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I've read a fair number of books this year, most of them quite enjoyable. Today, however, I've finished the first outstanding book of 2009. The Stepsister Scheme, by Jim C. Hines. Go read it!
What makes a book outstanding rather than just good, you ask? For me, it's a combination of objective quality and the feeling of satisfaction or even elation I get from reading. Loving the characters also doesn't hurt. Something might make me squee because it hits on my favorite tropes, for instance, but that still doesn't make me blind to the story's flaws. Or a book may be technically lovely, but the spark's just not there. Tamora Pierce's earlier books are good examples of the former. I love them to bits, but she's gotten a lot better with time. An example of the latter is Catherynne M. Valente's Palimpsest. Lush, gorgeous prose, but there was just something joyless about the story and characters. (Valente's Orphan's Tales duology, on the other hand, goes on my 'outstanding' list.)
Obviously, these are very subjective guidelines, but heck, if I can't be subjective about my taste in books, what can I be subjective about?
What makes a book outstanding rather than just good, you ask? For me, it's a combination of objective quality and the feeling of satisfaction or even elation I get from reading. Loving the characters also doesn't hurt. Something might make me squee because it hits on my favorite tropes, for instance, but that still doesn't make me blind to the story's flaws. Or a book may be technically lovely, but the spark's just not there. Tamora Pierce's earlier books are good examples of the former. I love them to bits, but she's gotten a lot better with time. An example of the latter is Catherynne M. Valente's Palimpsest. Lush, gorgeous prose, but there was just something joyless about the story and characters. (Valente's Orphan's Tales duology, on the other hand, goes on my 'outstanding' list.)
Obviously, these are very subjective guidelines, but heck, if I can't be subjective about my taste in books, what can I be subjective about?
