Nikon D5000 owners like myself can struggle with lens choices if they want AF, as there are only a limited amount of lens with the motor on the lens - especially if like myself you are on a tight budget.
I currently have a Tamron 90mm 2.8 Macro /Portrait lens which I use for mainly for macro shots. I find this lens gives me sharp detail in my macro shots, (mainly water droplets & flowers) however for portrait shots, I have struggled with indoor range. Most of my indoor shots have been in small living room space, I find myself backed up against the wall in order to compose an image of a person, and get their body in the shot aswell as their head and shoulders.
The Nikon 35mm lens has helped me out considerably with this problem - I can now shoot at a wider angle which has been great for group shots and creative portraits and angles. The aperture of 1.8 is great for blurring the background and making my subject stand out, it has also really helped me out in low light situations. This is a prime lens so there is no zoom function - which is not a huge problem as you can use your feet to move closer or further back from the subject / subjects to get your perfect frame.
:)