Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Favorite Books of 2009 - Two A Day +1

Day 3 of Favorite Books Read in 2009. Two a day. So this can be a 4 day thing instead of 5. Today there are three list.

14 Books Made Me Laugh the Most In 2009
Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford
What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook
Project Sweet Life by Brent Hartinger
Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low
NERDS: by Michael Buckley
Ghost Town by Richard W. Jennings
The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity (The Brixton Brothers) by Mac Barnett
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney
Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass
Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck by Dale E. Basye
Scat by Carl Hiaasen
Perfect Shot by Debbie Rigaud

10 Favorite Reads W/GLBT Characters
Magic And Misery by Peter Marino
Say the Word by Jeannine Garsee
The Necessary Hunger by Nina Revoyr
M+O 4EVR by Tonya Hegamin
Ash by Malinda Lo
Jacqueline Woodson's short story in No Such Thing as the Real World
In Mike We Trust by P. E. Ryan
Dramarama by E. Lockhart
Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz
The Ring by Bobbie Pyron

15 Favorite Sports Books
The Prince of Fenway Park by Julianna Baggott
You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! by Jonah Winter
Knights of the Hill Country by Tim Tharp
The Brooklyn Nine by Alan M. Gratz
The Necessary Hunger by Nina Revoyr
Boost by Kathy Mackel
Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta
Twenty Miles by Cara Hedley
The Ring by Bobbie Pyron
Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park
The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane
Soccer Chick Rules by Dawn FitzGerald
Change-up: Baseball Poems by Gene Fehler
Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse by David A. Kelly
The Baseball Talmud: by Howard Megdal

I wanted all my list to be top ten, exceding that amount in funniest reads and sports books could not be help. There are no titles on either list I would want to remove. Each story left a lasting impression.

One YA book that I never got around to reading is Rage: A Love Story by Julie Anne Peters. (Check out Becker's review of Rage @ Dwelling in Possibility) I've only heard great things about it. If I had read Rage, it probably would have ended up on my favorite GLBT list.

Though maybe its for the best I didn't read it. Now there's room for Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz an amazing novel that was published in 2006 and I only just discovered. Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood has a little of everything including two lifelong friends that must come to terms with the sexual preference of a third friend. Its a novel that should not be missed.

7 comments:

Becker said...

Thanks for the shout out! I'll definitely be checking out some of the humor & sports books!

Becker said...

I first read your list thinking "yes! I need some humor!". But thinking about it, I kept going back to The Necessary Hunger, which I read when it first came out (over 10 years ago??). I know I have a copy here somewhere...think it's time for a re-read!

Unknown said...

I loved The Girl Who Threw Butterflies and wish it was getting more press. (maybe I should review it?) I think it has a shot for a Newbery honor.

Doret said...

Becker - I know I am a tad late with Necessary Hunger but it was too goo not to put on both list.

And I know you love the Diary Queen series. You should really read Boost. The MC reminds me a lot of D.J.

KB- If you have time, you should review The Girl Who Threw Butterflies. Its a great book.

Jeannine said...

If you liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you would enjoy Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell. Great list!

Lauren said...

Interesting lists! I'm especially pleased to find the one with LGBT characters - I'm always on the lookout for books that aren't populated exclusively with straight characters. Thanks.

Debbie Rigaud said...

How awesome that PERFECT SHOT made your list of top 14 funny books of '09!! Thank you for including it.