Broken Word: Are Best Of Lists Helpful to You?

Julia Keller of the Chicago Tribune writes a post here expressing her disconcertion with "Best Of" lists at the end of the year. She seems to suggest end of the year Best Of lists hang too much on the past, are too preoccupied with the literary landmarks of yesteryear. Not to mention she regards list compositions as effortless. She also critiques the lack of passion and warmth in the construction of those lists, calling them "cold, methodical calculation[s]." She seems to feel, rather, there should be greater zeal for the best of now, the present, and what is to come.

I do understand her concern when speaking on the possible anxieties over putting together a Best Of list:

I find myself a lot more worried about balance and diversity than about naming the books that really moved me, instructed me, surprised me, infuriated me, shook me up and turned me round — even though, invariably, the books that actually do all of those things end up being a naturally diverse, effortlessly inclusive lot.

I understand the feeling of pressure to construct a Best Of list that is as democratic as possible for the sake of seeming more credible, inclusive, sophisticated or "open-minded." I don't understand that call to be super-conscious because I, myself, have compiled a Best Of list, but because I've read people's reviews of Best Of lists, and their major complaint is always, 'why aren't there more ___________ on the list?' And the absence of __________ usually makes the person suggest ignorance or naivety on the part of the list compiler. I agree with Keller in that you just need to choose the best work, period.

At the same time, I don't entirely understand her frustrations. A list, to me, by nature is impersonal, cold, mechanical, uninspired. I don't have an issue with the compilation of Best Of lists. I don't feel they're desperate or inauthentic or threaten the integrity of the work listed. Honestly, they give me a potential reading list to, in turn, put together for myself. I don't really concern myself with those works potentially representing a higher brand of work, or worry about their prestige. I just look at those lists as potential reading material for the future. They are helpful in that way.

What are your thoughts? Do you read Best Of lists? Do you find them useful in your selection of books to read, or movies to view, etc?

Again, you can read Keller's post here.

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