2009 Book List

Confession time (and it's not even Tuesday): I make these damn lists and never read the books on them. Can't use the kids as an excuse anymore like I'm so used to doing. *smile* I mean, there are 162 Red Sox and 82 Boston Celtics regular season games. And the playoffs ... forgetaboutit!

For 2009, I have decided to shop from my bookshelves and read the things I've put off reading for years. These books are collecting dust on my bookshelves. Now in theory, I have a reasonable chance of reading one title a month. Notice there are no poetry books here. That list is really more fluid for me. And while I devour poetry books, I'm playingt catch-up from the 2008 Dodge Poetry Festival.

So there are 13 books with space for two recommended ones. I should do a midyear check-up to revise this list. But if I get through eight titles, I'll consider this year in books a success.

2009 Book List

1. Another Bullsh*t Night in Suck City, Nick Flynn (2008 carryover)
2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou (classic fiction)
3. Brothers and Keepers, John Edgar Wideman (nonfiction)
4. In Cold Blood, Truman Capote (classic fiction)
5. A Personal History, Katherine Graham (autobiography)
6. Graceland, Chris Albani (fiction)
7. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (classic fiction)
8. 100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (classic fiction)
9. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris (nonfiction)
10. Secret Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz (fiction)
11. White Teeth, Zadie Smith (fiction, a re-read for me)
12. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Audre Lorde ("biomythography")
13. Themes for English B, J.D. Scrimgeour (nonfiction)
14. Need suggestion (something fun)
15. Need suggestion

So, what's on your book list for the New Year?

Comments

Collin Kelley said…
You've never read To Kill A Mockingbird? Wowsers...that should be must reading for the world. I'd move that to number one on your list.

I do have a small stack of fiction to read (or finish):

The Stone Gods - Jeanette Winterson
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things - Jon McGregor
Land O' Goshen - Charles McNair
Disquiet - Julia Leigh
Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher
Anonymous said…
May I recommend a title called MODELS DON'T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES? It's out just in time for your birthday!

*smiles*
Deb said…
My favorite book from last year was Doty's Dog Years. But then I love Doty and dogs and CNF. :-)

My confession is from a day or 2 ago, too. http://stoneymoss.org/2008/12/21/solstice-hanukkah-and-passings-to-know-the-dark/

Happy book reading. It's a great list. Secret Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz is on my writers' reading list for February, or soon.

And I loved I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, To Kill a Mockingbird (which I just read myself, recently!), 100 Years of Solitude (on my top 10 of all time), White Teeth ... all fab.
Deb said…
PS. Collin is right to set Mockingbird top of the list.
January said…
I get so excited about buying new books and then they collect dust on my shelves. Unless it's poetry. Then I become a voracious reader.

OK, I hear you and Collin on Mockingbird. I And Dog Years is another one on my shelf. I'll keep it in mind for '09.

Will come by and read your confession next.

Merry Christmas, Deb!
January said…
Ms. Dionne, I'm moving MODELS DON'T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES to the top of my list. And as someone who has read it before publication, it is an excellent read!

I'm so happy for you! Merry Christmas, E!

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