Clever Magazine, Spr '10 "2010 Clever Book Awards " (www.clevermag.com)

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The Clever Magazine
Book Awards for 2010

by the Phantom

Make more time for reading!

As you may know, we've been handing out book awards for a number of years now. This year with a little help of some reading friends, the Phantom has taken on the task of making the momentous decision of choosing the award winners from the books that have come to her attention over the past year and a half. In other words, the committee has been temporarily disbanded or is out to lunch, or perhaps on a long vacation.

The Phantom 's quest for the most interesting and well-written books is once again running on empty. It seems that though this particular era is simply awash depressing narratives and political drivel. We're thinking that the beginning of the twenty-first century is going down in history as the Prozac era. Writers are either on anti-depressants of some sort, which clouds their thinking, or are in need of some.

Never fear though, the Phantom was able to come up with an interesting list. You will note that several authors are making return appearances. Sometimes the best authors are also the most prolific ones, and other times, it's only published authors that can publish again. So without further ado, here are the winners:

Fiction:
The Winner: The Women, by T. C. Boyle

Runners up:
Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout (winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize)
Ford County, by John Grisham

Non-Fiction:
The Winner: Conscience of a Liberal, by Paul Krugman

Runner-up: 100 Things You're not supposed to know, by Ross Kick

Memoire:
The Winner: My Life in France, by Julia Child

Nature and environmental Writing:
The Winner: The Wild Trees: a story of passion and daring, by Richard Preston

Mystery/Thriller Novel:
The winner: The Tourist, by Olen Steinhauer

Runners up: "The Girl" books by Stieg Larsson

Travel Essay:
The Winner: Traveling on the Edge, by Julie Llewellyn Smith

Runner up: Ghost Train on the Eastern Star, by Paul Theroux

Best Classic (that I only read part of but am a better person for):
The Winner: Kierkegaard

Inspiration:
The Winner: Furry Logic: a guide to Life's Little Challenges, by Jane Seabrook

Pure Drivel award:
The Winner: How I Helped O.J. Get Away With Murder, by that nervy little creep Mike Gilbert. And we cut down trees to publish this drivel.

So there you have it. A round of applause for the Phantom, who all deserves a new pair of reading glasses and a nice cup of tea for all her hard work again this year.

Previous years' awards:
1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006/7, 2008/9

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