Over the past few days I’ve been trying to remember the books that I’ve read from cover to cover in 2009. Lately it seems like I have a short attention span with reading and my list of unfinished books is much longer than my list of finished books. By listing the books I’ve completed I’ve managed to make myself feel a little better. The year has come and gone and I still haven’t organized my closet or painted my living room but, by God, I did finish a few books. Imagine how smug I’d feel if I could tally all the blog posts, opinion pieces and news articles I’ve read on the internet.
2009 books
*The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
—— I read this book, with its intense description of hunger, during the holidays, when I was surrounded by food.
*The Help – Kathryn Stockett
*The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows
*Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout
——–I understand why this won the Pulitzer Prize.
*Amy and Isabelle – Elizabeth Strout
*Raising Ourselves – Velma Wallis
*The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – Sherman Alexie
———Of all the books on this list I think this one made the biggest impact.
*First Indian on the Moon – Sherman Alexie
*Fancy Dancing – Sherman Alexie
——- I actually sent Sherman Alexie fan mail after reading this one. I’d never done that.
*Eva Underground – Dandi Daley Mackall
*The Gathering – Anne Enright
*The Well and the Mine – Gin Phillips
*Saddle Up Your Own White Horse – Saundra Pelletier
*Rock, Water, Wild: An Alaskan Life – Nancy Lord
——– I appreciated most of the essays in this book, but the last one about her aged father is beautiful and had me crying over my breakfast one morning. (I took a memoir writing class from the author last winter.)
*The Complete Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi
——– A graphic novel about a girl growing up during the Iranian Revolution. Iranians are real people.
*The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards – Robert Boswell
*Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone – Mark Zwonitzer and Charles Hirshberg
——-I was inspired to read this one after taking a Carter Family Singing class at Alaska Traditional Music Camp last summer.
*The Worst Hard Time – Timothy Egan
And the next two are ones I reread in 2009.
*The Shipping News – Annie Proulx
——–My favorite novel.
*Into the Wild – Jon Krakauer
———I had to reread this one after watching the movie; to compare and contrast.
There may be more, but that’s what I can remember. Happy New Year!
Lofty Minded in Alaska 