Too many choices? Narrow it down.
Okay, your head is spinning: too many titles, too little time. Here are some lists of top ten titles of 2012 from respected sources.
The New York Times 10 Best Books of 2012
The Washington Post 10 Best Books of 2012
Publishers Weekly Best Books 2012
and, here’s the Slate.com 15 Favorite Books of 2012
Two interesting observations–the Slate list does not overlap with the other lists at all (though the columnist, Dan Kois, specifically eliminates Katherine Boo’s award-winning Behind the Beautiful Forevers) and, this surprise:
There is only one title that appears on all of the first three lists: Bring Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel, the second in the series that started with Wolf Hall. Both of these have won the Man Booker Prize, by the way.
Finally, here’s a cool list from the LA Times, in which authors whose books were chosen by others for “best lists” tell us their favorite titles.
I better stop here before I cancel out the “narrowing down” effect. But, feel free to share your own list of top titles from 2012.
About
Without books, history is silent, literature is dumb, science is crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. –Barbara Tuchman
The R&W Book Club is a place for us to talk about books—with each other and, from time to time, with the authors of featured titles. We’ll read fiction, non-fiction and poetry. We encourage your suggestions for authors and books to include. There are a few limitations on what we’ll consider: books must be by living authors, have broad audience appeal, and be readily available at libraries, bookstores or via download. If you’d like to suggest authors or titles, go here. If you’d like your local book club or library included in our email early-notification group, go here.
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Books at NCPR
- How a canoe sparked a trek and a book(May 22, 2013) Almost twenty years ago, Christine Jerome and her husband paddled a weeks-long canoe route through the Adirondacks. They followed the path of a nineteenth-century writer and outdoorsman, George Washington Sears, known as Nessmuk to his readers. Our book reviewer, Betsy Kepes, spoke to Chris about the new edition of her book An Adirondack Passa […]
- Books: "Hands on Health"(May 21, 2013) Todd Moe talks with the local author of a new book about healthier eating and taking care of our bodies. Paula Youmell is a nurse and certified holistic health counselor. Her new book is titled, Hands on Health. It's the first in a series of books she calls "The Whole Food Kitchen." [full story] […]
- Book review: "Peak Experiences"(May 14, 2013) The mountains of the northeast attract hikers to their rocky summits. What happens, though, when something goes wrong? Carol Stone White collected over 50 essays in her new book, Peak Experiences - Danger, Death, and Daring in the Mountains of the Northeast. Betsy Kepes as this review. [full story] […]
Books at NPR
- 'Lunch Lady' Author Helps Students Draw Their Own Heroes May 23, 2013Can you imagine your own superhero? That's the question author and illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka posed to kids on a recent afternoon at a school in Washington, D.C. Krosoczka also described how he overcame a difficult childhood to become the author of the beloved Lunch Lady series. […]
- June Kids' Book Club Pick: 'The One And Only Ivan' May 23, 2013In June, NPR's Backseat Book Club will read Katherine Applegate's tale of Ivan, a gorilla who lives in a shopping mall. Ivan enjoys watching TV and painting, but a newcomer to the mall — a baby elephant — forces Ivan to face his own past. […]
- Book News: Lydia Davis Wins Man Booker International Prize May 23, 2013Also: Amazon to begin publishing fan fiction; Paul Ryan and Elizabeth Warren are writing books; Keith Richards' exorbitant library fines. […]
- Heartbreaking Choice Sets Siblings On Separate, Unequal Paths May 23, 2013A poor father sells his daughter to a wealthy, childless couple, dividing her from her beloved brother and setting a chain of stories in motion in Khaled Hosseini's And the Mountains Echoed. Moving and morally complex, this is the most ambitious book yet from the author of The Kite Runner. […]