Top 5 of 2009

I love New Years. I think its because I love to see all the "Top" lists that everyone seems to make. Now is my chance to make my Top 5 books of 2009. All of these books were published in 2009. First I have to say 2009 was a GREAT year for books. I read over 25 books that were published in 09 and I could probably recommend almost all of them. So getting the list to 5 was tough. Here we go

5. The Angels Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
After reading "The Shadow of the Wind" I fell in love with this author and his writing. Then I heard there was a prequel in the works and I was over the moon. When The Angels Game came out I was so excited and I was not disappointed.
In Barcelona in the 20's a Young David Martin make his living as a writer of pulp fiction novels under a pseudonym. He stays in an abandoned mansion in the heart of the city hiding from his troubled childhood. In this mansion David finds a locked room full of pictures and letters that lead him to believe that the previous owner may have died from unnatural causes. David receives a letter from a strange reclusive french editor offering him a deal that is too good to be true.
Zafon ties all this together while giving us a look at Barcelona in the 1920's.

4. Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Just this year I was introduced to Atwood and I cant get enough of her dystopic fiction. Her novel Oryx and Crake tells the story of a virus that destroys a large part of the worlds population. Year of the Flood tells this same story but from other characters points of view. Overall just a great novel.


3. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
The much hyped and anticipated sequel to last years breakout hit "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo". This book picks up soon after the last and takes everything that was great about the first and adds an incredible amount of action and drama. There is not much else I can say about this book just read it!


2. The Unit by Ninni Holmquist
The second dystopic novel on my list. The Unit takes place in a future where men and women who have no children and unimportant jobs are taken to the unit where they are taken care of and every need is met a perfect life, the one drawback is that they are required to give donations. These donations come in the form of medical experiments, tissue donations and even limb donations until they give the final donation. Dorrit Weger is admitted into the unit and everything is grand. Until she falls in love.
I am not sure what it was about this year and my reading of dystopic fiction but this is one of the best.


1. Columbine by Dave Cullen
No one is more surprised by this pick than me. I don't read a lot of non-fiction but this book hit a cord with me. The book tells the complete and untold story of the Columbine school shooting. It is the best true crime have ever read. I thought I knew allot of what happened it turns out most of what I knew was false and I really knew nothing. I compare this book to "In Cold Blood" by Capote. This book has stayed with me for a long time and I urge you to read it.