Deciding the top 10  out of a lengthy Best Books issue has been conceded by PW staffers  to be a tough job, but here is their short list. Whether you agree with all of the choices or not,  I’m sure some of these titles may have  interested you and maybe you will reconsider some you had discounted previously.  Here they are not in any particular order:

 

The Round House  by Louise Erdrich  (fiction) (see “End the Year with a Bang!: 2012 Crime Fiction” in Staff Picks  for a brief review.)

Bring Up the Bodies  by Hilary Mantel  (fiction) (The author won her second Man Booker Prize for this novel which sequels her first, also a winner, Wolf Hall about Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell.)

Happiness Is a Chemical in the Brain  by Lucia Perillo (fiction) ( 14 tales , dark, playful  and honest)

All We Know:  Three Lives  by Lisa Cohen  (non-fiction)  (Biography of an era roughly, 1898- 1990, and three women who inhabited this rich period and mingled with the Bloomsbury, Paris and Hollywood crowds.  Gender, sexuality and ambition are topical issues questioned, and not untimely to us.)

People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo- and the Evil That Swallowed Her Up  by Richard Lloyd Parry  (non-fiction)  ( Chilling account of a young woman murdered  in Tokyo which explores the hidden recesses of Japanese culture and the trauma of a heinous crime.)

Building Stories  by Chris Ware  (fiction)  (This book-in-a- box is totally innovative. It  features the stories of the inhabitants of a single Chicago building  spread out into 14 different books each having a different format used to give insight into the characters’ lives and thoughts. Inspiring!)

The Devil in Silver  by Victor LaValle  (fiction)  (Chilling depiction of life in a New York City mental hospital and not just from mental anguish but mostly from inhumanity, bureaucracy, the use of psychopharmaceuticals for convenience, and just plain ennui of caregivers.  It is recommended “to read this with the lights on.”)

Iron Curtain:  The Crushing of Eastern Europe  by Anne Applebaum  (non-fiction)   (Mass-scale brutality, political corruption, ethnic killings, false justice, and more are revealed in this detailed look behind the curtain of darkness.)

Detroit City Is The Place to Be:  The Afterlife of an American Metropolis  by Mark Binelli  (non-fiction)  (Remarkable story by a native son who has given voice to all manner of Detroit ciitzen who tell a tale of a city’s demise and rise from the ashes.)

The Barbarous Years:  The Peopling of British North America:  The Conflict of Civilizations, 1600- 1675   by Bernard Bailyn  (non-fiction)  (Clash of cultures turns to brutal violence as British colonial America encounters a range of ethnic groups along with indigenous peoples.)

 

How Armchair Travelers Get to See the World…

The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot  by Robert MacFarlane
Ancient tracks, sea paths and vast networks of routes crisscrossing the British landscape; natural history, cartography, geology, archaeology and literature.

A Room with a Pew: Sleeping Our Way Through Spain’s Ancient Monasteries  by Richard Starks and Miriam Murcutt
Immerse yourself in the world of Spain’s ancient monasteries, ripe with history, art and culture.

Health and Happiness:  Inspiration for the New Year …

The Epidemic of Absence: A New Way of Understanding Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases
by Moises Velasquez-Manoff
Find out what the future holds for the treatment of such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, asthma, allergies and possibly autism.  As superorganisms our bodies are host to millions of bacteria, pathogens and parasites which may be useful in rebalancing our immune systems so we don’t develop such debilitating illness.

Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm by Thich Nhat Hanh
Learn to use the practice of living in the present to embrace your fears, recognize their origins and replace them with feelings of well-being.

The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer  by Gretchen Reynolds
Great news: “20 minutes of cardio at a time is enough to obtain the maximum health benefits.  (And in some cases, just six minutes is all you need.)”  Need I say more?!

What Makes Love Last? : How to Build Trust and Avoid Betrayal. Secrets from the Love Lab
by John Gottman, Ph.D.
Celebrated research psychologist, Gottman explains how to protect or recover the love in your relationship.  Insightful and practical advice.

Hallucinations  by Oliver Sacks
Exploration of a lifelong investigation into the variety hallucinatory experience.  Weaving together stories of his patients and of his own experiences he illuminates what we learn about the brain from studying hallucinations.  Fascinating!

The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking  by Oliver Burkeman
Funny and readable this profound book will enrich and maybe even make you a little happier!

Shakespeare’s Tremor and Orwell’s Cough: The Medical Lives of Famous Writers  by John J. Ross, M.D.
“We always long to know writers better: more than just their words, we want to immerse ourselves in their lives, to really feel what they felt.  This book does that, plunging you in the day-to-day pains and struggles of some of the most celebrated names in the canon.” -Sam Kean, author of The Disappearing Spoon and The Violinist’s Thumb

Some Real Characters… Biopicks and Memoirs

Brain on Fire : My Month of Madness  by Susannah Cahalan
Harrowing experience of a 24 year-old reporter for the New York Post whose mystifying illness baffled  doctors despite dire symptoms.

