Best books of 2012

With my book group (and our holiday book exchange)

Here are the best books I read in 2012. Click the title to read my review. These are listed in approximate order of how much I liked them (#1 being the best). I'd love to hear what you thought of any of these books. If you've read any, please leave me a comment.

You can also refer to best books lists back to 2001 here. Enjoy!


This is cross-posted in Every Day Is a Miracle.

Fiction

1.  The Invisible Bridge, Julie Orringer

2.  The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

3.  Marcelo in the Real World, Francisco X. Stork

4.  Wonder, R.J. Palacio

5.  Sing You Home, Jodi Picoult

6.  The Casual Vacancy, J.K Rowling

7.  All Passion Spent, Vita Sackville West

8.  Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs

9.  The Kitchen House, Kathleen Grissom

10. The Descendants, Kaui Hart Hemmings

11. This Beautiful Life, Helen Schulman

12. Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane

13. Everyone Is Beautiful, Katherine Center

14. Naoko, Keigo Higashino

15. The Wishing Trees, John Shors

16. The Girl Next Door, Elizabeth Noble

17. Song Yet Sung, James McBride

18. Second Fiddle, Rosanne Parry

19. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, Beth Hoffman

20. Shine, Lauren Myracle

21. Glow, Jessica Maria Tuccelli

22. The Family Fang, Kevin Wilson

23. How It All Began, Penelope Lively

24. The Book of Dahlia, Elisa Albert

25. The Treasure Map of Boys, E. Lockhart

Nonfiction

1. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Cheryl Strayed

2. Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots, Deborah Feldman

3. Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, Katherine Boo

4. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, Laura Hillenbrand

5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot

6. The Mama's Boy Myth: Why Keeping Our Sons Close Makes Them Stronger, Kate Stone Lombardi

7. Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture,
Peggy Orenstein

8. Crazy Enough, Storm Large

9. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir, Jenny Lawson

10. My Monastery Is a Minivan: Where the Daily Is Divine and the Routine Becomes Prayer, Denise Roy

11. A Complaint-Free World: Take the 21-day Challenge, Will Bowen

12. Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World, Lisa Bloom

13. Poster Child, Emily Rapp

14. Moonwalking with Einstein, Joshua Foer

15. Happy Accidents, Jane Lynch

16. The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives, Katie Couric, ed.

17. You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up, Annabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn