best of 2019

Best Book: 

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August 

by Claire North 

Runner Up:

Pygmy 

by Chuck Palahniuk 

Best Graphic Novels:

1. Deadpool: Dead Presidents
by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan 

2. All New Guardians of the Galaxy:

Communication Breakdown
by Gerry Duggan 

3. The Infinity War by Jim Starlin 

kudos

best of 2018: books 

Beneath London - James P. Blaylock 

Diary - Chuck Palahniuk 

The Wastelands - Stephen King

graphic novels

Thanos Rising - Jason Aaron 

The Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk - Greg Pak

The Infinity Gauntlet - Jim Starlin

Thor vol. 1 - J. Michael Straczynski

Longshot - Ann Nocenti

faves '17

1. The Aylesford Skull  - James P. Blaylock 

2. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess 

3. Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk 

favorites 2016

Chronic City - Jonathan Lethem

Lord Kelvin's Machine - James P. Blaylock 

All We Need of Hell - Harry Crews 

years best

I read too many books this year to pick just one favorite.

Or three. Here's five.

1. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

2. Blade Runner 2 The Edge of Human by KW Jeter

3. - 5. Earthship Volumes 1-3 by Michael Reynolds

 

 

annual favorite 2014

This year's Upside Your Mind favorite book is:

The Wise Man's Fear

by

Patrick Rothfuss.

***

Runner up:

Fiendish Schemes

by

KW Jeter

Best

The best book I read this year was:

Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me

by

Martin Millar

***

Runner Up:

Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs

by

Chuck Klosterman

Top 3

This year's "best book I read this year" award goes to Slam by Lewis Shiner. Second place goes to Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card. 3rd place: Ringworld by Larry Niven.

best books

This years winner of upside your mind's book of the year is:

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Runners up was a tie between

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers and

Infernal Devices by K.W. Jeter

Honorable mention goes to

Amnesia Moon by Jonathan Lethem

Top Reads

I had a tough time deciding which was the best book I read last year. After careful consideration, I finally chose Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff.
Since I had trouble choosing the top read, I decided to choose 2 for a tie in the runner up spot, and they are: When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris and The Wall of the Sky, The Wall of the Eye by Jonathan Lethem.

annual faves

I love the annual list. I just enjoy looking back and thinking of all the stuff I read this year and last, and the ones before that. A new thing I'm going to do here, starting now, is select a favorite read and a runner up. This is going to be retro-active, meaning I'll pick the previous years' faves as well. Here we go:

2009

Favorite:

Ender's Game

by Orson Scott Card

Runner up:

Vurt

by Jeff Noon

2008

Favorite:

MASH

by Richard Hooker

Runner up:

Me Talk Pretty One Day

by David Sedaris

2007

Favorite:

The Hollow Earth

by Rudy Rucker

Runner up:

Immortality Inc.

by Robert Sheckley

2006

Favorite:

Master of Space and Time

by Rudy Rucker

Runner up:

Swords of Lankhmar

by Fritz Leiber

2005

Favorite:

Fuzzy Dice

by Paul DiFilippo

Runner up:

The Hacker and the Ants

by Rudy Rucker