The Best Five Books of 2010

And I’m going to take that literally and not limit myself to books that were actually released in 2010 because I don’t think any of these would make the cut. And it was hard narrowing it down to the top 5, but here goes:

5. If I Stay. Beautiful and heartbreaking all at once.

4. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Cozy mystery featuring a precocious 11-year-old protagonist. If you haven’t heard of it, get thee to a library and check it out. It was a pure delight.

3. The Hunger Games. Yes, I was late to the party, but damn am I glad I showed up!

2. Looking for Alaska. I read this a few days ago (when it was still December—I’m not cheating) and immediately logged onto Amazon and ordered everything John Green had ever written. My package arrive about 20 minutes ago. How’s that for timing?

1. The Book Thief. Wow. That’s all I can say. This book still haunts me. Powerful, powerful stuff.