Near picks
“Anyone who reads independently and spiritedly is going to carry an eclectic canon around in his head,” writes Christian Wiman. “That is half the fun of it all.”
For the past five years or so, I have had the responsibility of coming up with the novels to put on the Century’s list of Christmas picks for fiction. At first I was baffled by this job. Did I have to read every new book? And what exactly are Christmas picks? My personal favorite books of the year? The best books of the year in a literary sense? Books I guessed Century readers would like?
Over this half-decade, I have started to imagine what I think of as a kind of Century aesthetic that I use to make my choices. I look for books that are strong in narrative but not necessarily plot-driven. I look for books that speak to a wider set of social issues or problems but are not political hammers. I look for rich characters and unusual settings.
