What’s the best book you read this year?
Worst?
Favorite?
For the best (and my favorite!), I refer you to my 2010 in Review post—the top spot on my top ten list went to, of course, The Lord of the Rings, which I reread in the spring. As I walked the dog yesterday, I pondered the pre-The Lord of the Rings world; it was kind of frightening.
As for the worst? C. J. Cherryh’s The Paladin, a novel that tries to get you to sympathize with a protagonist who believes in corrective rape. Disgusting. Corrective rape is still a problem in our world; if you’ve a moment, please take it to sign this petition to make corrective rape a hate-crime in South Africa (it’s commonly used to assault lesbian women). It’ll make me feel better about having read this.
An honorable mention must go to Abby from Tyger Tyger, an annoyingly unfunny sassy best friend who absolutely infuriated me, although the book itself was decent. I hope she gets eaten by goblins, that binary-reinforcing, disrespectful, pace-destroying twit.
The Literary Omnivore 
Wow, yikes, I guess I feel dumb. I never really knew about corrective rape. How horrible!
Thanks for stopping by.
I found it difficult to choose best of the best. Worst of the worst was easier. My Booking Through Thursday.
I do want to reread Lord of the Rings some time — loved it the first time some years ago. I had never heard of corrective rape before — how horrible.
It’s really a fantastic novel.
I haven’t read The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I don’t usually read books like that.
…trilogy? The Lord of the Rings is a single novel—it was initially published in three volumes due to post-war paper shortages in England and is now traditionally published as such as a quirk of its publication history.
As for fantasy (I’m assuming that’s what you mean by “books like that”!), it’s a rich and wonderful genre. This post is about fantasy novels with crossover appeal, if you’re looking for somewhere to start.
Best: The Trophy Bride’s Tale by Cyrilla Barr
Worst: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Favorite: Everyone Loves Elwood by Karen Quigley
Petition signed.