We can’t possibly say goodbye to 2009 without handing out the laurels and the brickbats. So we begin a series of top lists for 2009 starting with the Horror genre. This is what the different international sites and reviewers say. Unfortunately there are few desi sites or media organisations that do this.So we have decided to create our own lists…..based solely on the views of booklovers. Tell us which books should be here and which should not, so that we can compile our own lists of tops and flops for 2009. And we will ensure that  every book on the final list is available in the INDIAreads catalogue.

Let’s Start with the USA Book News Awards 2010

The Winner for the Horror Category was Midnight Revelations: Vol 1 in the Dark Whispers Series by Karen M. Bence

Other finalists were:

1. Anoxic Zone by John G. Rees
2. Gather the Weeds by Patrick Kilgallon
3. The Grandmaster by Peter A. Balaskas
4. Tortured Skin by James C. Gillen
5. Vampire Resurrection by Carlotta G. Holton

The Most bought Horror books for 2009 as of December 2009, according to Amazon are:

1. The Little Stranger By Sarah Waters
2.Chosen (House of Night) by P.C. Cast , Kristin Cast 
3. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance-now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith 
4. Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
5.Let the Right One in by John Ajvide Lindqvis

6. Night World: Bind-up v. 1, Bks. 1-3 by L J Smith
7. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
8. Hell’s Heroes (The Demonata) by Darren Shan
9. Midnight Alley (Morganville Vampires) by Rachel Caine
10. Just After Sunset by Stephen King
11.Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires) by Rachel Caine
12. Lord of Misrule (Morganville Vampires) by Rachel Caine
13. Night World: Bind-up v. 2, Bks. 4-6 by L J Smith
14. Night World: Bind-up v. 3, Bks. 7-9 by L J Smith
15. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Author), Chris Riddell (Illustrator)
16. Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 5: Predators And Prey by Georges Jeanty, Cliff Richards, Andy Owens, Jane Espenson, Steven S. DeKnight, Drew Z. Greenberg , Jim Krueger, Doug Petrie 
17. Necronomicon: The Best Weird Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft (Gollancz S.F.) by H.P. Lovecraft
18. Evernight by Claudia Gray
19. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
20. Touch the Dark by Karen Chance

Some more popular titles from assorted lists:

Umbrella Conspiracy (Resident Evil) by S.D. Perry
The Cellar by Richard Laymon
Necessary Evil by Shaun Hutson
Lost in the Echoes of the Voiceless by Stewart Marcantoni
Every Dead Thing by John Connolly
Watchers by Dean Koontz
Necroscope by Brian Lumley
The Devil in Gray by Graham Masterton
The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert
Deep Freeze by Lisa Jackson
Prodigal Son: Book 1 by Dean Koontz
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Don’t Close Your Eyes by Carlene Thompson
Dead Wrong by Mariah Stewart
Final Scream by Lisa Jackson
Summer of Night by Dan Simmons
The Keep by F. Paul Wilson
Creed by James Herbert
Ghost Train by Stephen Laws
The Ghost Pirates by William , Hope Hodgson
Carrie by Stephen King
Skeleton Crew by Stephen King
Behind the Red Door by Barbara Watkins

So what do you think? Do you agree? Which of these books have you read already? Which ones would you like to read? Let us know….

The Guinness World Records 2010 will feature popular author James Patterson. With 45 titles in the fiction and non fiction lists, he now holds the record for “Most Entries on The New York Times Best-Seller List.” Click here to read more.

Want to find out what makes Patterson’s works bestsellers??? Read them @ the INDIAreads Online Library

And don’t forget to share your thoughts and views on Patterson’s work….

Patterson Photo: AP/ Wilfredo Lee. Source: www.npr.org

INDIAreads brings a special New Year’s offer for all book enthusiasts…the one time library membership fee has just been halved. So hurry and greet the New Year with the book of your choice. Contact INDIAreads @ 01122541035/ 01143710618 or shoot an email to customercare@indiareads.com

Here’s what to expect from your favourite authors in 2010….a sneak peek at some upcoming titles!!!

