“Best of” lists considered not useful

I saw this story today.

https://medium.com/@valkyrie8411/98-best-books-of-2017-according-to-goodreads-users-ce6bcd85d191

Here at The Hawaii Project, we read a lot of books. Good books (say, James Salter or Thucydides). Thought provoking books (say, Linda Nagata’s near-future sci fi, Doug Abrams Book of Joy, co-authored with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and The Dalai Lama). Beach books (love me some Jack Reacher novels).

I’ve read literally 0 (zero) of these books. It’s not that this is a bad list. Or that these are bad books! They’re just not for me.

This is why I find “top n” lists, and more generally, curated book websites and newsletters, so utterly useless and uninteresting. It’s not that the contents are bad. They’re just not for me. The person writing the list, and the people reading those books, don’t know me or my tastes.

This is why The Hawaii Project exists. Personally recommendations about your tastes. Your authors. Your favorite books. Give it a go: https://www.thehawaiiproject.com