The complete feature can be viewed here on photo-eye Magazine, or to click on a contributor's name to view their list:
With 26 contributors (just one fewer than last year), this year's Best Books list is more compact than last year, coming in at 157 titles as opposed to 200+. This year's list had a few clear stand out books, each appearing on 6 or more lists: Illuminance, by Rinko Kawauchi, Redheaded Peckerwood, by Christian Patterson, A, by Gregory Halpern, and A Criminal Investigation, by Watabe Yukichi.
While there seems to be agreement that these four books have virtuosic qualities, this year's list is not without diversity. Selections included books by photoworld giants like Robert Adams and Josef Koudelka, vernacular photography anthologies like Aperture's study of the photo album Photographic Memory, self published books like Gomorrah Girl by Valerio Spada and Visitor by Ofer Wolberger, books with innovative designs and concepts like Anouk Kruithof's Happy Birthday to You and People in Trouble Laughing Pushed to the Ground -- just to name a few.
There are a lot of really great books in here, and over the next few weeks on the blog, we'll be looking a bit deeper into this year's list with reviews and write ups of selected books. If there's a book that you'd like to see more information on, let us know and we'll do our best to expand on it.
We hope you enjoy this yearly feature and let us know what you think! And if there are any great photobooks that slipped through the cracks leave us a message -- we'd love to see your lists in the comments!