Publishers Weekly Top Ten of 2010

Publishers Weekly is getting to reveal its picks for the top 100 books of 2010. In a sneak peek, here's the magazine's selection of the top ten. As you might imagine, winnowing down the list of books published in 2010 -- fiction and nonfiction -- to ten best books isn't an easy task, and I'm sure there's a lot of verbal brawling involved. ("How can you even think of leaving this book off the list??") So, read over this list and then argue away. Muster up your best support for your favorites that got left behind. I actually think it's a pretty darned good list -- especially compared to, say, the National Book Award finalists. I'll list the top ten here, and then you can click on the following link to read about them in greater depth.     Best Books of 2010

• A Visit from the Goon Squad
  Jennifer Egan (Knopf) -- On my want-to-read list
• Freedom
  Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) -- I loved it.
• Unbroken
  Laura Hillenbrand (Random) -- She also wrote Seabiscuit
• The Surrendered
  Chang-Rae Lee (Riverhead) -- He studied and taught at the UO.
• The Big Short
  Michael Lewis (Norton) -- He wrote Moneyball, The Blindside, etc.
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
  Rebecca Skloot (Crown) -- LOVED it! Rebecca grew up in Portland.
• Just Kids
  Patti Smith (Ecco) -- Finalist for National Book Award & just out in paperback. I liked the cover on the hardcover version better. Minor quibble.
• Man in the Woods
  Scott Spencer (Harper) -- He wrote Endless Love, A Ship Made of Paper, etc.
• The Lonely Polygamist
  Brady Udall (Norton) -- One of Roberta's favorites this year.
• The Warmth of Other Suns
  Isabel Wilkerson (Random) -- This book looks fascinating; another want-to-read.