The hardest thing for me at the end of each calendar year is putting together my "Best of the Year" post. I am starting to believe that the books I read during the first quarter of a given year just don't get a fair shake because they are a little dimmer in my memory than those books I read later in the year.So, this year, I'm going to keep a "real time" Top 10 list. It will be a floating ranking of the books as I read them. At least at the beginning, I will mix fiction and nonfiction titles in the same list but it might make more sense later on to split the list into two. Each time that I finish a book, I will rank it relative to the books I read before it and when I come to book number 11, one will drop off the list. That way I'll be all set at the end of the year. My only concern is that this might take all the "suspense" from the list, but I honestly think it will be more meaningful.
This is where I am as of January 13:
1. The Opposite Field - Jesse Katz (nonfiction)The race is on. And it's a marathon.
2. The Calligrapher's Daughter - Eugenia Kim (novel)
3. The Unnamed - Joshua Ferris (novel)
4. William S. and the Great Escape - Zilpha Keattey Snyder (Children's book)
I like this idea!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to see how it works out, Annie. Should be easier to handle even though a bit more time consuming in the long run.
ReplyDeleteA brilliant idea! Since I've only read 5 this year, it makes my list pretty easy, huh? Gilead by Marilyn RObinson is the best so far. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien has been the most surprising.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the maturation of your list!