These are some of the books I loved in 2010 and why:
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen for making me see that with too much freedom comes too much responsibility
The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them by Elif Batuman for showing how passionate (read crazy) people can be about literature that moves them
Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide by Jon Stewart for HeheheheHahahaHAAHAAHAAHAA
Write Like Hemingway: Writing Lessons You Can Learn from the Master by R. Andrew Wilson for pointing out the nuances of the writer’s greatness
Solar by Ian McEwan for showing the possible dark side of success
Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon for being a literary page-turner
The Road by Cormac McCarthy—wow
Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross for not talking about Bay Village, Ohio in the fifties in the obvious way
The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey for making me want to move to Maui and become a tow surfer—and I can’t swim
Little Richard: The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll by David Kirby for the memories, especially for…”Tutti Frutti aw rootey, Tutti Frutti aw rootey, Tutti Frutti aw rootey, A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-lop-bam boom!”
—Chris
Read it or Weep 