Something about the Internet age has brought out an endless number of lists every December.  Music writers are probably the most egregious offenders, with anyone who received a promotional disc in the last twelve months obligated to create an arbitrary catalog of their favorite albums and songs of the year.

Fans of the written word aren't far behind, however, with newspapers, magazines, and blogs carting out a December's worth of noteworthy books (the excellent site Largehearted Boy does an admirable job of keeping up with these lists, including the best of knitting and crochet literature).  Clearly, we're no better, but we tried to put a personal spin on things. Here are our takes on the year that we can almost put behind us.

What was your favorite book which hit bookshelves this year?

Ross Browne:  My favorite book of the year was, without a doubt,  David Kessler's The End of Overeating because it really had such a profound and (thus far) lasting impact on my eating habits and perceptions and values relating to food.

Jesse Steele:  I'm going to have to admit to some guilty pleasures here, I guess.  I've read Kim Harrison's entire Hollows series this year and Patricia Briggs' entire Mercy series along with the Alpha and Omega books.  All urban fantasy with strong female protagonists.  Fabulous escapist goodness all around.

Kate Steele: I'm still working on my reading list from 2007, but I do intend to read The Singing Neanderthals.

Peter Gelfan:  How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer.

Renni Browne: P.D. James's The Private Patient. This writer is nearly ninety years old, and her mysteries still hit the bestseller list and, more important, are splendidly written, wonderfully plotted, and have complex characters you really care about. In fact, they're splendid novels that just happen to be crime fiction.

Andy Meisenheimer: [Nick Hornby's] Juliet, Naked. Though I'll admit I didn't read much this year from this year. Oh and if I can sneak in a nonfiction pick, I read Dave Cullen's Columbine and it was amazing.

Betsy Tice White: No pick for best new book this year as I continue to discover established authors I somehow missed along the way.  Also, the best of the British crime writers--P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, Ian Rankin, Peter Robinson (Yorkshire-born Canadian)--continue to delight, and I'm always hoping to unearth American counterparts who're as good.  I must have lived in the north of England in an earlier life.

Shannon Roberts: The City & The City -- China Meiville just doesn't seem to write bad books.

Jen Howard: The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart. My 11-year-old daughter is better at keeping up with what's new than I am. But this whole series is so fun and smart. I always steal them from her when she's done and read them myself.

Jane Ryder: I don't think I read a 2009 book at all. The most recent thing I've read was You Suck by Christopher Moore, and that came out in 2007. I rarely read things until they've been out for a while. I wait to get recommendations from people whose opinions I respect, so what I read has been pre-vetted. (Which is how I found Christopher Moore -- thank you, Jesse!)

Penelope Stokes: My current favorite (it'll change tomorrow) is Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry. It didn't get great reviews, nor did it wow me the way The Time Traveller's Wife did, but I found myself utterly fascinated by her concept of soul and afterlife and the thin veil between this world and the next. It also has a twist at the end that is thought-provoking, disturbing, and in many ways downright terrifying.

What pre-2009 book was your favorite discovery of the year?

Ross Browne: The New New Bedside Playboy: A Half Century of Amusement, Diversion, & Entertainment with contributions by folks like Woody Allen, Scott Turow, Normal Mailer, and Joyce Carol Oates.

Jesse Steele: Jane's got me reading Terry Pratchett now, and I'm in the middle of Mort, which I think was published in the early 80s, and it's hysterically funny.

Kate Steele: I would have a hard time choosing between After the Ice: A Global Human History 20,000 - 5,000 BC by Steven Mithen and The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes.

Peter Gelfan: This isn’t very pre-2009, but How Fiction Works by James Wood.

Kristi Jenkins: Sabriel, Garth Nix. I was expecting it to be good, but I wasn't expecting to finish it in one long reading binge. It's rare that I'll sacrifice sleep for reading these days - Sabriel was *that* good.

Renni Browne: Love That Dog! and Hate That Cat! Sharon Creech is a new discovery for me.

Andy Meisenheimer: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. It took me awhile to realize it, but I think it trumped about every suspenseful book I've ever read.

Betsy Tice White: As for pre-2009 favorites, 2009 is the year I discovered the astonishing Charles McCurry's spy novels featuring the Christopher family.  I gobbled them up, and since Overlook Duckworth has brought out new editions, others must appreciate them too. Brilliantly credible plots set in a world most of us will never penetrate but enjoy visiting, adeptly realized characters, and a prose style of unparalleled sophistication and elegance.

Shannon Roberts: Very Far Away from Anywhere Else by Ursula K. LeGuin. I hadn't read any of her non-Earthsea work until this book, and it was quite a pleasant read.

Jen Howard: She's been around a little while, but I discovered Elizabeth McCracken this year. The Giant's House: A Romance is my new favorite, and I don't think I'll read anybody else until I finish a couple more by her. (I'm a sucker for stories about librarians. Richard Powell's Gold Bug Variations is another favorite of mine.)

Jane Ryder: It was more a rediscovery of a book I'd read ages ago: Yes is Better Than No by Byrd Baylor, from 1977. I'm a sucker for poignant tragedies about human nature.

Penelope Stokes: Without question, Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas series. Odd Thomas is the most interesting and likable protagonist to come along in years. I'm not a fan of horror and never imagined myself reading Dean Koontz, but Odd Thomas is for Koontz what The Shawshank Redemption was for Stephen King.

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