Books I read in 2009

Time for my annual posting of what I read last year. This year I'm leaving out the books I've read for work purposes. They're boring and you wouldn't read them anyway. But... you might try some of the ones below. And this year, I've added some review comments. I am just SO nice to you! Whoever you are that is!

Also, I think I've shorted you cause I know I read more books last year than what I list here. I think I just took them upstairs or put them in the garage and forgot about them. Oh well, you'll have to do w/ this list.

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons: This is a "graphic novel". HA! Why don't they just call it what it is? Is a whole comic book series put into one book. What's odd about this is that I got it back almost a year ago, spring 2008, BEFORE all the Watchmen movie adds came out. Anyway, it's okay - good story - not stereotypical hero vs villian story you see in a comic.

Batman: Year One by Miller, Mazzucchellie, Lewis: Another graphic novel. I always liked Batman a lot cause he's just a man. No super hero sci-fi abilities, just 100% human. Heavy on the Jim Gordon content. I liked the printing of the sketches in the back sorta to show you how comics are done.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz: Excellent book - mostly about Oscar but lots about his mother, sister, family, etc. It's basically lots of stories pasted together into one book - not chapters per se, but diff books/stories. I thought the format was diff/refreshing. Oscar is this overweight latino kid who is a basic loser, lonely, and lovestruck.

The Devil to Pay by Harrold Robbins and Junius Podrug: I'd call this a Starbucks type book cause it's basically a soap opera type book about the coffee industry. No, I kid. Actually I liked it but there's few books I don't like so... Anyway, this is about a lady who quickly leaves the US on the run and finds all sorts of trouble in the "coffee mafia" so to speak in Columbia.

Fleeced by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann: Strongly politically sided book. I have to admit, after I started reading what they had to say about credit card companies I had to put this one down. I work at Capital One and trust me, there's no conspiracy by our company to rid the world of all their money. Sheez - these folks are insane on the "they're all out to get us" attitude.

Kill Me by Stephen White: Good story here. It's about this rich guy who finds out he's gonna die anyway so he hires this assassin for hire type company to do him. Yeah, I know. Anyway, the guy sorta changes his mind and is basically on the run from the company he hired (to kill him - ahem). Confused? Well, you won't be cause it's an easy read.

Just After Sunset by Stephen King: Anybody that knows me knows I've read a LOT of King. Love his work. This book is no exception - it's awesome. Short stories: 13 of em. It was great to have this handy for short reads. Nice to start AND finish something in one sitting. Not like my other books which seem to take forever cause I'm such a slow reader. But hey, I LIKE to read slow and think about the story more.

Dark Summer by Iris Johansen: This is definitely a dog lovers book. It's probably also a book I'd put in the romantic novel category even though it's not marketed as such. It's just that the story kept covering relationships and if she was gonna do it w/ him, etc. etc. yawn on a lot of those parts. But I liked the sci-fi bits involving the dogs and their ability to heal humans. Also nice twist on that bit at the end of the book.

The Shotgun Rule by Charlie Huston: Excellent story about a group of teens in a semi-poor burb in CA. The teens get in trouble by warring w/ some other teens - bad boys into bad things. Good morals, loyal friendship, and good parenting win in the end. Some of the parents are wacko's though. Anyway, I'd say this is a good read for a teenager.

The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen: Definitely a good read. Sortof an archaeologist gone bad sorta book. This lady gets all these "presents" from this sicko before he goes after her. Neat story, suspenseful, creative. I liked it a lot.

Current book I'm reading is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. So far so good. I'm ~350 pages in to the 550+ page book. It's another dog lovers book - lots of doggie details about raising dogs, training them to behave, etc. But mostly it's about Edgar and his family. Edgar is mute but not deaf which makes it more interesting.

I have several books on my shelf to read as well. So many books, so little time...