A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

“BEST books” lists have always seemed, to me, unnecessarily hierarchical, inimical to the way literature works. What are the best books, and how do we determine them? No, reading is a fluid activity, one in which we are often moved for reasons beyond logic -- reasons that have less to do with our brains than with our hearts.

With this in mind, Book Review’s editors are taking a more subjective approach to our year-end issue. Beginning on this page, we list not the “best books” of the last 12 months but our favorite 20 titles in both fiction and nonfiction. A favorites list is the beginning of a conversation, a guide for further reading, as opposed to a definitive statement. Take these books as an opening salvo and enter the conversation -- agreeing, disagreeing, adding choices of your own. (If so inclined, you can take part in an online discussion at www.calendarlive.com/books.)

To encourage such an atmosphere of participation, we’ve asked a couple of dozen writers to tell us about the new book they found most memorable in 2005. (Their selections start on Page 16.) It’s a decidedly unscientific survey -- but then, that’s the point: to re-create the experience of running into a friend who says, “I’ve just read the most amazing book.” We’ve also looked at a spate of reissues and new books that revisit favorite topics -- Narnia, the Beatles -- seeking through-lines between past and present, between who we were and who we are and whom we hope to be.

In the end, this may be the finest gift reading offers -- the chance to get to know ourselves. The books we admire are, after all, reflections of our tastes, our personalities, our sense of standing in the world. At the same time, they offer a window on someone else’s experience, a way to see through another set of eyes. All we need do is be willing to engage and join the dialogue, and we cannot help but be enlarged.

-- David L. Ulin