2009: a very good year. I attempted over 40 books this year, and completed nearly three-quarters of them. I liked many of them, but here are the ones I loved -- the ones I'd read again. Their number ended up being 10 out of pure coincidence. They are in roughly the order I read them.
10 BEST BOOKS OF 2009
How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read (Pierre Bayard)
Far from the cheat sheet it sounds like, Pierre Bayard's book discusses how to grasp a global library containing millions upon millions of volumes. It made me look at reading in a different way-- and I didn't even have to finish the book to discuss it!
The Clouds (Aristophanes)
A smart and funny satire on philosophy and education. I read the 1990s translation, which may be one reason I liked it better than Lysistrata.
Into the Wild (Jon Krakauer)
Read this after I saw the movie. It's an enthralling creative nonfiction book, even if we already know the ending, and it has some interesting philosophical ideas second only to Walden (which I read last year, and doesn't count for this list).
World War Z (Max Brooks)
Despite the fact that I praised Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book above World War Z in my horror post, World War Z ended up being a more fun ride. I recommend either, but this one above Neil Gaiman's.
Flatland (Edwin A. Abbott)
My favorite book this year. Witty and intriguing.
The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
A re-read for me, but I finally appreciated how strong the storytelling is.
The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
Strong in prose and story.
Mimus (Lilli Thal)
Turning the tables on the feudalistic system, a surprisingly relevant and refreshing novel of complex morals.
Point Blank (Anthony Horowitz)
It is not required that you read the first book in the series (Stormbreaker), but it helps. A fun ride all around.
The Light Fantastic (Terry Pratchett)
This one really does read a little better if you read its prequel, but I liked this significantly more than the first in the series, so you could be forgiven for skipping it.
And on a slightly related note, here are the 31 best movies I saw this year. I tried to reduce the number on the list, but I simply couldn't.
Across the Universe - The Beatles medley is a fitting tribute to the Beatles with some good artistry in its own right.
Breach - Took place in my area, so it was particularly relevant for me. It's very well done.
Burn After Reading - The first Coen movie I've liked.
The Commitments - A stellar soundtrack and some good acting make this a (for once) decent band film.
Coraline 3D - It was a good year for animation, and especially so for Focus Features. Here's their first good decision: give Neil Gaiman's creepy Coraline novel to the Nightmare Before Christmas team of Henry Selick and Tim Burton. The 3D was the most immersive of the year.
Death of a Salesman - Dustin Hoffman was really good in this.
District 9 - Forget Avatar. This film used its special effects responsibly, and had a good story.
Duplicity - Not Tony Gilroy's best, but pretty good.
Fame - I was surprised to like this one. Between this and Across the Universe, I have a new appreciation for the complexity of choreography.
Field of Dreams
A Fish Called Wanda - It's hard to go wrong with John Cleese.
The Fountain - Ethereal. Really good moviemaking.
G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra - Oh, what? I had fun with it, even if I was usually making fun of it.
Into the Wild
The Matador
Memento - Complex, and better than Nolan's Batman films in some ways.
Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian - Was not trying to be more than it was, which is more than I can say for the first movie. Fun, with some good performances and special effects gags.
9 - I've already defended this one. Another good Focus Features animation release.
Pan's Labyrinth - Good escapist fantasy.
Ponyo - Surpassed only by Spirited Away in the Miyazaki canon, this is my favorite new movie of the year.
The Prestige - Another Nolan pick.
Pulp Fiction
Risky Business
Slumdog Millionaire - Released last year, but I saw it in January so it counts.
Star Trek - The best Star Trek movie? No, but they did an impressive job with the new cast and direction.
Twilight Zone: The Movie - A good representation of the show, and a nicely varied horror film. My new favorite horror movie.
Up 3D - Not the best Pixar film, but a step in the right direction
Up in the Air
V for Vendetta - A surpising number of good set pieces for a graphic novel adaptation. And plenty of explosions. That's always a plus.
La Vie En Rose - A really good musician biopic, with a gutwrenching long tracking shot near the end, and a touching ending.
