I read lots and lots of books in 2009. Many of them were very good indeed, but I'm not particularly inclined to make a top ten list--some I liked for one reason, some for another, and it all gets complicated really really quickly. And I don't want to hurt the feelings of the books I don't include.
But I did find it rather easy to look through my blog posts from 2009, to find the books that I will always remember. These four books aren't my favorites of the year (although I liked them all), but they made such extraordinarily strong pictures in the mind that I will never forget them.
The Hotel Under the Sand, by Kage Baker (my post). It went down hill a bit when the guests arrived, but I will never ever forget the sand dunes, and the emergence of the hotel.
Ghost Town, by Richard Jennings (my post). It's not surprising that this one made such clear pictures in my mind--it's about pictures, after all. It is beautiful and haunting (and funny).
The Museum of Mary Child, by Cassandra Golds (my post). The museum itself is burned into my brain, and will be forever. This book also gave me pictures of an orphan girls' choir singing at Christmas in a gothic church, and lots of lovely doll clothes....
The Last Polar Bears, by Harry Horse (my post) The cold, the ice, the wolves, the humor of the little dog, the final journey. Sniff. (Even though I've read the sequels, I still refuse to believe that they made it home).
(I toyed with including Silksinger, by Laini Taylor (my review), in the list, because I have lots and lots of Silksinger pictures in my mind--when I call it up, I get flying carpets and dragonflys and eastern markets and threads untangling and underground caves and ice lace and oceans and... I feel overwhelmed. There are so many pictures that the emotional whommph (visually) becomes diffuse. Which isn't a criticism of the book at all, but more just a comment on the way my mind works. If you can call it "working.")
What books did you read in 2009 that made pictures in your head you'll never forget?
But I did find it rather easy to look through my blog posts from 2009, to find the books that I will always remember. These four books aren't my favorites of the year (although I liked them all), but they made such extraordinarily strong pictures in the mind that I will never forget them.
The Hotel Under the Sand, by Kage Baker (my post). It went down hill a bit when the guests arrived, but I will never ever forget the sand dunes, and the emergence of the hotel.Ghost Town, by Richard Jennings (my post). It's not surprising that this one made such clear pictures in my mind--it's about pictures, after all. It is beautiful and haunting (and funny).
The Museum of Mary Child, by Cassandra Golds (my post). The museum itself is burned into my brain, and will be forever. This book also gave me pictures of an orphan girls' choir singing at Christmas in a gothic church, and lots of lovely doll clothes....The Last Polar Bears, by Harry Horse (my post) The cold, the ice, the wolves, the humor of the little dog, the final journey. Sniff. (Even though I've read the sequels, I still refuse to believe that they made it home).
(I toyed with including Silksinger, by Laini Taylor (my review), in the list, because I have lots and lots of Silksinger pictures in my mind--when I call it up, I get flying carpets and dragonflys and eastern markets and threads untangling and underground caves and ice lace and oceans and... I feel overwhelmed. There are so many pictures that the emotional whommph (visually) becomes diffuse. Which isn't a criticism of the book at all, but more just a comment on the way my mind works. If you can call it "working.")
What books did you read in 2009 that made pictures in your head you'll never forget?
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The Roar by Emma Clayton (not a perfect book but the most enduring mental pictures of any book this year)
ReplyDeleteAll the others also made lasting visual impressions:
The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones by Helen Hmphill
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
The Brixton Brothers: The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
Erec Rex: The Search for Truth by Kaza Kinglsey
Water, Water Everywhere by Phil Bildner and Loren Long
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ReplyDeleteI like the way you look at it! I haven't read any of them, though, so I should! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Carl--that's a great list of books (at least the ones I've read...) Leviathan is high on my Must Read Soon list!
ReplyDeleteThank you, annon. commentor--the lack of a suspicious link suggests you might be genuine, although it is hard to believe (she says modestly, and rather doubtfully).
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Kailana, you should read them! Although The Last Polar Bears is very much a younger children's book, so maybe not that one so much...