read 35 books in 2009

And they are-

• Possible Side Effects
• A Wolf at the Table
• Running with Scissors
• Sellevision
• Dry
• Magical Thinking
• The Almost Moon
• A Long Way Gone
• Bones to Ashes
• Holidays on Ice
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Change of Heart
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• Barrel Fever
• My Lobotomy
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• Me Talk Pretty One Day
• A Piece of Cake
• Armageddon in Retrospect
• Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
• The Host
• Still Woman Enough
• Driving With Dead People
• A Lion Among Men
• When You Are Engulfed in Flames

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd

Eating The Cheshire Cat by Helen Ellis

Interesting. Not at all what I expected after reading the back synopsis. I kind of hated all of the characters but I really liked the ending. It was unusual and kind of had a 70’s horror film feel to it.

A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs

The writing style was a lot different than his other books but I liked it a lot. It kind of gave me a certain empty, anxious feeling that I disliked. But I’m glad I read it. It makes Augusten Burroughs that much more incredible for not becoming crazy.

Blue Angel by Francine Prose

A little disappointed by the ending. I thought there would be this huge crescendo of shit that goes down and someone would end up schizophrenic or something. But no. Great book otherwise though. Can’t say I’ve ever not liked a story about a teacher/student relationship. I couldn’t put it down for two straight days. There was a certain darkness to the writing that made it feel almost like an erotic mystery if there ever was such a thing.

Trading Up by Candace Bushnell

I found this book at a used bookstore and though “Well I’m a fan of Sex and the City” and I bought it. It was fine. It didn’t have really any impact on my life. I did really like that it wasn’t so romanticized the way a lot of books are where the main character goes through a rough time and somehow comes out changed in the end. How often does that REALLY happen in real life? Not a lot. The main character of Trading Up was basically shallow and only cared about money and herself and I think I would have been a little annoyed had she suddenly become a changed woman in the end. It would have been too unrealistic.

Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress by Susan Jane Gilman

Another Susan Jane Gilman book. This was definitely one of the less depressing memoirs I’ve read lately. Her writing is hilarious. I only wish I’d had a friend just like her growing up so that maybe I would be a little less socially awkward and a little more outgoing. Not that I don’t love memoirs full of violent alcoholics or sexual abuse or suicidal parents but every once and a while I like to read a memoir about a family that had, at least, it’s moments of happiness.

Kiss My Tiara by Susan Jane Gilman

Hilarious! Lately I’ve been thinking about how much I hate being a woman and how I wish I was a man. But reading this put everything in a whole new perspective. It made me feel empowered! I’ve been trying to get all my friends to read it but when they see the big picture of lips on the cover they just laugh at me.