To paraphrase the Chinese proverb, there are no bad years for books, it’s just that some are better than others. In going back through my reading list for the year, I would say that 2009 was better than most, offering gems in a lot of different genres.
Without further delay, then, my picks for the 10 best books of the year.
10. “The Secret Speech,” by Tom Rob Smith. Set in the Soviet Union in the days following Josef Stalin’s death, Smith’s atmospheric follow-up to the brilliant “Child 44” turns the tables on Stalin’s alleged collaborators, including agent Leo Demidov, the hero of the previous book, who is targeted for revenge.
9. “Fordlandia: The Rise and fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City,” by Greg Grandin. Who knew? I didn’t, until I read Grandin’s fascinating account of Henry Ford’s quixotic vision, a colony in the Brazilian Amazon that would take care of our country’s latex needs for generations. There’s a reason you haven’t heard of it before . . .
8. “Free: The Future of a Radical Price,” by Chris Anderson. Anderson, the author of the “Long Tail,” has made his mark writing about the cutting edge of social and business trends. His latest is a real eye-opener, examining how “free” sometimes isn’t and how corporations make a profit in the marketplace of the “radical price.”
7. “Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend,” by Larry Tye. Had he played today, Negro League superstar pitcher Satchel Paige likely would have been the highest-paid athlete in the Major Leagues. The legend has always been there-I learned about him from my own father. But with the ubiquity of the 24/7 sports media, there’s something appealing and nostalgic about re-discovering such an enigmatic character decades after his career has ended.
6. “The Good Soldiers,” by David Finkel. The author, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter, joins the 2-16 battalion, a group of 800 soldiers from Fort Riley, Kansas. In his eight months with the soldiers, he witnesses some of the most intense fighting to come out of the surge in Iraq. Poignant, tragic, and brilliantly written.
5. “Chronic City,” by Jonathan Lethem. Set in near-future New York, Lethem weaves tales of dystopia and counter-culture hijinks into an enjoyable tapestry. The author is usually a darling of the critics, but his latest effort has left some reviewers out in the cold. Still, average Lethem is better than most. Worth a look.
4. “Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America,” by Barbara Ehrenreich. The title says it all. I’ll admit to a cynical streak, so this book caught my fancy. If your glass is always half full, “Bright-Sided” may not be the best choice for you this holiday season.
3. “2666,” by Roberto Bolaño. Bolaño died at the age of 50 in 2000, but his legacy as one of the best literary writers to come out of South America in the last half of the 20th century is secure. If you don’t like this 912-page tome, use it as a doorstop. Epic stuff.
2. “The Girl Who Played with Fire,” by Stieg Larsson. The follow-up to Larsson’s accomplished “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” the second book in the Lisbeth Salander trilogy (alas Larsson, as Bolaño, died before his time, just after delivering the completed manuscripts to his publisher), delves deeper into Lisbeth’s complex character.
1. “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day,” by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. Technically, this bread bible full of simple but delicious recipes shouldn’t be on the list, since it was published in late 2007. I’ve only come to it in the last couple of months, though. And you’ll forgive me if you have any interest at all in bread-all different kinds-pizza dough, and even pastries. Check out this book. You’ll never buy another grocery-store loaf.
The disclaimer: Don’t be fooled by the numbering system-it’s arbitrary-and understand that I left off dozens of books that would have fit nicely here; any would make a fine companion on a blustery winter’s eve.
Happy holidays. And bon appétit!

Patrick A. Smith, Ph.D., is an associate professor of English at Bainbridge College.