The 2009 Bookie Awards!

Rather than compile a list of my favorite and least favorite books from the past year (not all of which I have blogged about, contrary to my original intentions), I'm having a glamourous awards ceremony to recognize those that entertained or enlightened me and to give a big old swirlie to those that wasted my time. Of course, the glamour and the ceremony are all in my head, but allow me my delusions. Feel free to picture me in a fantastic red-carpet gown...or the Björk swan dress. It's all good.

So here we have the Oscars of my reading from the past year. Publication dates mean nothing! Ladies and gentleman, it's the Bookie Awards (and coming soon, my reading Razzies, the Suckies)!

The Bookies!

Favorite Character in a Novel

• Judd Foxman, This is Where I Leave You. Judd is funny and believable, and his narrative voice is one reason that I loved This is Where I Leave You so much.
• Runner-up: Beatrice Hempel, The Ms. Hempel Chronicles. I could relate to her in so many ways, and sometimes that's what you want in a book.

No, this is just a hot-pink edition of War and Peace: Guilty Pleasure of the Year

• The Mating Habits of the North American WASP, by Lauren Lipton. Was this by the book chick-lit? Yes, ma'am! Hot pink details on the cover? Check. Hip urban lady with man troubles? Check. Arrogant, maddening, gorgeous man? Check! Dislike turns into love? You better believe it! Everything about this book was predictable, but the writing was smart, the characters were likeable, and it was just fun. I love a fun book, so there ya go.

Can I Offer You a Cuppa, Dear? Comfiest Book of the Year

• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I pictured a young Julie Andrews as the main character in this book. It was so British and retro--the perfect rainy-day read.

Lifetime Achievement (in Entertaining Me)

• This prestigious award goes to the delightful Maeve Binchy. I first read Circle of Friends in high school, and I've loved ol' Maeve ever since. The Glass Lake and Echoes are my other two favorites of hers; I just love how Irish and old-school they are. Heart and Soul, which I read this year, is not my favorite of her novels, but it still entertained me. She keeps churning out the books, and I keep reading them. Congrats, Maeve Binchy, for 15 years of entertaining me. Many have tried; most have failed.

Pluckiest Heroine

• I expected it to be Eilis from Brooklyn, but I ended up without much love for her. Instead, my Pluckiest Heroine of the year is Leila of The Nightingale. She is so courageous that other plucky heroines pale in comparison. She is strong and admirable, and I really enjoyed reading about her.
• Runner-up: Crystal Renn, Hungry. Okay, so Crystal is real rather than fictional; that shouldn't disqualify her from this category. Before she's even out of her teens, Crystal takes on the fashion industry and forges a brand-new path. Love her.

Best Nonfiction Reading Experience of the Year

• How Sassy Changed My Life: A Love Letter to the Greatest Teen Magazine of All Time, by Kara Jesella and Marisa Meltzer. I loved Sassy. Now I know the truth about what happened to it. Thanks, Jesella and Meltzer.
• Runner-up: The Wordy Shipmates, by Sara Vowell. Who knew that a book about the Puritans could be so hilarious?

Best Book of the Year
The competition was fierce for this one. I read a lot of enjoyable stuff this year, but only two really blew me away: Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You and Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. They both moved me like nobody's business, but only one could come out on top. And the Bookie goes to...

...The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao! I think the epic nature of the book gave it the edge over Tropper's funny, wrenching, fabulous novel. Diaz's book just killed me dead. That is all.

Meet me at the afterparty for champagne with Diddy, and look out for the Suckies.