The End (of book publishing as we know it. Yet again). Over a year old, but a good read if you haven’t already. One of the books listed as a mega-flop (near the end) was one of my favourites of my personal reading year (Glass Books of the Dream-Eaters). A lesson in poor genre labelling? I wouldn’t have called it literary thriller/suspense but literary steampunk. Could it just be that it failed to find its audience because it was hard to categorise – another win for the marketers, a blow to authors who don’t fit neatly into categories…
Words Move Me. This is brilliant. Also an ad for the Sony Reader family. But brilliant. “Connecting readers around the literary moments they love.”
The yearly “best books of” are popping up. Here’s the NY Times 100 Notable Books of 2009. Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2009 came out so early, they apparently preclude any good books coming out for the entirety of November or December. Good Reads’ list is based on reader votes (Chalmers: “It’s just a damn popularity contest with you kids!”). The Guardian has picked some Books for Christmas (which at least is more honest than the ‘best books of the year, and gosh what a coincidence that our list comes out before the end of the year but just in time for your Christmas shopping…’).
They’re also have a Best Books of the Decade series, and are up to 2004. Here’s another decade list. Couldn’t you at least wait till next year? – Oh I SEE, this is the old millenium debate but for the decade. Of course.
And the best books in Audiobooks.
