‘Tis the season of lists — book lists, that is, no subject too obscure

Every time I turn around, it seems as though another “best of” book list is mocking me with all the titles I never got around to reading this year. There’s New York Times’ 10 best books of 2012, and NPR’s list of indie booksellers’ choices, too.

Amazon lists 100 best, and Barnes and Noble has a hefty list of its own. (Meanwhile, those indie booksellers took a jab at Amazon by recommending “50 Best Uses for a Dead Kindle” as a holiday gift, The Guardian reported last month.)

It’s not just the heavy hitters.  The Sandusky Register sought suggestions from writers and readers for its list, while the Christian County (Missouri) Public Library turned to its own librarians.

And those are just a very few of the general lists. There’s no end to the (ahem) list of specifics.  Is Tolkien on your list of all-time favorites? Then you’ll want to check out this list of the five best books about “The Hobbit.”

Fancy yourself a photographer? Put that camera down and read. Start with these five.

Firmly on Eddie Arnold’s  side in “Green Acres”? Here’s some books on farm livin’.

Or maybe “Sideways” was more to your viewing taste.  In that case, these books about wine might be able to help you deliver a Paul Giametti-esque zinger about merlot.

Lest all these lists set your head to spinning, here’s the good news: The holidays are a golden time for booksellers, as USA Today’s Bob Minzesheimer details here:

“The holidays remain the heartbeat of print book sales,” says Michael Norris, a publishing analyst for Simba Information, a market research firm. “When you give someone a gift, you want it to have some weight, to see them open it. You can’t really do that with an e-book or a Barnes & Noble gift card.”