I love Bookmarks Magazine…and my latest edition (Nov/Dec) arrived yesterday to my great joy. Wow, it is packed full of some wonderful stuff that I just had to share with all of you.
They have listed their best books of 2009 (I am waiting until 2009 is actually over to make my own list). Below is their list in the Literary and Crime genres. I’ve included links to my reviews of those books I’ve read (along with my star rating of them); highlighted in red those books which already reside on my TBR pile; and highlighted in green those I’ve added to my wish list:
Literary
- Deaf Sentence by David Lodge
- A Mercy by Toni Morrison
- Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh (read my review)
- Songs for the Missing by Stewart O’Nan (read my review)
- American Savior by Roland Merullo
- Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips
- The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker (read my review)
- The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee
- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
- The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (read my review)
- The Vagrants by Yiun Li
- Little Bee by Chris Cleave
- The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
- The Family Man by Elinor Lipman
- The Cradle by Patrick Somerville
- The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
- The Missing by Tim Gautreaux
- Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead
- 2666 by Roberto Bolano
- Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan
- Exiles in the Garden by Ward Just
- Far Bright Star by Robert Olmstead
- Let the Great World Spin by Colum MCann
- Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
- The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Crime Fiction
- Cold in Hand by John Harvey
- Eclipse by Richard North Patterson
- Fatal Lies by Frank Tallis
- The Rules of the Game by Leonard Downie Jr.
- The Scarcrow by Michael Connelly
- The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry
- The Last Child by John Hart
- Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard
They also list books in the Science Fiction, Biography, General, History and Science categories.
I enjoyed their very fun section on Guilty Pleasure books…including chick lit, romance, and lad-lit (like chick lit, only for guys). Out of that list, I added several books to my wish list:
- Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
- The Group by Mary McCarthy
- Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
- Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (believe it or not, I’ve never read the book, although I’ve seen the movie dozens of times)
- Possession by A.S. Byatt
- The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
I am not embarrassed to admit that several of their guilty pleasure books have made it to my reading stacks in the past years – and yes, I’ve loved them (I remember greedily reading Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann late at night when I should have been fast asleep).
I actually squealed when I saw they were highlighting Margaret Atwood in this edition. I was disappointed, however, when they only highlighted four of her books. Four! Are you kidding? The article left me wanting more.
More books that Bookmarks added to my wish list this month:
- The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (due for release in November)
- Blame by Michelle Huneven
- The Confessions of Edward Day by Valerie Martin
- A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
- That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
- Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder
Even if you don’t subscribe to this wonderful magazine, you can still enjoy their reviews by visiting their website.
Want to read another blogger’s reaction to this edition? Visit Molly at My Cozy Book Nook who posted about Bookmarks yesterday.
= Good/Very Good
= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
Wow, none of the books listed in the crime and literary fiction lists are on my tbr list.
Interesting list!
A few of the books will make my list – 2666, Little Bee and The Thing Around your Neck, but Sea of Poppies and The Little Stranger won’t.
My favourites: Stone’s Fall, Wilderness, The Glass Room and Heliopolis aren’t on your list (but I guess a few of them aren’t published in the US yet! – look out for them next year!)
I haven’t read all of these but “The Housekeeper and The Professor” is on my short list of the best books I read in 2009.
I’ve only read a couple of these with a few more in my TBR. I thought I had a copy of Sacred Hearts…maybe I left it with my stepmother?
This magazine sounds dangerous; I don’t need any help with increasing either my TBR pile or my wish list!
I’ve never heard of “lad lit” before, only “dick lit”!
Wow, I need to not linger on this list, as I know the damage it might do to my tbr list!
I’m sitting here trying to figure out why Possession is on the ‘Guilty Pleasures’ list, but I’m baffled. Sure, its full title is Possession: A Romance, but the ‘romance’ isn’t really romance as we think about it – it certainly isn’t a chick lit book.
Thanks for reproducing these lists – they are very good. If my TBR pile weren’t so high, I would definitely want to fill in the gaps in my reading with some of those that I missed. (However, I am forced to print this out just in case I find myself at a bookstore….)
I’ve been a longtime fan of Bookmarks. They have impeccable taste, don’t they? I just gobble up each issue the day I get my hands on it!
It would be dangerous for me to get that magazine. I’m glad to see several books that are in my stacks on their list.
Thanks for sharing this list! I have never seen this magazine in a store here, so I am thinking if I ever want to see what all the buzz is about I would have to get a subscription!
This is a great list. I’ve read 6 of the Literary ones and loved them, and I own a few more from the list. I’m not familiar with this publication, but I do subscribe to Book List (which I love). Thanks for sharing the list.
I read Molly’s post yesterday and was like “How come I’ve never heard of this magazine?” Now, reading your post, I want it even more. The thing that surprised me is how few of the “best books of 2009″ I’ve heard of — I thought since I’ve been blogging I was much more “in touch” with what is being published but I seem to be wrong in that thought.
Great minds think alike
I posted about the most recent edition of Bookmarks on Monday…..but your post is much more thorough!
How did you get this edition already? I wonder where mine is? I usually get mine by the 18th of the month and I was thinking I wasn’t due to get one until the month of November! I feel cheated! :=/
Glad to know it is a good issue–if I ever get mine!
*Smiles*
Kim
I really need to subscribe to Bookmarks!
A lot of books listed on the best literary books of 2009 are on my wishlist. The only one I’ve read on the list is Sea of Poppies, and I am definitely not surprised it made the cut!
Awesome list of books!!! I love Bookmarks as well! The book/literary magazines are so much fun!
Serena: Maybe you’ll add some new ones!??!? Some of these look good, I think!!
Jackie: Good to hear some of these are worth the read…I am looking forward to reading The Little Stranger because it has gotten such mixed reviews. I’ve made a note to check out your favorites!!
Lisa: Good to know about The Housekeeper book! Thanks for sharing!
Lenore: Don’t you hate when you can’t find a book you know you have somewhere?!?!
Avisannschild: LOL re: dicklit!!! That’s great!
Brittany: They classified Possession as Romance – but I know what you mean. I would consider it literary given its award winning status!
Rhapsody: *laughs* Glad to
enablehelp!Bookshelf Monstrosity: YES, I love all their editions!!
Kathy: Dangerous yes…but also really fun!
Kailana: You’re welcome…you can subscribe by visiting their website
Diane: I’ve heard Book List mentioned several times…but is that only a European magazine (ie: we can’t get it here in the US)??
Jenners: Don’t feel bad – I hadn’t heard of some of these either! There are just so many great books out there…it is hard to keep on top of them all!
Molly: LOL! When I read your post I was already half way done writing mine and I giggled at how we were so much on the same track. I also saw someone else yesterday post about this edition of Bookmarks, but I forgot to star their post and now I can’t remember who it was!
Kim: I bet it will show up soon. Occasionally mine have been late by a week or so…
Stephanie: It is worth every penny – I love this magazine!
April: Sometimes I wish there were more out there! I used to subscribe to Pages (which I loved) until they went belly up.
I also love Bookmarks! My dear BIL bought me a subscription last year for x-mas. I hope he renews it. I haven’t received this issue yet, it comes a bit late here in Canada.
Of all the Literary titles, I’ve only read Little Bee. I need to pick this issue up tomorrow at work. Love it!!
Teddy: Glad to see you already get this magazine…it is so awesome
Les: I read The Cradle during the read-a-thon and I have to say…it was terrific!