This year we’ve decided to seek out an impartial judge for determing our picks for Our Top Books of 2010, none other than The Year 2010 herself!
Kenny: Congratulations on completing your term of service. I hope you get some down time now.
The Year 2010: Thanks Kenny. It is a big relief! The Council keeps the most recent Year of Record pretty busy though, new kid on the block and all that.
Kenny: No hazing I hope?
The Year 2010: Oh no, mostly PR stuff.
Kenny: Yes and we certainly appreciate a moment of your time in that regard!
The Year 2010: Of course. Now you asked me to reveal the top books of my year in six categories. For Hardcover Fiction you probably noted that two books got the most critical attention, Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom and Justin Cronin’s The Passage. Freedom has gotten more award attention since it fits pre-set norms of being A Great American Novel and all that tosh, but The Passage is more fun and a better book.
Kenny: Totally agree.
The Year 2010: As for Non Fiction Hardcover, there were certainly a number of stately historical biographies, Washington, Colonel Roosevelt, Franklin And Eleanor, and so forth, and they are worthy books, but were they more fun or more informative than The Wave? Not in my ledger.
Kenny: Yes worthy books all but I think your choice is the right one.
The Year 2010: For Paperback Fiction I’m going to go with a paperback original, The Long Ships, which is a shout out to The Years 1941, and 1945, when it was first published in two parts in Sweden. For Paperback Non Fiction, my pick is a shout out to the Year 1979, the lovely reprint of John Fowles’ splendid The Tree.
Kenny: Great what about Young Adult and Picture books?
The Year 2010: Well, those are difficult, of course, but I think The Quiet Book is such a marvel, and for YA my choice is Crunch, we Years think a lot about the quality of timelessness and Crunch really embodies that.
Kenny: It sure does. Thanks Year 2010!
The Year 2010: My pleasure.
