Our Favorite Books from 2012

Fiction

• This is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz
• The Round House by Louise Erdrich
• Canada by Richard Ford
• The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
• Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
• Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
• Up Jumps the Devil by Michael Poore
• The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling
• Advent by James Treadwell
• The Kings of Cool by Don Winslow

Nonfiction

• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
• A Rich Spot of Earth: Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden at Monticello by Peter J. Hatch
• Why Does the World Exist? An Existential Detective Story by Jim Holt
• Full Body Burden: Growing Up in the Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats by Kristen Iversen
• Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries by Jon Ronson
• Rome: An Empire’s Story by Greg Woolf

Biographies and Memoirs

• Coal to Diamonds: A Memoir by Beth Ditto
• The Good Son: The Life of Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini by Mark Kriegel
• Through the Door of Life: A Jewish Journey Between Genders by Joy Ladin
• Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety by Daniel B. Smith
• Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz
• Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream by Neil Young

Did we miss your favorite book from 2012? Let me know in the comments. We like to know what you’re reading!

And for even more suggestions, visit our Staff Reviews page or request a personalized reading list from our librarians. Here’s wishing you a happy and healthy new year!