I must acknowledge here that 2010 was a sad year, though. The goal was to hit 52 full book reviews, a jump of 10 from 2009, but we actually dropped down to 37 (wah wah). Most of that is due to the terribleness of what I'm calling the Black Fall. From September through November, DG was forced to miss 11 of 13 Fridays due to various conflicts. There were some fill-in posts, including a new feature, "Why Buy?," which will hopefully be returning soon, but those three months were hard to bounce back from. Luckily, we now have three new reviewers here at the Daily Genoshan—Thom, Melanie, and Emily—,so those worries are forever behind us! But enough of that technical stuff; let's get to the countdown!
The Daily Genoshan's Top Ten Books of 2010
10. Omega the Unknown by Jonathan Lethem—7.85
9. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper—7.9
8. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell—8.2
7. Agaat by Marlene von Neikerk—8.29
6. Stories of God by Rainer Maria Rilke—8.39
5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon—8.67
4. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith—8.88 (Seth's 2nd straight year at the #4 spot on the Top 10 list!)
3. City of Thieves by David Benioff—8.9
2. Android Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Ben H. Winters—9.17 (Ben's 2nd straight year on the Top 10 list, jumping up 6 spots from last year!
...and the #1 book of 2010...
1. The Scott Pilgrim series by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.57 (One of the individual Scott Pilgrim books scored a 9.81, the highest rating ever received, but the scores of the 6 books were combined for the purposes of the Top 10, as all collected editions of comic books are.)
***Honorable mentions include Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (7.7); Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith (7.62); Old Man Logan by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven (7.59); The Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket with Brett Helquist (7.58); and The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (7.44)***
That leaves us with a very interesting All-Time Top 10 here at the Daily Genoshan!
ALL-TIME TOP 10
1. The Scott Pilgrim series by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.57
2. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer—9.56
3. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—9.39
4. The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—9.33
5. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith—9.22
6. Android Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Ben H. Winters—9.17
7. Tie: A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; and Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan—9
9. Tie: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez; and City of Thieves by David Benioff—8.9
Those are the Top 10 books of the eligible 53 that have been rated. Now how about the worst books of 2010?
The Daily Genoshan's Worst Three Books of 2010
3. Greek Street by Peter Milligan and Davide Gianfelice—7.11
2. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen—6.97
...and the absolute worst book of 2010...
1. Omega the Unknown by Steve Gerber—6.5
That's right, folks, the two versions of Omega the Unknown made the Top AND Bottom lists! Although, to be fair, the field was much closer in 2010 than in 2009. #10 on the Top Ten was .76 points lower this year, and #1 on the Bottom Ten was 2.25 points higher. Hopefully 2011's selections are a little more varied!
Well that's enough for rankings. Let's get on to the review recap! Here is what 2010 in review looked like here at DG!
January
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby—7.7
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros—7.44
Dearest Creature by Amy Gerstler—Poetry not rated
February
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell—8.2
Stories of God by Rainer Maria Rilke—8.39
Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell; and Dr. McNinja by Christopher Hastings—Ongoing webcomics not rated
March
The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christopher Meeks—7.12
Greek Street by Peter Milligan and Davide Gianfelice—7.11
The Secret History by Jean Pierre Pécau—Not rated because I worked for the publisher at the time
April
Words For Empty and Words For Full by Bob Hicok—Poetry not rated
In Search of Time by Dan Falk—7.15
Chronic by D.A. Powell—Poetry not rated
May
Agaat by Marlene van Neikerk—8.29
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steven Hockensmith—7.62
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith—8.88
June
City of Thieves by David Benioff—8.9
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon—8.67
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.58
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.36
July
Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.67
Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.36
Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.68
Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.81 (as well as the Ultimate Scott Pilgrim Rating—9.57)
Devil Inside by Todd Stashwick and Dennis Calero—Ongoing webcomics not rated
August
Each Crumbling House by Melody S. Gee—Poetry not rated
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (film) by Edgar Wright—One hundred million billion trillion
Old Man Drinks by Robert Schnakenberg—Books on how to make cocktails not rated
Android Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Ben H. Winters—9.17
September
Disneystrology by Lisa Finander—Astrological coffee table books not rated
Old Man Logan by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven—7.59
October
WHY BUY? Hybrid Bastard! by Tom Pinchuk and Kate Glasheen—WHY BUY? books not rated
November
Black Fall—No posts :(
December
This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper—7.9
Omega the Unknown by Steve Gerber—6.5; by Jonathan Lethem—7.85
Little Bee by Chris Cleave—7.33
The Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket with Brett Helquist—7.58
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen—6.97
And that's that! Happy New Year! I hope you're looking forward to 2011 as much as we are here at the Daily Genoshan! Keep reading, Genoshans!
1. Omega the Unknown by Steve Gerber—6.5
That's right, folks, the two versions of Omega the Unknown made the Top AND Bottom lists! Although, to be fair, the field was much closer in 2010 than in 2009. #10 on the Top Ten was .76 points lower this year, and #1 on the Bottom Ten was 2.25 points higher. Hopefully 2011's selections are a little more varied!
Well that's enough for rankings. Let's get on to the review recap! Here is what 2010 in review looked like here at DG!
January
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby—7.7
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros—7.44
Dearest Creature by Amy Gerstler—Poetry not rated
February
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell—8.2
Stories of God by Rainer Maria Rilke—8.39
Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell; and Dr. McNinja by Christopher Hastings—Ongoing webcomics not rated
March
The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christopher Meeks—7.12
Greek Street by Peter Milligan and Davide Gianfelice—7.11
The Secret History by Jean Pierre Pécau—Not rated because I worked for the publisher at the time
April
Words For Empty and Words For Full by Bob Hicok—Poetry not rated
In Search of Time by Dan Falk—7.15
Chronic by D.A. Powell—Poetry not rated
May
Agaat by Marlene van Neikerk—8.29
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steven Hockensmith—7.62
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith—8.88
June
City of Thieves by David Benioff—8.9
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon—8.67
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.58
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.36
July
Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.67
Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.36
Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.68
Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley—9.81 (as well as the Ultimate Scott Pilgrim Rating—9.57)
Devil Inside by Todd Stashwick and Dennis Calero—Ongoing webcomics not rated
August
Each Crumbling House by Melody S. Gee—Poetry not rated
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (film) by Edgar Wright—One hundred million billion trillion
Old Man Drinks by Robert Schnakenberg—Books on how to make cocktails not rated
Android Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Ben H. Winters—9.17
September
Disneystrology by Lisa Finander—Astrological coffee table books not rated
Old Man Logan by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven—7.59
October
WHY BUY? Hybrid Bastard! by Tom Pinchuk and Kate Glasheen—WHY BUY? books not rated
November
Black Fall—No posts :(
December
This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper—7.9
Omega the Unknown by Steve Gerber—6.5; by Jonathan Lethem—7.85
Little Bee by Chris Cleave—7.33
The Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket with Brett Helquist—7.58
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen—6.97
And that's that! Happy New Year! I hope you're looking forward to 2011 as much as we are here at the Daily Genoshan! Keep reading, Genoshans!
It's a rare book that can live up to advance buzz of the sort "The Night Circus" has been getting. I had read the author plugs, the publisher's notes, the touting of film deals, and I had wondered what could really be so special about this novel to justify the hoopla.
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