As promised yesterday, we have updated our big fat compilation list of “best books of 2009” lists–now merging over 20 sources–for two “consensus” top 10s: Fiction1. Wolf Hall, By Hilary Mantel (8)2. A Gate at the Stairs, By Lorrie Moore (7)3. Lark and Termite, By Jayne Anne Phillips (6)– In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, By Daniyal Mueenuddin (6)5. The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis, By Lydia Davis (5)6. Love and Summer, By William Trevor (4)– The Anthologist, By Nicholson Baker– Await Your Reply, By Dan Chaon– Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi, By Geoff Dyer– Too Much Happiness, by Alice […]
Best of
A Storied Year
Here’s one theme we haven’t seen yet in any of the “year in books” pieces. Though short-story collections rarely sell in big quantities, in 2009 a variety of collections enjoyed wide critical acclaim. For starters, this week’s Entertainment Weekly picks Daniyal Mueenuddin’s In Other Rooms, Other Wonders as their top work of fiction for the year. (Their No. 1 nonfiction pick is Dave Eggers’ Zeitoun; the rest of the list is in print only.) And New York Magazine’s just-published top 10 list (see below) puts Lydia Davis’s collection on top. On our own compilation list, pulling together over of 20 […]
More Lists
The Wall Street Journal reviewers’ nonfiction-focused top 10 “standout selections”: Baader-Meinhof, by Stefan Aust Cheever: A Life, by Blake BaileyThe Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution, by Steven F. HaywardGallipoli, by Robin PriorThe Education of an American Dreamer, by Pete PetersonOpen: An Autobiography, by Andre AgassiThe Sellout, by Charles GasparinoLouisa May Alcott, by Harriet Reisen In fiction, they mention our consensus Best of the Best of novel, Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, along with That Old Cape Magic, by Richard Russo Stephen King‘s top 10, for EW:1. THE LITTLE STRANGER, by Sarah Waters2. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, by Richard Yates3. HOLLYWOOD MOON, […]
Now We Have Best of the Decade Lists, Starting with EW's Unusual Mix
Entertainment Weekly’s list of 10 best books of the decade includes 3 Oprah picks and a book from this year that has not made any of the nearly 20 “best of” lists we’ve been aggregating: 1. The Road, Cormac McCarthy (2006) 2. Say You’re One of Them, Uwem Akpan (2008) 3. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)4. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005) 5. Zeitoun, Dave Eggers (2009) 6. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001) 7. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006) 8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000) 9. Case Histories: A Novel, Kate […]
More 2009 Picks, from Time and Salon
Time Magazine pairs the expected (Hilary Mantel and Richard Holmes) with the exotic (Night Shade’s The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi), and stands alone on everything from acknowledgment for Suzanne Collins’ crossover hit Catching Fire to Jonathan Littell’s otherwise unliked The Kindly Ones. And in a separate list, Time also picked Barnes & Noble’s nook as their No. 2 gadget of the year. Top 10 Fiction1. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel2. The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter3. Swimming by Nicola Keegan4. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins5. Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower6. Jeff in Venice, Death […]
More Picks for Best of 2009
The latest lists come from the Boston Globe (which goes for 12 novels and 8 works of nonfiction), and the Christian Science Monitor, which adds their top nonfiction books: WOLF HALL, By Hilary MantelTHE COLLECTOR OF WORLDS, By Iliya TroyanovLAND OF MARVELS, By Barry UnsworthTHE IMMORTALS, By Amit ChaudhuriRED APRIL, By Santiago RoncaglioloTHIS IS HOW, By M.J. HylandLOVE AND SUMMER, By William TrevorLOOK AT THE BIRDIE, By Kurt VonnegutTHE COMPLETE STORIES OF J.G. BALLARD, By J.G. BallardTOO MUCH HAPPINESS, By Alice MunroTHE IGNORANCE OF BLOOD, By Robert WilsonTHE LONG FALL, By Walter Mosley Fiction TRUE COMPASS, By Edward M. KennedyLAST […]