Reading list of 2009

[zombie04]

I meant to get around to this earlier, but I've been one busy bastard these past few days. I started going over the books I've read this year and those I have on my list to finish in January and decided it might be fun to see how varied everyone's book lists are. This year I managed to get through....

The Glorious Cause by Richard Middlekauf - Book in the Oxford history of the U.S. that focuses on the American Revolution

Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson - Oxford book focusing on the Civil War

From Colony to Superpower - Oxford book focusing on the history of U.S. foreign policy

Wizard and Glass by Stephen King - My favorite of the Dark Tower series

Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King - Another good entry in the series, but it takes an odd turn at the end

Song of Susannah by Stephen King - A quick break between 5 and 7 in the series, probably would've made more sense to take the first 200 pages of 7 and combine it with this

The Dark Tower - The conclusion of the series, it really is hit or miss. After reading 4 I understand it was a bit to live up too, but I think King should've taken his time on the last 3 entries rather than releasing them so close together

Applied Economics by Thomas Sowell - I'd recommend avoiding this one unless you're in an econ class and it's assigned

The Memoirs of Richard Nixon - This was the second in the bio category I've read of Nixon and I'm looking to start a 3 volume bio by Stephen Ambrose once I acquire them

Nixon and Kissinger by Richard Dalek - A decent book focusing on their relationship from 1968 to 1974

Einstein by Walter Issacson - As fun a bio of Albert Einstein as one can read unless you have no problem understanding physics and equations

1776 by David McCullough - Anything by this guy is a hell of a good read, looking forward to his Truman bio soon


Those plus quite a few textbooks are what my reading looked like in 2009 and I have quite the list and stack of books for me to get around to starting in the next few days. I think I have a fair mix of history and fiction, but I'm always looking to diversify.

Anyone get any reading done this year?

[axlish]

Stephen King's Cell
Slash's autobiography
Shatner's latest autobiography
I'm towards the end of Malcolm X's autobio

Lined up for 2010 I have...
Watchmen Graphic Novel
Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the making of Appetite for Destruction
Wise Guy (basis for the film Goodfellas)

[capncnut]

Nixon and Kissinger by Richard Dalek
As someone who is about to sit down and watch Doctor Who, I had to chuckle at this guy's surname.

[ProfessorChaos]

read quite a few books last year. hard to think of all of them, but here's a few off the top of my head:

johnny got his gun
the road
the walking dead hardcovers
flags of our fathers
a clockwork orange
just after sunset

probably more, but right now my head isn't quite working at 100% efficiency.

[Debbieangel]

I havent read much this year and I can't think of a single book I read in 2009.
I sometimes read in the fiction section here at HPotD does that count?
I want to get some zombie books on ebay any suggestions?
I am getting relatively caught up on zombie movies now I gotta start reading zombie books.
Any suggestions?

[wayzim]

1001 Mad Pages You Must Read before You Die.
(crammed into 864 actual pages. )
compiled by the usual gang of idiots

Zombie Movies; The Ultimate Guide.

A Reread of Flim-Flam; Psychics, ESP, Unicorns and other Delusions.
By James Randi(The Amazing Randi)


Wayne Z
"Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of this Hat! "
"Not again. "
"Nothing up my sleeve ... "
(visualize a Lion pulled partially up from the Hat and hurriedly pushed back down. )
"No doubt about it. Gotta get me another Hat. "
From Rocky and Bullwinkle

[Danny]

ive not read too many this year which is a shame, i normally read a good 30 books a year at least, lately ive been in more of a movie kinda mood, but i guess thats better than most people i know who havent read any book since textbooks in highschool.
-and for the record i loved the ending to the dark tower, i was sad to see the end but i still loved it, plus there are rumours it aint really the last.

but i read:

the strain, a guilliermo del toro take on dracula thats very cliche', i could practically hear its nu-metal soundtrack but it was fun and left me wanting more in the sequel.
virus: a very confusing but entertaining plot about the end of the world via people bieng mutated via a cross between alien spores and a poltergheist. or something. turns out it was a sequel to another book unreleased in the uk so i was justifiably confused by some of the characters but still enjoyed it.
stephen kings blaze: i cant get into this one, its got me to the 10th odd chapter and i just dont care about whats happening and havent touched it since last january.
stephen kings under the dome: this is difficult. at first i read it and thought "this isnt the stephen king who wrote the stand or christine" but then he is much older so i guess that could have an effect on the guy, but there ARE a lot of ghost writer rumours that are going around, and the first thing i said when reading it was "its like someone else trying to write a stephen king story like stephen king" but ive got into it and its pretty enjoyable. trouble is i get put off every few dozen chapters because something too cliche will show up. i have no doubt who will live and die and the dome idea has been used far too many times before and to better effect. see the graphic novels "girls" for a better example.

theres tons more i read i cant even remember, but on the whole 2009 was probably one of the worst years for exciting new literature compared to the 4 to 5 years that preceded it.

[EvilNed]

I read:

The First Crusade by Thomas Asbridge. A really good, descreptive work on the First Crusade. Almost read like a novel, and it was a thrill to read it!

Stalingrad by Anthony Beever. Actually, haven't quite finished it yet. But a good, factual account of the events leading up to the Battle of Stalingrad, and the actual battle.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Awesome book. I cannot wait for the film! It's not here yet, for those of you wondering. Gets here this month.

Last Light by Alex Scarrow. Again, a real pageturner. An exciting novel about what would happen to the world if the oil would suddenly run out.

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. A real interesting book about pretty much everything in regards to the history of science. From the creation of the universe to what we know now (and what we think we know now) and everything inbetween. Great read!

I also started on three other books which I couldn't be arsed to finish, because they didn't catch me. Gomorroa by Roberto Saviano (yes, I found it boring) and two novels. One with zombies during the English Civil War and the other about Attila the Hun.

[blind2d]

Yep, read books kids, it's good for ya. I myself have some anime to watch...
Eye of the Dragon still rocks, though.