1. "The Shack"

By William Young

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

2. "Barefoot"

By Elin Hilderbrand

During a summer in Nantucket, three women arrive at the local airport, observed by Josh, a local boy home from college. The women -- two sisters and one friend -- make their way to the sisters' tiny cottage, inherited from an aunt. They're all trying to escape from something: Melanie, after seven failed in-vitro attempts, discovered her husband's infidelity and then her own pregnancy; Brenda embarked on a passionate affair with an older student that got her fired from her prestigious job as a professor; and her sister Vickie, mother to two small boys, has been diagnosed with cancer. Soon Josh is part of the chaotic household, acting as babysitter and confidant, while the women confront their pasts and map out their futures.

3. "Rules of Deception"

By Christopher Reich

Dr. Jonathan Ransom, world-class mountaineer and surgeon for Doctors Without Borders, is climbing in the Swiss Alps with his wife, Emma, when a blizzard sets in. In their attempt to escape the storm, Emma is killed when she falls into a hidden crevasse. As Dr. Ransom struggles to come to terms with his wife's death, he receives two mysterious baggage claim tickets addressed to her. He tracks the luggage to a remote train station, where two Swiss police officers attack him after he picks up the baggage. After a narrow escape, he examines the baggage only to realize that his wife was an undercover agent involved in "the blackest of the black ops."

4. "Three Cups of Tea"

By Greg Mortenson

In 1993, following the author's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, an attempt that nearly killed him and left him being nursed by local Pakistani villagers for seven weeks, Greg Mortenson set out to build the village its first school. Now, 50 schools later, Mortenson has made an enormous difference in the lives of children, especially girls, who attend the schools he has built in impoverished and rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. In an area dominated by Islamic extremists, not the least of which was the Taliban, this was a dangerous job, but one which the author put his soul into. The organization Mortenson founded, the Central Asia Institute, continues to open schools, as Mortenson places a convincing argument that if you want to fight terrorism, you need to do so through education and opportunities.

5. "Big Russ and Me"

By Tim Russert

The late Meet the Press host stories of his childhood and of his special bond with his father, "big Russ." The senior Tim Russert served in WWII, married and settled in South Buffalo, N.Y., worked days for the Sanitation Department, drove a night truck for the local evening paper and raised four kids. Russert's memoir begins as a tribute to his dad, but also takes ample time to tell how Russert junior grew up and became the moderator of Meet the Press.

6. "When You Are Engulfed in Flames"

By David Sedaris

Once again, David Sedaris brings together a collection of essays so uproariously funny and profoundly moving that his legions of fans will fall for him once more. He tests the limits of love when Hugh lances a boil from his backside, and pushes the boundaries of laziness when, finding the water shut off in his house in Normandy, he looks to the water in a vase of fresh cut flowers to fill the coffee machine. Culminating in a brilliantly funny account of his venture to Tokyo in order to quit smoking, David Sedaris triumphs with his sixth essay collection.

7. "Just Too Good to be True"

By E. Lynn Harris

Brady Bledsoe and his mother, Carmyn, have a strong relationship. Carmyn has devoted herself to her son and his dream of becoming a professional football player. Brady has always followed her lead, including becoming a member of the church's "Celibacy Circle." In his senior year at college, Brady is a lead contender for the Heisman Trophy and a spot in the NFL. As sports agents hover around him, Barrett, a beautiful cheerleader, sets her mind on tempting Brady and getting a piece of his multimillion-dollar future. Carmyn is determined to protect her son. She's also determined to protect the secret she's kept from Brady his whole life. As things heat up on campus, Carmyn and Brady's idyllic relationship starts to crumble. They begin to wonder about the other -- are you just too good to be true?

8. "Chasing Harry Winston"

By Lauren Weisberger

The bestselling author of "The Devil Wears Prada" is back with a new novel about three Manhattan friends who vow to dramatically change their lives within one calendar year. Chef Emmy vows to find the future father of her children. The wealthy Adriana decides to settle on just one of her many suitors. But book editor Leigh doesn't know what changes to make because she's lived her way for so long that she doesn't recognize what makes her happy. During the course of the year, the three friends discover that change happens when it's least expected.

9. "The Last Lecture"

By Randy Pausch

A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave -- "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" -- wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment. It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

10. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle"

By David Wroblewski

In this masterful retelling of "Hamlet," a boy is born in rural Wisconsin into a family of dog breeders toward the end of the 1950s. Edgar Sawtelle is no ordinary child and the dogs are not ordinary canines. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend.  But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm -- and into Edgar's mother's affections. Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires. Forced to flee into the wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, but his need to face his father's murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward.