Best of the “Best ofs”
I have complicated feelings about the “best of” lists the come out at the end of every year. Book lists are usually more prescriptive than descriptive, lacking the depth that makes criticism worth reading in the first place, and the regularity and predictability with which they are produced — often citing works that have already received plenty of attention elsewhere — makes them monotonous to the point of cliche. However, I love list, literary and otherwise, and this year had some really good ones — so here’s my list of the lists:
The LA Times: Forgotten Treasures of the Last Century — This list was full of titles that I’d always meant to read, but hadn’t.
HTML Giant: 20 Important Books in Other Languages — Reminded me of how Anglo/American my reading habits are.
The Millions: Year in Reading — I’ve already mentioned how interesting all the guest posting in this series are.
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