Top Books of 2010 So Far

BookPage offers us a list of the Top 20 Books of 2010 So Far based on the number of hits on their web page. Besides being a rough guide to books that might be worth reading, this gives you a chance to get caught up on your best-seller reading. Kind of like going to movies throughout the year so when Oscar time rolls around, you have seen one or two of the nominees for best picture. Except a lot fewer people will be doing this so don't count on anyone being impressed!

Note that the list is based on popularity, not critical reviews. But people who are clicking on BookPage are likely to be enthusiastic and discerning readers.

I just finished Chris Bohjalian's Secrets of Eden, (click for extensive review) which is on the list. I liked it, but though I'm usually clueless when reading mysteries, I guessed the ending about halfway through the book. Bohjalian's Double Bind had an unreliable narrator, and the blurb indicated Secrets of Eden would too, so my spidey senses were alert and tingling and I was able to guess "who done it." I prefer to be mystified.

A much better book, also on the BookPage list, was Heidi Durrow's The Girl Who Fell From The Sky, a complex tale of family sorrow and racial identity, which I recommend wholeheartedly. Rachel, who like the author is half Danish and half African-American, survives a tragic fall in which the rest of her family dies. She moves in with her African-American grandmother, and learns how to fit in this mostly Black environment. The characters she interacts with are insightfully written.

You can click through to reviews of all the books on the list, and there are several I'm going to take a look at. I'll keep you posted!

Happy reading!