I'd planned to talk about movies today, but I, um, sort of deleted the post. (Me = very smart). So I'm recapping the first quarter of 2009 instead. 'Kay?

Here're my Top 5 Picks for Quarter #1, listed in the order I read 'em:

1. THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS by Caleb Carr - 4.5 stars. This baby was a shoe-in. Historical forensics! Psychology! Hardcore character development! It's the best new book I've read so far this year, and I am bitterly sorry that Carr didn't continue the series. I'd love to read more about these characters.

2. THE ALIENIST by Caleb Carr - 4 stars. It wasn't quite as good as its sequel, but I still enjoyed the hell out of it. You can bet your ass I'll be getting the rest of Caleb Carr's bibliography as soon as la TBR is sufficiently reduced.

3. STARCLIMBER by Kenneth Oppel - 4 stars. I enjoyed the first two very much, but I didn't really expect to like this one. It sounded so silly. Airships in space! Pff! When am I gonna learn that the things I enjoy the most are the things I expect to like the least? This blew me away. Oppel strikes the perfect balance between action and character-based goodness.

4. CARNIVAL by Elizabeth Bear - 4 stars. That's right, folks - I have not one, not three, but two, I said two, science fiction titles on my Top 5 for the first quarter! (And didja notice that I took science fiction off my little list of things I wasn't too likely to read?) Who would've thunk it? I loved this book. It drew me in straight away, and by the time I hit the halfway point I just couldn't put it down. I'm all about the character-based books, my dears, and this's it.

5. DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST by Juliet Marillier - 4 stars. And cue the wretched sobbing. I'd had this on la TBR for ages and ages and ages and ages and ages. I mostly bought it to fill up my bag at the library sale. (Books are $0.50 each, or a whole bag'll set you back $5). And once again, something that was barely on my radar blew me out of the water. It's personal and poignant and just utterly heartwrenching, and y'all should run out and read it too. Okay? Okay.

I know, I know, I can hear you from here: "But Memory, those are mostly 4-star books. What about the 5-star books?"

Sorry, folks; there aren't any. I've only read one 5-star book so far this year, and it was a reread. I am picky, my dears; I'm picky as all hell. I feel like the odd duck out in this book-love saturated blogosphere, but the truth is that I don't read very many books I'd consider worthy of a 5-star rating. Most of what I read hovers somewhere between 3.5 and 4. 4 is really, really good, in my book. 4.5 is bloody brilliant. 5 is transcendent. (See my sidebar for a deeper look at my grading scale).