Books Read in 2009

Another year has come and gone and my mind is 69 books richer--that's 4 fewer than in 2008. Here is a list of the books I finished in 2009. You can follow the links to their journal entries on BookCrossing; those books without a link were either borrowed, or are in my permanent collection for the moment. My favorite reads this year? The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, and Something Rotten, by Jasper Fforde

January
1. The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield
2. Playing with Boys, by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
3. The Homecoming, by Ray Bradbury
4. Size 12 Is Not Fat, by Meg Cabot
5. A Painted House, by John Grisham
6. 50 Great Short Stories, edited by Milton Crane
7. The Ugly Duckling, by Iris Johansen
8. The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant  

February
9. Weiner Dog Art: A Far Side Collection, by Gary Larson
10. Decaffeinated Corpse, by Cleo Coyle
11. Mirror Mirror: A Novel, by Gregory Maguire
12. How to Make an American Quilt, by Whitney Otto  

March
13. The Enormous Crocodile, by Roald Dahl
14. Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination, by Helen Fielding
15. Curious George Goes Camping, by Margret & H.A. Rey  

April
16. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
17. Full Tilt, by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes
18. Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr
19. The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
20. Gods in Alabama, by Joshilyn Jackson
21. The Ghost, by Robert Harris
22. Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie  

May
23. Godmother, by Carolyn Turgeon
24. Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown
25. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Samuel L. Clemens
26. The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink
27. Eragon, by Christopher Paolini
28. Nickety-Nackety Noo-Noo-Noo, by Joy Cowley
29. Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse
30. Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak (reread)  

June
31. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
32. Size 14 Is Not Fat Either, by Meg Cabot
33. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (audio)
34. The Rocksburg Railroad Murders, by K. C. Constantine
35. Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson
36. They Came to Baghdad, by Agatha Christie
37. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
38. Indigo, by Alice Hoffman

July
39. Coastliners, by Joanne Harris
40. Unnatural Selections, by Gary Larson
41. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson
42. A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
43. Big Boned, by Meg Cabot
44. Speaking with the Angel, edited by Nick Hornby  

August
45. Something Rotten, by Jasper Fforde
46. Q and A, by Vikas Swarup
47. Agnes Nixon's All My Children: Book I: Tara & Philip, by Rosemarie Santini
48. Agnes Nixon's All My Children: Book II: Erica, by Rosemarie Santini
49. Agnes Nixon's All My Children: Book III: The Lovers, by Rosemarie Santini
50. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

September
51. The Devil Wears Prada, by Lauren Weisberger
52. The Lives of Dax, edited by Marco Palmieri
53. Courting Trouble, by Lisa Scottoline (audio)  

October
54. Emma, by Jane Austen
55. A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson
56. Queen Victoria and Her Amusements, read by Geoffrey Palmer (audio)
57. Partners in Crime, by Agatha Christie
58. The Supernaturalist, by Eoin Colfer
59. On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan

November
60. The Widow of the South, by Robert Hicks (audio)
61. The Magician's Nephew, by C. S. Lewis (audio)
62. The War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells
63. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer
64. French Pressed, by Cleo Coyle
65. Mary, by Janis Cooke Newman  

December
66. Me and Mr. Darcy, by Alexandra Potter
67. The Gift of the Magi and Other Short Stories, by O. Henry
68. Red Sky in the Morning, by Margaret Dickinson (audio)
69. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis (audio)

December Stats

Wild Releases: 18
RABCKs: 9
Catches: 2

Year-End Stats:
Wild Releases: 334
RABCKs: 131
Catches: 54
OBCZ Finds: 1
Bookrays: 1
Wild Finds: 1

2009 Catch Rate: 16.17%

Wild Release #837

I have been waiting all month to release this book, and I nearly waited too long! You can find Anita Shreve's "A Wedding In December" on the bench outside the front door of MB Modern Bride on Urania Avenue in Greensburg.

Wild Release #836

Subway's Buffalo Chicken sub was calling to me at lunch today; I think there's something addictive in the hot sauce that I am unable to resist. I also seem unable to resist releasing books all over town, so, as usual, I gave in. I left "Silver Bells," by Fern Michaels, et al., on a ledge inside the set of doors on my way out after devouring my Buffalo Chicken sub.

Wild Releases #833 - #835

Sister No. 6 insisted I accompany her on her post-holiday shopping quest for bargains galore. Our first stop was at Toys R Us in Greensburg, where she was in search of specific half-price wrapping paper, and I was in search of a nice ledge for a book release. I found what I wanted, leaving "Mama, Do You Love Me," by Barbara M. Joosse, on the ledge outside the front doors; sadly, Sister No. 6 did not find what she wanted.

Our next stop was IKEA in Robinson Township, where she was in search of nonspecific household items, and I was in search of a suitable place for a book release. I found what I wanted, leaving "The Fall-Down Artist," by Thomas Lipinski, on a bed display after exiting the marketplace; Sister No. 6 seemed pleased with her purchases.

All this shopping whet our appetites, so we lunched at Mad Mex. It was our first time there; the food was good and plentiful, and I found an appropriate spot for a book release. I left "Fourth Horseman," by Margot Dalton, leaning next to a horse figure that was carved out of a metal railing lining the sidewalk outside.

