Thursday, December 24, 2009

Once Again!


Twice as many books this year, so a handy summary is in order!

Worst Fiction of 2009:

10.
Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer
9. The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson and Martin Dugard
8. The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell
7. Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem
6. Nobody Move by Denis Johnson
5. Under the Dome by Stephen King
4. Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
3. The Collected Works of P. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
2. How to Sell by Clancy Martin
1. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

Worst Nonfiction of 2009:

10.
The American Civil War by John Keegan
9. Imperial Cruise by James Bradley
8. The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose
7. Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
6. Byron in Love by Edna O'Brien
5. The Wauchula Woods Accord by Charles Siebert
4. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
3. The Book of Genesis, illustrated by R. Crumb
2. Signature in the Cell by Stephen Meyer
1. Digital Barbarism by Mark Helprin, The Tyranny of Email by John Freeman

The Best Fiction of 2009:

10.
The Song is You by Arthur Phillips
9. A Day and a Night and a Day by Glen Duncan
8. Roanoke by Margaret Lawrence
7. American Rust by Philipp Meyer
6. Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead
5. How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely
4. The City and the City by China Mieville
3. Lowboy by John Wray
2. Girl Mary by Petru Popescu
1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, The Childrens Book by A.S. Byatt

The Best Nonfiction of 2009:

10.
Endless Forms by Diana Donald and Jane Munro
9. The Annotated Origin by James Costa
8. Empire of Liberty by Gordon Wood
7. The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika, edited by Robert Strassler, translated by John Marincola
6. Meriwether Lewis by Thomas Danisi and John Jackson
5. Worlds Made By Words by Anthony Grafton
4. Three Victories and a Defeat by Brendan Simms
3. National Geographic Image Collection
2. Marcus Aurelius by Frank McLynn
1. Following the Water by David Carroll, The Greeks and Greek Love by James Davidson

Up next, by popular demand: a few more lists to round out the year!

4 comments:

Megmo Eskimo said...

Just to clear up Greg's query, I may be vegan but I did NOT post this anonymous comment!

F-Stop said...

Here's how I know you are full of shit. You actually listed the James Patterson book about King Tut as the 9th worst non-fiction book that you read this year. I can't believe that you found 8 non-fiction books worse than that.

And where is Pygmy on your worst fiction book list. That might just be the worst book that I've read in my entire life!

F-Stop said...

Did I just say that you are full of shit? I'll pay dearly for that one.

F-Stop said...

Whoops, I see that you listed it as Fiction. As difficult as it is to see it as a non-fiction book, I think you must since it was marketed that way.

But even if you insist on listing it in the fiction category, surely it should rank higher there as well.