How is one to pick from 10 years worth of good books? Does one stick to books one has enjoyed or pick books that other people have talked about, or just look at all the bestseller lists and do a general culling? Tough task, but looking back, there are some tomes that truly stand out from the rest. Here’s a list of some books we’ve loved, lauded and are sure treasure for decades to come.

INDIAN INK
In the last 10 years, there has been a distinct rise of Indian writing in English. Out of all the multitudes of books though, only a few stand out as being genuine phenomenons. And those are the books we’re going to be talking about.

Maximum City by Suketu Mehta
This book holds a special place in my heart as the book that introduced me to Mumbai. Mehta’s series of essays where he explores some of the murkiest areas made the city accessible and at the same time, struck horror into many a reader’s heart. For non-fiction, it moved quite fast and quickly became part of the city’s lore.

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Two of the biggest books of the 2000s were books written about Mumbai and Shantaram was one of them. Okay, technically, Roberts isn’t Indian, but it is an Indian book in so many ways. Is it a true story? We found out later that it wasn’t, but when it first came out, we all read it and speculated away, wildly. There is supposed to be a quartet and I hear we can expect the second part to be released in the coming year. It’s a massive, wrist-aching novel that will keep you hooked till the last page.

India After Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha:
This has become quite the non-fiction heavy list, but history stood out as a topic in the last 10 years. Most surprisingly, was the success of this tome, what would be assumed to be a dry take on India’s history became hugely popular and anyone with an interest in history was picking it up.

Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat
It's hard to believe there was a time before Chetan Bhagat, before books in India became mainstream and accessible, but the truth of the matter is it was released only six short years ago. The author’s easy-to-read language, not to mention the fact that he had TV and print ads made to promote the book, made this one of India’s top sellers. It’s aimed at people first beginning to read, but I’d pick up a copy anyway, just to see what the fuss is about!

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BEST SELLERS
These are books that are on almost every book lover’s bookshelf and that we've recommended to many people over and over again.

White Teeth by Zadie Smith
I've gone on about Zadie Smith before and you know that I think she is the best thing to happen to literature in the recent times. With White Teeth, the good ol’ family saga came back, narrative novels became the next big thing and good reading came to be celebrated again. The book itself won loads of prizes and hearts around the world.

Zahirby Paulo Coelho
Over 21 years after Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist became a bestseller, he continues to be one of the most inspiring and popular authors of the decade. Coelho’s widely-read Zahir (2005), which touched on themes of love, loss and obsession, replicated a similar success story, with youngsters still turning to him for their taste of philosophy.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
This literary novel churned up so many controversies in its print run that it became one of the most challenged books of 2008. I loved it because of the stories of relationships that ran through it — of friends, of father-son and of lovers. Supposed to be an allegory of the Taliban, it is beautifully written and is guaranteed to make you cry.

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
My Name is Read (2001) continues to be considered Pamuk’s best work in English translation, and the international awards that it won is testimony to this. This historic novel’s translation into English not only contributed to Pamuk winning the Nobel prize, but also established him as one of the finest minds of our times. Close to a decade after it was first released, the book is all set to be re-published in Erdag Goknar’s translation as part of the Everyman’s Library Contemporary Classics series, 2010.

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
Anyone who picked up Amitav Ghosh’s vibrant page-turner Sea of Poppies, would have put it down wishing it would continue. And while this trilogy is touted as his most ambitious work yet, Ghosh has been working this same magic on his readers ever since his first major international success The Glass Palace, published in the beginning of the decade.

White Mughals by William Dalrymple
Another non-Indian, but Dalrymple is often the first introduction history buffs would have on India’s vast and tumultuous history. Not to mention, his books are well-researched and well-written, which means, while the subject matter is heavy, you are never bored. White Mughals enjoyed success all over the country as most people’s first introduction to the author and the subject — British men who married Indian women in the 18th and 19th century — was subversive enough to be interesting.

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SHELF RULERS
This section of the round-up is just books that made it to the news in one way or the other. Think of it as the most talked about books of the last decade, for whatever reasons, these books were major. Interestingly, two self-help books feature on my list, making me think that may be we as a human race are just more interested in making ourselves better than in other things.

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
One of the biggest advocates of globalisation in the last decade, Friedman’s The World is Flat busted many myths and forced the “first world” to look at facts they chose to be blind to. The international bestseller not only looked at the world of commerce as one where every competitor has an equal opportunity, but also called for a shift in attitude in the global market, where historical and geographical divisions are becoming increasingly irrelevant.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Ah, Robert Langdon and your mysteries beneath the Louvre! Ah, the Google searches that we all made of The Last Supper to see if what you said was true! Ah, the reintroduction of the phrase ‘Holy Grail’ into real life! 80 million copies, one major film, several spin offs and a tour later, this book will continue to live on in the minds of anyone who read in the last 10 years, for better or for worse.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Okay, so there are many Booker winners. Why did I feel like this one made the cut? For one thing, in India, we loved the book because it was set here. For another, it had such a surprising success. A fantasy novel about a boy stuck at sea doesn’t seem like it would be popular, but it was. Also, there was the whole plagiarism alert, sounded by a man who claimed to have written the same novel ten years ago. That’s enough to sell a book, right?

He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo
This book basically cashed on the enormous popularity that was the Sex And The City series (sigh, I do miss that show. It would feature on my list of best shows of the last decade, that’s for sure.)
Featured on Oprah, the book followed a tough-love approach that many women (including this one) found interesting, refreshing and funny, all at the same time.

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Of course you know this book, with all the pirated booksellers at traffic lights waving it in your face. It was made into a movie, was also on Oprah and reached heights no other self-help book had before. It was also one of the first books marketed with an online viral video campaign. It’s been criticised for making getting rich look too easy, but you know what? I believe it. I think if you truly want something and change your thinking to believe in it, the universe has a way of leading you there. It’s a good secret to have at any rate, whether you’re a believer or not.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Namesake, Indian-born Jhumpa Lahiri’s first novel, which spans thirty years in the lives of the Ganguli family, offered a novel look the life of NRIs in the US. Adapted into a film, this one made Jhumpa an icon of Indian writing in English.

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SURPRISE READS
Let’s begin with books that surprised people by their popularity. These books started out slow but then built up pace. And they deserve a mention for flying off the shelves, winning laurels and staying with us long after they released.

White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
A surprise debut, which went on to win the man booker prize, 2008, The White Tiger brought India under the spotlight yet again, for reasons truly Indian.
The author, whose detached yet caustic commentary took the veneer off “India shining”, shocked his readers with his fresh, funny and different take on contemporary India, the miraculous growth in its economy and the injustices that came with it.
Adiga, in his book, narrated the take tale of two Indias. Balram, the protagonists journey from darkness of village life to the light of entrepreneurial success is unapologetic, irreverent, endearing and unforgettable. The book and the Booker made Adiga an overnight sensation.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Originally I had a category for other genre books that were huge in the last 10 years, but then I realised I hadn’t read many of them, so I couldn’t comment on them one way or another. Persepolis, on the other hand, stands out as being one of the most successful graphic novels ever published. Even novices like me would be able to point out Marjane Satrapi on the streets. It was translated into seven languages, got made into a cult film which was nominated for an Oscar. It made the previously niche graphic novel suddenly something people could discuss at their water coolers.

Eats, Shoots And Leaves by Lynne Truss:
This book has a special place in my heart, being a bit of a grammar nazi myself. Truss’ book, basically bemoaning the state of punctuation in Britain, became a runaway bestseller, much to everyone’s surprise, even the small printing press that first brought it out. Who knew so many people liked a good grammar joke?