The staffers of Fiction, Movies and Music and Adult Reference read a lot of books in 2012, and we thought we would share our favorites. Here are our picks for nonfiction and biographies:

“All there is: Love Stories from Storycorps’’ by Dave Isay
Love is found in unexpected places: a New York tollbooth, a military base in Iraq, an airport lounge. We encounter love that survives discrimination, illness, poverty, distance, even death.
Recommended by Haley

“Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity’’ by Katherine Boo
The Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter for the Washington Post spent three years among the poor residents of a slum near the Mumbai International Airport.
Recommended by Trish and Nate

“A Cavalcade of Lesser Horrors’’ by Peter Smith
In this series of funny, honest, and moving pieces, Smith, who spent part of his childhood in Libertyville, explores a few messy episodes from his own life.
Recommended by Sonia

“Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman’’ by Robert K. Massie
Massie presents a reconstruction of the empress's life that covers her efforts to engage Russia in the cultural life of Europe, her creation of the Hermitage, and her numerous scandal-free romantic affairs.
Recommended by Susie and Connie

 “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President’’ by Candice Millard
An account of James Garfield's rise from poverty to the American presidency, and the dramatic history of his assassination and legacy.
Recommended by Ellen

“Elsewhere: a Memoir” by Richard Russo
This is the famous novelist’s memoir of his life, his parents, and the upstate New York town they all struggled to escape. Anyone familiar with the Russo's fiction will recognize Gloversville, New York.
Recommended by Jane

“The Fry Chronicles’’ by Stephen Fry
The popular actor, comedian, and writer traces his unlikely Cambridge education, his relationships with such contemporaries as Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson, and his hedonistic rise to stardom.
Recommended by Jane

“Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake’’ by Anna Quindlen
Quindlen writes about the lives of women today, looking back and ahead, and celebrating it all, as she considers marriage, girlfriends, our mothers, faith, loss, all that stuff in our closets, and more.
Recommended by Connie

“Mrs. Kennedy and Me’’ by Clint Hill with Lisa McCubbin
Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent assigned to guard Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, went from being a reluctant guardian to a fiercely loyal watchdog and, in many ways, her closest friend.
Recommended by Jo and Connie

“Paris: A Love Story” by Kati Marton
In this remarkably honest memoir, award-winning journalist and distinguished author Marton narrates an impassioned and romantic story of love, loss, and life after loss.
Recommended by Jenny P.

“Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking’’ by Susan Cain
Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with the indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so.
Recommended by Andrea

“Steve Jobs’’ by Water Isaacson
A riveting biography based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years, as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues.
Recommended by Ellen

“Stories I Only Tell My Friends’’ by Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-seventies Malibu, where he embarked on his pursuit of a career in Hollywood.
Recommended by Connie

“Then Again’’ by Diane Keaton
The award-winning actress documents her rise from an everyday girl to an acclaimed performer while exploring her defining relationship with her mother and how their shared and separate dreams influenced their experiences.
Recommended by Connie

“Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” by Cheryl Strayed
A powerful, blazingly honest, inspiring memoir tells the story of a 1,100 mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe, and built her back up again.
Recommended by Connie

--Jo Hansen, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.