Good books of 2011: a list of lists

It's only Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday in November), but lists of best books of the year are already appearing, presumably as timely suggestions for Christmas gifts. This is where I collect them.

*New York Times Book Review: 100 notable books (here) and 10 best books (here)

*Publishers Weekly: here

*Amazon.com: here

*Salon.com: here

*Time: here

*Goodreads: here

Kolkata's College Street Book Market (Video)

Form Al Jazeera comes a wonderful video on the College Street book market of Kolkata, a place I briefly visited in December 2008.  From the film maker:

College Street in Kolkata is the throbbing home of a maze of old book shops and stalls and this traditional place of learning and trading hosts the largest non-trading book fair in the world every year. But encroaching globalisation, in the form of a modern and fancy book mall being built opposite, casts a shadow over this traditional and treasured place. Is it a threat or an opportunity for the traditional book traders? While India embraces globalisation, what does it mean for ordinary people and the intellectual traditions of this city?