Monday, November 12, 2007

AAR's Top 100 - what do you think?

Lord of Scoundrels
Yay! It's out. And I'm happy to say I've read so many of the books that made the top 100, and loved lots of them. And Lord of Scoundrels was #1. Again. Oh yeah. (Thank the lord it got a new cover!)




Devil in Winter
I always love the mini-polls, too. And the Best/Worst of the year. This year's best categories were owned by Devil in Winter and Lord Perfect. Woohoo!!! I couldn't agree more.


Lord PerfectAnd Elizabeth Hoyt walked away with Best New Author. Congrats to her. And well deserved. Her Prince trilogy was fabulous! And The Raven Prince (my favorite of the three) won several awards as well.

Poor Julia Quinn - On the Way to the Wedding got Worst Read and Most Disappointing Read, and she got a Dishonorable Mention for Author You Gave Up On. I still love you, JQ!

Something Wonderful
So many of the Judith McNaughts I've read these last few months made the top 100. I agree with those also!

How about you? What do you think of the list this year?

12 People Gabbed:

Anne said...

Have to say I was a bit surprised at the overwhelming number of historicals. Cripes! But I was EXTREMELY RELIEVED that JR Ward only hit the list once. Is that mean of me? Yes? Ask me if I care. Snerk!

Lori said...

LOL - so not mean of you :)

I kinda felt the same way. I was totally not into the JRW books.

Rosie said...

I won't comment on the JRW books. Wendy and I gabbed about this a bit today. I was sort of stunned at how many repeat authors there are. Also, (so says the sniping woman who didn't vote) I don't think a book should be nominated unless it's at least 5 years old. Trends come and go and I don't think some of these books (Wards) have stood the test of time.

Also, as huge a Linda Howard fan as I am I don't think all the books that made the list are top 100 quality as with many of the multiple entries by authors. *sigh*

No system is going to be perfect, and since I didn't vote I feel a little squeamish about complaining. There are so many great authors and I feel the list should show more diversity. Did either of you (Lori and Anne) happen to hear how many ballots there were?

sybil said...

The top 100? I think Ward was on there more than once hon. I know at least twice, LA was 11 and DL was on there. But I had thought they were four...

Rosie I didn't vote either. In fact I know of at least 10 people who didn't and that was without asking. All for different reasons from lazy, to forgot to whatever. Personally I think the list is nifty in the way of a 'rec' list and would like it more if it said AAR's Top 100 Romances or some such because it is in no way THE top 100 or representing too many people other than AAR regs, AAR lurkers or bloggers who just like lists.

Anonymous said...

I didn't submit a list because I just couldn't off the top of my head pull a hundred books. (I don't keep records of what I read) If I walked into a store of all the romance books, I could point and pick, but to make up a list? Waaay too hard and too much work. Guess that puts me in the lazy group. *G*

Jennifer B. said...

Yep Sybil, Ward was on there 4 times. I'm ok with that because I loved all four.

Lori - Do you read Heyer or Balogh? I'm thinking I need to check those backlists out. LOL

Seconding your congrats to Elizabeth Hoyt! Great showing. Best new author is dead on for her.

...off to re-read Lord Of Scoundrels...*g*

Anne said...

Okay, okay, so I have selective "vision" as far as JRW is concerned. Snerk.

I, too, was a bit surprised at the number of repeat authors... and some of them on there, some of the repeat books? Not so good IMO.

Dev said...

I'm reading Raven Prince now and am loving it. Would much rather be at home with it now then be where I'm at :-)

I think the list is great for recs. Lord of Scoundrels is awesome and is an absolute favorite of mine, but in my mind Pride and Prejudice should be number 1. It's a classic.

I was glad to see Mr. Perfect on there ~ gotta luv me some Sam.

Lori said...

I didn't submit a list - no time, no energy, and I just couldn't be bothered to order my favorites. They're just my favorites :)

JB, I think I read a Heyer years ago and didn't find it to my liking... too sweet, I think. Too... 80s? Dunno... too something.

I've read a few Baloghs and I liked a couple. In fact the one I liked made the list - A Summer to Remember. The others were merely meh. She's anothyer one that just doesn't really do it for me. There's nothing wrong with her, she's excellent. But just not really for me.

Dev, I'm so glad you're loving Raven Prince - I knew you would!

Erin the Innocent said...

So ... I'm so not in love with historicals. There are a few authors who write historicals along with some in another genre - I probably wouldn't have read their historicals if I hadn't loved their other books. lol There are a couple of historicals I've read because of recommendations or a buzz around them, or because they've got other elements in them (paranormal, suspense, etc.)

I'm also not so in love with Wards books. They're enjoyable but they're (IMO) repetitive. Definitely not top 100.

I'm wondering who made up the list? Was it just the one person? Were people who enjoy more than historical romances a part of the decision making? lol Can you tell I don't go to that site that often?

Kristie (J) said...

To Erin - it's a poll of readers top 100 books where readers send in their faves. There isn't a list to choose from - it's all just favourite books.
While 26 of the books were on the list I sent, I've read pretty much all of them except for Jane Austen.
While 74 of mine didn't make the list, I thought it a pretty good representation of whats popular. There were some that didn't make the list that I thought for sure should have - such as The Bronze Horseman, but it was interesting. For me there weren't any to add to my TBB list - but I'm sure there are for a lot of readers. And since the #1 book is one of my all time favourite books - I like that one top spot. As others have said, it makes for a great rec list

Shelly said...

I too was a bit surprised at all the historicals. I didn't vote, but I can say that I've only read about half of the books that were listed and probably only about half of those would have made my list.