Publishers Weeky Top 10 Books of 2009

Although a bunch of new titles are still to come in 2009, Publishers Weekly released its top 10 list for the year. Included on PW's list is one of my favorites, Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon.



Here are the rest of their picks:

The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
by Richard Holmes.

Big Machine: A Novel
by Victor LaValle.

Cheever: A Life
by Blake Bailey.

A Fiery Peace in a Cold War: Bernard Schriever and the Ultimate Weapon
by Neil Sheehan.

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
by Daniyal Mueenuddin.

Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi: A Novel
by Geoff Dyer.

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
by David Grann.

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work
by Matthew B. Crawford.

Stitches: A Memoir
Stitches by David Small (Norton).

Highly Recommended Reading: "Await Your Reply" by Dan Chaon.

If you love to read fiction, you must read Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon. If the book was a live performance, at the end the audience would shout, roar, and leap to their feet in applause.

Please don't read a lot of reviews and plot summaries of the book - don't read the customer reviews at Amazon because they tell too much! One of the true delights of this excellent book is simply allowing the author, Dan Chaon, to unfold the story for you. I will tell no more than the book jacket tells: "The lives of three strangers interconnect in unforeseen ways - and with unexpected consequences . . ."

Just pick-up Await Your Reply - a mystery / suspense novel which ponders the nature of identity - and read.

Up-date: NPR review of Await Your Reply