books

My favorite books from 2009 -- no particular number of them in no particular order.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
I read a couple chapters in high school and always meant to go back for more.  When a copy of the book turned up under last year's Christmas tree -- thanks sister -- I prepared to tear through the pages in record time, but quickly found that I couldn't appreciate Dillard at high speed.  It took me weeks to read this book because I kept flipping back to favourite passages, then wondering off on my own thought adventures.  Beautiful.  Leisurely.  Provocative.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
I'm the last person I know to read this book.  It's amazing that no one let the end slip.  Of course the end is all important and I can't say much about the book without giving it away.  Read it.

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marques
Earlier this year my sister and I formed an exclusive book club -- just us -- and this was our first pick.  We met downtown on several Sunday afternoons to talk about it, but found the design district and the capouccinos more compelling.  Thus ended our book club; but we both agree that this is one of the best stories we've ever read.  You have to suspend belief to read Marques because however real his world may seem at first glance, it's fantasy at the core.