Book 54

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Type: Fiction

My rating: 2 stars (out of 5)

Why I chose it: I picked this book up because Joe Hill is Stephen King's son and is this was Hill's first novel.

What I liked about it: Others at Amazon.com posted that this was an "action-packed, face-paced" book. I found it to be neither. In fact, it crossed my mind at one point to just stop reading it. I'm not so sure this book would have been published if Joe Hill didn't have a famous dad.

My Favorite Books of 2009

A good friend recently asked me what my favorite books of 2009 were so here is a summary of my Top 5 books in both Fiction and Nonfiction categories:

Fiction
1. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
2. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
3. The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond
4. Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer
5. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Nonfiction
1. Meltdown by Thomas E. Woods
2. End the Fed by Ron Paul
3. Crash Proof by Peter Schiff
4. The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin
5. The Law by Frederic Bastiat

Book 53

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Type: Fiction

My rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Why I chose it: This is Dan Brown's latest novel since The Da Vinci Code. It was widely hyped with an initial first printing of 6.5 million copies.

What I liked about it: If you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code, you may enjoy this one as much, or more. The story and its mysteries are centered in Washington D.C. with more than a few references to our founding fathers. This was definitely a page-turner for me and it did not sit idly on my night stand very long without me finding ways to pick it up and find out what was going to happen next.

Book 52

1776 by David McCullough

Type: Nonfiction, History

My rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

Why I chose it: I thought this was an appropriate book to end my year's goal to read 52 books in 52 weeks. With all the news this year about government bailouts, massive deficit spending, inflation of the money supply and extremely high levels of unemployment, I found it fitting to step back in time to when our founding fathers declared independence from a tyrannical and oppressive government and then had to fight for their liberty.

What I liked about it: The American Revolutionary War took place over the nine-year period from 1775-1783. This book focuses on the important battles and events that took place only in 1776. During 1776, the war geographically took place in Boston, New York City, northern New Jersey and included Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware into Pennsylvania. Although history never much appealed to me in school, it was a quite refreshing experience to watch as General George Washington attempted to lead an inexperienced and underpaid army against the British redcoats. Overall, it was a good introduction to the Revolutionary War. My next read on this topic will be Angel in the Whirlwind by Benson Bobrick, which is supposed to cover at least some of Washington's harsh winter of 1777-78 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.