Because a true documentation of what I found to be the "best" of 2009 also includes things that were amazing but from another year, I also felt compelled to present an additional list, "Best of Not 2009": Things I First Discovered in 2009 That Are Actually from Different Years.
James Yeh is a founding editor of Gigantic. His fiction appears or is forthcoming in PEN America, elimae, the film 60 Writers / 60 Places, the anthology 30 Under 30 (Starcherone Books, 2011) and elsewhere. Recently, he completed work on a novel-in-stories, entitled I Love and Understand You and Would Be Perfect to You Now. He lives in Brooklyn and can be found online at yehjames.blogspot.com.
Great pick with Eleven Kinds of Loneliness, James. I read that one over the summer and adored it.