Best books of 2012
PHOTOS | As the end of the year approaches, we’ve chosen our favorite fiction, nonfiction and graphic novels from 2012.
Recent Reviews
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The fan is mightier than the sword in ‘The Stockholm Octavo’
In Karen Engelmann’s 18th-century costume drama, a compelling story slowly unfolds.
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After “Madame Butterfly”
David Rain’s first novel, “The Heat of the Sun,” chronicles the life of Cio-Cio-San’s son.
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‘Sleep Like a Tiger’
A magical picture book about going to bed — or not, by Mary Logue and Pamela Zagarenski.
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‘Starry River of the Sky’
Grace Lin returns to the old, fantastical China of her Newbery Honor book.
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Nineteen different-tasting stories
You may not like all the tales in “She Loves Me Not,” but but at least author Ron Hansen offers variety.
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Back to France with Peter Mayle
Enterprising bon vivant Sam Levitt is back for another delicious detective romp in “The Marseille Caper.”
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‘A Question of Identity,’ by Susan Hill
The controversial, award-winning writer’s latest toys with what is most sacred to us.
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Henry James’s bridge to modernism
Michael Gorra’s “Portrait of a Novel” shows how “The Portrait of a Lady” left Victorianism behind.
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Spanish lessons for modern America
In “History in the Making,” Sir John Elliot looks back on his career as a Hispanist.
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Larger, sexier and richer than life
REVIEW | In Bill Roorbach’s new novel, a young man gets drawn into the deadly lives of celebrities.
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Unwrapping America’s cheese culture
REVIEW | Kirstin Jackson wedges through the jargon and pomp for a sharp look at the state of cheese.
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Authors must be marketers
In the competition for readers, writers including Sarah Pekkanen must become modern marketers.
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An epic fantasy from Caleb Carr
In “The Legend of Broken,” Carr conjures up an alternate history of the Dark Ages.
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Harry Bosch picks up a cold case
In Michael Connelly’s “The Black Box,” Bosch investigates the 20-year-old murder of a Danish journalist.
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Savvy advice for hotel guests
“Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality,” by Jacob Tomsky.
Sunday reviews
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The author who couldn’t say no
“Thornton Wilder: A Life” explores why the Pulitzer-winning novelist and playwright sought solitude out West.
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The mother behind the author
REVIEW | “Marmee and Louisa” explores how Louisa May Alcott’s mother influenced her work.
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Wine’s journey through history
“Divine Vintage” and “Inventing Wine” tell the vintage story from biblical days to the latest fads.
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China and its foreign friends
In “Restless Empire,” Odd Arne Westad offers a provocative view of foreign influence in China.
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Football at its most outrageous
In “The Dallas Cowboys,” Joe Nick Patoski chronicles America’s most hated and most loved football team.
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The John Lennon letters
Hunter Davies has compiled and annotated the musician’s notes, screeds, asides and howls
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Treason at the CIA
Sandra Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuille recall Aldrich Ames, the CIA mole who spied for the KGB
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A Small Town Near Auschwitz
Mary Fulbrook examines the people who ignored the death camps in their neighborhoods
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The Web and economic power
In “Makers,” Chris Anderson assesses the new tech-driven industrial revolution.
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America’s exception fighting corps
In “Underdogs,” Aaron B. O’Connell charts the making of the modern Marine Corps.
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“A Wicked War”
Amy S. Greenberg examines how the Mexican War altered the livesof Henry Clay, James K. Polk and Abraham Lincoln
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Polaroid
Christopher Bonanos chronicles the camera maker and its founder who would inspire Steve Jobs.
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Britain’s bigger-than-life leader
In “The Last Lion,” William Manchester and Paul Reid recount the expoits of Winston Churchill.
Washington Post Bestsellers Nov. 18
The books Washington has been reading.
Ron Charles
![Ron Charles](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121206111317im_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/rw/WashingtonPost/Content/Staff-Bio/Images/ron-charles_80x72.jpg)
The fan is mightier than the sword in ‘The Stockholm Octavo’
In Karen Engelmann’s 18th-century costume drama, a compelling story slowly unfolds.
Ron Charles
![Ron Charles](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121206111317im_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/rw/WashingtonPost/Content/Staff-Bio/Images/ron-charles_80x72.jpg)
Larger, sexier and richer than life
REVIEW | In Bill Roorbach’s new novel, a young man gets drawn into the deadly lives of celebrities.
Ron Charles
![Ron Charles](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121206111317im_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/rw/WashingtonPost/Content/Staff-Bio/Images/ron-charles_80x72.jpg)
Unhappily ever after
REVIEW | The bright young couple in Christine Schutt’s “Prosperous Friends” are miserable soon after saying, “I do.”
Michael Dirda
![Michael Dirda](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121206111317im_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/rw/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2011/04/04/Web-Resampled/2011-04-04/michael-dirda_80x72--78x70.jpg)
Drawn into a circle of poetry giants
REVIEW | In ‘With Robert Lowell and His Circle,’ Kathleen Spivack recalls time among poetry’s greats.
Michael Dirda
![Michael Dirda](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121206111317im_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/rw/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2011/04/04/Web-Resampled/2011-04-04/michael-dirda_80x72--78x70.jpg)
Spanish lessons for modern America
In “History in the Making,” Sir John Elliot looks back on his career as a Hispanist.
Michael Dirda
![Michael Dirda](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121206111317im_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/rw/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2011/04/04/Web-Resampled/2011-04-04/michael-dirda_80x72--78x70.jpg)
Shakespeare’s Common Prayers
The Book of Common Prayer and the Elizabethan Age, by Daniel Swift. Reviewed by Michael Dirda.
Jonathan Yardley
![Jonathan Yardley](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121206111317im_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/rw/WashingtonPost/Content/Staff-Bio/Images/jonathan-yardley_80x72.jpg)
“A Wicked War”
Amy S. Greenberg examines how the Mexican War altered the livesof Henry Clay, James K. Polk and Abraham Lincoln
Literary Calendar
Going Out Guide: Upcoming events
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Get the latest on readings, signings and author appearances in the D.C. area.
Best books of 2011
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