Best Books of 2007... not so much.

I was browsing amazon.com the other day trying to compose my Christmas list, when I came across a link reading, "The New York Times: Best Books of 2007." Naturally, I clicked on it. I've made countless decisions based on recomendations from The New York Times, but after reading their so-called list of best books, I'll never trust their word again.

The New York Times: Best Books of 2007

1. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin
2. The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross
3. Tree of Smoke: A Novel by Denis Johnson
4. Then We Came to the End: A Novel by Joshua Ferris
5. Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish
6. Out Stealing Horses: A Novel by Per Petterson
7. Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran
8. The Savage Detectives: A Novel by Roberto Bolano
9. The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History by Linda Colley
10. Man Gone Down: A Novel by Michael Thomas

I'm ashamed to admit I have not read any of these books. And to think I call myself a reader. I read some reviews on the above books, and they actually sound pretty good, but I still feel like something's missing from the list. I can't quite put my finger on it. Wasn't there some book that came out in 2007 that sold something like eleven million copies in the first day it was released? I think it was the final instalment in some best selling series, which has had five award winning movies. The author, thanks to her books, is a millionare. I seem to have forgotten about it. Looks as if it slipped The New York Times' mind as well. Gee, what was it called again? It's on the tip of my tongue.... Oh yeah! HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS! Hmm.... I wonder why The New York Times didn't think it was worthy of their little list. Maybe they thought nobody would notice. =)

Seriously now, whoever made this list should be sent to some other planet where nobody's heard of Harry Potter.