Yes I know it’s not the end of the year yet and yes, you’re probably already sick of these best of year lists and don’t need another writer’s personal take on favorites consumed over the past calendar month, but I’m going to do it anyway. This is by no means a definitive list, merely subjective and highly personal.
1. Four New Messages by Joshua Cohen (Graywolf Press)
2. Every Love Story Is A Ghost Story by D.T. Max (Viking)
3. Heroines by Kate Zambreno (Semiotext(e))
4. Dora: A Headcase by Lidia Yuknavitch (Hawthorne Books)
5. Cataclysm Baby by Matt Bell (Mud Luscious Press)
6. The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus (Vintage)
7. NW by Zadie Smith (Penguin)
8. The Collected Works of Scott McClanahan Vol. 1 by Scott McClanahan (Lazy Fascist Press)
9. Threats by Amelia Gray (Farrar, Strauss, Giroux)
10. Sky Saw by Blake Butler (Tyrant Books)
Honorable Mention: all the great writer’s who bared their souls this past year, there are too many of you to thank and list here.
That wasn’t too painful now was it? No need for a description of the works mentioned above because, I feel, that they speak for themselves (plus I have way too much to say about each of these that it wouldn’t be a blog post, now would it?)
JMWW 