Nominations for best fiction of the year!

So post your votes for the following categories and I will compile and report the results! Please only post all your votes in one message, although you can comment on others if you want.

Best Mystery

Best Romance

Best Historical Fiction

Best Chick Lit

Best Science Fiction

Best Fantasy

Best Western (not the hotel!)

Best Horror

Best Thriller

Best Graphic Novel

Best Paranormal

Best Steampunk

Best Classic Fiction

Best General Fiction

(let me know any categories I missed)

I'll play!

Best Science Fiction
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Best Fantasy
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

Best Children's/General Fiction
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson

I'd add:
Best Nonfiction
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte

Edit: Though you did say fiction, so perhaps that last is not so useful. ;)

Best Mystery - Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (also my favorite overall)

Best YA novel - Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (although it's an older book)

Best General Fiction - The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

I read some that fit in some of the other categories, but nothing that deserves a "best" moniker.

Hmm...

Best Mystery -- One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
Queenpin by Megan Abbott
The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh

Best Romance -- The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

Best Historical Fiction -- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

Best Chick-Lit -- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

Best Science Fiction -- Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis

Best Paranormal -- World War Z by Max Brooks

Best General Fiction -- Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

This is much harder than I thought:

Best Mystery: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

Best Romance: Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Best Historical Fiction: Ride The Wind by Lucia St Clair Robson

Best Fantasy: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Best Western: Buffalo Soldiers by Tom Willard

Best Paranormal: World War Z by Max Brooks

Best Thriller: Flesh House by Stuart MacBride

Best General Fiction: The Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Best Mystery

Best Romance, Chick Lit, Steampunk
I have only read 1 book that fits in this category but Soulless by Gail Carriger was very good!

Best Historical Fiction
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell

Best Science Fiction
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Best Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Finch by Jeff VanderMeer

Best Horror, Graphic Novel
The Walking Dead comic series

Best Paranormal
Big Machine by Victor LaValle

Best General Fiction
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino

Best Comedy
The pirates! in an adventure with Napoleon by Gideon Dafoe

You know, I think we'll be able to pick winners from this. There are a few books that have already been mentioned more than once.

My nominees:

Best mystery: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

Best romance: Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman

Best historical fiction: A Mercy by Toni Morrison

Best general fiction: Who Has Seen the Wind by W.O. Mitchell

Best classic fiction: Villette by Charlotte Brontë

Best western: Elkhorn Tavern by Douglas C. Jones

Best children's/YA fiction: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

If we are adding a classic fiction category, I'm nominating The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and we can let the Bronte sisters battle it out.

Done!

Best Mystery: Bury Your Dead

Best Romance: Promise of Lumby

Best Historical Fiction: Killer Angels

Best Chick Lit: Mastered by Love

Best Fantasy: Ella Minnow pea

Best Thriller: Hush: a Novel

Best Classic Fiction: Pride & Prejudice

Best General Fiction: 723183::Lumby Lines

Best Mystery: In a Dry Season by Peter Robinson

Best Romance: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

Best Historical Fiction: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Best Science Fiction: Shades of Gray by Jasper Fforde

Best Graphic Novel: Fables: The Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 by Bill Willingham

Best Mystery
The Dragon Man by Garry Disher
A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil by Christopher Brookmyre

Best Thriller
The Successor by Ismail Kadare

Best Romance
That Summer by Andrew Greig

Best Historical Fiction
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer

Best Fantasy
Look Who's Morphing by Tom Cho

Best Horror
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Best Classic Fiction
The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa
Although it's recent, it has to be a potential classic because Llosa won a Nobel prize.

Best General Fiction
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

A new category

Best Humour
Secret Lives by E. F. Benson
Very Good, Jeeves! by P. G. Wodehouse

Best Mystery
Build My Gallows High
Queenpin Megan Abbott
When Will There Be Good News

Best Historical Fiction
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Lisa See

Best Classic Fiction
The Grapes of Wrath
Jane Eyre

Best General Fiction
The Blind Assassin
Olive Kitteridge

Best Thriller
The Killing Floor
The Quiet Game

Best Mystery
The Taken by Inger Ash Wolfe
Shadows in the Streets by Susan Hill

Best Romance
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

Best Historical Fiction
The Siege by Helen Dunmore
The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore

Best Chick Lit
One Day in May by Catherine Alliott
The Other Family by Joanna Trollope

Best Science Fiction
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (if it belongs here?)
Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xialong

Best Thriller
Room by Emma Donoghue (OK, stretching a bit, but I think it fits.)
The Amateur Spy by Dan Fesperman

Best Classic Fiction
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
1984 by George Orwell

Best General Fiction
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Les derniers jours de Stefan Zweig by Laurent Seksik
Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd

Best Mystery
The Poacher's Son by, Paul Dioran
Nine Dragons by, Michael Connelly

Best Historical Fiction
Cleopatra’s Daughter by, Michelle Moran

Best Fantasy
Stormwarden by, Janny Wurts

Best paranormal
Silver borne by, Patricia Briggs

Best Steampunk
Soulless by, Gail Carriger

Best Classic Fiction
Jane Eyreby, Chorlotte Bronte
My Antonia by, Willa Cather

Best general Fiction
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by, Beth Hoffman

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Mornings in Jenin by, Susan Abulhawa

Best Young Adult

Hatchet by, Gary Paulsen

Vixen By, Jillian Larkin

Shiver & Linger by, Maggie Stiefvater

The Hunger Games Series by, Suzanne Collins

Beautiful Malice by, Rebecca James

Best Mystery- I read one and I didn't like it.

