Most of the published short stories (as opposed to drafts of friends’ stories) I read in 2009 were from online magazines.

I read them on my computer or downloaded them to my Palm Pilot and read (or listened to) them while I was commuting.  I noticed that I’ve got less patience with stories I read in electronic format.  If I’m sitting down with a book, I’ll generally give a story more of a chance.  But with stories in electronic format, if they haven’t grabbed me by the first paragraph, I’m likely to discard them and move on to the next one.

I didn’t read any original anthologies last year.  I just got my hands on Eclipse 3, The New Space Opera 2 and The Apex Book of World SF and am looking forward to reading them this year.

Here are my ten favorite short stories I read in 2009 (several of them were published a few years ago).

Death and Suffrage
Dale Bailey
The dead have risen and are voting democrat.  Funny and moving.

Shoggoths in Bloom
Elizabeth Bear
Winner of the 2009 Hugo for best novelette.  An interesting and thoughtful blend of Cthulhu mythos and race relations.

The Tale of Junko and Sayuri
Peter S. Beagle
A slow-paced, but carefully drawn tale of mythical creatures in ancient Japan.

Exhalation
Ted Chiang
Along with Greg Egan, Ted Chiang is my favorite short story writer.  I don’t think there is anyone else that compares with the sheer granduer of Egan’s and Chiang’s ideas.  Exhalation won the 2009 Hugo for best short story.  It’s a bit drier and slower than some of Chiang’s other stories, but still contains some remarkable ideas.

Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast
Eugie Foster
Manages to successfully pack a whole range of interesting world-building ideas into a short story.

A Study in Emerald
Neil Gaiman
Sherlock Holmes versus Cthulhu.  What’s not to love?

Orange
Neil Gaiman
A quirky, fun story in an unusual format.

Article of Faith
Mike Resnick
A robot wants to know why he is excluded from the church’s congregation.

The Death of Che Guevara
Lewis Shiner
A thoughtful alternate world history story speculating on what might have happened if Che didn’t die in Bolivia.  I loved it, but I suspect that if you’re not familiar with Che’s history, a lot of the story might be lost on you.

From Babel’s Fallen Glory We Fled
Michael Swanwick
A well-crafted story with interesting aliens and technology.

My favorite movies that I watched in 2009 (some of them were released in the last couple of years).  Lots of genre films and lots of animation.

Coraline
Beautiful animation and strong characters.  Fun, creepy stuff.

District 9
Aliens, explosions and an interesting plot.  What’s not to love?

Doubt
Great acting and an intriguing storyline.  Ever since I saw The Big Lebowski, Philip Seymour Hoffman has been one of my favorite actors.  He stars again here.

Gran Torino
My favorite movie of the year.  I suspect I liked it a lot more than most people do.  But I’m a sucker for an angry old man redemption story.

Let the Right One In
12-year-old Swedish vampires are a LOT scarier and more memorable than their whining North American adolescent counterparts.

Moon
Slow-paced but thoughtful science fiction.

Up
Features one of the most moving and beautiful montage scenes in any film.

WALL·E
Another Pixar gem.  Amazing how they can do some much with so little dialogue.

Watchmen
Postmodern superheroes.  I really enjoyed the adaption and I think the movie’s ending makes more sense the graphic novel’s.

Zombieland
“Set aside the feverish homeless cannibal I’m living the dream.”
Runs out of steam towards the end and veers in ClicheLand, but before that, it’s a lot of fun.

I also really enjoyed The Informant, Mary and Max, Monsters vs Aliens and Sleep Dealer.  I enjoyed Slumdog Millionaire, but thought it could have been so much better. Ponyo was okay, but disappointing compared to Miyazaki’s other films.

I didn’t see any documentaries that grabbed me in 2009.  Encounters at the End of the World was all right (in his typically eccentric style Werner Herzog goes to Antarctica to try and answer the question of why chimps don’t ride goats), but not nearly as memorable as Grizzly Man.

Films I haven’t seen yet, but suspect I might like: Avatar, A Serious Man, Sherlock Holmes, Gomorrah, Red Cliff, Samson & Delilah, The Brothers Bloom, Up in the Air, The Men Who Stare At Goats.

2009 was one of the best years of my life.

At the start of the year I was fortunate enough to spend 6 weeks attending Clarion South (a science fiction writing workshop) in Brisbane.  I learned a lot and made some wonderful new friends.  After that I went on to sell two stores to a SFWA-level professional market.  I also had other stories and articles published.

In the middle of the year I spent 3 months backpacking in Asia and Eastern Europe.  I visited my friends in Japan, took the boat to China, the train through Mongolia and then the Trans-Siberian Express across Russia.  Then I spent a while wandering around the Baltics and the rest of Eastern Europe.  I’ve now managed to visit the grand total of 73 countries.

Asia & Eastern Europe 2009:

In November I returned to Melbourne and got myself a job programming for a government department.  I enjoy the work, my co-workers are great, the pay is good and I only work 4 days a week.  So I can’t complain.

I also found an apartment to rent in South Yarra and moved in at the end of the year.