My most absolute favorite genre is incredibly well written narrative nonfiction. This was a banner year for such books, including
The Warmth of Other Suns , by Isabel Wilkerson;
The Wave , by Susan Casey;
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks , by Portland-grown Rebecca Skoot; and
At Home , by Bill Bryson (I'll read ANYTHING he writes), among others. The other genre I read the most is literary fiction, both novels and short stories. I'll read a good mystery from time to time (but nothing too scary), and I like to read kids books; I'm particularly fond of books at the middle-reader level (I'm a big Rick Riordan fan) and gorgeously illustrated picture books. I also find it hard to resist books on history and current events and bios/memoirs (two of my favorites this year have been
Let's Take the Long Way Home , by Gail Caldwell, and
The Chronology of Water, by Lidia Yuknavitch.
Book List
$25.95
ISBN-13: 9780307592736
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Knopf, 3/2012
This is unquestionably one of my favorite books of the year. And Cheryl would be happy to sign and/or personalize your copy if you get it from us! Think what great gifts they would make....
$14.95
ISBN-13: 9780307949332
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 7/2012
$24.00
ISBN-13: 9781451643350
Availability: In Our Warehouse; Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Scribner, 3/2012
$27.00
ISBN-13: 9781400067558
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Published: Random House, 2/2012
$14.95
ISBN-13: 9780307947727
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Published: Vintage, 5/2012
This Booker-Prize-winning novel is spare and thought-provoking.
$25.00
ISBN-13: 9781936365746
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: McSweeney's, 6/2012
$27.99
ISBN-13: 9780061692048
Availability: In Our Warehouse; Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Ecco, 5/2012
Another book that won't publish until later this spring, but keep an eye out for it. It is terrific.
$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780307744432
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Anchor, 9/2012
This wonderful debut novel had me captivated from the get-go. Getting rave reviews from everywhere.
$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780143121343
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books, 6/2012
Hard to believe, but I loved this book even more than Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight -- a book I thoroughly enjoyed. And let's just admit it: She wins hands-down on titles and covers too!
$16.00
ISBN-13: 9780767929714
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Anchor, 6/2012
Her previous book, The River of Doubt, was terrific. I'm halfway through this one about the shooting of President James Garfield. She has another winner. Just a wonderful writer and researcher.
$16.95
ISBN-13: 9780679763888
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 10/2011
This book wins the trifecta of narrative nonfiction: well-written and organized, on an interesting subject not frequently written about, and beautifully produced. Wilkerson, the director of the narrative nonfiction writing program at Boston University, writes about the migration of blacks from the South to the North and West from WWI to the '70s.
$15.99
ISBN-13: 9780062049810
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial, 5/2012
Ann Patchett is back with a wonderful meaty novel set in the Amazonian jungle. I'm a sucker for anything set in the Amazon (although I'd never set foot there myself). I put this book on par with Bel Canto. Once again, however, I felt weird about the ending; haven't quite yet figured it out. But I strongly recommend it.
$14.00
ISBN-13: 9780812979114
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 8/2011
Author and book reviewer Gail Caldwell met author and columnist Caroline Knapp, and they bonded over their dogs, among other shared passions. Then Caroline died. Caldwell has written a beautifully moving, surprisingly unsappy yet tear-jerking nonetheless, memoir of their friendship. It's a must-read.
$29.99
ISBN-13: 9780375857157
Availability: In Our Warehouse; Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 10/2011
$6.99
ISBN-13: 9780394820378
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Yearling, 10/1988
The Phantom Tollbooth is one of my all-time favorite kids books. It just doesn't get any better than this. If you haven't read it, or know of a kid who hasn't, buy it. In bulk. And read and share.
$15.99
ISBN-13: 9781582463704
Availability: In Our Warehouse; Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Tricycle Press, 5/2011
$16.00
ISBN-13: 9780312267179
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Published: Picador, 9/2000
$16.00
ISBN-13: 9781582346298
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Published: Bloomsbury USA, 5/2006
$13.95
ISBN-13: 9781616200152
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Published: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1/2011
$15.95
ISBN-13: 9780979018831
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Published: Hawthorne Books, 4/2011
$15.95
ISBN-13: 9780767928854
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Published: Anchor, 9/2011
$15.95
ISBN-13: 9780767919395
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Published: Anchor, 10/2011
$20.00
ISBN-13: 9781596914612
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bloomsbury USA, 10/2008
