Mercer Island Bestsellers of 2010: A Bounty of Books for the Holidays

According to Island Books owner Roger Page, hardback books and trade paperback books have different audiences. "Hardcover sales represent the most common denominator; some are popular and good, and some are just popular because they get play in the media," he said. "The paperback bestseller list is determined by book club choices, because book clubs drive sales each month."

Book Club/Paperback Bestsellers

1. "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese

2. "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford (Seattle author)

3. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson

4. "Little Bee" by Chris Cleve

5. "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein (Seattle author)

6. "Reliable Wife" by Robert Goolrick

7. "Let The Great World Spin" by Colum McCann

8. "Alone Around the Mountain" by Fred Milkie Jr. (Mercer Island author)

9. "Between Two Rivers" by Aida Kouyoumjian (Mercer Island author)

10. "The Lacuna" by Barbara Kingsolver

Hardback Fiction Bestsellers

1. "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

2. "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" by Aimee Bender

3. "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob DeZoet" by David Mitchell

4. "World and Town" by Gish Jen

5. "Room" by Emma Donoghue

6. "To the End of the Land" by David Grossman

7. "Great House" by Nicole Krauss

8. "The Lonely Polygamist" by Brady Vidall

9. "Fall of Giants" by Ken Follett

10. "Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen

Hardback Non-Fiction

1. "The Wave" by Susan Casey

2. "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

3. "Colonel Roosevelt" by Edmund Morris

4. "Atlantic" by Simon Winchester

5. "The Shallows" by Nicholas Carr

6. "Cleopatra" by Stacy Schiff

7. "The Warmth of Other Suns" by Isabel Wilkerson

8. "Gold Diggers" by Charlotte Gray

9. "The Most Beautiful Towns of the Pacific Northwest" by John Tapper

10. "The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande

Children's Bestsellers

"Middle-school age favorites dominate the list because no one can read faster and more passionately than an 11-year-old," notes Page.

1. "Red Pyramid" by Rick Riordan

2. "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

3. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth" by Jeff Kinney

4. "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

5. "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

6. "The Lost Hero" by Rick Riordan

7. "The Girl Who Could Fly" by Victoria Forester

8. "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead

9. "Ladybug Girl at the Beach" by David Soman and Jacky Davis

10. "Archie and the Pirates" by Marc Rosenthal

Picks

Page: "The Wave," by Susan Casey, because "it has the incredible exploits of people trying to surf 100-foot-high waves in Hawaii, and I love adventure tales," and "'The Essential New York Times Cookbook,'" by Amanda Hesser, because "it's also a history book collecting people's recipes from 1871-2009, so you get a wonderful read in addition to classic recipes."

Cindy Carujo, Island Books staff: "'How I Became a Famous Novelist' by Steve Hely is laugh-out-loud funny, and 'How Music Works' by John Powell is a light and funny satire of bookselling, while 'Super Sad True Love Story' by Gary Shteyngart is also a great book."

Kay Wilson, Island Books staff: "I recommend 'World and Town' by Gish Jen because it has fantastic writing and is a microcosm of America."

Nancy Page, Island Books co-owner:  "I thought the characters in 'Cutting for Stone' by Abraham Verghese were interesting, involved in an international story that lingered with me. I also loved 'The Magicians' by Lev Grossman, because it was a fantasy that derives its story from Narnia and the wizards of Hogwarts when they're in their 20's."

Lori Mitchell, children's book buyer staff: "'Red Ted and the Lost Things' by Michael Rosen was my favorite this past year."