2009 Wrap-Up (At last!)

I was going to do another vlog about this but I can't bear to watch myself just yet ... I'm suffering from skin problems like a 13-year-old (as well as carrying five extra chins) - thanks to the last of the Xmas choccies for that. :P

So, here's what 2009 was like for me. :)


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Books

My biggest goal was to read 50 books in 2009. With only four hours to spare on New Year's Eve, I DID IT!!!!!


To a lot of you book bloggers, this is obviously a small amount but, for me, this was a huge accomplishment that I'm really proud of. :D

• 1) The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff
• 2) Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
• 3) Dracula by Bram Stoker
• 4) Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee by Meera Syal
• 5) Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
• 6) In Between the Sheets by Ian McEwan
• 7) The Wise Woman by Philippa Gregory
• 8) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• 9) She Came to Stay by Simone De Beauvoir
• 10) The Good Mayor by Andrew Nicoll
• 11) A Lover of Unreason: The Life and Tragic Death of Assia Wevill - Ted Hughes' Doomed Love by Yehuda Koren & Eilat Negev
• 12) New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
• 13) Digging to America by Anne Tyler
• 14) Asa, As I Knew Him by Susanna Kaysen
• 15) The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
• 16) Howl by Allen Ginsberg
• 17) Love, Janis by Laura Joplin
• 18) Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
• 19) The Stolen by Jason Pinter
• 20) Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• 21) Necroscope by Brian Lumley
• 22) Will Jellyfish Rule the World? by Leo Hickman
• 23) The Hours by Michael Cunningham
• 24) The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (re-read)
• 25) The Color Purple by Alice Walker (re-read)
• 26) Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
• 27) Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
• 28) Shame on You by Clara Salaman
• 29) The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory
• 30) Witch by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié
• 31) Curse by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié
• 32) The Eternal Kiss edited by Trisha Telep
• 33) Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
• 34) The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
• 35) Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
• 36) The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan
• 37) The Hollow by Jessica Verday
• 38) Wicked by Gregory Maguire
• 39) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• 40) The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
• 41) A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
• 42) Ariel by Sylvia Plath
• 43) Silver by Norma Fox Mazer
• 44) Glasshopper by Isabel Ashdown
• 45) The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian Slave by Mary Prince
• 46) Nightlight: A Parody by The Harvard Lampoon
• 47) Legacy by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié
• 48) Diary of a Chav: Trainers V. Tiaras by Grace Dent
• 49) The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
• 50) How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Three books that I tried to read but had to put down half-way through were:

1) The Monk by Matthew Lewis
2) The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm
3) Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak


Favourite book this year?
Probably The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It was wonderfully written and a really touching and profound story.

Most disappointing read?
In Between the Sheets by Ian McEwan. A collection of short stories not up to his usual standard.

Most surprising?
Wicked by Gregory Maguire. I expected a fairytale but got a serious political story that touches on a lot of issues still relevant to today's society.

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Challenges

Every challenge I took part in this year I failed. hehehe.

Lame.

But this year I'm more determined than ever and will be posting on those that I'll be taking part in (on top of the GLBT Challenge & the Harry Potter Challenge.)


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What a waste of a post, really. :P I guess I wanted to warn you that your Google Reader might start being flooded with an abundance of posts from me in the next couple of days. Sorry. :P

On a personal note, in real life (as opposed to net life), 2009 saw me ...

- Start a blog.

- As a result of that, I made a lot of wonderful (and patient) online friends. :) <3

- Try living as a vegan. (That lasted about a month or so before I switched back to Vegetarianism.)

- Get my ear pierced for the ninth time.

- Move back in with my parents.

- Read 50 books.

- Appear in the audience of a live TV Show, looking bored and grumpy, while my friend got his nose poked. (Did I mention it was live?)

- Turn down four job offers before settling into my current one which I love. :)

- Discover The Clash.

- Become addicted to Twitter.

- Start planning my worldwide travels.


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In all seriousness to you guys who still read this, I know my posts have been pretty shit in the last couple of months. I had a fabulous anonymous message from someone a few days ago which informed me that I now suck (in a less polite way of speaking).

I've been busy with the job and pretty determined to make sure I get back into the swing of things for 2010 and I know my posts haven't been great but, seriously ...

I don't mind constructive criticism. In fact, you can only better yourself with it. But there's a certain way of going about it. :P Noobs.

I refuse to let it bother me.

As I'm starting over for 2010, I'd really love if you guys could tell me what you want to see more of or how I can improve this thing, though. Leave it in the comments. :)

Thank you for making my first 8 months as a blogger bearable. Thanks to my bloggy friends. Love you. xx