Ron Nurwisah, Boy Reporter

Here’s my picks for the best books of 2009. You can read Mark and Brad’s picks on the Afterword.

Ron Nurwisah

1. Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann — One of the finest novels written about New York or any city for that matter. McCann’s book uses Phillipe Petit’s death-defying tightrope walk across the World Trade Center as its crux, and like that walk, he takes our breath away.

2. Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzuchelli — Asterios Polyp is a tightly-written tale of one man coming to terms with his mid-life crisis. It’s well-trodden ground made fresh by a virtuosic and eye-popping mastery of comic book storytelling.

3. Zeitoun, by David Eggers — Eggers strikes again. This time bringing to life the injustices that a Muslim-American man suffers in his adopted home of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina

4. Columbine, by Dave Cullen — Journalist Dave Cullen tries to bear witness and recreate to one of the most unspeakable crimes in recent memory. An emotionally heavy book but a stellar piece of long-form journalism.

5. The Cello Suites, by Eric Siblin — Music critic Eric Siblin falls in love with Pablo Casals and Bach’s gorgeous cello suites. By the end of this travelogue/music history book you probably will too.

6. Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, by Leanne Shapton — Illustrator Leanne Shapton tells the story of a fictional couple through the objects they used and shared. A deliciously voyeuristic take on the love story genre.

7. The Golden Mean, by Annabel Lyon — Recreating the world and emotional space of one of the western world’s greatest thinkers is no easy feat. That B.C.’s Annabel Lyon does so in such a convincing manner in this book puts her at the top ranks of this country’s novelists.

8. What Would Google Do, by Jeff Jarvis — Journalist Jeff Jarvis tries to figure out how one of this decade’s biggest technology and business success stories works. The book is full of insight that sheds light not just on the search giant but also on a myriad of other businesses.

9.  Sag Harbor, by Colson Whitehead — One of America’s finest young novelist gives us a book that touches on race, nostalgia and the universals of coming of age.

10. Corked, by Kathryn Borel — Follow a father and daughter, both with outsized personalities to match, as they wend their way through France’s wine country. The end result, not unlike drinking good wine, is entertaining and just a bit intoxicating.

Stay tuned for a really great look at the books of the decade that I contributed to and Mark Medley lovingly put together. One omission/oversight was Richard Poplak’s the Sheikh’s Batmobile, which was on Mark’s list. It’s a great travel book and a hilarious look at American pop culture in the muslim world. It really should’ve made my list too. Sorry Rich.