What I Did Read In 2009

Last week, I wrote about the ten best books I didn’t read in 2009. So, what did I read this year?

Not as much as I normally might. As it turns out, having a child takes up a bit of time. (I had no idea. When people kept telling me, while the wife was pregnant, that they grow up so fast, I figured he’d have driven a U-Haul down to college by now.)

Here’s the list and some brief impressions.

1. All The Sad Young Literary Men by Keith Gessen: It wanted to be Joshua Ferris’ Then We Came To The End, but wasn’t.
2. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell: I didn’t agree with his thoughts on the root causes of success, or some of the data he used to make his conclusions, but it did make me think. For that, recommended.
3. Breathe: A Guy’s Guide to Parenting by Mason Brown: I read this in the couple weeks before Jack was born. Buried in a healthy dose of fifth-grade level humor was a bit of useful information. Like what the APGAR test measures when the kid comes out.
4. Alternadad by Neal Pollack: One man’s story of trying to be a “cool” Dad who raises a “cool” son. Funny at the time, I think I’d rather be a good Dad who raises a good person. So what if he ends up being a nerd? Nerds rule.
5. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen: About as charming as a book can be. Despite a saggy ending, this fable about a twelve-year-old cartographer, peppered with his illustrations and footnotes, who travels to the Smithsonian on his own to accept an award was one of my favorite books this year.
6. Dear American Airlines: A Novel by Jonathan Miles: Bennie Ford is stuck in an airport and contemplates how his life went off the rails. (Forgive the mixed travel metaphor.) Sad and complicated, like the protagonist.
7. Geektastic: Stories From The Nerd Herd: Here’s a sample plot from this collection of short stories: a Klingon and a Jedi meet at a comic convention and hook up, then spend the next morning figuring out what that means. As previously mentioned, nerds rule.
8. Huge: A Novel by James Fuerst: (Full disclosure: This was given to me for free by the publisher. Thanks, Interwebs!) Pretty funny story about a foul-mouthed child detective trying to figure out who vandalized his grandmother’s nursing home.
9. In The Woods by Tana French: Atmospheric story about a detective investigating a murder case that might have a tie to his own childhood. Loved it until the ending.
10. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo: Didn’t hold much magic for me. Maybe the most disappointing book I read this year, given that Russo is usually right on for me. #fail
11. The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu: If you don’t think mass censorship can happen in America, read this book. Amazing what was banned for “the best interests of the children” just fifty years ago.
12. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson: I’ll admit a soft spot for YA books. This is a great one, about a girl (Melinda) who goes silent when she returns to school after summer vacation. The reason is awful, but Melinda tells her story in a strong, funny and hope – giving way.
13. The Magicians by Lev Grossman: What if you find out the books you loved most as a child weren’t fiction? That what happens to Quentin, who loved fantasy novels as a boy, when he’s invited to a secret school for magicians. Fun, but a little lifeless compared to Harry and friends.
14. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper: One of the funniest stories about a dysfunctional family I’ve ever read.
15. Juliet: Naked by Nick Hornsby: If you like Nick Hornsby, then you’ll like this novel. That sounds like an insult, but it’s really a compliment.
16. The Bonfire Of The Vanities by Tom Wolfe: This book felt like such a throwback to when books could set the conversational agenda without being about magicians or vampires. A multi-character jumble that was about America at that moment.
17. John Dies At The End by David Wong: This is one weird, funny, surprisingly screwed up book about a pair of ghost hunters who try to save the world. If it isn’t being made into a movie yet, it should be soon.
18. Up In The Air by Walter Kirn: I had a whole post started about whether you should see the movie or read the book. But when the movie started getting nominated for every award imaginable, including the Nobel Peace Prize, I figured the last thing you needed was me weighing in. See the movie – it’s a more satisfying story – but the book is worth a read.

One book deserves special mention: Dr. Suess’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book. It is, far and away, the boy’s favorite. We’ve read it maybe fifty times. I know it by heart and make up my own bits every now and again. “Big G, little g. What begins with g? Greasy grimy gopher guts. G g g.” I don’t know that Jack notices, but his mother does.

If this list tells me anything, it’s that I’m drawn to coming-of-age stories. Those used to be about teenagers. Most of what I read centered around so-called men in their twenties, thirties, even forties. It seems America’s obsession with youth has turned all works of fiction into books about children. I’m not sure what to make of that.

What did you read this year? And what does your list say about you?