Perhaps I was a lazy reader this year (list-less, you might say), or maybe it was a bad year for literature, but I can't generate a "best of" list.  As in "the best books of 2009." 

It's the time of year for "best of" lists.  Not one to pass up a blog topic, I usually like to post my favorite books of the year.  Only I can't.  Certainly there were some good books published this year, and I must have read some of them, but, to be honest, none that stick to the ribs in the way that a good book will.  (Well, maybe one book, a certain holiday mystery, but that's another post, for another day).  

So I ask you instead to tell me about a book that was published in 2009, one book that spoke to you, not necessarily a great book (although it could be) but a book that mattered to you.

 

"So put away all your seasonal tasks. Set aside the baking, the decorating, the wrapping of gifts. Quit shopping for Aunt Marla. You know she'll return anything you buy anyway. Don't worry about the dust bunnies under the table. Finding them there will give your mother-in-law greater joy than the expensive perfume you bought at Macy's. Buy your turkey already cooked with all the trimmings at the Acme down the street from Cassie's house. You have more important things to do this holiday season. You need to curl up with a good mystery and Jeff Markowitz has written the perfect one for this time of year."

Thank you, jerjonji.

EDIT: If a picture is worth a thousand words, three pictures are priceless.  Thank you, april. 

Neilsen Business Media announced yesterday that it is shutting down Kirkus Reviews.  This may not be a big deal to most readers, but, on author listservs, it's just about the only thing people are talking about today.  I've seen quite a few comments suggesting that this decision marks the end of an era.  That it reflects a cultural shift (made possible by the internet) from "professional" reviews to "reader" reviews.  That it is a good thing (eg. "it's more important to hear what readers in general are thinking than it is to hear what academics and critics think").   That it is a bad thing (eg. "they were one of the few remaining venues for unbiased and educated reviews").

It seems to me that what it is is a business thing.  Greg Farrar, President of Neilsen Business Media (as reported in Poynter Online) announced that Neilsen sold off "eight brands in the Media and Entertainment Group, including Adweek, Brandweek, Mediaweek, The Clio Awards, Backstage, Billboard, Film Journal International and The Hollywood Reporter" in addition to shutting down Kirkus and Editor & Publisher.  The decision was made, according to Farrar, "to strengthen investment in our core businesses – those parts of our portfolio that have the greatest potential for growth."  Like many companies in a bad economy, Neilsen is pulling back, focusing on those core functions that are most likely to turn a profit.

"Reader" reviews, posted on book blogs and on amazon will continue to grow in number and in influence as the online community of readers and writers expands.  This seems to me to be a good thing.  But it does not need to be the only thing.  "Professional" reviews and "reader" reviews serve equally valid, but somewhat different, functions.  I am curious to see who steps up and fills the void created by Neilsen's business decision.