Top 10 books of 2010... according to Amazon

Amazon creates "best of" book lists for the first half of 2010.

What do the people at Amazon consider to be the "must read" books from the first half of 2010? They've posted the following list:

1. "The Passage" by Justin Cronin

2. "The Irresistible Henry House" by Lisa Grunwald

3. "Country Driving" by Peter Hessler

4. "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" by Stieg Larsson

5. "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

6. "Matterhorn" by Karl Marlantes

7. "The Imperfectionists" by Tom Rachman

8. "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

9. "Just Kids" by Patti Smith

10. "The Lonely Polygamist" by Brady Udall.

In addition to these "must reads," they also put together a Top 10 fiction list, a Top 10 non fiction list, and a Top 10 Kids and Teens list.

What's missing? In my book, any best of 2010 fiction should include "36 Arguments for the Existence of God" by Rebecca Goldstein, "The Girl Who Fell From the Sky" by Heidi Durrow, "Ruby's Spoon" by Anna Lawrence Pietroni, and "The Theory of Light and Matter" by Andrew Porter.

On the nonfiction side, my 2010 favorites include "The War Lovers" by Evan Thomas, "Last Call" by Daniel Okrent, "Mark Twain: Man in White" by Michael Shelden, "A Mountain of Crumbs" by Elena Gorokhova, and "FDR's Funeral Train" by Robert Klara.

As for kids and teens, "Wishing for Tomorrow" by Hilary McKay, "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place" by Maryrose Wood, "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia, "Woods Runner" by Gary Paulsen, and "Countdown" by Deborah Wiles would make my cut as well.

Marjorie Kehe is the Monitor's book editor.

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