Favorite Books of 2009

5. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Stephen King

"The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted."

A nine-year-old girl out for a hike with her mother and older brother falls behind, then decides to veer off the trail to catch up with them more quickly; she ends up lost and alone in the wilderness, and must rely on her own wits to survive. It's bad enough that she's running out of food and water, but now there seems to be something following her... Both a great character study (although her internal monologue is a teensy bit precocious) and some gripping psychological horror, one of my favorite King reads from recent years.

4. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro

"It has been my privilege to see the best of England over the years, sir, within these very walls."

I read this book only after I had watched movie, which I also heartily recommend; both stand on their own, however. Stevens is a butler. This is not just his profession, but instead the word that encompasses all that he is and, more importantly, all that he wishes to be for most of his 30 year career. Stevens finds himself ruminating on that career and whether it was as rewarding as he had thought, especially considering the awkward and indefinable relationship with the housekeeper, Miss Kenton. Of all the books I read this year, without a doubt the most lovely language of them all.

3. Hotel Transylvania, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

"Saint-Germain was there...a quite mysterious gentleman who arrived in Paris only last May...Rameau congratulated him on his work and commented that he had once met a musical man like quite like him in appearance, but that had been a long time ago, in 1701 or 1702, and the man he had seen was then about fifty, whereas this man is no more than forty-five."

The first in a series of books about the vampire Saint-Germain. It seems that vampire/mortal women romances are the hot thing recently, but there's a lot else to recommend about these books. First of all, Yarbro does some serious research, and it shows. Her female characters are smart, assertive and independent. And Saint-Germain himself is a fascinating character, a vampire who doesn't kill to survive and is noble in his own way, but doesn't whine and emo all the time. Plus, you can't go wrong with a book about a vampire battling an evil satanic cult.

2. Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer

"Perfect obedience produces perfect faith."

This book does three things. It provides a history of the foundation of the Mormon church, how the outlawing of polygamy led to the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), and the story of two FLDS brothers who murdered their sister-in-law and her infant child because they believed God had commanded them to. I picked this book up because I was interested in learning more about polygamy because of Big Love, and boy, did I ever. This was an enthralling book from start to finish.

1. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke

"Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians."

But these magicians were theoretical magicians, who merely studied the old spells; no one had performed practical magic in centuries. Not, that is, until Mr Norrell made his presence known: stuffy, insecure, pedantic, nonetheless he was able to conjure real magic. He takes Jonathan Strange as his student, and the two restore England to a world of fairy roads and realms, use magic in the war against Napoleon's France, and find themselves on the trail of the last great magician, John Uskglass, the legendary Raven King. This is a wonderful book - engrossing, detailed, humorous, lyrical. Laura and I own three copies between us, and we both lament the fact that there isn't more book out there for us to read.