Two Great Book Lists and a Theory

Two great lists.

This month we pick a new region. My favorite part about picking regions is making lists. You can find our little list here.

This got me thinking about what lists out there I look to when choosing what to read next. I also started thinking about why these lists are so enjoyable. What I came up with is two of my favorite lists, and one theory.

The Lists:

The 2013 Best Translated Book Award Fiction (BTBA)

This list is a who’s who of Hipster Presses. Many of my favorites are present: Open Letter, Melville House, New Directions, Dalkey Archive, etc.. The long list is a trip around the world, and offers up a group of books that readers might find particularly challenging. It’s hard to break out of the very American gravitational pull towards authors writing in English. This list helps nudge me in another direction…