by JULIET WATERS

This list, selected from books reviewed in the Mirror over the last year, doesn't make the lofty claim of being a list of the best. Some may very well be the best, but some were part of noteworthy trends or just great alternatives to books that will be on all the other lists.

1. Thinly Disguised Autobiography by James Delingpole. It's inevitable this book will suffer from comparisons to that other self-conscious title, Dave Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Eggers' recently released book of short stories, How We Are Hungry, has been well received, and will probably be more widely read than this novel by a rising British star, but Delingpole has a special charm and killer wit that actually earns him all the comparisons to early Martin Amis.

2. Little Children by Tom Perrotta. Attempts at trying to create a "dick lit" to emulate the unstoppable commercial success of chick lit were painful failures this year with terrible sales of books like Love Monkey and Booty Nomad. Maybe next year we'll see a Desperate Househusbands trend. If so, aspiring novelists should take a look at Perrotta's novel. The author of Election and Joe College has too long been overlooked. This year he seems to have finally gotten his due.

3. The Memory Artists by Jeffrey Moore. This Montrealer's book about genius and Alzheimer's was relatively overlooked in Canada this year. Not so overseas. Word is that it's been optioned by Jonathan Cavendish, producer of the Bridget Jones movies. Names being thrown around as possible actors: Johnny Depp, Jack Black, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep.

4. The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat. These quiet stories anchored by the secret lives of a Haitian torturer and his victims, now all living in Brooklyn, add to Danticat's already strong reputation as one of the leading writers in the U.S.

5. Natasha and Other Stories by David Bezmozgis. Children of immigrants to North America also found another exceptional voice in the wry, intelligent debut by this Toronto writer.

6. Colors Insulting to Nature by Cintra Wilson. 'Tis the season to recall dialogue like, "you worthless sack of elf shit," from the first novel by this unparalleled critic of celebrity culture.

7. Ruining It for Everybody by Jim Knipfel. If you're having problems trying to stuff that David Sedaris best-seller into a stocking this year, Knipfel's pocket-size package of acidic insight might be a better choice. The author of Slackjaw and Quitting the Nairobi Trio is the punk alternative. Anything by Knipfel is a great gift for that hardcore cynic on your Christmas list who'll appreciate a first line like, "Whenever I hear the world spiritual, I reach for my revolver."

8. Bannock, Beans and Black Tea by Seth. Another great stocking stuffer, this minimalist memoir of the hard life in Prince Edward Island is the labour of love of one of Canada's leading graphic artists. It's not actually a graphic novel, but this is the place to point out what a good year it was for the genre. There was the first new work in years by Art Spiegelman, In the Shadow of No Towers, and the news that Montreal publisher Drawn & Quarterly scored a distribution deal with elite U.S. publisher Farrar, Strauss & Giroux.

9. America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, ed. Jon Stewart. For the coffee table. Even Canadians... okay let's be honest... Canadians especially will find much to laugh at in this parody of a high school civics textbook.

10. A War Against Truth: An Intimate Account of the Invasion of Iraq by Paul William Roberts. Un-embedded journalism, this mostly heartbreaking book is relieved by brief stretches of highbrow gonzo. There will be skeptics, but most readers will be moved by his love of Iraq, and better informed thanks to his primer on Iraqi history.