Best Books of 2009

As most of you know, I have a serious book problem habit. In 2009 I read something like 115 books (which isn't as many as some people, but still). Any time I that, it's inevitable that someone will ask me my favorites from those. It's a logical question, but it's kinda hard to answer - which is probably the librarian in me.

I tend to like just about everything that I read. It's very rare that I'll find a book that I just loathe (it's happened... just not often). I like to find their redeeming qualities :). But I always can think of favorites, so I've decided to make a top ten list. It's a little different because I split it into five series and five stand alones. Hopefully this will all make sense for y'all... so here it is:
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Top 5 Series

These are the latest book in a series that I read in 2009 - generally it's a love of the series that gets it listed here.

Splendor: a Luxe Novel

by Anna Godbersen
This is a historical fiction series that is set in the late 1800s in New York City. You can kinda think historical Gossip Girl for this series - it's very much about propriety, status, class, and those sorts of things. Very cool story. Not to mention how pretty the covers are! I just love them.

Splendor was the last book in this series (of four)... so now that it's a complete series, you should pick it up! The rest are: 1. Luxe 2. Rumors 3. Envy 4. Splendor

The Van Alen Legacy: a Blue Bloods Novel

by Melissa de la Cruz

This is just one of the many vampire series' that I read whenever a new one comes out. I think one of the things that I love in this series is that it's set in New York City too. This one really uses the city as almost a character - it's wonderful. And it's one of the best vampire series out there. Promise!

The rest of the series: 1. Blue Bloods 2. Masquerade 3. Revelations 4. Van Alen Legacy

Blood Promise: A Vampire Academy Novel

by Richelle Mead

This series is fantastic - again one of the vampire series that have been around lately. It has a bit more of the romance aspect in it, but I think the twist on the whole vampire stuff is very interesting. It's more about the guardians of the vampires than the vampires themselves and all the drama they go through. I love it - it's one of my favorite series ever. Check it out!

The rest of the books: 1. Vampire Academy 2. Frostbite 3. Shadow Kiss 4. Blood Promise

Death By Bikini by Linda Gerber

I added pictures of all the books in this series (so far) because I had them pretty accessible :). Death by Latte and Death by Denim are the second and third books in the series. They are one of the few mystery series written for teens - and it's written wonderfully. It's a very fun story that will keep you guessing till the end. I read them all in 2009, so that's why they're all here :).

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

If you haven't heard of Hunger Games, you need to go to your local library immediately and check it out. It's fantastic! It's one of those books that everyone needs to read in their lives. It's a science fiction series (There are the two books so far), but it's almost so realistic that it's spooky. Realistic as in... it could happen, maybe. I don't think a sentance of explanation could cover it, so I'll leave it to you to look up. It's great though - and even adults will love it. I promise!

Other series to look out for:

House of Night by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong
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Top 5 Stand-Alones

These are all books that aren't part of a series, but they're ones that I loved this year. I'd recommend any one of these!

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

I don't know if anyone has read the other series by Libba Bray (Great and Terrible Beauty and all...), but this is completely different. This one is about a boy who has mad cow disease and his adventures while looking for the guy with the cure. You never know whether the story is real or taking place in his head, so it's very interesting - a little trippy. Actually, a lot trippy. It's well written and I'd recommend it.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

I will read pretty much anything by Scott Westerfeld - after Uglies, I'm pretty much a fangirl. I could be wrong about this not being a part of a series... but I'm going to go with it for now. This book fits pretty firmly in the genre of steampunk. Or maybe... a metal science fiction story. All very technical and a little hard to follow. It's high adventure, so you end up devouring each page. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves technical things - or just loves Westerfeld as much as I do.

Tyrell by Coe Booth

This one is completely different from stuff I'm used to reading. It's very much urban fiction - takes place in NYC, but it's a really hard story (not as hard as Push, if any of you read that one). It's one of those books where you feel sort of hopeless through it, but it's really well written and you really end up caring about the characters. If you're looking to get into any urban fiction, I'd definitely recommend this one.

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

This book is hilarious - through and through. I seriously laughed my way through this one. It's a bit of a love story, but it's more about this girl and how she deals with things. Basically, the girl broke up with her boyfriend and the guy ended up writing a song about it - and became famous because of it. I'd definitely give this one to anyone wanting something light and chick lit-ish. It's great!

Same Difference by Sibhan Vivian

I don't think this book is going to make any official top ten lists or anything. It's almost pretty basic, but there was something about this story that I really loved. Perhaps it was just written well, but I really cared about the characters after the story was over. It's about a girl who goes to art camp over a summer and realizes shes a totally different person than she thought. It's really all self discovery and friendship. Try this one out!

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Well, those are my top ten books I read this year. Even if you didn't want to know.

Also, I'm a book blogger... as in, I blog about every book I read - giving it reviews and such online. It's mostly for my information, but it's kinda fun to look back at those blogs and see what I'll I've read. And I've got the whole list of books that I read this year, if you want to see.

Here is that url: The Ninja Librarian

Have fun!