2009 Retrospective: Top Books

I was surprised to look at my book log and see that I read 35 books in 2009. Being married to a librarian definitely has its perks, as I can put things on hold and she can pick them up for me at work. In no particular order...

Non-fiction

"Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. My favorite of his major releases, as the studies and insights into what goes into success was actually quite interesting, insightful and also somewhat applicable. For example, his theories about the Asian immigrant work ethic (in short - rice paddies can be worked year-round while traditional crop fields need to be left alone to regain nutrients) kicked off other thoughts about whether this would impact Asian spirituality, and Christianity in particular.

"The Emotionally Healthy Church" by Peter Scazzero. With the drama that our English service went through in 2009, with our longtime English pastor resigning and several members leaving for other churches, my spirit was suffering a little bit. It was very timely to be able to read this book from the lead pastor at New Life Fellowship in Queens to be able to understand how to integrate Christian spirituality with the day-to-day and moment-to-moment human emotions and issues I deal with in work, church, family, and at home.

Fiction

Lots of sci-fi and fantasy this year...

"A Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R.R. Martin. I heard about this epic fantasy series from a column by Doc Jensen at the Entertainment Weekly website about "Lost." It took a while to get into, but now I'm hooked into the characters, grim storylines, action, politics/manipulations, and everything else. Even though each book is 1000+ pages, they're hard to put down because the characters are so well fleshed out. Although I think the reputation of Martin as "the American Tolkien" isn't quite accurate, this series was still my favorite find of the year. Waiting for the 4th book to come from the library now.

"Ender's Shadow" by Orson Scott Card. I also re-read Ender's Game this year, and then the companion book about Ender's subordinate but intellectual equal, Bean. I couldn't quite get into the post-Battle School books like "Speaker for the Dead," however.

"Old Man's War" series by John Scalzi. Very neat sci-fi universe where human consciousness can be transferred into a genetically engineered body created with your own DNA, so human armies are composed of old people about to die who enlist and then are given a new lease on life in prime physical health.

"Watchmen" by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Better than the movie, although I wasn't fond of the whole pirate sub-story.

"Allegiance," "Outbound Flight," and "Survivor's Quest" by Timothy Zahn. I read through the most recent three books written by my favorite Star Wars author, and while they weren't as memorable as some earlier work, he never disappoints.

Re-read:

"The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien. How could I not re-read the classics after visiting Middle-Earth?

"Starship Troopers" by Robert Heinlein. Since it's been so long since I read this, my most recent memory of the story came from the so-bad-it's-awesome movie. Re-reading the book reminded me that it is nothing like the movie.