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.

We have more to ask our intelligent, well-informed staff, including what they perceive is the trend of the year, who they believe is the author of the year, and what they'll do differently as writers in 2010.

When you hear that a forthcoming novel is an examination of one of the rich investment bankers who ruined our economy last year, I wouldn't blame you for grimacing a bit.  First of all, while it's somewhat pleasing to consider a serious of awful things happening to a symbol for the declining value of your 401-k, it seems like it might be a little too soon to go back to that bad place.  However, Adam Haslett's Union Atlantic might just end up being the lens we see this time through.

The form of Haslett's book almost makes it unreviewable, other than to say whether or not you liked it.  To say much about the characters might give away too much about their character arcs, but Doug Fanning, the center of the story, is an