The Last Lion:  Winston Spencer Churchill, Defender of the Realm, 1940- 1965  by William Manchester and Paul Reid

Master of the Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves  by Henry Wiencek

Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die:  Musings from the Road  by Willie Nelson

Ike’s Bluff: President Eisenhower’s Secret Battle to Save the World  by Evan Thomas

Led Zeppelin: The Oral History of the Word’s Greatest Rock Band  by Barney Hoskyns

My Mother Was Nuts: A Memoir  by Penny Marshall

Wild  by Cheryl Strayed

Parachutes and Ladders: Career Know-how and Advice…

I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This  by Kate White
Easy to read and chock-full of useful advice from successful Cosmo editor on how to achieve your career goals.

A Year Up: How a Pioneering Program Teaches Young Adult Real Skills for Real Jobs with Real Success  by Gerald Chertavian

150 Best Jobs for Your Skills  by Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D.

Women Still at Work: Professionals Over Sixty and On the Job  by Elizabeth F. Fideler
Beautifully written case studies of the fastest growing segment of the workforce: women age sixty-five and older. Find out why they are still on the job from business to the arts and the impact work has on their lives.

Give ‘Em the Boot: Everything Italy…

Naples Declared: A Walk Around the Bay  by Benjamin Taylor

Venice: History of the Floating City  by Joanne M. Ferraro

Defying Evil: How the Italian Army Saved Croatian Jews During the Holocaust  by Benjamin Wood

The Lost Battles: Leonardo, Michelangelo, and the Artistic Duel That Defined the Renaissance  by Jonathan Jones

Hide & Seek: The Irish Priest in the Vatican Who Defied the Nazi Command  by Stephen Walker

The Rise of Rome : The Making of the World’s Greatest Empire  by Anthony Everitt

Strange Bedfellows: Politics

Don’t Know Much About the American Presidents  by Kenneth C. Davis

Red Ink:  Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget

No They Can’t:  Why Government Fails- But Individuals Succeed  by John Stossel

Food for the Foodies…

Lidia’s Favorite Recipes: 100 Foolproof Italian Dishes, from Basic Sauces to Irresistible Entrees
by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich

Home at 7 Dinner at 8  by Sophie Wright

Pure Vegan  by Soseph Shuldiner

Cake Pops: Holidays  by Bakerella

Seriously Simple Parties : Recipes, Menus  & Advice for Effortless Entertaining
by Diane Rossen Worthington

Salads: Beyond the Bowl. Extraordinary Recipes for Everyday Eating  by Mindy Fox

Flavor Exposed: 100 Global Recipes from Sweet to Salty, Earthy to Spicy  by Angelo Sosa

 

 

 

Here are some recently published and upcoming titles:

Clockwork Angels: The Novel    Kevin J. Anderson & Neil Peart  (Sept.)
Death Warmed Over    Kevin J. Anderson  (Aug.)
Unnatural Acts    Kevin J. Anderson  (Jan. 2013)
vN    Madeline Ashby  (Aug.)
The Mongoliad: Book Two    Greg Bear & Neal Stephenson  (Sept.)
Only Superhuman    Christopher Bennett  (Oct.)
I Ate the Sheriff    K. Bennett  (Aug.)
Bard’s Oath    Joanne Bertin  (Nov.)
This Case Is Gonna KiIll Me    Philippa Bornikova  (Sept.)
Containment    Christian Cantrell  (Aug.)
Dark Currents    Jacqueline Carey  (Oct.)
The Dead of Winter    Lee Collins  (Nov.)
Ironskin    Tina Connolly   (Oct.)Blood and Other Cravings    Ellen Datlow, ed.  (Oct.)
Bloodstar    Ian Douglas  (Aug.)
Angel’s Ink    Jocelynn Drake  (Oct.)
Three Parts Dead    Max Gladstone  (Oct.)
In A Fix    Linda Grimes  (Sept.)
Rock On: The Greatest Science Fiction & Fantasy Hits    Paula Guran, ed.  (Oct.)
An Apple for the Creature    Charlaine Harris & Toni L>P> Kelner, eds.  (Sept.)
Into the Woods: Tales from the Hollows and Beyond  (Oct.)
A Red Sun Also Rises    Mark Hodder  (Dec.)
The Silvered    Tanya Huff  (Nov.)
Devil Said Bang    Richard Kadrey    (Aug.)
Crown of Vengance    Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory  (Nov.)
King of Thrones    Mark Lawrence  (Aug.)
God Save the Queen    Kate Lock  (Jul.)
The Queen Is Dead    Kate Locke (Feb. 2013)
The Cassandra Project    Jack McDevitt & Mike Resnick  (Nov.)
Ashes of Honor    Seanan McGuire  (Sept.)
Merge/Disciple    Walter Mosley  (Oct.)
The Inexplicables    Cherie Priest  (Nov.)
The Doctor and the Rough Rider    Mike Resnick  (Dec.)
Every House is Haunted    Ian Rogers  (Dec.)
The Iron Wyrm Affair    Lilith Saintcrow  (Aug.)
Redshirts    John Scalzi  (Jun.)
Circus: Fantasy Under the Big Top  Ekaterina Sedia, ed.  (Sept.)
Remember Why You Fear Me    Robert Shearman  (Oct.)
Still Life with Shapeshifter  Sharon Shinn  (Nov.)
Red Rain    R.L. Stein  (Oct.)
The Void    Brett J. Talley    (Jul.)
Hidden Things    Doyce Testerman  (Aug.)
The Apex Book of World SF 2  (Aug.)
The Well of Tears    Roberta Trahan  (Sept.)
Slow Apocalypse    John Varley  (Sept.)
Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury  (Jun.)
The Dirty Streets of Heaven  Tad Williams  (Sept.)
The Donors    Jeffrey Wilson  (Jun.)

