by Helena Whyte

Created on: October 14, 2010

The best nonfiction books for 2009 were:

1. Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything by Daniel Goleman. Ecological Intelligence is one of the better environmental concerns books of the year because it engages individuals to assess their purchasing decisions to determine how buying decisions affect the environment. He compares manufacturing processes which can cause more damage than how long it takes for a product to decompose. Ecological Intelligence was the best of the books in this subject area which included On Thin Ice by Richard Ellis and Ecological Intelligence: Rediscovering Ourselves in the Environment by Ian McCallum.

2. Stones Into Schools by Greg Mortenson. Three Cups of Tea was a popular book club selection which introduced the world to Greg's passion for building schools for girls in remote regions of Pakistan. Greg Mortenson tells of successes in building schools in Afghanistan in his latest book. We also learn what has become of some of the first girls to complete schooling in schools he founded.

3. A Mathematical Nature Walk by John A. Adam. Adam proposes ninety-six questions. He discusses how phyllotaxis distributes the arrangements of leaves, petals, seeds, florets, and branches on a stem. He also looks at Fibonacci spiral patterns and golden angles.

4. Cloris: My Autobiography by Cloris Leachman with George Englund. Cloris tells the story of her acting career in the same zany fashion as her roles in the Mary Tyler Moore Show,  the Facts of Life, and Dancing with the Stars.

The best fiction books for 2009 were:

1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was also a popular book club selection. The book tells about the Guernsey Island German occupation during World War II through fictional letter correspondence.

2. Still Life by Joy Fielding. Still Life tells the story of a young successful woman betrayed by her husband and best friend. Casey Marshall is left in a coma after a hit and run accident. She cannot move or talk but she hears everything.

3. Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas. Prayers for Sale is a series of stories about settling in a Colorado mining town. The stories weave a portrait of Hennie Comfort and how she helps her fellow mountain inhabitants. The stories show us pieces of her life just as the quilts she liked to sew came together from pieces of fabric.

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