Why do I love these lists so much? Every December, I look forward to the various year-end lists of best books put out by newspapers and other periodicals. True, they are a great place to find something to read, and to get gift ideas for that difficult person on 
your list. But there’s something else that makes them irresistible to me. Maybe it’s just that I love checking off items on a list, and seeing books I’ve read over the past year appear on the lists makes me feel like a schoolgirl again, getting invisible brownie points from an invisible teacher.
Peruse all these lists to see what you might want to read, now that all those papers are (almost?) finished, and what you might buy for your Mom or brother, your roommate or best friend, for Christmas or Hannukah or whatever end-of-the-year festival you celebrate. Festivus anyone?
- The New York Times 10 Best Books
- Increase your chances: NYT 100 Notable Books
- Washington Post‘s “ten best books of 2016“.
- The Huffington Post’s lists (various possibilities here to score)
- NPR gives you an interactive site to explore.
Okay, I can’t resist with such a captive audience. The best book I read in 2014? (Not FROM 2014 mind you). Has to be Strunk and White’s (and Kalman’s) Elements of Style. Read, or re-read, this one and you’ll find yourself reading everything else in a new light!
Yes, my Twitter feed overfloweth with wonderful lists like “Best Sci Fi Books of the Year,” “Best Novels of the Year,” and “What Your Favorite Authors Choose as the Best [whatever] Books of the Year.” I have already succumbed and purchased (on my Nook) “Station Eleven,” which is on everybody’s list of everything. Thanks for giving a few more lists, which I will check out right away!
Thanks for the links to the lists. I love those year end lists. It is also nice that there is not a lot of duplication across the lists so that is so many more choices. So many books, so little time to read!