Well with another fantastic book swap behind us, we’re closing the book on genre X 2010. Thanks to all who braved the frigid temperatures to swap with us, to the Friends of the the Oak Park Public Library for sponsoring our event, and especially to Desiree and Jennifer who baked some delicious cookies for us all.

We tried something new this year and decided to go around the table and discuss our favorite genre X selections for 2010. We had nearly unanimous opinions on our two favorites, Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli and Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. People also mentioned other favorites like The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano, Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon, and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. Its been a good year for genre X books!

After our discussion, we commenced with the swap. The gift books were great and the competition was fierce, but here’s a list of the choices our swappers had to choose from, in order of opening.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

The Women by T.C. Boyle

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss

The Girl on the Fridge by Etgar Keret

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Blindness by Jose Saramago

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Sin in the Second City by Karen Abbott

World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler

The Wild Things by Dave Eggers

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

The Werewolves of Montpellier by Jason

The Magicians by Lev Grossman and Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert

Thanks again to all who came out and helped us ring out the 2010 year in style. We’re looking forward to seeing you for our discussion of Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides on Tuesday, January 25th at 8 pm at Molly Malone’s in Forest Park. See you next year…