I have given up, caved in, admitted defeat. Although the world does not need it, the temptation was just too great, so I have gone ahead and compiled a selection of my favourite books of the year. Instead of giving you a top 10 I decided to humbly borrow the format of the Oscars and select the best books by category (as with the Oscars, my categories are suitably ridiculous). So without further ado, I bring you the the official eyecurious Best Books of 2011.
Best really good book
Yukichi Watabe, A Criminal Investigation (Xavier Barral)
Best self-published book that is too big for most bookshelves
Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs, As long as it photographs / It must be a camera (Self-published)
Best spiral-bound book
Ricardo Cases, Paloma al Aire (Photovision)
Best sold out collectible book that gets damaged very easily
Takashi Homma, M2 (Gallery 360°)
Best book that I bought in 2011 but wasn't actually published this year
Rob Hornstra, Safety First (Self-published)
Best book of pictures made using an archaic photographic process
Yuka Amano, Seiji Kumagai, Aya Muto & Hiroshi Nomura, One Year for Japan (Lozen Up)
I will leave you with a final word of advice: the number of best books of 2011 lists that have already popped up is proof that you should NEVER publish a book in December. You'll be too late for all the best books lists and will be technically ineligible for the best books lists of the following year. You have been warned.