The editors of the New York Times book review have named their picks for the top ten books of 2008:

FICTION

DANGEROUS LAUGHTER Thirteen Stories
By Steven Millhauser. Excerpt

A MERCY
By Toni Morrison. First Chapter

NETHERLAND
By Joseph O’Neill. First Chapter

2666
By Roberto Bolaño. Translated by Natasha Wimmer. Excerpt

UNACCUSTOMED EARTH
By Jhumpa Lahiri. Excerpt

NONFICTION

THE DARK SIDE The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals
By Jane Mayer.

THE FOREVER WAR
By Dexter Filkins.
First Chapter

NOTHING TO BE FRIGHTENED OF
By Julian Barnes. First Chapter

THIS REPUBLIC OF SUFFERING Death and the American Civil War
By Drew Gilpin Faust. First Chapter

THE WORLD IS WHAT IT IS The Authorized Biography of V. S. Naipaul
By Patrick French. First Chapter

What's the best book you read in 2008?

My pick? Three Cups of Tea.