NPR Best Books 2012

1.
Code Name Verity (Code Name Verity, #1)
Code Name Verity (Code Name Verity, #1) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 125,842 ratings
2.
Thrall: Poems
Thrall: Poems 4.13 avg rating — 1,679 ratings
2.
The Hungry Ear: Poems of Food and Drink
The Hungry Ear: Poems of Food and Drink 3.96 avg rating — 264 ratings
4.
Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys
Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys 4.01 avg rating — 392 ratings
4.
Christmas At Eagle Pond
Christmas At Eagle Pond 4.03 avg rating — 322 ratings
6.
Mayakovsky's Revolver
Mayakovsky's Revolver 4.27 avg rating — 712 ratings
6.
Memorial: An Excavation of the Iliad
Memorial: An Excavation of the Iliad 4.22 avg rating — 1,886 ratings
8.
Our Lady of the Ruins
Our Lady of the Ruins 4.26 avg rating — 419 ratings
8.
The Life of Objects
The Life of Objects 3.35 avg rating — 1,317 ratings
10.
Bender: New and Selected Poems
Bender: New and Selected Poems 4.32 avg rating — 210 ratings
10.
Merge / Disciple
Merge / Disciple 3.48 avg rating — 433 ratings
12.
The Address Book
The Address Book 4.10 avg rating — 852 ratings
12.
The Towers of Trebizond
The Towers of Trebizond 3.68 avg rating — 1,800 ratings
14.
As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh: Journals and Notebooks, 1964-1980
As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh: Journals and Notebooks, 1964-1980 4.09 avg rating — 1,542 ratings
14.
America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation
America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation 3.92 avg rating — 461 ratings
16.
All We Know: Three Lives
All We Know: Three Lives 3.57 avg rating — 269 ratings
16.
We Learn Nothing
We Learn Nothing 4.16 avg rating — 5,109 ratings
18.
Carry the One
Carry the One 3.12 avg rating — 10,098 ratings
18.
Heft
Heft
by: Liz Moore
4.02 avg rating — 22,812 ratings
20.
Antigonick
Antigonick 4.32 avg rating — 3,227 ratings
20.
Among Others
Among Others
by: Jo Walton
3.71 avg rating — 25,522 ratings
22.
Life Is a Gift: The Zen of Bennett
Life Is a Gift: The Zen of Bennett 3.78 avg rating — 486 ratings
22.
The Double Game
The Double Game 3.48 avg rating — 1,419 ratings
24.
How Music Works
How Music Works 4.01 avg rating — 27,468 ratings
25.
The First Four Notes: Beethoven's Fifth and the Human Imagination
The First Four Notes: Beethoven's Fifth and the Human Imagination 3.39 avg rating — 323 ratings
25.
Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories
Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories 4.17 avg rating — 4,556 ratings
27.
Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists
Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists 4.16 avg rating — 752 ratings
27.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank 3.74 avg rating — 8,193 ratings
29.
Why Jazz Happened
Why Jazz Happened 4.15 avg rating — 121 ratings
29.
The Doctor's Wife
The Doctor's Wife 3.79 avg rating — 242 ratings
31.
Will Oldham on Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Will Oldham on Bonnie "Prince" Billy 4.10 avg rating — 427 ratings
31.
Dear Life
Dear Life 3.75 avg rating — 39,622 ratings
33.
Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans
Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans 4.28 avg rating — 25 ratings
33.
Battleborn
Battleborn 4.12 avg rating — 5,353 ratings
35.
The One: The Life and Music of James Brown
The One: The Life and Music of James Brown 4.02 avg rating — 714 ratings
35.
The Crackle of the Frost
The Crackle of the Frost 3.68 avg rating — 356 ratings
37.
No Regrets: Writings on Scott Walker
No Regrets: Writings on Scott Walker
by: Rob Young
3.89 avg rating — 120 ratings
37.
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China
by: Na Liu
3.78 avg rating — 4,891 ratings
39.
Drama
Drama 4.18 avg rating — 157,584 ratings
40.
Purity
Purity 3.36 avg rating — 1,880 ratings
40.
Gloriana
Gloriana 3.36 avg rating — 301 ratings
42.
Endangered (Ape Quartet #1)
Endangered (Ape Quartet #1) 4.04 avg rating — 6,139 ratings
42.
Saga, Volume 1
Saga, Volume 1 4.16 avg rating — 354,222 ratings
44.
Where Things Come Back
Where Things Come Back 3.80 avg rating — 21,231 ratings
44.
Wonder Woman, Volume 1: Blood
Wonder Woman, Volume 1: Blood 3.87 avg rating — 21,179 ratings
46.
Seraphina (Seraphina, #1)
Seraphina (Seraphina, #1) 3.94 avg rating — 88,787 ratings
47.
Gone Girl
Gone Girl 4.14 avg rating — 3,358,247 ratings
48.
The Stonecutter (Patrik Hedström, #3)
The Stonecutter (Patrik Hedström, #3) 3.93 avg rating — 36,677 ratings
49.
Broken Harbor
Broken Harbor 3.95 avg rating — 107,803 ratings
50.
The Beautiful Mystery (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #8)
The Beautiful Mystery (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #8) 4.20 avg rating — 87,942 ratings
51.
Strong Poison (Lord Peter Wimsey, #6)
Strong Poison (Lord Peter Wimsey, #6) 4.14 avg rating — 32,858 ratings
52.
Have His Carcase (Lord Peter Wimsey, #8)
Have His Carcase (Lord Peter Wimsey, #8) 4.10 avg rating — 17,645 ratings
53.
Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey, #12)
Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey, #12) 4.20 avg rating — 31,534 ratings
54.
Busman's Honeymoon (Lord Peter Wimsey, #13)
Busman's Honeymoon (Lord Peter Wimsey, #13) 4.24 avg rating — 21,665 ratings
55.
I Own the Dawn (The Night Stalkers, #2)
I Own the Dawn (The Night Stalkers, #2) 4.15 avg rating — 1,367 ratings
56.
Steel's Edge (The Edge, #4)
Steel's Edge (The Edge, #4) 4.20 avg rating — 19,946 ratings
57.
A Royal Pain (Unruly Royals, #1)
A Royal Pain (Unruly Royals, #1) 3.31 avg rating — 2,477 ratings
58.
Riveted (Iron Seas, #3)
Riveted (Iron Seas, #3) 3.96 avg rating — 4,511 ratings
59.
A Lady Never Lies (Affairs by Moonlight, #1)
A Lady Never Lies (Affairs by Moonlight, #1) 3.63 avg rating — 1,053 ratings
60.
Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child
Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child
by: Bob Spitz
3.88 avg rating — 9,512 ratings
61.
I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen
I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen 4.19 avg rating — 5,123 ratings
62.
Barack Obama: The Story
Barack Obama: The Story 4.08 avg rating — 1,236 ratings
63.
A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman
A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman 3.64 avg rating — 173 ratings
64.
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo
by: Tom Reiss
4.02 avg rating — 21,030 ratings
65.
The Odds: A Love Story
The Odds: A Love Story 3.35 avg rating — 3,532 ratings
66.
Canada
Canada 3.52 avg rating — 27,802 ratings
67.
Girlchild
Girlchild 3.53 avg rating — 6,048 ratings
68.
This Is How You Lose Her
This Is How You Lose Her 3.74 avg rating — 99,561 ratings
69.
Beautiful Ruins
Beautiful Ruins 3.68 avg rating — 182,950 ratings
70.
Brontes, The: Wild Genius on the Moors: The Story of Three Sisters
Brontes, The: Wild Genius on the Moors: The Story of Three Sisters 3.98 avg rating — 5,238 ratings
71.
Marmee and Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother
Marmee and Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother 3.96 avg rating — 1,716 ratings
72.
Elsewhere
Elsewhere 3.77 avg rating — 8,243 ratings
73.
My Husband and My Wives: A Gay Man's Odyssey
My Husband and My Wives: A Gay Man's Odyssey 3.08 avg rating — 156 ratings
74.
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity 3.98 avg rating — 114,809 ratings
75.
100 Diagrams That Changed the World: From the Earliest Cave Paintings to the Innovation of the iPod
100 Diagrams That Changed the World: From the Earliest Cave Paintings to the Innovation of the iPod 3.70 avg rating — 320 ratings
76.
American Ghost
American Ghost 3.52 avg rating — 1,325 ratings
77.
The Art Forger
The Art Forger 3.75 avg rating — 91,768 ratings
78.
City of Women
City of Women 3.79 avg rating — 18,020 ratings
79.
Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life
Travels with Epicurus: A Journey to a Greek Island in Search of a Fulfilled Life 3.81 avg rating — 3,415 ratings
80.
Instant: The Story of Polaroid
Instant: The Story of Polaroid 3.90 avg rating — 823 ratings
81.
The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song
The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song 3.86 avg rating — 611 ratings
82.
Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses
Lies, Knives, and Girls in Red Dresses 3.26 avg rating — 1,211 ratings
83.
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 1: From the Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare to Dangerous Liaisons (The Graphic Canon, #1)
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 1: From the Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare to Dangerous Liaisons (The Graphic Canon, #1)
by: Russ Kick
3.70 avg rating — 987 ratings
84.
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 2: From Kubla Khan to the Brontë Sisters to The Picture of Dorian Gray (The Graphic Canon #2)
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 2: From Kubla Khan to the Brontë Sisters to The Picture of Dorian Gray (The Graphic Canon #2)
by: Russ Kick
3.85 avg rating — 377 ratings
85.
My Ideal Bookshelf
My Ideal Bookshelf 3.72 avg rating — 2,097 ratings
86.
Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story
Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story 3.78 avg rating — 597 ratings
87.
My Heart Is an Idiot: Essays
My Heart Is an Idiot: Essays 3.61 avg rating — 2,264 ratings
88.
Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures
Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures 3.28 avg rating — 5,549 ratings
89.
The News from Spain: Seven Variations on a Love Story
The News from Spain: Seven Variations on a Love Story 3.81 avg rating — 1,503 ratings
90.
Dancers Among Us: A Celebration of Joy in the Everyday
Dancers Among Us: A Celebration of Joy in the Everyday 4.40 avg rating — 1,005 ratings
91.
The Middlesteins
The Middlesteins 3.44 avg rating — 20,847 ratings
92.
The Lifeboat
The Lifeboat 3.20 avg rating — 25,241 ratings
93.
The Round House
The Round House 3.98 avg rating — 122,352 ratings
94.
Arcadia
Arcadia 3.73 avg rating — 25,921 ratings
95.
NW
NW 3.48 avg rating — 44,460 ratings
96.
The Orchardist
The Orchardist 3.80 avg rating — 47,692 ratings
97.
Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version
Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version 4.05 avg rating — 22,968 ratings
98.
More Than Human
More Than Human 4.50 avg rating — 280 ratings
99.
Flower
Flower 4.39 avg rating — 33 ratings
100.
Poems, 1962-2012
Poems, 1962-2012 4.43 avg rating — 1,954 ratings
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