Top Picks

Previous Years:
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998

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Top Reads in 2009 (so far)

Our Top Picks are based on the books that we READ this year. It is not limited to those that we reviewed or those published in 2009. This makes the list broader than the few books we were able to review this year and also keeps within our philosphy that a good book never goes out of style. The MostlyFiction  team always likes to review the new books as they come out — it is exciting to see what our favorite authors are up to and to discover new ones– but we never want to pass up a good read, no matter when it was written!

(Note: Go here to see ALL the books we reviewed so far this year.)

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MARY WHIPPLE:

  1. LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN by Colum McCann
  2. ALL THE LIVING by C. E. Morgan
  3. CENSORING AN IRANIAN LOVE STORY by Shahriar Mandanipour
  4. TWISTED TREE by Kent Meyers
  5. THE WINTER VAULT by Anne Michaels
  6. THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING by Alaa Al Aswany
  7. AMERICAN VISA by Juan de Recacoechea (see Mary’s review here)
  8. THE ANTHOLOGIST by Nicholson Baker
  9. LONG DIVISION by Andrea Cohen (see Mary’s review here)
  10. GENEROSITY by Richard Powers
  11. THE ACCORDIONIST’S SON by Bernardo Atxaga

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POORNIMA APTE:

  1. LOWBOY by John Wray
  2. LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN by Colum McCann
  3. SELLING YOUR FATHER’S BONES: Manifest Destiny and the American West by Brian Schofield
  4. WATER DOGS by Lewis Robinson
  5. GENEROSITY by Richard Powers
  6. URANIUM: War, Energy and the Rock that Shaped the World by Tom Zoellner (amazon )
  7. BLAME by Michelle Huneven
  8. A GATE AT THE STAIRS by Lorrie Moore

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KIRSTIN MERRIHEW:

  1. ALL THE LIVING by C. E. Morgan
  2. THE ANTHOLOGIST by Nicholson Baker
  3. GIFTS OF WAR by Mackenzie Ford (amazon )
  4. THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE by Alan Bradley
  5. SUM: FORTY TALES FROM THE AFTERLIVES by David Eagleman
  6. THE CONVICT’S SWORD by I. J. Parker
  7. SPADE & ARCHER: The Prequel to Dashiell Hammett’ The Maltese Falcon by Joe Gores
  8. WHY OUR HEALTH MATTERS: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future by M.D. Andrew Weil (amazon )
  9. RIGHTEOUS PORKCHOP: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms by Nicolette Hahn Niman (amazon )

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ELEANOR BUKOWSKY
(Alphabetical order):

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ANN WILKES
(Alphabetical by Title)

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DOUG BRUNS:

  1. 2666 by Roberto Bolano
  2. UNDER THIS UNBROKEN SKY by Shandi Mitchell
  3. JEFF IN VENICE, DEATH IN VARNASI by Geoff Dyer
  4. HEROIC MEASURES by Jill Ciment
  5. THE READER by Bernhard Schlink
  6. NOTHING TO BE FRIGHTENED OF by Julian Barnes (amazon)
  7. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD by Richard Yates (amazon)
  8. DIGGING TO AMERICA by Anne Tyler
  9. ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES by Rivka Galchecn (amazon)
  10. THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG by Muriel Barbery

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GUY SAVAGE

  1. SOMEBODY OWES ME MONEY by Donald E. Westlake
  2. VANILLA RIDE by Joe R. Lansdale
  3. MUCHO MOJO by Joe R. Lansdale
  4. THE ISLE OF DOGS by Daniel Davies
  5. EXIT MUSIC by Ian Rankin
  6. DEAD I MAY WILL BE by Adrian McGinty
  7. BURIED STRANGERS by Leighton Gage
  8. MANY AND A MANY YEAR AGO by Selcuk Altun

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BONNIE BRODY

  1. LOWBOY by John Wray
  2. LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN by Colum McCann
  3. OLIVE KITTERIDGE by Elizabeth Strout
  4. THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU by Jonathan Tropper
  5. LITTLE BEE by Chris Cleave (amazon )
  6. THE BELIEVERS by Zoe Heller
  7. THE SPARE ROOM by Helen Garner (amazon )
  8. MUDBOUND by Hillary Jordan
  9. THE GARGOYLE by Andrew Davidson (amazon )
  10. SOME THINGS THAT MEANT THE WORLD TO ME by Joshua Mohr
  11. NIGHT NAVIGATION by Ginnah Howard
  12. THE LAST SECRET by Mary McGarry Morris
  13. HEROIC MEASURES by Jill Ciment
  14. BLOOD SAFARI by Deon Meyer

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DANIELLE BULLEN

  1. THE GODMOTHER by Carrie Adams (amazon )
  2. MARCH by Geraldine Brooks
  3. THE RAIN BEFORE IT FALLS by Jonathan Coe
  4. EAT PRAY LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert
  5. SAMMY’S HILL by Kristen Gore (amazon )
  6. LOOKING AFTER PIGEON by Maud Carol Markson
  7. THE GOOD LIFE by Jay McInerney (amazon )
  8. THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON by Kate Morton
  9. OUTER BANKS by Anne Rivers Siddons (amazon )
  10. REVOLUTIONARY ROAD by Richard Yates (amazon)

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CHUCK BARKSDALE

  1. THE FIFTH FLOOR by Michael Harvey
  2. LONG LOST by Harlan Coben
  3. THE GUARDS by Ken Bruen (amazon )
  4. TRIPLE CROSS by Mark T. Sullivan
  5. THE FORGOTTEN MAN by Robert Crais

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DEBBIE LEE WESSELMANN

  1. CENSORING AN IRANIAN LOVE STORY by Shahriar Mandanipour
  2. BORDER SONGS by Jim Lynch
  3. IN HOVERING FLIGHT by Joyce Hinnefeld
  4. THE WHITE TIGER by Aravind Adiga
  5. A GATE AT THE STAIRS by Lorrie Moore
  6. A DISOBEDIENT GIRL by Ru Freeman

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JUDI CLARK

  1. CENSORING AN IRANIAN LOVE STORY by Shahriar Mandanipour
  2. LOWBOY by John Wray
  3. HUMAN CAPITAL by Steve Amidon
  4. OLIVE KITTERIDGE by Elizabeth Strout
  5. BLAME by Michelle Huneven
  6. THE BLUE NOTEBOOK by James A Levine
  7. THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy
  8. EMPIRE OF HUMILIATION by Eduardo Galeano
  9. BIMBOS OF THE DEATH SUN by Sharyn McCrumb (most fun!)

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

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TOP PICKS by year:

2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998

2 Responses

  1. argie5 - September 25, 2009

    I must leave a comment about the best book I read this year. I love to share this title with anybody that reads fiction. The name of the book is THE HELP written by Kathryn Stockett! Great writing, great story. A must read!

    argie5

  2. Mary Whipple - September 28, 2009

    Hi, Argie. This is a book that has been under the radar for me, but one of my friends and her husband have said it is fantastic, their favorite book of the year. I just looked it up on Amazon, and with 916 reviews (a huge number in and of itself!), it has 793 five-star ratings out of 916, total! I’ve never seen numbers like those before on Amazon! Thanks for adding to the discussion. Best, Mary

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