Wild Release #832

'Tis the season for giving gifts, and what better gift than a book? I left "The Saturday Evening Post Christmas Book," by Starkey Flythe, Jr., on a nice wide ledge outside the front doors of Burton's Total Pet in Greensburg's Eastgate Plaza. Happy Holidays!

Wild Release #831

I took a walk to the bank this afternoon, but that wasn't the only place I made a deposit. I deposited "Murder Most Holy," by Mike Manno, on the stairs of Trinity United Church of Christ in Greensburg.

RABCKs #250 - #252

Back in September, I was the lucky winner of an International Audiobook Sweepstake RABCK hosted by Smurphie. As the lucky winner, it was my responsibility to host the next round. The winner has been drawn and three audiobooks are on their way to (shhhh! don't tell!): "Red Sky in the Morning," by Margaret Dickinson; "Queen Victoria and Her Amusements," read by Geoffrey Palmer; and "The Widow of the South,"; by Robert Hicks. Congratulations and enjoy!

Wild Releases #830

The Westmoreland County Courthouse is the place to attend to one's legal affairs, so it seemed an appropriate place to leave Judith Slawson's book of the same name. I left "Legal Affairs" on one of the planters on the sidewalk facing Main Street.

Wild Releases #828 & #829

Mom and I went to see Niece No. 4's and Niece No. 5's holiday band concert this evening. On the way, I left Anne Tyler's "The Accidental Tourist" on top of a gas pump at Sheetz in Irwin; once we got to South Allegheny High School in Liberty Borough, I left James Ramsey Ullman's "Banner in the Sky" (one of my favorite reads as a child) outside the auditorium doors.

Wild Release #827

There is a lovely little store called The Chocolate Shoppe that opened recently on Pennsylvania Avenue in Greensburg, so I left a housewarming gift for them on the stoop: "Fudge-Laced Felonies," by Cynthia Hickey. Welcome to the neighborhood!

Catch #116!

"Frankenstein" has been found! New member carriemetz reports: "My friend found the book at Twin Lakes Park in Greensburg, PA on October 25th. She hasn't had time to read it or register so she passed it on to me." Thank you, carriemetz and carriemetz's friend, and welcome to BookCrossing!

Wild Release #826

If you're lunching at Arby's in Greensburg today, as I did, keep an eye out for "Masquerade," by Liz Osborne, which I left on a window ledge outside the doors.

Wild Release #825

Sister No. 6 wanted to go to an open house at Shadowwood Gardens near Twin Lakes today and, of course, she wanted company--and a chauffeur. When we arrived, we found out the open house was the previous weekend and most of their stock was at a show at Westmoreland Mall! That didn't stop me from leaving "The Light Years," by Elizabeth Jane Howard, on some paving stones in the parking lot for another misinformed customer to find.

Wild Release #824

Every four years around this time, it's time for the dreaded driver's license photo. Today, I bit the bullet and went during lunch. I didn't have to wait long, and luckily the photos are digital these days so you can look at them immediately and ask them to take another. My hair insisted on doing this flippy thing and for some reason my face fills the entire frame rather than a nice head and shoulders shot, but it's done. It's tucked away in the deep recesses of my wallet and I hopefully won't have to look at it very often. I did take the opportunity to leave Stephanie Bond's "In Deep Voodoo" in the literature rack just inside the door of the driver license center before I left, so at least one good thing came of the day! ;)

Catch #115!

"Here on Earth" has been caught rather quickly here on Earth! "So far great fun. And really like the idea of sharing," says new member UcBunny. Thanks for the journal entry and welcome to BookCrossing!

Wild Release #823

I had a dinner meeting this evening at The Boulevard in Greensburg, so I left Ken Follett's "Whiteout" on a bench in the entrance in anticipation of tomorrow's snowstorm!

RABCKs #244 - #249

Mom's book club is meeting this morning for their holiday get-together. The members were supposed to bring a book or two with them to swap, and since I have a lot of books these days, I offered to pick some out for Mom to take with her. The books I selected are: "The Devil in the White City," by Erik Larson; "The Birth House," by Ami McKay; "The Falls," by Karen Harper; "Paper-Thin Alibi," by Mary Ellen Hughes; "The Perfectly True Tales of a Perfect Size 12," by Robin Gold; and "The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary & Sewing Circle," by Lois Battle. I hope they are enjoyed!

Wild Release #822

The skinny fries at Steak 'n Shake were calling to me today, so I followed their siren song at lunchtime. On my way in, I left "Here on Earth," by Alice Hoffman, on top of the garbage can outside the entrance doors. It (and a plateful of skinny fries) was gone when I left.

Wild Release #821

SNOW!!! It's the first snowfall of the season so I left "Snow-Walker," by Catherine Fisher, on the information board in the parking lot of the upper lake of Twin Lakes in Greensburg. Perhaps one of Twin Lakes' "snow-walkers" will find it and take it home with them.

Wild Release #820

Birthday and Christmas shopping are usually the only way to get me to step foot in a mall. 'Tis the season for Christmas shopping, so I trudged off to Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg. On my way in to Sears, I left "T-backs, T-shirts, Coat, and Suit," by E.L. Konigsburg, on the store directory near the juniors' department on the first floor.