Best Books of 2012

While we're not sure of the exact numbers for 2012 (as of this writing), we can safely say that there were hundreds of thousands of books published in the United States this year.  Below please find our list of some of the very best.  You may have already heard about some of them (for winning awards, such as The Round House), but others may have slipped your attention.  We hope you'll find something here for your holiday reading pleasure.

 Bring up the bodies : a novel by Mantel, Hilary, 1952-   Bring up the bodies : a novel
Mantel, Hilary, 1952-
"The sequel to Hilary Mantel's 2009 Man Booker Prize winner and New York Times bestseller, Wolf Hall ...
 
 The round house by Erdrich, Louise.   The round house
Erdrich, Louise.
When his mother, a tribal enrollment specialist living on a reservation in North Dakota, slips into ...
 
 Iron Curtain : The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 194 ... by Applebaum, Anne   Iron Curtain : The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1945-1956
Applebaum, Anne
 
 The yellow birds : a novel by Powers, Kevin.   The yellow birds : a novel
Powers, Kevin.
In the midst of a bloody battle in the Iraq War, two soldiers, bound together since basic training, ...
 
 Birds of a lesser paradise : stories by Bergman, Megan Mayhew.   Birds of a lesser paradise : stories
Bergman, Megan Mayhew.
Exploring the way our choices and relationships are shaped by the menace and beauty of the natural w ...
 
 The fault in our stars by Green, John, 1977-   The fault in our stars
Green, John, 1977-
Sixteen-year-old Hazel, a stage IV thyroid cancer patient, has accepted her terminal diagnosis until ...
 
 My heart is an idiot by Rothbart, Davy.   My heart is an idiot
Rothbart, Davy.
 
 Billy Lynn's long halftime walk by Fountain, Ben.   Billy Lynn's long halftime walk
Fountain, Ben.
A satire set in Texas during America's war in Iraq that explores the gaping national disconnect betw ...
 
 Behind the beautiful forevers : [life, death, and  ... by Boo, Katherine.   Behind the beautiful forevers : [life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercit ...
Boo, Katherine.
 
 Why nations fail : the origins of power, prosperit ... by Acemoglu, Daron.   Why nations fail : the origins of power, prosperity and poverty
Acemoglu, Daron.
Why are some nations rich and others poor? Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance ...
 
 People who eat darkness : the true story of a youn ... by Parry, Richard Lloyd.   People who eat darkness : the true story of a young woman who vanished from ...
Parry, Richard Lloyd.
Richard Lloyd Parry, an award-winning foreign correspondent, chronicles the 2000 disappearance, mass ...
 
 House of stone : a memoir of home, family, and a l ... by Shadid, Anthony.   House of stone : a memoir of home, family, and a lost Middle East
Shadid, Anthony.
"In 2006, Shadid, an Arab-American raised in Oklahoma, was covering Israel's attack on Lebanon when ...
 
 Broken Harbor by French, Tana.   Broken Harbor
French, Tana.
In the aftermath of a brutal attack that left a woman in intensive care and her husband and young ch ...
 
 Happiness is a chemical in the brain : stories by Perillo, Lucia Maria, 1958-   Happiness is a chemical in the brain : stories
Perillo, Lucia Maria, 1958-
A collection of short stories that takes place in the Pacific Northwest includes odd characters like ...
 
 The devil in silver : a novel by LaValle, Victor D., 1972-   The devil in silver : a novel
LaValle, Victor D., 1972-
Pepper is a rambunctious big man, and, suddenly, the surprised inmate of a budget-strapped mental in ...
 
 All we know : three lives by Cohen, Lisa, 1962-   All we know : three lives
Cohen, Lisa, 1962-
Chronicles the lives of New York intellectual Esther Murphy, celebrity ephemera collector Mercedes d ...
 
 Arcadia by Groff, Lauren.   Arcadia
Groff, Lauren.
The lyrical and haunting story of a great American dream--the progress of a utopian community and it ...
 
 Seating arrangements by Shipstead, Maggie.   Seating arrangements
Shipstead, Maggie.
"Winn Van Meter is heading for his family's retreat on the pristine New England island of Waskeke. N ...
 
 Canada : [a novel] by Ford, Richard, 1944-   Canada : [a novel]
Ford, Richard, 1944-
After his parents are arrested and imprisoned for robbing a bank, fifteen-year-old Dell Parsons is t ...
 
 Gone girl : a novel by Flynn, Gillian, 1971-   Gone girl : a novel
Flynn, Gillian, 1971-
On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick's wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police imm ...
 
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