2009 Year-End Round Up

Another year, blah blah blah, here's the round-up.


Favorite Middle-Grade Reads
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee


Favorite YA Reads
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Fire by Kristin Cashore
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Going Bovine by Libba Bray


Favorite Nonfiction
Marching for Freedom by Elizabeth Partridge


Favorite Adult Reads
The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larson
Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis


Favorite Graphic Novels
Stitches by David Small
Adventures in Cartooning by James Sturm et al.


Favorite Book from The LIST
Um. I seem to have only read one this year. Fortunately it was good.
Personal History by Katharine Graham


Best Jackets of the Year (among the books I read, anyway)
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Why We Make Mistakes by Joseph T. Hallinan


Biggest Accomplishment in 2009
Still finding time to read lots of books and post 169 times even after starting business school. (I shoulda reviewed my Very Boring Marketing Textbook, at the very least . . . )


Here's to more good reads in 2010.

THREE: Birthday Haiku

OH MY GOD YOU ARE
INSANE. Happy birthday to
the Boyest of Boys.

Odd and the Frost Giants: Review Haiku

A wint'ry tale of
bravery and redemption
for a wint'ry night.

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. Harper, 2009, 117 pages.

Merry Christmas from the Library of Congress

I don't know where these originally came from -- if you do, please give credit in the comments. I put my favorites in bold.

Merry Christmas!

A selection of Library of Congress (LC) subject headings for the holidays
Shopping malls -- Religious aspects
Muzak (Trademark) -- Psychological aspects
Advertising -- Toys
Advertising -- Confectionery
Christmas show windows
Avarice in children
Temper tantrums in children
Department store Santas -- Protection
Christmas on postage stamps
Camels in art
Jesus Christ -- Nativity -- Juvenile drama
Sheep -- Behavior
Christmas decorations -- Risk assessment
English holly -- Handling -- Accidents
Christmas tree ornaments -- Materials -- Brittleness
Christmas lights -- Defects
Candles in interior decoration -- Safety aspects
Christmas trees -- Fires and fire prevention
Interior decorators -- Wounds and injuries
Reindeer -- Flight
Santa Claus -- Career in aviation
Sleighs -- Handling characteristics
Near misses (Aeronautics)
Chimneys -- Design and construction -- Safety aspects
Chimneys -- Accidents
Sleep disorders in children -- Risk factors
Christmas stockings -- Evaluation
Confectionery -- Materials -- Sampling
Toys -- Materials -- Impact testing
Blister packs -- Materials -- Acoustic properties
Unparliamentary language
Jealousy in children
Impulse control disorders in children
Gift wrapping -- Materials -- War use
Stress (Psychology) -- Religious aspects
Behavior disorders in children
Children in public worship -- Prevention
Brussels sprouts industry -- Seasonal variations
Christmas cookery -- Health aspects
Hanukkah cookery -- Fiction
Abdominal pain in children -- Risk factors
Crying in children
Household animals -- Effects of stress on
Chocolate -- Effects of high temperatures on
Norway spruce -- Effects of drought on
Rug cleaning
Christmas television programmes -- Psychological aspects
Hyperactivity in children
Intergenerational conflict
Violence in children
Headache -- Psychosomatic aspects
Dreidel (Game)
Child behavior checklist
Herod I, King of Judea, 73-4 B.C. -- Philosophy
Alcohol -- Therapeutic use

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have: Review Haiku

Fat kid rules the world --

temporarily, anyway.
Great YA voice.

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff. Egmont USA, 2009, 311 pages.

The Dream Stealer: Review Haiku

Odd length, odd story,
but a charming way to pass
half an hour or so.

The Dream Stealer by Sid Fleischman, illustrated by Peter Sis. Greenwillow, 2009, 96 pages.

Bone: Out from Boneville: Review Haiku

Um, how is it that
I've never read Bone before?
Shame, Emily. SHAME.

Bone #1: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith. Graphix, 2005, 138 pages.

Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally): Review Haiku

Oh, that awful moment
when gender politics
rears its ugly head.

Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee, illustrated by Dan Santat. Scholastic, 2009, 160 pages.

No Girls Allowed: Review Haiku

Tidy summary
of historical cross-dressers
in graphic form.

No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom, and Adventure by Susan Hughes and Willow Dawson. Kids Can, 2008, 80 pages.

Shelf Discovery: Review Haiku

Relive your cringe-worthy
adolescence through classic
YA favorites.

Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading by Lizzie Skurnick. Avon, 2009, 448 pages.

Allie Finkle #4: Review Haiku

The dramarama
of fourth grade, now with extra
theatre-y goodness.

Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls #4: Stage Fright by Meg Cabot. Scholastic, 2009, 224 pages.

Joey Fly, Private Eye #1: Review Haiku

Ace Lacewing for the
older set: a bug-sized bit
of cinema noir.

Joey Fly, Private Eye: Creepy, Crawly Crime (#1) by Aaron Reynolds. Holt, 2009, 96 pages.

Umbrella Summer: Review Haiku

Go-to girl for great
middle grade offers study
in grief. Bring tissues.

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff. Harper, 2009, 240 pages.

The Problem with the Puddles: Review Haiku

Wants to be Horvath,
but isn't. Totally heart
Tricia Tusa, though.

The Problem with the Puddles by Kate Feiffer. S&S, 2009, 208 pages.