‘Tis the season for best of
lists.
I read on the internet that these lists aren’t worth the paper on which they are printed. One man’s treasure is another man’s garbage, or something like that. What’s the value of these lists when reading is so personal?
On one hand, there’s something to the argument. The New York Times top books of 2007 are full of stuff I won’t ever read. Why should I give them any credence? Even Bookgasm, which reviews stuff I would read, will have a number of books I don’t like on their list. Acacia by David Anthony Durham has made several best of lists this year. I panned the thing. Paladin of Souls won the Hugo several years ago, putting it near the top of any best of list for fantasy that year. But I thought it was pretty middle of the road.
I love best of lists though. Over on Wordsy I’ve posted about a billion of them over the last month. I certainly don’t put every book on these lists onto my Amazon Wish List. But I do watch for trends. After a billion times seeing The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao show up, it’s now something on my list of books to read.
Sure, there’s also the aspect of confirming my own taste by seeing stuff I liked on these lists. What’s wrong with a little positive affirmation?
And lastly, who put the bah humbug!
in your Christmas stocking? If you don’t like these lists, go pick your books randomly and leave the rest of us alone.
And since this is about best of lists, I thought I’d include some gratuitous pictures of the most eligible singles from Forbes magazine.
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Merry Christmas!
