See Michelle Read in 2009

2009 was a pretty busy year for me and full of firsts. I quit my dream job as a librarian to be a full-time mom, I moved 3 times (to 3 different states), and started this here bloggy in order to keep my sanity while I stay at home with a toddler. Of course, I also read a monstrous pile of books (over 180) and thought I'd pick out some of my favs to share.

****drumroll****

Best YA...Period: Fire by Kristin Cashore

Some of the most beautiful and original writing I've come across in a while, surrounded by characters who will just about break your heart with their loyalty, love, and courage. Love, love.

Best YA Fantasy: The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan

Just knock me over and tie me up, cause Nick takes the cake in this book. At one point I alternately either loved or despised each and every character and could not have been more caught off guard by the ending. Can. Not. Wait. For. The. Sequel.

Best Urban Fantasy: Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

What began as a promising kickbutt heroine UF set in a magic-ravaged Atlanta has turned into one of my favorite UF series to date. Kate and Curran keep circling each other and even though they aggravate each other to no end, I have a feeling things are just going to get more interesting in the much anticipated sequel, Magic Bleeds.

Best Sequel: Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater

James' tragic love story with a rockin' soul-sucking faery was nothing short of drool-inducing, heart rate-spiking, grade-A Book Crack.

Best Throwback to 2008: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Frickin' brilliant writing that I am still trying to wrap my brain around. I think Marchetta should also get an award for creating one deliciously flawed cast of characters - every one is a ringer.

Best Classic Novel: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

I picked this one up after loving Amy Adams in the movie remake and promptly got lost in the clever dialogue and gorgeous vintage illustrations. A laugh out loud feel-gooder that will remain a keeper.

Funniest Non-Fiction: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs

One New York man trying to live every single law in the Bible for an entire year? Hilarity will ensue.

Best Author Discovery: Ellen Emerson White

Hands down this goes to Ellen Emerson White along with a big thank-you to Angie at Angieville for bringing her to my attention. After devouring The Road Home, I quickly moved on to her Echo Company series and then straight into the President's Daughter books. Seriously, anything that woman writes is solid gold and if you haven't had a chance to dive into her books yet, please DO!

Better than the first

Lately, I've read a couple of books where the sequels have been as good, if not better, than their predecessors. I don't know why that small fact surprised me, but it did. I guess the whole "trust nothing but the original" and "ain't nothing like the real thing" sunk into my subconscious a little deeper than I had thought. Why do we, as readers (and watchers) all too often automatically judge a sequel more harshly than a first book simply because it DID NOT COME FIRST?

The assumption that a second (or third, or fourth) book in a series can never live up to the book innocently enough called Number One has to be more than just chance. I see it sort of as an insidious subliminal message: Why choose #2 or #3 when you can have #1? Silly, right? Of course I'll be the first to admit that there are massive truckloads of sequels in book and movie form that should have never, ever been written or published, but I'd like to name a few of my favorite sequels here - books that not only lived up to the awesomeness of their predecessor, but screamed by them in a flash of fantastical reading goodness.
Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater (The Gathering of Faerie #2)
Fire by Kristin Cashore (actually a prequel, but published second)
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels #3)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (Narnia #2)
Long May She Reign by Ellen Emerson White (The President's Daughter #4)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (Anne series #3)

And you? Do you have a favorite sequel?