News of embargo-busting Potter reviews made this year's top 10 stories. Photograph: Getty
With 2007 fading fast into the mists of memory and the new year already hoving into view like a dodgy Mediterranean ferry, listing alarmingly as it reverses towards harbour in a dangerous and possibly illegal manoeuvre, it's time to descend into the engine room, wipe away the grease and sweat of the last 12 months and take a look at the year we've just about survived as it really was.
One of the terrors and traumas (or should that be the pleasures and privileges?) of publishing on the web is that when it comes to looking back at the year's highs and lows there's a fistful of figures to be brandished. Now for every stack of statistics there's a lorry-load of damn lies that can be extracted from them, but for what it's worth, and in a spirit of openness and self-examination, here are Guardian Unlimited Books' top 10 most-read stories from 2007.
And what appears at the top of the pile? The number one story in the year that boasted the Martin Amis racism row, the Salman Rushdie knighthood row and the last Harry Potter ever? A list of the top 100 books of all time. From 2002.
It's our top story this year, so I guess it's worth quoting the standfirst in full:
"Full list of the 100 best works of fiction, alphabetically by author, as determined from a vote by 100 noted writers from 54 countries as released by the Norwegian Book Clubs. Don Quixote was named as the top book in history but otherwise no ranking was provided."
So how come the top story of 2007 is a list from 2002? Well, if I can just wipe the egg off my face for a moment, I think it's down to Google and the place of literature in our culture. Check it out for yourself - our top 100 list comes reasonably high up Google's results for any plausible combination resembling "best books ever". And why are the readers of Guardian Unlimited Books typing "top 100 novels" into Google? Well, you're not - and strangely enough, this is why the top 100 page is so popular. The regular readers of GU Books already know about the top 100 books of all time, or already have their own list, or spit on the idea of lists like this anyway. It's the people who don't visit the site regularly who are typing "best books all time" into Google - spending an average of four minutes settling their bet, or gazing in wonder at the strangeness of it all, or whatever - and, though it galls me to say it, for a minority taste like literature, that's an audience we can't match.
Coming in at number two, on the other hand, is a piece that makes me feel that we're getting something right after all - a thoughtful essay by Hari Kunzru about censorship and the internet, discussing a case we've been following since 2005 and ending with a ringing call for human rights campaigners to move from protest to action.
Number three is proof, if proof were needed, that sex sells: the shortlisted entries for the 2007 Bad Sex Awards. And marvellously bloody awful they are too.
I'm baffled by number four. Not that I want to imply any kind of criticism of Susan Tomaselli's smooth prose style, just that I don't get quite why it's been so massively popular. It's the highest-placed blog of the whole year (the year of Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie ...) and it's a piece suggesting that graphic novels have got a little serious. With 32 comments. Now I don't have to tell you folks that 32 isn't bad for a Monday, but it's not Nick Lezard, is it?
In at number five is the 'Austen fools publishers' story, a perfect storm involving industry incompetence, underdog cheekiness and one of the top 100 books of all time (see above). A quick tip of the hat to Alex Bowler at Jonathan Cape who offered more than a moment's laughter with the suggestion that the hoaxer should "reach for" Pride and Prejudice to check that there was no danger of resembling it "too closely".
Number six is the first appearance of a certain boy wizard, a story that takes us back to the heady excitement of the last ever Harry Potter book. It's the story that made our legal department sweat the most, given that no other British news outlet was daring to even mention that early reviews existed because of the sweeping nature of the pre-publication embargo, but one that throws into stark relief the gap between JK Rowling's public persona ("the wishes of millions of readers, particularly children") and the publishing juggernaut she has created.
Number seven finds Russell Brand in an orgy - a testament to the combined selling power of sex, exclusive extracts and mainstream celebrity (see one and three). Highbrow culture follows directly after, with Stephen Bates' story revealing how MI5 spied on George Orwell at number eight.
The ninth most popular story is one which Michelle Pauli broke just the other day: the sad news that Terry Pratchett is suffering from a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's. The author's statement pointed out that he is "not dead", but its appearance on this list is some kind of testament to the affection in which he's held, and gives me the opportunity to wish him and his family the best in difficult circumstances.
Our final entry in this year's top 10 climbs back into the gutter with Mr Russell Brand, narrowly edging out a story reporting a survey of librarians' "must-reads" with the second of our exclusive extracts from his autobiography, this time dealing with his addiction to heroin.
So there it is. Not that I'm any the wiser. But if Harry Potter and Kate Moss are discovered on the internet having bad sex with some of the top 100 books of all time, it'll be the biggest story of next year for sure.
