The 2009 Leafy Awards!

That's right everyone, it's that time again. For the third time (wow, I've really been at this for three years? You'd think I'd be better at it), it's time for the Leafy Awards celebrating the best (and worst) of the few books I've read this year! As usual, the categories are almost totally bogus because I'm incapable of just writing a straight up top 10 list, and what's the fun in that anyway, right? Now, brought to you from the back of my health insurance policy envelope where I've written them down illegibly (drum roll please!) - the 3rd Annual Leafy Awards!

First, in the category of Most Delicious:

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (Seriously, I could eat this book. Also voted "Most likely to captivate me so much that I read most of it in an uncomfortable wooden kitchen chair instead of putting it down long enough to move to the couch" and "Most Sensual in an Unnaughty Way")

Next up The Best and Only Non-Fiction to Win a Leafy This Year:

Picking Cotton by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton (also voted "Most Likely to Make Me Feel Like a Scumbag for Not Forgiving Minor Transgressions of Loved Ones." She mistakenly helped put him in prison for raping her, he forgave her, and now they're friends! What a story!)

Best Debut Novel:

The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips (also voted "Characters I'd Most Like to Meet" and "Most Likely to Make a Shameless Evangelist out of Me." If you haven't spotted me somewhere on the internet raving at length about this book, you must not get out too much. Or else I must not.)

Tear Jerker of the Year:

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen (I sobbed. On more than one occasion. Also voted "Most Likely to make me scratch my head in confusion over why it took me this long to pick up a Sarah Dessen book," I mean, it's not like everybody isn't talking about her!)

Best Book Nobody's Heard of by a Popular Author

Pied Piper by Nevil Shute (Sure, he might have brought you classics like A Town Like Alice and On the Beach but you should really be reading this one.)

Best Book I Loved Before Even Coming Close to Finishing It

Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going (Also voted "Most Likely to Make me Gush Shamelessly in the Highest Amount of Blog Posts before Actually Reviewing It")

The RARE and COVETED Book I'm Starting to Think I Should Really Re-read Even Though I Don't Re-Read Books Award goes to...

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue (It's literary! It's fantasy! It's intelligent and HEARTFELT and CHARACTER DRIVEN and SETTING DRIVEN and AWESOME! Ahem. Yeah, will somebody just go get me another copy so I can get even more out of it?)

The Dagger Award for Cutting Me Deepest battles a few strong contenders. Emerging victorious is...

The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty (Hurts so good.)

Most Laugh Out Loud Funny:

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty (The Moriartys have it! Okay, so the book is totally unbelievable - who cares? It's hilarious!)

Most Likely to Cause Deep Depression and Make you Like It

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Seriously, though. How many times did I have to stop and take a breather because McCarthy was twisting his bitterbittersweet postapocalyptic knife in my heart so hard? Ow. This one hurts so good, too.)

Oh, wait, here's one last award. Who's it for? Why, it's for me!

It's the Biggest Accomplishment award, awarded to yours truly for finally finishing the epic tome that is In the Country of Brooklyn by Peter Golenbock after more than a year of non-continuous reading.

And finally...

The Hall of Shame featuring the books I can't believe I bothered finishing.

The Glister by John Burnside (What the heck was this book even about?)
Freewill by Chris Lynch (What the heck was this book even about??)
Canvey Island by James Runcie (Also, unfortunately, getting the nod for "Most Promising Beginning" which made the disappointment that much sharper.)



There you have it! Another year over. Congratulations to the winners and here's to another year of great reading!