This is Kirkus Reviews’  choice of outstanding fiction books
from their starred reviews, all coming out this fall.

The Middlesteins  by Jami Attenberg (Oct. 23)

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon (Sept. 11)

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan (Nov. 13)

Phantom by Jo Nesbo (Oct. 2)

Building Stories by Chris Ware (Oct. 2)

Whether you like introspective crime fighters or in-your-face tough-guy enforcers, you are sure to find some great characters in books from these authors.  Many have sharp dialogue, plot twists and loads of suspense but one thing  you can always  count on is  interesting and quirky personalities.   Among the spies, bounty hunters, detectives, police chiefs, counter-agents and more, human vulnerabilities lay exposed.  As these  law enforcers are pushed to the limit, stressed and traumatized from terror, murder, and mayhem, you will find yourself  rooting for them as they close in on the bad guy.

David Baldacci
C. J. Box
James Lee Burke
Stephen J. Cannell
Lee Child
Michael Connelly
Robert Crais
Clive Cussler
Loren D. Estleman
W. E. B. Griffin
Stuart M. Kaminsky
William Kent Krueger
Mark Mills
Robert B. Parker
T. Jefferson Parker
Ann Perry
Douglas Preston
PeterRobinson
James Rollins
John Sandford
Daniel Silva

These are the “Top 10 Westerns”  chosen by the book review journal, Booklist  (August 2012) for the past two years .  It is an assortment of traditional westerns, some reissues and some originals.  The western has been reinventing itself in recent years so don’t be surprised to find “steampunk” and cowboy romance represented here.  Two additional authors who write about the west are among my favorites and have been added to the list.

Ambush Creek by Phil Dunlap. 2010. (” A well-told western from the High Noon school.)
Bohemian Girl by Teresa Svoboda. 2011. (A young woman sold to the Pawnee as a child, escapes and forges a life on the western frontier.)
City of Rocks by Michael Zimmer. 2012. (Stirring tale of a teen who locked horns with a dreaded gang and tells the story decades later.)
A Congregation of Jackals by Craig S. Zahler. 2010 (“Uncommonly powerful noir western blends a little High Noon with a little Magnificent Seven” in Montana.)
Doc by Mary Doria Russell. 2011. (Creatively imagined “Doc Holliday’s early years in this authentically detailed fictional biography;”  “crackling dialogue elevate this novel far above….)
The Doctor and the Kid by Mike Resnick. 2011. (“Sf-fantasy author Resnick offers an enticing alternate-history western starring the consumptive dentist and reluctant shootist Doc Holliday;”  steampunk and magic.)
Outlaws of the Brassada by Les Savage. 2012. ( “…weary Confederate veteran struggles with a rundown ranch  and two small children.  Originally published in 1952, mixes …scenes of cornering wild bulls with romance.”)
South by Southwest by Johnny D. Boggs. 2011. (“…teenage soldier … escapes a Confederate stockade and sets out to find and kill a Union officer turned traitor. …intense and suspenseful….”)
Travis by T. T. Flynn. 2011. (“Published in 1958 as The Man From Nowhere, this unusual western concerns a man who finds that his identity has been stolen.  A fascinating twist on (the) …revenge story.”)

C. J. Box writes a series of murder mysteries with lots of plot twists and suspense featuring Wyoming  game warden Joe Pickett.  Try Nowhere to Run.

Ivan Doig writes about Montana and spins a yarn very much like Mark Twain or Garrison Keillor,  filled with dialogue, philosophy, humor and human failing.  Delightful to read.  My favorite is Whistling Season.

If you like your crime solvers to have  brooding and introspective personalities then Scandinavian mysteries and thrillers are great reads to transport you!  The authors and titles are librarian recommended but the list is far from all-inclusive.

Unwanted by Kristina Ohlsson  (2012)
Until Thy Wrath Be Past by Asa Larsson (2011)
The Stonecutter by  Camilla Lackberg (2012)
Another Time, Another Life byLief G.W. Persson (2011)
Sail of Stone  by Ake Edwardson ( 2012)
Night Rounds by Helene Tursten (2012)
The Kurt Wallender series by Henning Mankell
The Hand That Trembles by Kjell Erikssson (2011)
The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen (2011)
The Inspector and Silence  by Hakan Nesser (2011)
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonassen (not yet published)
Martin Beck Mystery series by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Last Will by Liza Marklund (2011)
The Elephant Keepers’ Children by Peter Hoeg (Sept. 2012)