My short list for the Common Reader

I've narrowed the 40+ list of books suggested for the Common Reader in 2010 down to 19. Which one(s) sound good to you? Are any a definite "no"? Please tell me why or why not. Remember, this is mainly for students who will be freshman in fall 2010. Each book is hyperlinked to Amazon for more details.

1. A Mighty Heart by Mariane Pearl
2. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang.
3. Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx
4. Comfort Food for Breakups: The Memoir of a Hungry Girl by Marusya Bociurkiw
5. Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones for Success by John C. Maxwell
6. Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
7. Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique by Michael S. Gazzaniga
8. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
9. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
10. Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas
11. The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin
12. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
13. The Language War by Robin Tolmach Lakoff
14. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
15. The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon
16. The Tender Bar by J. R. Moehringer
17. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Olvier Relin*
18. Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity by Beverly Daniel Tatum
19. Come Back to Afghanistan: A California Teenager's Story by Hyder Akbar*

*Karen’s favorites so far