I kinda overdid it this year when it came to books. No doubt, helped in part by my Nero Wolfe Corpus project, I read 78 more books than 2009. Which is just insane. I didn’t think I was reading more or anything–I was just plowing through stuff. I can’t imagine I’ll even come close this year, but you never know… Here’s the list, for those who are interested.

Now for my personal rankings…

As I looked over my list, I gotta say I was surprised and chagrined to see how little non-fiction I read last year. I wasn’t consciously avoiding it, it just happened. Even if I hadn’t, I can’t imagine much being better than Stephen King’s Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I should also note that Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History by Andrew P. Napolitano is great fodder for paranoia, as well as a nice little history primer.

  • The Scott Pilgrim series – Bryan Lee O’Malley. There’s no way to pick one, gotta think of them as a package deal
  • Changes – Jim Butcher
  • One Day – David Nicholls–best book I read all year
  • Anasi Boys – Neil Gaiman
  • Boy Proof – Cecil Castellucci
  • Cursor’s Fury – Jim Butcher
  • Good in Bed – Jennifer Weiner
  • How I Became a Famous Novelist – Steve Hely
  • The Adventure of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle – Patrick Rothfuss (not really a novel, but trust me folks, this is worth the read)

Reading so much, however, leads to more than one stinker. Do yourself a favor and avoid these:

  • Point Omega – Don DeLillo
  • The Ask – Sam Lipsyte
  • Bite Me: A Love Story – Christopher Moore. And I really liked the first two in the series
  • Chemistry for Beginners – Anthony Strong. This thing just didn’t know what it wanted to be, and ended up being nothing.
  • Batman: The Ultimate Evil – Andrew H. Vachss I can’t even explain how horrible this would-be expose of child sex slavery disguised as a super hero story. It was as bad as it was well-intentioned and misguided.
  • Youth in Revolt – C. D. Payne
  • Zorro – Isabel Allende
  • Hello Kitty Must Die – Angela S. Choi
  • Starter for Ten – David Nicholls. Yup, same Nicholls that wrote my favorite book from 2010.
  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
  • The Girl who Played with Fire – Stieg Larsson