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Evansville's final 10

In an earlier post, I wrote about Evansville's "One Book, One Town" program. The library has chosen its 10 finalists, and here's a note from Director Kathi Kemp explaining the choices:

The One Book, One Town committee chose the following ten titles as the Final 10. Evansville residents can vote on the one book they think everyone should read for OBOT 2008 via the EFPL Web site; by filling out a form at the Library; by calling the Library at 882-2260; or by sending an email to eagerfree@als.lib.wi.us.

Here they are:

1. "Blink! The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell. "Gladwell offers optimism through demystification: to understand how things work is to have control over them." New York Times Book Review Feb 5, 2006. The importance of intuition and that first reaction to a new situation.

2. "The Tortilla Curtain" by T.C. Boyle. Illegal Mexican immigrants and a tony husband and wife -- whose lives intersect when the rich man hits the poor one with his car. The book ''more than confirms Mr. Boyle's reputation as a novelist of exuberance and invention,'' wrote New York Times reviewer Scott Spencer.

3. "The Natural Step for Communities" by Sarah James. Provides inspiring examples of communities that have made dramatic changes toward sustainability and explains how others can emulate their success.

4. "The Last Debate" by James Lehrer. The author, formerly of PBS's News Hour, has written a timely novel of politics and journalism.

5. "Montana 1948" by Larry Watson. Publishers Weekly starred review: "Indelibly portrays the moral dilemma of a family torn between justice and loyalty; also illuminates some dark corners of our national history."

6. "Merle's Door: Lessons From a Free-thinking Dog" by Ted Kerasote. Kerasote, winner of the National Outdoor Book Award, draws on inspirational experiences with his beloved canine companion, Merle, and extensive research in animal behavior to advance the notion that living in harmony with our dogs requires us to embrace—rather than suppress—their natural instincts. (Publishers Weekly)

7. "The Bookseller of Kabul" by Asne Seierstad. Back on the Final 10 by popular demand. After living for three months with the Kabul bookseller Sultan Khan in the spring of 2002, Norwegian journalist Seierstad penned this astounding portrait of a nation recovering from war, undergoing political flux and mired in misogyny and poverty. As a Westerner, she has the privilege of traveling between the worlds of men and women, and though the book is ostensibly a portrait of Khan, its real strength is the intimacy and brutal honesty with which it portrays the lives of Afghani living under fundamentalist Islam. (Publishers Weekly)

8. "People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. All 768 pages of it! According to this classic of revisionist American history, narratives of national unity and progress are a smoke screen disguising the ceaseless conflict between elites and the masses whom they oppress and exploit.

9. "The Forest Lover" a novel by Susan Vreeland. Based on the story of legendary painter, naturalist, and icon Emily Carr, who lived in the untamed British Columbian Coast at the turn of the 20th century.

10. "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver. This funny, inspiring book is a marvelous affirmation of risk-taking, commitment and everyday miracles.