Watchmen - Not as good the second time, but a required viewing if you've read the book, because it's more cohesive than the book. Also, it's the other good motion capture performance of the year, with Jon Osterman as Dr. Manhattan. Yeah, you probably forgot that one, didn't you?
Avatar is not on this list. You should probably see it, but I was unimpressed. On a blog where I'm so obsessed with story, I found Avatar's story just stupid.
Happy new year!
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I generally agree with your list of movies, however: Watchmen? I disagree that it's "required viewing" if you read the book; the casting was mediocre at best and I felt a lot of the strong characterization was lost in the film. Despite being more cohesive, many of the visual gags and important flashbacks were left out of the film, especially those related to Ozymandias, who I feel the movie completely destroyed as a character.
ReplyDeleteInteresting choices.
ReplyDeleteHowever Flatland as the best book of the year?! For me it is on the list of the worst books I have ever read. That may be related to having to write an essay on it for 8th grade geometry, but while some of the ideas may be intriguing; its style is hardly interesting.
For me, "Across the Universe" was only so-so and "Night at the Museum 2 " was bad. If it weren't for Amy Adams, it would be horrible. You should give "Up" and "Avatar" more credit, however. Although the second half of "Up" wasn't too impressive, the first half was. I've never seen a children's movie create prominent sophisticated themes and emotions. James Cameron worked on "Avatar" for 5 years, and I think it's worth the wait. Although the story may seem silly (I think it's fine), the use of REAL D allowed the audience to enter a whole different world. The creatures, plants, mountains, and waterfalls were all very impressive and realistic.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite movie of the year? (500) Days of Summer :)
@aesoptinium: "Watchmen" the movie did not include a lot of the things you had in the comic- the visual gags and story complexity being foremost in my mind. Nor did it have the volume of dialogue present in the comic. But that dialogue was always corny at best and impenetrable at worst for me, anyway.
ReplyDeleteI liked "Watchmen" the comic; I did not love it, partially (I think) because I didn't read it during the Cold War, when similar sentiments were present. What "Watchmen" the movie presented to me was a culmination, or an antithesis, to all superhero movies that had come before it. Acting was not great, dialogue bordered on B-movie, but you'd expect that from a superhero anyway, so it was forgivable in my eyes. The visuals and philosophy alone was enough to satisfy me for three hours, and I was overall entertained.
@Annie: The theories were enough to keep me entertained. This book made me think the most, ergo it was one of my favorites. (Though should you protest... my other favorite this year was Pierre Bayard's "How-To", and my favorite stylistically was "The Road".)
@Anonymous: I did not expect much from "Night"- special effects and comedic performances, mostly- and that's what I got. What I didn't get was scriptwriting that put the comedians in shackles, which I felt in the first movie.
OK, granted, "Up" should have made my list. I haven't been absolutely in love with the last few Pixar flicks, but the first half of "Up" was genuinely entertaining, and kleenex-worthy at some points.
Contrariwise, the REAL-D of "Avatar" did not endear itself to me. Maybe I sat too close, but too often the movie looked like flat cardboard cutouts had superimposed themselves over lovely out-of-focus backgrounds. I did like when particle effects (like snow or spores) moved into the foreground, though- that was nicely immersive.
I'm perhaps spoiled by Stephen King on this (he's who I'm reading right now), but I dislike stories with cardboard cutouts of characters that don't have a brain. A good philosophy to have is that each character should consider him/herself the protagonist of his/her own story, but the general's character (for instance) had no motive to blow up the tree or wreak so much havoc on the environmentalist individuals besides sheer craziness. And maybe this is also harsh, but Sam's soldier character did not endear himself to me. Anyway, the point is that I'd love to see these visuals again when they're not out of focus, because they're the main draw, and frankly the lighting and sound in the theater was great. (I would have liked a more epic soundtrack, though. Just sayin'.)
Haven't seen (500) yet, but my sister says it's good, so I hope to soon! (Are you my sister?)