ED'S FAVORITES OF 2009:
 CUTTING FOR STONE by Abraham Verghese
It almost sounds too over the top - a pregnant Indian nun, a virgin birth, Siamese twins, a hospital in Ethiopia - a dramatic almost biblical story. This is a magnificent, epic family love story that has the sweeping narrative and feel of a great 19th century novel. It embraces life on every page as it moves from India to Ethiopia to an inner NYC hospital.
 JULIET, NAKED by Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby's latest is a big-hearted novel of obsessed music lovers who's love has gone lifeless. The couple has one object of collection obsession: a reclusive American musician named Tucker Crowe. This has what you want out of Hornby: likably bleak humor, pitch-perfect and achingly-real examinations of relationships rooted in music and it's engaging, entertaining and fun!
 THE LACUNA by Barbara Kingsolver
This is Kingsolver's vivid portrait of the artist as a young man: Harrison Shepherd, a quiet dreamy boy caught between two worlds. Kingsolver's amazing portraits of real and invented people vividly connects us to our historical past: the red scare, Stalinism, mass hysteria, and the role of the media. This novel is thrilling, rich, multi-layered, artful, political, and ambitious.
 AWAIT YOUR REPLY by Dan Chaon
The three interwoven storylines of Chaon's latest add up to one burning question: who are you? This is hypnotic and suspenseful cross-breading horror with heartbreaking stories of lost souls and fractured families. (Chaon admitted: "there's a little bit of Hitchcock obsession running through the whole book.")
 THE BELIEVERS by Zoe Heller
Zoe Heller possesses true brilliance as a writer. Her characters, flawed and often unlikable, arouse our sympathy as they desperately struggle for something to believe in. Like Hornby, Heller is a skilled social satirist, adept at dissecting her characters complicated emotions and motivations. This is a profoundly satisfying novel of ideas, manners and morals, and of richly drawn characters searching for something to believe in. You'll love this novel.
IANNI'S FAVORITES (HE'S REALLY NOT DARK AND BROODING HE JUST SOMETIMES READS THAT WAY):
 BLACKBRIAR by William Sleator
A spellbinder for fans of ghost and witchcraft stories, the tale of a teenage boy unraveling the sinister mysteries of his new home in the English countryside will haunt and captivate readers of all ages. This was a favorite of Ianni's as a young boy and he's very glad it is finally reprinted. Don't forget to bolt the door!
 PROPHECY OF THE SISTERS by Michelle Zink
This is a gripping debut and a stunningly well-crafted story about the paranormal and sibling rivalry. A strong female lead, richly drawn characters, vivid settings, intricate plot twists, and even a mini romance; Ianni can't wait for the sequel!
 THE CHILD THIEF by Brom
Based on the original story of Peter Pan this is no Disney fairytale....Peter is no high-spirited rascal but a complicated, sinister Anti-Hero with a sadistic streak, who preys on disenfranchised, runaway, alienated children enlisting them to participate in an ongoing war in Avalon. No one is safe, everyone must fight to survive, and there is a higher body count than in a teen slasher film
 CLASSICAL COMPENDIUM by Philip Matyszak
Matyszak, who has swiftly become the go-to-man for witty surveys of various aspects of classical history, has treated us again with bits of fascinating information that one might encounter at a lively dinner party for classicists. Topics as diverse as incredible traveler's tales, military trivia, weird religious beliefs, odd jobs from antiquity, gossip, and tales of romance are presented in an excellent prose and captivating wit.
 STITCHES by David Small
In the memoiristic tradition of FUN HOME and PERSEPOLIS David Small employs black and white (and often wordless) ink drawings to depict his sad and tormented childhood in a largely loveless and uncommunicative household. This is haunting and heartbreaking but ultimately triumphant and hopeful!
STEFAN'S FAVORITES CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT BUTTER WITH ALL OF THIS TRANSFAT
 INHERENT VICE by Thomas Pynchon
Cloaked as an easy to digest gum-wrapper of a noir novel - Pynchon weaves plenty into the shifting landscape of late 60's Los Angeles. The story has more side-steps than a Dancing with the Stars marathon, but Pynchon is obviously having a lot of fun crafting a readable, smart, engaging, and suspenseful take on what a noir-infused mystery can be.
 EATING ANIMALS by Jonathan Safran Foer
Foer draws a dire portrait in this uncompromising look (inspired by the birth of his son) into where our meat comes from. The American factory farm industry is a complicated beast, and Foer treats our collective history (both physical and emotional) with intelligence and respect. His prose is amazing as he deftly illuminates the animal (both human and domesticated) experience on the page.
