Year-end lists. You're either eating them up or (come January) throwing them up like stale fruitcake. The aftertaste can linger like a bad Oprah Book Club selection.

Everyone has an opinion about the best book of the year (my vote goes to Michelle Tea's "Rose of No Man's Land"). Or the funniest (I'd say John Moe's "Conservatize Me" made me laugh out loud a lot). Or sexiest (OK -- since you ask: the push-and-pull collaborative tension of "Which Brings Me to You" by Steve Almond and Julianna Baggott was my favorite sexy read of 2006).

Working in a bookstore, being surrounded by the same old bestsellers and used books for forty or so hours a week, makes me want to give you something fresh and different. So I present to you, the first ever Marginalia Awards! Envelopes please...

___

BEST LITERARY SCANDAL

It's funny how Nasdijj used to be so celebrated as a premier Native American author. But when it was found out that the outspoken author was really a white dude (named Timothy Barrus) who wallowed unsuccessfully in the world of gay kink stories before changing his name and identity, genuine Native American authors and duped bookstores banded together to denounce him. More inflammatory than the Frey folly and actually more manipulative than JT Leroy, Barrus went into hiding and then started shopping a "tell-all" book. Simply Shameful.

___

POWER LIT BLOGGER OF THE YEAR

Ron Hogan at Beatrice.com may have helped sink Judith Regan, but Ed Champion at Edrants.com gets this year's award. His acidic-yet-informative style is cushioned by an effacing honesty that makes him a joy to scan every day.

___

BEST BOOK FEATURING A NAKED BUTT ON ITS COVER

A burlesque dancer turned photographer named Lucy Fur put together an alluring and stylish book of half-naked self-portraits called "Room With a View." All the photos feature Fur dressing up to match the personality of hotel rooms across the country. Her funky tribute to Americana is adorned with a see-through panty shot reminiscent of Scarlett Johansson's "Lost in Translation" opening scene. Fur beat out Courtney Love's butt on her book "Dirty Blonde" for one of the year's best guilty pleasures.

___

LITERARY COUPLE OF THE YEAR

Just when it looked like Jonathan Safran Foer wore the star-studded pants in his marriage, his wife Nicole Krauss's career surged quickly with the paperback release of "The History of Love." Now book clubs had something new to argue about: Should they read Nicole's haunting love story or Jonathan's wildly successful 9-11 novel, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close."

___

DORKIEST BOOK COVER

Look. I have nothing against unattractive people. Some of them actually look really great in photos, but the mullety dude on the cover of George Saunders's otherwise excellent story collection, "In Persuasion Nation," has got a look that screams "Nothing to see here!" I'm sure that having him bent over and smelling a flower in a weedy field has some deep ironic meaning, but not enough to keep me from turning it inside out.

___

SADDEST DEATH

Mickey Spillane (1918-2006) died on July 17th, leaving behind the "Mike Hammer" detective stories that, in the late '40s and '50s, were noted for the sort of sex and violence that has since become de rigeur in the crime genre. The unpretentious writer was outspoken about books and fame, even mocking himself in a series of beer commercials for Miller Lite.

___

MOST UNNOTICED COMEBACK

The last novel by Harry Crews was the deliciously pervy "Celebration" back in 1998. His long career is full of stellar books that should have been awarded with praise and prizes. In May, a small press out of Los Angeles published his short novel, "An American Family," to little fanfare. Mixing his usual poison of southern grit and dysfunctional family life, Crews gives his fans what they crave, though the story lacks the craft of his best work. Still, 2006 saw Crews appear in the splendid documentary, "Searching For the Wrong-Eyed Jesus," and rumors of at least two of his books coming out as movies continue to swirl.

___

BEST BOOK FOR TEENS THAT ADULTS SHOULD READ TOO

John Green made a prize-winning splash with his first book, "Looking For Alaska," and his latest book, "An Abundance of Katherines," is possibly even better. A road trip novel with math and language tricks, it's both brainy and earthy.

___

"Most Brilliant Idea For a Book"

"Bird Songs" by Les Beletsky is not your usual bird book. Like those cute (but potentially annoying) kids books, this stylishly illustrated ornithological masterpiece (say that ten times fast) features a built-in audio player that holds 250 real birds' songs and calls. Not only is it totally fascinating to compare the birds' visages to their sounds, but it's also sometimes hilarious. My favorite is the Pomarine Jaeger which sounds like an old lady laughing and then crying and then laughing again. Weird but wonderful.

__

Kevin Sampsell is asap's Book Pusher, reporting on the word scene from the inside. Sampsell is an event coordinator at Powell's Books in Portland, Ore. He also runs a micro empire called Future Tense Publishing.