The year is rapidly winding down so everyone is putting out Top 10 lists, with Time.com offering the largest variety.I usually glance at the lists, mostly noting the movies I have yet to see, disagreeing over some of the television choices and feeling old by never recognizing more than one or two of the artists on the best music lists. (Thankfully, most critics agreed with us that AMC’s Rubicon was one of the year’s best and one of the saddest cancellations of 2010. A smart, brilliant show that was slow in a good way. When it’s out on disc, I strongly recommend watching it.)Most years, I also look at the best fiction and non-fiction lists and lament I don’t have more time to sample these works. This year, it turns out, has proven otherwise. No two lists agree, but on many of the lists I have perused to date, I am thrilled to learn that I have read several of the fiction works and maybe one of the non-fiction works, owning two others with the intention of reading them very, very soon.Among the fiction I’m happy to have read are Tom Rachman’s The Imperfectionists, David Nicholls’ One Day, and Brady Udall’s The Lonely Polygamist.Deb and I faithfully read the New York Times Book Review, with one or the other ripping out reviews to remind us to order them from the library or possibly even invest in a copy. Sometimes we’ll recommend the books to one another, leading to lively discussions since we tend to wind up feeling differently about the books. For example, I enjoyed The Imperfectionists far more than Deb, possibly because I marveled over the structure. Similarly, One Day’s structure was charming and so well done that as it climaxed, I was left stunned.We might scan the best seller lists but all too rarely do we let them direct our attention. We seem not to have mainstream tastes and we’re often surprised to see things we read and enjoyed wind up on the list.I hope to sneak in one more book before posting my annual reading list.