Top Books of 2009: Julie's List
I can't believe it's almost the end of 2009 and I've been working like a dog. Since it's that time of year again, it's yet again time for our Top 10 Lists. I'm on my 49th book for the year as I'm doing this list, so I guess it could be edited if the books I read between now and 12/31 deserve being on the list.
Perfect on Paper by Maria Murane: Looking for an American "Bridget Jones"? Well let Waverly Bryson fill that role for you. A laugh out loud, feel good book. I loved it! Perfect on Paper review
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran: Talk about learning something new. You always hear the name Nefertiti but how many of us know anything about her? Ms. Moran does a fantastic job incorporating facts and fiction. Above all this is a book about sisters. Nefertiti review
The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly: I have to thank Lisa (again) for turning me on to this brilliant writer. Even though I read them out of order I loved getting to know a young Fiona and Joe. This is a historical romance book at it's finest. You can tell Ms. Donnelly does her homework. The Tea Rose review
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford: I loved this coming of age story set during WWII. I also learned a great deal while reading the book about the US treatment of Japanese citizens that I found appalling. Although for me it was a love story in the end. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet review
The Last Bridge by Teri Coyne: What a haunting story about how we all fight our own demons but how we can fight our way back into the world. This was a deep and dark book but it was superbly written. The Last Bridge review
The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran: Well can you tell I'm a big fan of Ms. Moran's? Well there's a very good reason, her writing is phenomenal. This is another historical fiction book set in Egypt and the main character, Nefertari is intriguing, youthful and wise. She's an excellent character and you cheer for her the whole book. The Heretic Queen review
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella: After a lackluster Remember Me in 2008, Ms. Kinsella hit it out of the park with this book. A ghost story that is clever, witty, and a hoot. I highly recommend this book if you are in the mood for something a bit lighter but still with a strong message. Twenties Girl review
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe: What an outstanding first novel. Sure this book was about Salem witches and if they were really witches, but most of all it was about finding and understanding yourself. Sometimes that comes from family history. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane review
Darling Jim by Christian Moerk: I'm not into Goth books at all but I loved this one. The writing was entrancing and I really wanted to know what happened at the end. It was definitely a book I highly recommend to fans of a good mystery. Darling Jim review
The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark: A renaissance, coming of age story. Ms. Newmark really puts you in renaissance Italy and how it was to live in that time. What a fantastic book about food and alchemy. The Book of Unholy Mischief review
I can't wait to see what will make the list for 2010. I highly recommend any of these books if you have not yet read them.
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Summary: Full of karate, pistol-whipping, and other malevolent mayhem, Catherine Coulter's The Maze could be described as a junior-varsity version of Silence of the Lambs. As in that novel, the heroine in The Maze, Lacey Sherlock, becomes an FBI agent to help unravel the mysteries of her own past. Seven years after her sister was brutally slain by a serial killer (the wonderfully creepy "String Killer"), Lacey is assigned to the FBI's Criminal Apprehension Unit (CAU). The CAU, headed by brawny bureau egghead Dillon Savich, uses computer modeling to catch the baddest guys around--it's like profiling, but with databases. Before you know it, Dillon and Lacey are tangling with the String Killer. Even when the scenarios are not terribly inventive--"Let's use Lacey as bait! What a great idea!"--Coulter makes sure that her bad guys are good and twisted. A touch of bloody-mindedness can cover up a multitude of sins, and on that score, The Maze satisfies. ~amazon.com
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Summary: When a dog wriggles his adorable rear end into a human's life, the human will never be the same. And both Marley, the dog, and Marley & Me, the movie, manage to endear themselves deeply despite a few wee flaws. Readers of the John Grogan bestseller already know the raffish charm of the incorrigible yellow lab puppy, Marley, adopted by Grogan and his wife because she's "never seen anything more adorable in my life." But Grogan's simple tale of love, in all its forms, shines on the big screen, thanks to deft comic turns by Jennifer Aniston--in top form here--and Owen Wilson. Their chemistry is utterly natural and believable as Marley's owners, as is their interaction with the very naughty but ultimately irresistible Marley. As Marley grows up, the film follows his escapades--flunking out, spectacularly, from puppy training at the hands of a wickedly funny Kathleen Turner. And as Marley grows up, John and Jenny build their life together and weather some tough emotional blows. Like My Dog Skip, which it resembles in its affection for its subject, Marley & Me is a tear-jerker, but in the sweetest, most lovely way--because it, and its four-legged star, have wriggled into our hearts. Good boy ~amazon.com
is a high octane, wild ride to catch a serial killer that no one knows about until Jack and his writing partner, Angela Cook happen upon him. What I like about Connelly's books is that he's always up on the latest thing and in this book it's technology. I can understand some of that talk up to a point but then you lose me...aka it goes over my head. Connelly doesn't quite go over my head, he gives me just enough to understand the depth and seriousness of the IT security business and what is at stake. 
I've been wanting to read this for ages, and, in need of some light heartedness, I finally grabbed it off my shelf. It took me a little bit to get into the book as it truly is written as diary entries, but once I did I found myself thoroughly enjoying it.
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Congratulations to Mary,our winner of 
by Harriet Reisen. Please email me(
is the 3rd book of hers that I have read. It does not disappoint. Maybe it's because I'm an older sister but I definitely identified with Pearl more than May. There were moments when I thought May had logical points but overall I found her to be a spoiled, petulant brat, even as an adult. Although, I wonder if I'd feel the same way if she was telling the story. That's why I always think that the voice authors chose to tell their story in can make or break the story. 
