2009: The Year of the Re-Read (Finally, My Favorite Books)

I’m late posting my annual ruminations on favorite books, but it’s taken me a while to pull the list together and to think about what I especially loved...and why. It struck me mid-way through these ponderings that, although I read a number of good books in 2009, many of my favorites were re-reads. That seems appropriate during a year in which I read (for the first time!) C.S. Lewis’ An Experiment in Criticism, a book in which Lewis eloquently defends the practice of re-reading.

So I’ve dubbed 2009 "the year of the re-read" – but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some new gems along the way. Let me dive right into my usual categories – though I plan to make a few alterations to categories along the way too. As always, links are to my reviews on Epinions.

Favorite History Book of the Year: Susan Wise Bauer’s History of the Ancient World. Yes, I finished it! And it was truly worth reading, even (or especially) in the slow-mining way I read it, over the course of much longer than one year. Bauer does a great job of chronicling and organizing history over vast amounts of time, giving you the grand sweep but also finding narrative pockets where you can settle down and nestle. I have not yet reviewed it, but still plan to (and will post a link here when I do). And now, of course, I’m all primed for her History of the Medieval World, coming out this spring, though I’m waiting until I can afford a copy ~ these long, heavy books are not the kind I can check out of the library and expect to get through within the allotted time. They’re bedside books for sure, and books I want in our family library. I’m pretty sure we will use these for high school history studies, Lord willing and we’re still homeschooling.

Favorite Children’s Biography of the Year: Lincoln and His Boys, by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by P.J. Lynch. In a year stuffed with good children’s biographies of Lincoln (since it was his 200th birthday) this one really stood out, both for its text and its pictures.

Favorite Biography of the Year: Conundrums for the Long Weekend, by Robert Kuhn McGregor and Ethan Lewis. I’m cheating a bit choosing this, since it’s not straightforward biography. Instead, it’s a great genre-rolling of biography, literary analysis and social history. This was a big Sayers year for me, and I happened to be reading this alongside a more traditional biography of Sayers. Conundrums beat it hands down by providing a memorable portrait of Sayers both in the context of pre-war England and in the context of her wonderful books about Lord Peter Wimsey.

Picture Book Author of the Year: I'm going with Lois Ehlert, because her visual artwork has meant so much to the sweet girl. Here are my reviews of Pie in the Sky and Oodles of Animals.

Best Devotional Book: Aidan, Bede and Cuthbert, by David Adam. Not really a devotional book per se, but I still loved the devotional sections at the end of each chapter. Adam does a great job of presenting historical profiles, but also in providing opportunities to practice lectio divina with Scriptures and prayers that seem to flow out of the profiles.

Best Novel I Read This Year: Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers

Best Novel I Re-Read This Year: Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers. Seriously, nothing beat it, so it wins both categories. And I did read it twice ~ yes, two re-reads of the same novel within about a three month period!

The re-read choice was difficult decision because I re-read several truly great novels this year, including Deathly Hallows, Northanger Abbey, To Kill A Mockingbird, and The Hobbit. But Gaudy Night moved me at all sorts of levels: emotionally, spiritually, aesthetically. I found myself utterly fascinated to see how Sayers grew this kind of book out of the earlier, much fluffier (or so it seems to me) Wimsey books. Her development of the character of Harriet Vane, culminating in this novel, is a writer’s tour de force.

Favorite Book of Literary Analysis/Criticism: The Company They Keep: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and Writers in Community by Diana Pavlac Glyer. This actually may have been my favorite book of the year. Period.

Best “pop culture” book: Hmm. I didn't really read much in pop culture or cultural studies this year. Apparently I was reading more in this area back when I inagurated this list four years ago.

