There is nothing more fun than making top five lists, a la High Fidelity’s Rob Gordon, and so I relished the opportunity to come up with my own lists for 2009.  What I discovered, upon reviewing my reading selections for the past year is that 2008 was simply a stellar year for publishing. Much of what I read this current calendar year was me playing catch-up to all of the great fiction (e.g., Louise Erdrich’s lyrical The Plague of the Doves) and nonfiction (masterful reportage like Jane Mayer’s The Dark Side and Barton Gellman’s The Angler, and sweeping biographies such as Rick Perlstein’s Nixonland and Paula J. Giddings’s Ida: A Sword Among Lions ) of the preceding year. However, 2009 did have its shining moments for me, and what follows are my “top five” hits in two categories.

Top Five Reads of 2009

The following is a list of books that I enjoyed most in my reading travels this year.  It is a motley assortment, but what they have in common is that they are all page-turning titles.

1. The Book of Night Women by Marlon James –

If you don’t read any other novel from this year, you must read this one.  James’s novel is both devastating and brilliant as it tells the story of Lilith, a young enslaved woman coming of age on a Jamaican plantation who becomes embroiled in a plotted slave revolt.

2. Where Did You Sleep Last Night? by Danzy Senna –

Senna’s compact memoir is an eloquent meditation and reflection on the marriage of her parents, “a brown-skinned boy from the Roxbury housing projects by way of the Deep South” and a “blond, blue-eye daughter of Carmbridge intelligentsia.”

3. Pops by Terry Teachout

The Wall Street Journal ‘s Terry Teachout has given us a tremendous biography of the larger-than-life son of New Orleans, musician and pop culture icon Louis Armstrong.  He uncovers the man behind the grin and the trumpet.

4. Appetite City: A Culinary History of New York by William Grimes
New York wasn’t always the apple of the culinary world it is today. The former New York Times critic takes us on a sweeping culinary tour of New York, beginning with the humble days of 19th century  chophouses and oyster bars.

5. Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne by James Gavin
Gavin’s biography of “the beautiful Lena Horne” is compulsively readable.  There is never a dull page in this account of a life subjected to much stormy weather.

Top Five Cook Books of 2009
2009 was an incredible year for the kitchen, and the list below just scratches the surface of some of the new cookbooks that are worthy editions to the home cook’s library specifically. I will confess: my special love for baking has skewed this list toward bread, pastry and confection titles.

1. Baking by James Peterson – Peterson has given the home baker a virtual soup-to-nuts encyclopedia of classic baking recipes with beautiful and instructive photography (in total this book has 1500 photographs). And he makes it all look so easy!

2. Rose’s Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum –

Rose’s exactitude is impressive: she has baking down to a science. This is a lovely addition to her already splendid library of baking tomes, and one that provides cakes for all occasions. And they are indeed heavenly.

3. Artisan Breads Every Day by Peter Reinhart –

Master artisan baker and instructor at Johnson & Wales University Peter Reinhart provides a compact volume of bread recipes that he has reformulated using overnight cold fermentation via refrigeration and minimal gadgetry, without any compromise to taste.  Reinhart walks you through the recipes step-by-step, as if he were right there with you in your kitchen. You’ll never buy bread from the grocery again if you bake with Reinhart.

4. The Craft of Baking by Karen Demasco-

This is a wonderful volume of home style dessert recipes  (including delicious candies such as brittle, marshmallows, and nougat) enhanced by a pastry chef’s panache and polish.

5. Gourmet Today edited by Ruth Reichl –

Foodies mourned the sudden loss of Gourmet magazine earlier this year.  This tome has a little of everything, from cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, hardy every day cuisine,  holiday/special occasion meals, to elegant desserts.  A fitting end to a great institution.

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