Topping Ann Donald’s list of best fiction reads for 2009, as “fiction book of the year”, is Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize winning Wolf Hall. Congratulations to the four local authors on the list, among them BOOK SA bloggers Margie Orford and Kevin Bloom.
But I want to write about the books that I loved reading in 2009. To do this I’ve turned to the back of my diary where I’ve noted all the books I’ve read this year. I’ve started similar lists before, in odd notebooks that I always seem to lose. The value of the diary is that it’s also a record of activities that may have had a bearing on the books read, or vice versa. (Unlike Nick Hornby, who I wrote about last week, I haven’t listed the books I’ve bought but haven’t read – I’ll try that next year.)Looking through the list, specific books demarcate the intensity of certain times of the year, followed by moments of pure escapism and relaxation and interspersed with periods of reflection and growth. I’ve noted books I need to read again, knowing there is much I still want from them, and others that I want to recommend to friends, colleagues and you.
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