A Naked Singularity is easily the funniest and most heartbreaking book I read this year. Told from the point of view of Casi, a 24-year-old public defender in Manhattan, its contents range from court transcripts to abstract philosophical discussions to absurdist conversations with next-door neighbors (not to mention an incredibly well-planned criminal caper that's as thrilling as any movie you saw this summer). Casi is intelligent, hilarious, and deeply committed to his clients — you'll root for him the whole way while simultaneously pondering our legal system, the culture that undergirds it, and maybe even your own morality. Now that's what I call a novel.

This book jumps off the cliff with the first chapter but never quite crashes at the bottom. The crazy ride stayed with me weeks after reading it, and I still occasionally ask myself what the hell just happened! The author calls it a farce; it's that and a lot more. Thank you, Lidia Yuknavitch, for the meatiest, most-fun, most-challenging-to-my-sense-of-how-far-you-can-push-things book of the year.

I don't reread books often; I just don't have the time. But this is one book that will get reread annually, if not more often. While the bulk of Redshirts is a comedic romp that gleefully skewers the conventions of sci-fi television, the three codas at the end provide depth and poignancy to what has gone before.

Religion, metaphor, rebellion. The Quran and the Internet. Hackers, effrit, and sheikhs. Douglas Hofstadter shout-outs. Holy moly. Otherworldly elements swirl into the modern-day Middle East in this sandstorm of magic and mortals. The environments are finely crafted, completely believable, and often beautiful. We see skyscrapers after a sandstorm, the contrast of chaiwallahs and Starbucks, and the tactile differences between darkness and night. The characters? Perfectly realized, never too accomplished, never too one-sided, and with shades of subtle coloring throughout. I told a bajillion people about this book, and I still want to tell a bajillion more.

I know this title is everywhere right now. I was very fortunate to get an advanced copy, and I immediately fell in love. Why? Well, like many, my favorite books are those that seem to have been written just for me. I deeply understood the raw ache of grief, anger, and loneliness. I wanted to run away to fill that black maw with anything other than what I was feeling. Cheryl did too. I didn't take it as far as hiking the Pacific Crest Trail solo, but I laughed out loud at many parts, seeing myself on her journey. Bittersweet, fulfilling, and healing.

What's so remarkable about Cinder is how well Marissa Meyer translated this very old fairy tale into modern and futuristic terms. She takes a character that is often pigeonholed as being too compliant, too nice, and makes her into a fiery heroine who you can love and cheer for. Even the romance — typically clichéd in its boy-meets-girl, boy-and-girl-get-married routine — was refreshing and real. There's not love at first sight in Cinder, nor is there a happily ever after. Cinder's story is far more complicated and enthralling than any fairy tale.

What a powerful collection of short stories! Alexie really stretches his wings and explores fascinating new territories, while at the same time revamping his old works by placing them in new contexts. I was completely blown away by Mr. Alexie, as usual.

The Tangled Bank is a collection of writings by local naturalist Robert Michael Pyle from the respected social and environmental magazine Orion. Far-reaching in subject matter, from conservation to beer to banana slugs, The Tangled Bank breathes excitement on the seemingly "mundane" and allows us to (re)visit the world around us with fresh eyes and a greater appreciation.

Elizabeth Ellen is a master of capturing the insecurities and inner workings of her characters. They drink, fight, sneak around, seduce, and stumble around trying to figure out their lives. There is very little (if any) crying. Elizabeth Ellen's people are tough and defiant but somehow still vulnerable, and that vulnerability gives the book a true glow.

If you're seeking formulaic and uninteresting fan fiction, then this is not the book for you. But if you're looking for adventure, romance, and death-by-ice sharks, then John Scalzi's your man. Ensign Andrew Dahl is assigned to the Intrepid, a laudable starship with a nasty reputation for death and chaos. Low-ranking officers are always, always the first to die on away missions. The bizarre and surprising truth behind all the flagellations and vaporizations defies time and reality, and Scalzi uses first-, second-, and third-person narration to stunning effect. It'll be on your Top 5 list, too. Pinky swear.

Threats presents a world thrown off-kilter by a mysterious death. David, the bewildered widower, struggles to uncover the source of his wife's undoing while simultaneously shielding himself from the truth. In a book filled with decay and self-destruction, Amelia Gray manages to make the grotesque endearing. Threats is sad, surreal, and strangely beautiful.

Traveler of the Century is an exquisite work of fiction. Its author, Andrés Neuman, is a young Argentinian writer whose relative youth is belied by a remarkably prodigious literary output. Colored by a number of rich subplots, the novel is set in the small, fictional German town of Wandernburg sometime in the early 19th century. Both a novel of ideas and a love story, Neuman's book explores varied subjects including politics, war, economics, immigration, poverty, empire, women's rights, labor, revolution, poetry, and philosophy. A timeless tale, Traveler of the Century conveys a past not all that dissimilar from the contemporary.

We keep this book in the Psychology-Sexuality section, which is sort of too bad. A Billion Wicked Thoughts is much better than anything else written recently about sex. So many authors in human sexuality write self-righteous conjecture vaguely based on sciencey things. Not Ogas and Gaddam. Reading them, you always know exactly where they found the information. They write even icky information, so that you want to read out loud to everyone. I hope this book picks up some notoriety before it goes out of print.

