In most respects, 39 is a perfectly good number. A good number of steps, perhaps, and a good age for those keen to put off public acknowledgement of graduation to the one that follows.
It is, however, a lamentable number of books to have read in a calendar year, coming in at just over half the number I managed in 2008 and so far below the three figures achieved in 2007 to be quite depressing.
The main cause of this was pressure of time. Never have I been so busy at work, and when not working three kids are gluttonous devourers of spare time. Naturally, the whole "not reading" thing has caused a downturn in blogging output: less reading = less reviews. So one of my two resolutions for 2010 is: Read more. (For those who care about such things, the other is to try to avoid flying to Helsinki on the highly depressing late Sunday evening flight).
Anyway, there were just enough great books I did manage to read to make a review worth while.
Crime Novel of the Year: The Way Home by George Pelecanos. The arrival of the latest Pelecanos has become my most anticipated literary moment of the year. Just as The Turnaround was my book of the year in 2008, so The Way Home steals this year's honours. Another thoughtful, suspenseful masterclass from Pelecanos. An honourable mention goes to The Complaints by Ian Rankin, which I thought was perhaps his best book in a decade. Many Rankin fans will have feared that the disappearance of the irascible Rebus might have prompted a beginning of the end for the prolific Scot, but the thoroughly enjoyable debut of his new creation Malcolm Fox will have assuaged many of those fears.
Discovery of the Year: Simon Kernick. I know he has a gazillion fans out there already, so this is not exactly finding the lost temple of the Aztecs buried deep in the jungle, but Kernick is new to me and I have enjoyed going through the catalogue, particularly on audio where the reading of the new novel Target by Paul Thornley was particularly good.
Audio book of the year: In the crime category, loosely, When will there be good news? by Kate Atkinson, read by Steven Crossley, and featuring the most memorable character of the year, Reggie, part teenage, part unstoppable force of nature. And on the non crime side, Joe BArrett's extraordinary reading A Prayer for Owen Meany in which the reader does what I thought impossible and brought Owen Meany's unimaginable voice to life.
Event of the Year: The UK publication of the final part of Stieg Larsson's MIllenium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest was eagerly awaited by the millions of us who had so enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. We were not let down. I never quite got round to completing and publishing a review of the book, but will publish this one extract of the unfinished review: "While there is a sense of enormous sadness and loss when turning the final page of this great book - this wonderful trilogy - there is consolation in the thought that Larsson's voice has been heard. His ideas, views and stories have been read, digested and discussed by millions of people all over the world. He has left a great literary legacy and a powerful body of work."
Later this week, I'll look forward to some of the books I'm anxiously awaiting in 2010.