Best Romance- A Confederacy of Dunces. Who says romance has to have romance in it? The wackiest boy/girl story ever.

Best Historical Fiction-
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
Life and Fate
Every Man Dies Alone

Best Chick Lit- I wouldn't know Chick Lit if it jumped up and bit me on the cheek(s). So, I don't seem to have read any.

Best Science Fiction- Parable of the Sower

Best Fantasy- Tigana

Best Western (not the hotel!)- Lonesome Dove

Best Horror- Geek Love

Best Thriller- Freedom

Best Graphic Novel- Asterios Polyp

Best Paranormal- I don't think I read any.

Best Steampunk- Ditto. No Steampunk for a whole year?

Best Classic Fiction- O'Connor: Collected Works

Best General Fiction-
Matterhorn
The River Why

With reservation that the year isn't quite over (I have high hopes for the few more books I plan to read before the new year), here are my candidates for some of the categories:

Best Mystery: Finch, although this is probably a better fit for the Fantasy category.

Best Romance: Charlotte Löwensköld by Selma Lagerlöf - that I finished just a few days ago!

Best Historical Fiction: Fateless by Imre Kertész and Purge by Sofi Oksanen (if 20th century history counts?)

Best Science Fiction: Metro 2033 ny Dmitrij Gluchovskij

Best Fantasy: Finch by Jeff VanderMeer

Best Horror: We have always lived in the castle by Shirley Jackson

Best Thriller: Tricky label, but I'm putting In cold blood by Truman Capote in here, is that okay?

Best Graphic Novel: Astro City: Local Heroes, easily.

Best Paranormal: World War Z by Max Brooks

Best Classic Fiction: Moominpappa at sea by Tove Jansson and East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

Best General Fiction: Intet by Janne Teller, The earth hums in B-flat by Mari Strachan

Best YA: Moominpappa at sea by Tove Jansson

Best humour: Oreille rouge by Eric Chevillard

Adding a category:

Best short story collection: The brief and frightening reign of Phil/ In persuasion nation by George Saunders

My list is also subject to changes in the next 2 weeks.

Best Mystery
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

Best Romance
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Best Historical Fiction
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Raintree County by Ross Lockridge, Jr

Best Fantasy
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

Best Thriller
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

Best Classic Fiction
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Best General Fiction
Stealing Lumby by Gail Fraser
An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor

Best Children/YA
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Giver by Lois Lowry

I don't think my answers will change with the few books I plan to finish by the end of the year.

Best Mystery: A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

Best Historical Fiction: The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland

Best Science Fiction: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Best Fantasy: Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg

Best Thriller: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

Best Paranormal: Blood Price by Tanya Huff

Best Classic Fiction: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Best General Fiction: The Body Artist by Don Delillo

Best Mystery
Snow Angels by James Thompson

Best Historical Fiction
Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

Best Science Fiction
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi - Allies by Christie Golden

Best Thriller
City of Fear by David Hewson
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

Best Classic Fiction
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remargue

Best General Fiction
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Best Romance:
Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier

Best Chick Lit:
Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda

Best Science Fiction
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Best Fantasy
Chaos Walking: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Best Thriller
The Last Child by John Hart

Best Graphic Novel:
Hicksville by Dylan Horrocks

Best Paranormal:
Curse of the Wolfgirl by Martin Millar

Best Steampunk
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Best Classic Fiction
Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Best General Fiction
To the End of the Land by David Grossman

Best short story collection:
Love songs for the shy and cynical by Robert Sherman

The ones that stand out for me are

Best YA
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Best Mystery
The Harper's Quine by Pat McIntosh (mostly because of the setting and intro to a new series)
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis

Best Romance
Loving a Lost Lord by Mary Jo Putney

Best Paranormal
Sleeping with Fear by Kay Hooper -- features various ESP talents

Best from a series
Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

Looking for roots
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

Any more nominations?

Not a category, but might be interesting none-the-less, would be to hear from LTers what they consider the Best Novel where the Main "Character" is a Place and/or Setting.
An example might be Southern California in general - and Los Angeles specifically - during the depression era in John Fante's Ask the Dust. Another, more contemporary, example might be Bangkok in John Burdett's Bangkok 8.