Ronald Reagan and his apologists have always claimed that he never pointed the finger at a single individual in his dealings with American clandestine agencies. But as Seth Rosenfeld makes clear, thanks in large part to the 20 years of lawsuits he endured to have his Freedom of Information request accepted, ol' Ron pointed his finger at lots and lots of individuals. A dinner guest gets finked to the FBI for asking Ronny if there is a blacklist. A student who asks him a question that sounded "pink" likewise gets handed to the FBI for a lifetime of having his civil rights roundly violated. That and the sad fates of Richard Aoki and Mario Savio make this a powerful, historically important read.

A post-apocalyptic story with an open, elegant heart, Heller's debut novel follows a pilot, Hig, and an ex-military man, Bangley, in their fight for survival. Although stuck together in an uneasy partnership, they each flawlessly compensate for the deficits in the other and guard their "home" — an abandoned airport — from marauding intruders. Even as danger lurks around every corner and death is present in every exchange, the two work together as a well-oiled machine. Yet, nine years on, Hig is lost and yearning for something he can't quite name. Leaving Bangley on his own, Hig takes off in his little Cessna and flies beyond the point of no return, holding onto the only thing he can — hope. The Dog Stars is an achingly beautiful book with characters that are wholly human. It's a dazzling story full of loss, pain, and sorrow, but also truth. And every page is absolutely humming with brilliance.

I've read this book twice. And both times I've been blown away (and sometimes shocked) by the raw honesty in the pages. But if I were to tell you what shocked me, it wouldn't be the sex and drugs. It would be that I was left with an overwhelming sense of optimism — in a world that is often hard to find hope in, there it was, shining as brightly as the writing. Caldwell writes about her life but makes it seem like she is writing about mine, yours. I can't wait for what she writes next.

I highly anticipated Victor LaValle's Devil in Silver, and it surpassed my expectations! I absolutely loved his fantastic writing and amazing story. LaValle never lets up, one great chapter after another.

One-third of the world's population are introverts, and we are quietly going to take over the world while you extroverts are busy yapping it up and not paying attention. Don't say you haven't been warned.

I'm really, really not just picking this because I have an essay in the collection. Really. This sweet, little book is wonderfully indie (printed solely and beautifully using an Espresso Book Machine, one of which lives at Powell's City of Books) and stuffed full of Oregon authors. A collection of essays and interviews with such local lit figures as Scott Sparling, Lauren Kessler, and Yuvi Zalkow, Brave on the Page is not only about craft and the creative life but also a lovely snapshot of the heart and soul of the incredible literary community that hovers in and around Portland.

I am a pizza fanatic and thought I knew everything there was to know about making amazing pies at home. Jim Lahey took my pizza making to the next level. The book is worth it just for the simple oven technique he offers that helps make the most of your pizza stone; my pies have never been so well browned, crispy, and crowned with a slight char. There are some fantastic sauce recipes that will shake up your repertoire, paired with gorgeously shot photos of the pies. Oh, and of course there's the no-knead crust recipe that will change the way you think about making bread forever.

Leni Zumas's writing crackles. Her books are sharp, bleak, funny, and possibly dangerous. Her profoundly disquieting debut novel, The Listeners, portrays a world twisted on its axis by loss. Quinn is a musician and a survivor of a fractured and eccentric childhood marred by the death of her younger sister. Now in her mid-30s, years after the disintegration of her band, Quinn is at loose ends. Her relationships with her family and her ex-bandmates have been shaped by tragedy and haunted by the past. Zumas's style is hypnotic, and Quinn is a hyperalert, fascinating narrator.

Imagine... a vividly crafted world in which dragons and the veneration of saints figure prominently. Tight, evocative prose. A stoic, thoughtful, and wise heroine who just wants to make music, torn between the world of humans and the world of dragons. Now imagine that this story has been marketed to the young-adult crowd. Surprised? So was I! If you have a weakness for richly detailed fantasy, Seraphina will make you swoon. Give it a chance — even if you've never picked up a young-adult title before!

I spent a formative year of my youth in Japan, during which time I was exposed to early works of Hayao Miyazaki. Even now his work excites my boyish sense of wonder. Nausicaä is his only work that started as a manga, yet his cinematic style fills the pages, telling a classic story of a young woman exposed to the horrors of war, finding the strength to live with compassion and hope despite the savagery. This edition does the work justice and is well worth the price.

Gabe is a teen transboy music geek with a new late-night public-access radio show. He's trying to become a full-time radio DJ while at the same time coming out as trans, and navigating fans and crushes. This book has a wonderful blend of music references and characters you can easily identify with.

This is the amusing, thoughtful, downright zany story of a young woman's eye-opening 1,000-plus-mile trek up the Pacific Crest Trail, all the way to the Bridge of the Gods. It inspired me to undertake my own hike — 10 miles on the Appalachian Trail. It was exhausting!

At this point, I love this series. The sequel to The Magicians really gets dark and fantastic, and the adventures are rich and mind-bending, to say the least. I'll admit that I'm not a big Narnia fan, but adults who are will probably also really dig The Magician King and its predecessor. You'll find yourself thinking about the story and its characters long after you put the book down.