 NOBODY MOVE by Denis Johnson
Denis Johnson has become adept at depicting what it means to be a decision maker in our violence obsessed world. A violent (and yet restrained) book - an homage to the crimes novels of the 50s and 60s - it has a bit of genre fun before becoming heady and un-euphoric.
 THE INVENTION OF EVERYTHING ELSE by Samantha Hunt
Circling around the life of a chambermaid at the Hotel New Yorker, this novel deftly interweaves the story of Nikola Tesla's first years in America with those of his last. Hunt captures what it means to invent and to love and the power of our stories to influence those around us. The book is at times infuriating, warm, hilarious, tragic and leaves everything, seemingly, possible.
 ASTERIOS POLYP by David Mazzucchelli
The triumphant return of one of comics' greatest talents gives us an engrossing story of one man's search for love, meaning, sanity, and perfect architectural proportions. This is extraordinarily imagined world of brilliantly conceived eccentrics, sharply observed social mores, and deftly depicted asides on everything from design theory to the nature of human perception. This. Is. Amazing.
SHANE TOOK A LITTLE WALK AND FOUND HIS FAVORITES OF THE YEAR:
 THE MAGICIAN'S ELEPHANT by Kate Dicamillo
Beautifully written, The Magician's Elephant will have you swooning over its dreamlike atmosphere and poignant imagery (stunning black and white illustrations accompany the text). This is not just for young adults! This enchanting, tender novel should be read by all.
 THE LITTLE STRANGER by Sarah Waters
Waters returns with perhaps her most ambitious work yet where she examines the collapse of the British class system post-WWII in the context of a ghost story. The protagonist is the epitome of the unreliable narrator and helps propel this stunning, beautifully written novel. It's all atmosphere and subtle creepiness - the perfect compliment to our snowstorm outside.
 NOTHING TO BE FRIGHTENED OF by Julian Barnes
Part memoir, part philosophical reflection on mortality, Barnes uses lively and candid prose to explore his own family history, aging, religion, with literary and philosophical allusions galore. His musings transcend the personal and speak to the universal and what it means to exist in a world so largely defined by death.
 COLD by Bill Streever
Biologist Bill Streever takes the reader on a journey through science, history & myth-delving into the state and concept of cold, and what it means for us and planet Earth. Streever's prose is lively and poetic while remaining academic and very informative. You'll never take the cold for granted again!
 THE GARDNER HEIST by Ulrich Boser
Journalist Ulrich Boser "inherits" the famous case of the theft of 13 paintings in 1990 after the death of famed art detective Harold Smith and is plunged into the seedy Boston underworld, pursuing hundreds of leads and becoming increasingly obsessed with the mystery. Boser never romanticizes the theft, and maintains a perfect balance between engaging prose and factual evidence.
NANCY'S FAVORITES WITH A SIDE OF MORE FAVORITES!
 BLAME by Michelle Huneven
BLAME starts off innocently enough, but then life changes rapidly for Patsy as she wakes from an alcohol induced blackout charged with two counts of vehicular homicide. Huneven does an excellent job describing Patsy's journey through jail, sobriety and forgiveness and in doing so creates one of the most memorable characters that Nancy has read in awhile. Make sure you stick with this until the end!
 LITTLE BEE by Chris Cleave
Cleave creates two very distinct narrative voices that, over time, reveal to the reader how these two seemingly disparate individuals are inextricably connected for the rest of their lives. The ending has been divisive among readers but left Nancy with a visual that still haunts her.
 CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins
Picking up almost exactly where The Hunger Games (you should read that too) ended (Katniss safe at home with her family while revolution grips Panem), Collins fills this book with the same adrenaline and pulse-pounding prose as the first book. Catching Fire is an amazing sequel!
 LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN by Colum McCann
Under the dazzling image of Phillipe Petit's historic tightrope walk across the World Trade Center, McCann sets this sweeping novel of NYC in the 1970's. Nancy got lost in McCann's amazing prose and the way he tied together the stories of people from all walks of life, creating joy out of tragedy.
AWAIT YOUR REPLY by Dan Chaon
Double selected so you know it must be good! A recent high school grad runs away with her history teacher; a man searches across the Midwest and Canada for his schizophrenic brother; a father-son team operate internet scams from a cabin in Michigan. Three stories that seem unrelated but slowly come together thanks to Chaon's amazing writing and the way he structures the three narratives.
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