Obligatory year-end list
by Morgan on December 31, 2010
By this point, if you aren’t ready to stab yourself with a poisoned letter opener if you see one more Year’s Best Books roundup…you’re probably not me.
But it’s tradition, so.
Vol. 1 Brooklyn’s list is pretty interesting (mad kudos for including The Possessed, by Elif Batuman), and I soundly agree with The New York Times’ fiction selections, though I’d remove A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan (because I’m apparently the only white person who both agreed with it’s classification as a smart beach read, and also didn’t think it was very good. If you want the queen of the smart beach read, go find Jennifer Belle.)
My 2010 shortlist, in no particular order -
Best fiction:
Freedom, Jonathan Franzen
Great House, Nicole Krauss
Room, Emma Donoghue
The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis, Picador
Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned, Wells Tower
Best non-fiction:
The Ticking is the Bomb, Nick Flynn
The Possessed, Elif Batuman
* Honorary mention to Sloane Crosley, for How Did You Get This Number?
Most disappointing:
The Unnamed, Joshua Ferris
The Ask, Sam Lipsyte
Utterly horrific on a whole new level :
Imperial Bedrooms, Bret Easton Ellis
- Leave your comment • Tagged as: a visit from the goon squad, best books of 2010, bret easton ellis, elif batuman, emma donoghue, everything ravaged everything burned, freedom, great house, how did you get this number, imperial bedroom, jennifer egan, jonathan franzen, joshua ferris, new york times, nick flynn, nicole krauss, picador, room, sam lipstye, sloane crosley, the ask, the collected stories of lydia davis, the possessed, the ticking is the bomb, the unnamed, vol. 1 brooklyn, wells tower
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