The 10 Best Books of 2009 The New York Times

1. BOTH WAYS IS THE ONLY WAY I WANT IT, by Maile Meloy
2. CHRONIC CITY, by Jonathan Lethem
3. A GATE AT THE STAIRS, by Lorrie Moore
4. HALF BROKE HORSES: A True-Life Novel, by Jeannette Walls
5. A SHORT HISTORY OF WOMEN, by Kate Walbert
6. THE AGE OF WONDER: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science, by Richard Holmes
7. THE GOOD SOLDIERS, by David Finkel
8. LIT: A Memoir, by Mary Karr
9. LORDS OF FINANCE: The Bankers Who Broke the World, by Liaquat Ahamed
10. RAYMOND CARVER: A Writer’s Life, by Carol Sklenicka