Favorite “new to me” children’s book, mid-grade reader (8-12 year olds): The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

Favorite “new to me” young adult book (12-15 year olds): The Shadow of the Bear by Regina Doman

Best Children’s Book I Re-Read This Year: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This is one of those books I've always loved but had never read aloud until now. Wow. Does it read aloud powerfully. I think one of my favorite reading memories from 2009 will be finishing this book in the car (by the light of a very tiny booklight) on the way to Grandma's for Thanksgiving. A long, tiring day and trip, and yet every single one of us was hanging on the final chapters of this lovely, classic tale, and the physical journey seemed much shorter than usual.

Classic Book I Can’t Believe I’d Never Read Before Now: The Black Cauldron, by Lloyd Alexander. All I knew about this book was that it had been made into a pretty bad Disney movie. What a joy to discover the book itself, and the whole Prydain series.

Favorite “new to me” picture book: My choice: Old Bear by Kevin Henkes; the sweet girl's choice: Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex. Yes, her picture book taste is becoming older and more sophisticated than mine, especially when it comes to humor! I actually thoroughly enjoyed Billy Twitters, but I still have a soft spot in my heart pictue books like Henkes' ~ simple stories, beautifully illustrated, more geared for the preschool crowd. I know I no longer have a preschooler in the house, but I suspect I shall always appreciate books like this.

Book I Wish I Hadn’t Wasted My Time Reading: Thankfully, no book really fits that category this year. Even in reads I found less than stellar, I found some unexpected learnings.

Book I Should Have Finished (and still plan to): The Rise of Evangelicalism by Mark Noll. See post from last week...I'm still wending my way through it!

The Book That Surprised Me The Most: No one book springs especially to mind for this category this year.

The Book That Made Me Laugh the Most: Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale and A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck

Book That Challenged Me the Most: I’ve picked three titles this year, for utterly different reasons. The Company They Keep challenged me to really think about a writer’s work in the context of community, and to look at my own need (as a writer and a human being) for real community. John Granger's Harry Potter’s Bookshelf challenged me to read more deeply no matter what I’m reading (thank you, John!). And Enna Burning, the second and most challenging book of a four book series I enjoyed, made me work hard to tease out the interrelationships of meaning, worldview, and artistry and how one evaluates the latter when tripped up by the former.

Favorite “new to me” mystery writer: There isn’t one this year. I simply didn’t read many mysteries this year, at least not after the first quarter. After gorging at the Sayers banquet table, nothing else (and nothing contemporary) seemed to taste very good. So I’ll add a new category this year:

Favorite “new to me” fantasy writer: Lloyd Alexander. How did I miss him in my childhood? I think the Prydain Chronicles should be part of every child's foray into literary fantasy. I think Alexander's work would fit well as a bridge between Lewis (still the best introduction to literary fantasy for younger children) and Rowling, with Tolkien crowning them all.

Favorite “new to me” Spiritual Resource or Bible for Children: Angels, Angels All Around by Bob Hartman and Early Saints of God by Bob Hartman. Saints was not actually new to me/us, but this was the year the sweet girl completely fell in love with it. We read through it all the way, not once, but twice. She was so inspired by the lives of some of these saints, and I was so inspired by seeing her inspired! In fact, it’s thanks to the story of St. Cuthbert that she’s moved naturally (at no urging or compelling from us) into a regular quiet/alone time reading her Bible for a few minutes each evening.

Favorite Book of Theological Reflections: Probably Aidan, Bede and Cuthbert again by David Adam though I also enjoyed Is Your Lord Large Enough? How C.S. Lewis Expands Our View of God by Peter Schakel

It occurs to me that I should begin adding poetry to this list each year, if nothing else to inspire myself to read more. I actually read a fair amount of poetry online, but it's rare I read (or even "read at") a full-length book of poetry for adults. One of the best parts of the 2009 reading year, for me, as reader and teacher, was the excitement in the kidlitosphere over poetry month last April. The sweet girl and I read and enjoyed so much poetry together, including a number of fine collections we got from the library throughout the year. Two of our very favorites (one contemporary poet, one classic poet) were Ken Nesbitt's My Hippo Has the Hiccups, and Robert Louis Stevenson (in the series "Poetry for Young People").