Be warned, however, this one is decidedly uncozy for a cozy mystery, and you need to read this one to set the stage for the rest of them)
1921 by Morgan Llywelyn (see above)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett * (some one-dimensional characters kind of keep me from making this one bold, but engendered a lot of great Book Club discussion)
Oksana by Susan K Downs and Susan May Warren (by far the best of these, and since it had unfolded backwards, I am sad that I missed later clues)

September –

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by EL Konigsburg (a delightful YA about Eleanor of Aquitaine – the fabulous Helena invited me to her Book Club discussion of this book, thank you again!)
American Wife by Curtis Settenfeld
Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett
Murder on St. Mark’s Place by Victoria Thompson (see above)
Flapper by Joshua Zeitz (non fiction, very interesting)
The Translator by John Crawley (I’m not quite sure if this should be bold or not, it’s on the cusp)
Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon (see above)
Lady’s Hand, Lion’s Heart by Carol Leonard (non-fiction, lots of birth stories, it’s about a midwife)

October

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Murder on Gramercy Park by Victoria Thompson (see above)
The Jesus Prayer by Kh. Frederica Mathewes-Green (non-fiction)
Shelf Discovery by Lizzie Skurnick (short essays about YA books, what a hoot. Full disclosure: I won an ARC copy from The Book Club Girl)
Before Green Gables by Budgie Wilson (a “prequel” to Anne of Green Gables)
The Queen’s Man by Sharon Kay Penman (I like her historical fiction better than her mysteries, but still interesting, and Eleanor of Aquitaine is a minor character)
Old Filth by Jane Gardham*
Murder on Washington Square by Victoria Thompson
The Last Queen by CW Gortner (about Juana the Mad, quite interesting)

November

The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George (dragged a bit at the end)
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (I love her, I got to see her speak, she signed my book, I am still verklempt. This book was a slog)
Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield (sweet and short. I cried. Non-fiction)
Murder on Mulberry Bend by Victoria Thompson (see above)
Emma by Jane Austen
Royal Diaries: Queen Cleopatra by Kristiana Gregory (I read Memoirs of Cleopatra for a challenge - book over 1000 pages - and it didn’t quite make the mark, so I added this in to go over the number)
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger* (I know the reviews are mixed, but it was a good Gothic ghost story)

December –

The Winter Pascha by Father Thomas Hopko
The Stripping of the Altars by Eamon Duffy (non-fiction)
Cat Who Covered the World by Christopher Wren (my Goddaughter gave me this, a travel memoir about owning a cat as a foreign correspondent family. Cute. Non-fiction)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Grand Duchess Elizabeth: New Martyr of the Communist Yoke by Lubov Millar (long out of print, I got a copy at a good price. It is now back in print, and I highly recommend it. Non-fiction)
Murder on Marble Row by Victoria Thompson (see above)
1949 by Morgan Llewellyn (see above)