First Read

After all the hoopla of the New Year died down I still couldn’t go to sleep without reading a few pages. Aside from the fact that I always have to read (even if it’s one page) before going to sleep, I really wanted to jump into a new mystery.

ruleagainstmurder.jpgMy first read of the year is the fourth book in the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny, A Rule Against Murder. I had recently finished the third book and I normally don’t read series books back-to-back but I happened to find this one at the library and had to pick it up.

This one starts a bit different from the others in the series as the setting isn’t the quaint village of Three Pines so I’m a bit curious how things will turn out. I’ve grown to like some of the characters from the series so will they make an appearance in this book?

Anyway, the book starts out with Inspector Gamache celebrating his anniversary at a luxurious inn not far from Three Pines but I guess murder will soon intrude on his peaceful time.

“He laughed at himself. Seeing things not there, hearing words unspoken. He’d come to the Manoir Bellechasse to turn that off, to relax and not look for the stain on the carpet, the knife in the bush, or the back. To stop noticing the malevolent inflections that rode into polite conversation on the backs of reasonable words. And the feelings flattened and folded and turned into something else, like emotional origami. Made to look pretty, but disguising something not at all attractive.”

If you enjoy mysteries a bit more on the cozy side but with a fantastic main character, seriously, I wish I could work with Gamache he’s that cool, then give this series a try.

I’m off to continue with my book and then this weekend I’m planning to go check out what treats I can find at Half Price Books. Have a great weekend and hope your reading year has started off with some good reads!

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A Year In Review

It’s time to say goodbye to 2009 and I thought I’d do my annual year in review. I just talked about the favorite books of the year and now I get to tell you a bit more of what my reading year was like.

Total books read in 2009: 83

* Books by women: 55
* Books by men: 28
* Fiction: 36
* Mystery: 29
* Classics: 2
* Memoirs: 1
* Non-fiction: 2
* Young Adult: 8
* Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 2
* Graphic Novels: 3
* Short Stories: 8
* Books in translation: 12 (Sweden, Iceland, Finland, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Japan, Austria, Norway)
* Books borrowed from library: 14

I read fewer books than I’ve read in previous years but what I liked a lot about this reading year is that it felt a bit more inclusive, especially in the beginning of the year. I felt like my reading was taking me to lands faraway (real & imagined), I was reading more short stories, more non-fiction, etc. I felt like I was really covering more ground with my reading.

Towards the end of the year with all the craziness of house move, holidays, etc. I relied a lot more on mysteries to get me through the stressful times and so that number got a big bump in the last two months of the year. I don’t mind though as I’m a big fan of mysteries and I read some wonderful ones.

As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t do New Year’s resolutions but I do have a few bookish wishes. For example, I am still hoping to read more classics, more poetry, more short stories and more non-fiction. I want to continue reading books that take me to faraway places. I want to discover more gems from collections such as Persephone Books and NYRB books. But most of all, I want to keep discovering new authors to call favorites.

Here’s wishing you all the best in the new year!
Hugs
Bookgirl

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Favorites of 2009

Oh how I love to look back at what I’ve read throughout the year and revisit with the books that moved me. Whether they made me cry, laugh, think or simply entertain, I read a lot of books I enjoyed. Now, let me highlight the ones that really made my reading year. Here they are:

Fiction
The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig
The Slaves of Solitude
by Patrick Hamilton
My Cousin Rachel
by Daphne DuMaurier
Persuasion
by Jane Austen
Out Stealing Horses
by Per Petterson

YA
Pieces of Me by Charlotte Gingras
Speak
by Laurie Halse Andersen
Crank
by Ellen Hopkins

Mystery
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
A Morbid Taste For Bones
by Ellis Peters
Sharp Objects
by Gillian Flynn
The Blank Wall
by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding

Unfortunately, I didn’t do a very good job of reviewing a lot of the books I read this year so that’s why some of the books shown here don’t have links. Here’s hoping next year I’m a little bit more on top of things.

And, I have to point out that once again books that I read with the Slaves of Golconda ended up on my list of favorites (the Zweig & Hamilton). So if you are looking for an online book group discussion join us. We really read some gems throughout the year.

I’ll be looking forward to reading your best of lists too and tomorrow my end of year stats!

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