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In light of Jamie Layton's post earlier today about the importance of supporting independent bookstores (scroll down or click here to read it), we're especially happy to share the latest Indie Next List for Reading Groups. It's a compilation of suggestions from independent booksellers across the country with a wide range of fiction and nonfiction. The emphasis is on titles indie booksellers believe will inspire especially lively discussions --- and it always includes new and interesting categories, such as, on this list, "Visiting Other Worlds."

Here are the top 10 titles on the Fall 2009/Winter 2010 Indie Next List for Reading Groups, along with some of the highlights in 10 additional categories --- books by RGG.com guest bloggers, so you can find out more about them and their works. Click here to see the full list of Indie Next titles, including bookseller commentary for each one as well as recommendations for younger readers in book clubs.

TOP 10:
1. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel by Jamie Ford
2. Mudbound: A Novel by Hillary Jordan
3. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
4. Still Alice: A Novel by Lisa Genova
5. The Gift of Rain: A Novel by Tan Twan Eng
6. The Help: A Novel by Kathryn Stockett
7. The Well and the Mine: A Novel by Gin Phillips
8. The Lace Reader: A Novel by Brunonia Barry
9. The Outlander: A Novel by Gil Adamson
10. The Housekeeper and the Professor: A Novel by Yoko Ogawa

From "Outstanding Debuts":
Sweeping Up Glass: A Novel by Carolyn Wall
Rooftops of Tehran: A Novel by Mahbod Seraji

"Visiting Other Worlds":
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

From "Memorable Women":
Oxygen: A Novel by Carol Cassella

From "A Backdrop of War":
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

From "Intriguing Tales":
The Good Thief: A Novel by Hannah Tinti
The Unit: A Novel by Ninni Holmqvist

From "Friendship and Family":
The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel by Garth Stein

From "The American Scene":
The 19th Wife: A Novel by David Ebershoff