Years ago, my good friend Trevor started publishing his Year's Best list and emailing it to his wide circle of acquaintance. Several of us in that circle reciprocate, blithely clicking on the "Reply All" button and scattering our opinions far and wide. Every year it's a treat to discover what people known and unknown to me relished and despised in the year before.

Trevor waits until Oscar season to publish his list, but my life is too much of a blur to wait that long. I find I have to summarize pretty early in the new year so as not to lose all memory of what I read, watched, listened to, and tasted in the previous twelve months. So, here are my lists. Some of them are in order; some are not.

Top Ten Books:
1. Special Topics in Calamity Physics, by Marisha Pessl
2. Lisey's Story, by Stephen King
3. The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
4. The Ladies of Grace Adieu, by Susannah Clarke
5. Coming Up for Air, by George Orwell
6. if on a winter's night a traveler, by Italo Calvino (Yes, I read it again. Still a work of genius.)
7. Perfume, by Patrick Suskind
8. The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield
9. Rome, by Mauro Lucentini
10. Return from Tomorrow, by George G. Ritchie

Most Disappointing Book:
Eragon, by Christopher Paolini (How did this book get published? It is a puzzlement.)

Top Ten Movies:
An Inconvenient Truth
Casino Royale
Glory Road
Lady in the Water
The Prestige
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Invincible
Stranger than Fiction
Akeelah and the Bee
16 Blocks
Happy Feet

Looking Forward to Seeing:
Wordplay
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Children of Men
Miss Potter
Dreamgirls
Pursuit of Happyness

Top Ten Songs:
Reservoir (Hem)
Pride (Syntax)
Steady as She Goes (The Raconteurs)
Short Skirt, Long Jacket (Cake)
Firecracker (The Wailin' Jennys)
The Seventh Wave (The Duhks)
Woman (Wolfmother)
Jubilee (Alison Krauss)
Hey Ya (Outkast)
Beautiful Garden (Toni Price)

Top Eating Experiences:
10. Chicken Salad and Pink Lemonade at Pittypat's Porch (Atlanta, GA)
9. Chicken Burrito and Tres Leches Cake at Cafe Rio (St. George, UT)
8. Truffled Mac & Cheese and Sticky Date Cake at Cafe Umami (Fishkill, NY)
7. Black & White Cookie and Ronnybrook Creamline Milk at Garrison Market (Garrison, NY)
6. Thanksgiving Stuffing with Gravy Chez Les Perkins (Cold Spring, NY)
5. Return from Chiang Mai at Bouley (NYC)
4. Roasted Bluefoot Chicken at Alain Du Casse (NYC)
3. Bread and Butter and Hot Chocolate at Hotel Exedra (Rome)
2. Pizza and Carciofi alla Giudia at La Sagrestia (Rome)
1. Fettucine with Truffles at Il Colosso (Rome)

Yarn of the Year:
Malabrigo

Rose of the Year:
Sharifa Asma

Compiling this list, I am struck by the fact that 2006 was an amazing year--"the best of ever," as my nephews would say. Here's hoping 2007 tops it.