I started the year with a second attempt at the 50-books goal. I tried it and failed pretty badly in '08 (I think I read around 25 that year). I also started with an actual list of 50 books that I was planning on reading.

The list experiment turned out to be an interesting one. I didn't stick to the list. Over the course of the year, I acquired a significant number of the books that I ended up reading, so these were not books on that original list.

However, having the list, and a dedicated shelf of unread books (something I always had growing up, but had fallen out of the habit of due to general disorganization from years of frequent moves and limited space), proved to be a really good motivator.

In the end, I again fell short. I read 34 books, so it was a significant improvement. It was also what I would consider to be a somewhat busy year (adopting a child will do that!). So I'm setting my goal again at 50 in 2010. I'm going to have my unread books shelf, but instead of a list of 50, I'm going to start with a list of 25 "high priority" books, and allow myself some flexibility to purchase or borrow what strikes my fancy as the year goes on.

Here's a quick visual recap of my 2009 reading:

And here are a few top picks:

Best Prose Novel I Read In 2009: Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

Best Nonfiction Book I Read In 2009: In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall (with a really close honorable mention for Out of Eden by Alan Burdick)

Best Graphic Novel I Read In 2009: With The Light: Raising An Autistic Child Vol. 3 by Keiko Tobe (very close honorable mention goes to Girl Genius: Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank by Phil and Kaja Foglio)

Best Childrens Book I Read In 2009: Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth

Books I Read In 2009 Written By People I Know Either Online Or In Person (I can't pick a favorite among these, but these were all awesome and you should all go read all of them):

Setting Suns by Elizabeth Donald
Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente
Jade Tiger by Jenn Reese
Convent of the Pure by Sara M. Harvey

Disappointment of the Year: Rapture of the Geeks: When AI Outsmarts IQ by Richard Dooling

Top Priority Books To Read In 2010

1. Perseopolis by Marjane Satrapi (from last year's list)
2. Under the Dome by Stephen King (Christmas gift from in-laws)
3. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde (from last year's list)
4. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman By Richard P. Feynman (from last year's list)
5. An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore (previous year's Christmas gift from a student)
6. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond (previous year's Christmas gift from a student)
7. A List Of Grievances by Stephanie O'Donnell (writer/artist is a friend of mine)
8. Krakatoa by Simon Winchester (Christmas gift from a student)
9. I Am A Cat by Soseki Natsume (Christmas gift from a friend)
10. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (recent purchase)
11. Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore (author is a friend of mine)
12. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (Christmas gift from a student)
13. The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb (Christmas gift from my wife)
14. The Further Accounts of the Imaginary Friend by P.S. Gifford (won as a "door prize" at the writers chatroom I participate in)
15. The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination edited by Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston (to be read aloud to my son)
16. Julie Andrews Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies edited by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton(Christmas gift from a student; to be read aloud to my son)
17. Ubersleep by PureDoxyk (author is a friend of mine)
18. A Mankind Witch by Dave Freer (I know the author's literary agent, who gave this to me)
19. Castle in the Sky Vol. 2 by Hayao Miyazaki (I read the first volume in '09)
20. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (belonged to my Mom and was a favorite of hers)
21. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
22. The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
23. Copenhagen by Michael Frayn (yard sale find)
24. The Story of Reynard the Fox by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (gorgeous 1954 slipcover edition, yard sale find)
25. The Devil's Panties Vol. 2 by Jennie Breeden

Here is the "to be read" bookshelf, all set up for the new year. The books on my list of 25 occupy the two top shelves.

Looking forward to a great year of reading in 2010!