Best of 2012: Collections and Anthologies

2012 has seen the release of several excellent collections and anthologies from across the globe.  As I think I noted back in 2011 soon after the UK release, one work that easily would have been at or near the top of a list of collections and anthologies would have been The Weird, a reprint anthology of weird fiction from several traditions that cover most of the 20th and first decade of the 21st centuries, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer.  Due to my involvement with the anthology (my translation of Augusto Monterroso’s “Mister Taylor” appears within), I have chosen instead to mention it here rather than including it in the list proper.  The US edition came out this year (February e-book; May hardcover and tradeback) and if you haven’t yet purchased it, consider this an exhortation for you to do so.

With that out of the way, I read 14 anthologies/collections that were released in 2012.  With two exceptions, I would recommend these to others.  Some I have reviewed, others I will be reviewing in January.  So here’s the list with links or little to no commentary.

12.  Nir Yaniv, The Love Machine & Other Contraptions (brief discussion here)

11.  Dean Francis Alfar, How to Traverse Terra Incognita (very solid collection from a notable Filipino writer of SF…and works that aren’t as easily classified)

10.  Nathan Englander, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank (very good collection of stories that revolve around contemporary American Jewish life)

9.  Jeffrey Ford, Crackpot Palace (brief discussion here)

8.  Amos Tutuola, Don’t Pay Bad for Bad (review forthcoming in January, but an excellent stories of Yoruba folklore-influenced stories)

7.  Claire Vaye Watkins, Battleborn (review here)

6.  K.J. Bishop, That Book Your Mad Ancestor Wrote (review forthcoming in January, but most of these stories were very, very good to outstanding)

5.  L. Annette Binder, Rise (review here)

4.  Brian Evenson, Windeye (brief discussion here)

3.  Karin Tidbeck, Jagannath:  Stories (review here)

2.  Sherman Alexie, Blasphemies (review forthcoming in January, but damn if he didn’t pull no punches with these often raw, gripping tales, most set on the reservations)

1.  Junot Díaz, This is How You Lose Her (review here)