Ok guys. So we talked about video games, movies, and TV shows. But I really hope those aren’t the only forms of media you ingest. Books, despite being long and more likely to give you papercuts than any other form of entertainment, are awesome and you should read more of them. This year alone a number of cool titles came out that you should check out. I even through in a comic book trade paperback for you.

The Magicians
Lev Grossman

When people describe The Magicians as a fantasy set in the real world, they don’t mean it’s set in a contemporary time period like Harry Potter. They mean it’s set here, now. It’s starring those dumbass, sarcastic douchebags you all know, and it feels like something that could actually be happening. It’s also an amazing book that really analyzes the ideas of living your fantasy and getting everything you think you want. Someone all those Twilight fans that moved to Washington to find vampire boyfriends should check out.

Out of Position
Kyell Gold

Despite what felt like too much sex (which stems from the fact that the novel was written as multiple short stories), I really enjoyed Out of Position. Gold creates characters that I can actually identify with and care about, even (especially) when they’re acting like shitheads. The football scenes are actually some of my favorite parts, maybe more so than the admittedly totally hot sex scenes.

Catching Fire
Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire is the second book in Collin’s Hunger Games series, and so far I’ve been enjoying them. Sure, it’s a teen fiction book so it has a bit of that romance bullshit, which can get silly. And yes, Collins did largely ripoff the idea of the Hunger Games itself from Battle Royale, but the books have gone beyond that and are shaping up to be a cool revolution story set in a dystopian future America. And I can’t help it, I love it when teenagers murder each other for entertainment.

Odd and the Frost Giants
Neil Gaiman

The best part about this book is that it’s approximately 12 words long. Seriously, it’s more of a pamphlet than a book. But Gaiman’s super short Norse Mythology infused adventure about a young boy being lead on a quest by a talking bear, fox, and eagle is funny, exciting, heartfelt, and well illustrated. Not as amazing as The Graveyard Book but still good.

And not to give anything away, but this a really cool idea for a talking fox.

Return to the Hundred Acre Wood
David Benedictus

I was a little wary that a new Winnie the Pooh book was being written, but Benedictus (who produced numerous adaptations of the original works) has proven he knows the characters. Granted, it’s ultimately just a really good cover of A.A. Milne’s books, but it’s still a more accurate adaption than any of the Disney films. Though I’m not too thrilled with the new otter character, and not just because she’s a girl.

The Mighty Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest
Dan Slott

I fell out of the Avengers after the events of Disassembled and all the stupid crap that came afterwards. What makes Earth’s Mightiest so great is that it has a very old school comic vibe, while still poking fun at the last few years. Plus I love Hank Pym, the world’s worst super hero and it’s cool to see him step up and, as USAgent eloquently puts it, “show some sack.”

The biggest problem with books is that they come out too fast to possibly read them all. There are so many titles that came out this year that I just never got around to, like Stephen King’s Under the Dome, or Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Did you have a favorite book? Did you read anything this year?