I don't know about you, but I love reading through all of the end of the year "best of" lists.
- First up, Publishers Weekly
"Even without hurricanes, assembling the Best Books issue is tough. To decide on our top 10, we went back to our tavern annex this year, editor after editor making their case for what should and shouldn't make it. In 2011 we all rallied around a popular novel; this time we threw that love at Chris Ware, who designed and hand-lettered our cover (featuring the first alteration of the PW logo in the company's history) based on his brilliant book-in-a-box, Building Stories, plus nine other amazing books in our top 10, plus more than a hundred others that made 2012 an amazing year for books."
- Kirkus Reviews only has their Best Children and Best Fiction posted so far but they get points for good judgment for including UNP author Joy Castro's Hell or High Water (published by St. Martin's/Thomas Dunne). Castro's UNP titles include Island of Bones and The Truth Book.
- The New York Times Book Review editors chose the best 100 fiction, poetry, and nonfiction books. Then they narrowed it down to the top 10 fiction and nonfiction.
- The Slate staff picks are an eclectic mix. They also published a list of overlooked books.
"The Slate Book Review runs but 15 pieces a month. Hundreds upon hundreds of books fall through the cracks! We asked SBR writers what 2012 titles they felt were criminally underappreciated. Check out the buried treasures they unearthed."
- The Huffington Post book editors published their best of 2012 list back in October, saying,
"we were enchanted by writers who took risks: Davy Rothbart's big-hearted memoir moved us, Sheila Heti's intimate and peculiar story reached out to us, and Gillian Flynn's genre-bending thriller kept us up at night. Sure, there are a few stalwarts we'll never grow tired of–how can anyone resist Junot Díaz's sharp tongue, Marilynne Robinson's tender poignancy and Jonathan Franzen's cynicism?–but, for 2012 at least, we applaud the authors, both debut and more seasoned, who strayed from conventions."
The Pelican Project
things magazine is "an occasional weblog (and even more occasional magazine) about objects, collections and discoveries." The Pelican Project is a collection of Pelican paperback book covers from the 1930s through the 1980s. (via BoingBoing)
The Goodreads Hipster Lit Flow Chart
Are you a hipster wondering what to read next? Yes? Look no further.
After analyzing the data, and admittedly, taking some editorial liberties, we've determined a few things. The life of the hipster is hard. Between worrying the band you love is about to go big and wondering whether it's finally time to wash your raw denim jeans, you don't have a lot of time to think about what to read next. To make matters worse, now that you've raced through his collected essays, Both Flesh and Not, you've run out of David Foster Wallace books.
UNP blog 