More Bests: Publishers Weekly Top 10 of 2009

While we've been counting down our top 100 books of 2009 toward our top 10, Publishers Weekly went in the other direction: they are announcing their top 100 books next week, like we are, but earlier this week they revealed their top 10 choices. It's the first time they've narrowed their usual longer list of picks to 10 favorites, and while they weren't quite sporting enough to rank their 10, we like that their list will provide an even more direct comparison (or complement) to ours (as well as other upcoming top 10s, like the NYT's.) Here they are:

• The Age of Wonder, Richard Holmes
• Await Your Reply, Dan Chaon
• Big Machine, Victor Lavalle
• Cheever: A Life, Blake Bailey
• A Fiery Peace in a Cold War, Neil Sheehan
• In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, Daniyal Mueenuddin
• Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi, Geoff Dyer
• The Lost City of Z, David Grann
• Shop Class as Soulcraft, Matthew B. Crawford
• Stitches, David Small

It's a nice eclectic list, many of which we've loved as well: if you go back, you'll see that four of their ten (Holmes, Chaon, Bailey, and Grann) have already appeared on our list. I will also reveal that another book on their list is also in our top 10. Which is it? Come back on Monday to see... --Tom

Comments

[Florence on October 31, 2009 at 10:19 AM]

Wait, really? Eclectic? There's not a single female author on the list.

[Marguerite on October 31, 2009 at 04:58 PM]

I've liked several of those -- especially Shop Class as Soulcraft -- myself.

(And, Florence -- perhaps they chose the books based on the qualities of the books themselves, rather than on the physical appearance of the authors?)

[RIck on October 31, 2009 at 05:30 PM]

"Wait, really? Eclectic? There's not a single female author on the list."

The idiots must have only been thinking about the books they thought were best. They should have made a list of the best books from each disadvantaged minority. What were they thinking?!!!!?!

[sagit on October 31, 2009 at 06:48 PM]

Florence: If gender does not matter anymore, and I agree that it never has mattered in the intellectual world and never should have mattered ever in the world outside the reproducive/bedroom world, why should it matter in the publishing and book-buying world????

If you cannot stand the heat, get out of the kitchen ... and this is not a sexist statement ... is it how it is. Do not make claims based on sexuality and gender when you want it to be all the same.

Compete, accept the results of competition, or please have the graciousness and dignity to shut up.

[Bryan on October 31, 2009 at 07:59 PM]

This is a fun string of comments, thanks folks! I have a pretty good book by a female author. I believe it's titled, "Indian Cooking with Madhur Jaffrey."

[PacRim Jim on November 01, 2009 at 12:27 AM]

Obama not given all ten top spots? Racists!

[Mikee on November 02, 2009 at 07:11 AM]

The list is sexist and racist! So far, anyway....

I must also point out that we don't know how rich these authors are. Some probably made good money on their book contracts. Why no starving artists of the proletariat? Classist!

The authors all appear to have written primarily in English. Why no Chinese language novels? Languagists!

The authors all appear to be published either in printed book form or on Kindle or using voice recordings on CD and tape. Why no interpretive dance novels? Wordist!

No animal authors to be seen! (Has not Bo, the White House Portuguese water dog an artist's voice worth reading? I loved Barny's books! Speciesist!

[Martha Burke on November 03, 2009 at 12:58 PM]

sagit, I believe the proper phrase in this situation would be "If you cannot stand the heat, get BACK IN the kitchen..."

[Rei on December 13, 2009 at 06:29 PM]

Re:
"Wait, really? Eclectic? There's not a single female author on the list."
Where, in the definition of "eclectic" by the words "feminism" or perhaps "merit-free gender-based quotas" appear
Write better books.