It’s that time again – the end of the year means plenty of Books of the Year lists. This year is extra-annoying special, as the end of 2009 marks the end of a decade. While these lists can often be unimaginative, two caught this Books@Torontoist’s editor’s eye: Paste‘s top ten debut novels of the decade and one of the Guardian‘s books of the year list, compiled by notable people like Nick Hornby, Malcolm Gladwell, Kazuo Ishiguro, Vivenne Westwood, and Sam Mendes.
Shaka! Actors, musicians and those famous-for-being-famous types love dabbling in industries like fragrances, fashion and publishing. Only a brave few step up to the plate (pun intended) and publish a cook book. Cookin’ with Coolio includes culinary delights like “Cold Shrimpin’,” “Banana Ba-ba-ba-bread” and “Pasta Like a Rasta.”
Meet the 101 most influential people who never lived. Santa Claus deserves top-five props (he’s #3), but how does Buffy the Vampire Slayer peak at #44? She could easily take Alice in Wonderland (#34) and Prince Charming (#20).
Forensic artist Barbara Anderson sketched eight scary literary criminals for the November/December issue of Believer magazine. You have to pick up their latest issue to see all the sketches, but Boston.com teases us with sketches of McCarthy’s Judge Holden and Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov.
Coolio is a legend!