The key word here is “some”. We have just started the list.  Add titles and tell us which books should definitely become a part of the INDIAreads collection.  We’ll take your advice very seriously, we promise.

1.Committed: Begin the New Year with Committed, Elizabeth Gilbert’s follow up to her hugely popular memoir Eat, Pray, Love. At the end of Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who’d been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both were survivors of previous horrific divorces. Enough said.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which—after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing—gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is. Told with Gilbert’s trademark wit, intelligence and compassion, Committed attempts to “turn on all the lights” when it comes to matrimony, frankly examining questions of compatibility, infatuation, fidelity, family tradition, social expectations, divorce risks and humbling responsibilities. Gilbert’s memoir is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails. (Source: Author’s website)

2. The Lovers: January will also see the release of John Connolly’s latest mystery, The Lovers, by Hodder paperbacks.

When Charlie Parker was still a boy, his father, a NYPD cop, killed a young couple, a boy and a girl barely older than his son, then took his own life. There was no explanation for his actions. Stripped of his private investigator’s license, and watched by the police, Parker is working in a Portland bar, holding down a job and staying out of trouble. But in the background, he is working on his most personal case yet, an investigation into his own origins and the circumstances surrounding the death of his father, Will. It is an investigation that will reveal a life haunted by lies, by his mother’s loss and his father’s betrayal, by secrets kept and loyalties compromised. And by two figures in the shadows, a man and a woman, with only one purpose: to bring an end to Charlie Parker’s existence . . .

Click here for a sneak peek at the Prologue

3. Big Girl: A Novel: Celebrate the Valentine’s month with Danielle Steele’s upcoming release. Steele is one of the world’s most popular authors, with over 590 million copies of her novels sold. In this heartfelt and incisive new novel, she celebrates the virtues of unconventional beauty while exploring deeply resonant issues of weight, self-image, sisterhood, and family.

To read more about Big Girl, click here

4. Worst Case: Bestselling author James Patterson teams up with Michael Ledwidge to bring yet another fast paced Detective Bennett thriller. This is what the writer’s website says about the book due for a February, 2010 release.

Alex Cross has Washington, DC. The Women’s Murder Club has San Francisco. Detective Michael Bennett has all of New York City—chaos capital of the world.

Best case: Survival
The son of one of New York’s wealthiest families is snatched off the street and held hostage. His parents can’t save him, because this kidnapper isn’t demanding money. Instead, he quizzes his prisoner on the price others pay for his life of luxury. In this exam, wrong answers are fatal.

Worst case: Death
Detective Michael Bennett leads the investigation. With ten kids of his own, he can’t begin to understand what could lead someone to target anyone’s children. As another student disappears, another powerful family uses their leverage and connections to turn up the heat on the mayor, the press—anyone who will listen—to stop this killer. Their reach extends all the way to the FBI, which sends its top Abduction Specialist, Agent Emily Parker. Bennett’s life—and love life—suddenly get even more complicated.

This case: Detective Michael Bennett is on it
Before Bennett has a chance to protest the FBI’s intrusion on his case, the mastermind changes his routine. His plan leads up to the most devastating demonstration yet—one that could bring cataclysmic ruin to every inch of New York City. From the shocking first page to the last exhilarating scene, Worst Case is a nonstop thriller from “America’s #1 storyteller” (Forbes).

Click here to read an excerpt from the book.

Click here to hear James Patterson on You Tube

5. The Silent Sea: March will see the release of Clive Cussler’s new Oregon adventure. For this, he has once again teamed up with Jack du Brul, the author of the Philip Mercer series.

On 7 December 1941, four brothers exploring a pit on a small island off the coast of Washington state make an extraordinary discovery, only to be interrupted by news of Pearl Harbor.

In the present, Juan Cabrillo, Captain of US spy-ship Oregon, chasing the remnants of a crashed satellite in the Argentine jungle, makes a shocking discovery of his own. His search to untangle the mystery leads him, first, to that small island and its secret, and then much farther back, to an ancient Chinese expedition, and a curse that seems to have survived for over 500 years. If Cabrillo’s team is successful in its quest, the reward could be incalculable. If not . . . the only reward is death.

Read more about this book at the Penguin website.