Books of the Year 2009

So, all through last year, I kept a running tally of the books I had been reading through the year. I thought it would be interesting to look back at the books I have read in that time. So, here's the compiled list:

1. "Excelsior: Forged in Fire", by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels
   
2. "Moonraker", by Ian Fleming
   
3. "How to Fossilise Your Hampster", by Mick O'Hare
   
4. "Pathfinder: Into the Darklands" by James Jacobs and Greg A. Vaughan
   
5. "Pathfinder: A Memory of Darkness" by J.D. Wiker
   
6. "Twenty Years After", by Alexandre Dumas
   
7. "Diamonds Are Forever" by Ian Fleming
   
8. "The Orc King" by R.A. Salvatore
   
9. "Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition Core Rulebook" by Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins and JD Wiker
   
10. "The Lords of the North" by Bernard Cornwell
    
11. "Starships of the Galaxy" by Gary Astleford, Owen K.C. Stephens and Rodney Thompson
    
12. "Pathfinder: Descent into Midnight" by Brian Cortijo
    
13. "Emperor: The Death of Kings", by Conn Iggulden
    
14. "Watership Down", by Richard Adams
    
15. "From Russia With Love", by Ian Fleming
    
16. "Pathfinder: Howl of the Carrion King", by Erik Mona
    
17. "Star Wars: Invincible" by Troy Denning
    
18. "Pathfinder: House of the Beast" by Tim Hitchcock
    
19. "Sword Song", by Bernard Cornwell
    
20. "Doctor No", by Ian Fleming
    
21. "Pathfinder: The Jackal's Price", by Darrin Drader
    
22. "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
    
23. "Pathfinder: Dragons Revisited", by Mike McArtor
    
24. "Pathfinder: Guide to Absalom", by Owen K. C. Stephens
    
25. "Pathfinder: Legacy of Fire Players' Guide", from Paizo Publishing
    
26. "Emperor: the Field of Swords", by Conn Iggulden
    
27. "Pathfinder: The Great Beyond", by Todd Stewart
    
28. "A Sword From Red Ice", by J.V. Jones
    
29. "Goldfinger", by Ian Fleming
    
30. "Pathfinder: Dungeon Denizens Revisited", by Paizo Publishing
    
31. "Shadows Linger", by Glen Cook
    
32. "For Your Eyes Only", by Ian Fleming
    
33. "Pathfinder: The End of Eternity", by Jason Nelson
    
34. "Pathfinder: Bonus Bestiary", by Paizo Publishing
    
35. "Krondor: the Assassins", by Raymond Feist
    
36. "Pathfinder: The Impossible Eye", by Greg A. Vaughan
    
37. "The Pirate King", by R.A. Salvatore
    
38. "Emperor: The Gods of War", by Conn Iggulden
    
39. "The Book Thief", by Markus Zusak
    
40. "Thunderball", by Ian Fleming
    
41. "Nineteen Eighty-Four", by George Orwell
    
42. "The Spy Who Loved Me", by Ian Fleming
    
43. "Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay", by Green Ronin Publishing
    
44. "Pathfinder: The Final Wish", by Rob McCreary
    
45. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", by Ian Fleming
    
46. "The Princess Bride", by William Goldman
    
47. "You Only Live Twice", by Ian Fleming
    
48. "Career Compendium" (for "Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay"), by Fantasy Flight Games
    
49. "Azincourt", by Bernard Cornwell
    
50. "The Man with the Golden Gun", by Ian Fleming
    
51. "Octopussy and the Living Daylights", by Ian Fleming
    
52. "Devil May Care", by Sebastian Faulks (writing as Ian Fleming)
    
53. "Pathfinder: The Bastards of Erebus", by Sean K. Reynolds
    
54. "Pathfinder: The Sixfold Trial", by Richard Pett
    
55. "Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook", by Paizo Publishing
    
56. "Lankhmar", by Fritz Leiber
    

As can be seen, this gives a grand total of 56 books for the year, of which 22 were books for various roleplaying games, be they the core rulebooks, supplements, or adventure modules. The most read author was Ian Fleming, with 12 books (13 if you count "Devil May Care", but I don't). Other favourite authors were Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden, neither of which is a surprise.

The best novel of the year by quite some distance was "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. Honourable mentions must go to "Nineteen Eighty-four" and "Watership Down", both of which would have been the winners by a long way in any 'normal' year. The most disappointing book of the year was "A Sword From Red Ice", which was a rather poor follow-up to two other volumes, both of which had been excellent.

In 2010, my provisional goal is to read 60 books, or roughly five a month, an even more punishing rate than last year. I'll be applying the same rules, with one notable addendum when reading a compiled version of novels, if I have already read some of the component parts, I don't need to reread them to include the whole in the list. This will be relevant when I read "The White Queen", which is now only available with two other novels I have already read, and perhaps also with "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".

Moreover, in 2010, I also intend to read 20 novels from my master list of "books to read". This list is made up of a combination of two "100 best" lists, the recommended reading list from the 1st Edition DMG, and the recommended reading list from Pathfinder. There are some 250 items on the combined list, although I've already read about 50, and some few are no longer available (and were trash anyway).

And so, onward!