Top 10 Books of 2010 and Review Recap!

Happy Birthday Daily Genoshan! DG is celebrating its second birthday tomorrow, which means it's time to recap all of the reviews from the previous year, as well as count down the Top 10 Books of 2010! Plus, as an added bonus, I'll put up the ratings for the All-Time Top 10 list!

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!

Top 10 Books of 2009 and Review Recap!

On January 8, 2009, the Daily Genoshan put up its very first review. Exactly one year later, the Genoshan has 42 full book reviews under its belt, as well as 7 short story supplements, and 5 random updates. 54 posts in 52 weeks is not bad for the first year. (Of course, in 2010 we'll be shooting for the full 52 book reviews, but we can discuss that more a year from now.) I decided that a great way to celebrate the first anniversary of that first review, and also usher in the new year, would be to recap all the reviews of 2009, starting with the Top Ten.

The Daily Genoshan Top Ten isn't the best books that came out last year, but the best books that I read and reviewed. So yeah, it's a little subjective, and some of the books are a little old, but that's ok. After the Top Ten will be the recap—the review review—so all of you Genoshans out there can look at the books side-by-side and see if there are any that you missed by accident and might want to read. Enough out of me, though, let's get to the Top Ten!



The Daily Genoshan's Top Ten Books of 2009

10. Tie: John Dollar by Marianne Wiggins; and Candide by Voltaire—8.61

8. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters—8.89

7. 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez—8.9

6. Tie: A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; and Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan—9

4. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith—9.22

3. The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—9.33

2. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—9.39

...and the #1 book of 2009...

1. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer—9.56



***Honorable mentions include Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai (8.59); The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide by Douglas Adams (8.44); Bone by Jeff Smith (8.28); The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (8.17); and White Oleander by Janet Fitch (8.04)***



It's interesting to note that, in the entire Top Ten, there are essentially only 6 authors (if you count both of Jane Austen's books as one author, I mean). It's also kinda interesting that the first and last reviews of the year—100 Years of Solitude and The Valley of Fear, respectively—both made the list. Hopefully 2010 will start and end with a bang as well!

Continuing with business, I thought it might also be fun to highlight the worst books of the year, though they were so painful to read that I can only bring myself to list to top (or bottom, actually) three.



The Daily Genoshan's Worst Three Books of 2009

3. The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs—4.89

2. Atonement by Ian McEwan—4.28

...and the absolute worst book of 2009...

1. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller—4.25



Those books sucked. It hurts to even think about them at this point.

Anyway, I know there are links to all of the posts over on the side bar, but they don't give you the ratings, so here for your convenience are links to all of the reviews of 2009, with their numerical ratings. The Top Ten and Bottom Three are listed here, too, in case you're super lazy and don't feel like scrolling back up.



January

100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez—8.9
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold—6.5
Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan—9

February

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: A Novel in Cartoons by Jeff Kinney—7
He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo—6.2
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling—7.9

March

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs—4.89
Agents of Atlas by Jeff Parker—7.72
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers—7.57

April

Scud: The Disposable Assassin by Rob Schrab—7.72
Candide by Voltaire—8.61
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller—4.25
The New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis—7.67

May

The Hood: Blood From Stones by Brian K. Vaughan—7.19
Time and Materials by Robert Hass—Poetry not rated
Atonement by Ian McEwan—4.28

June

The Martian Tales Trilogy by Edgar Rice Burroughs—7.89
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 by David Petersen—7.5
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith—9.22

July

The Dead Guy Interviews by Michael A. Stusser—6.22
Bone by Jeff Smith—8.28
Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut—7 *2009's only guest post!*
X-Men: Mutant Massacre by Chris Claremont—6.17

August

White Oleander by Janet Fitch—8.04
The Next 100 Years by George Friedman—7.8
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley—7

September

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters—8.89
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown—7.11
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels—6.5

October

John Dollar by Marianne Wiggins—8.61
The Zahir by Paulo Coelho—7.34
Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai—8.59
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide by Douglas Adams—8.44
Peter & Max by Bill Willingham—7.57

November

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer—9.56
Lost Girls by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie—Porn not rated
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller—6.78
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—9

December

The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—8.17
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—9.39
The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—9.33



And don't forget all the wonderful Sherlock Holmes short story reviews!

1—2—3—4—5—6—7



Phew, that was tough. I hope this guide to 2009 is helpful, Genoshans. Happy New Year, and, as always, keep reading!