Our Favorite Graphic Novels of 2012

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 graphic novels:

“Building Stories’’ by Chris Ware
Ware ingeniously resents an illustrated tale, told in various books and folded sheets, about the residents in a three-story Chicago apartment building, including a lonely single woman and an elderly landlady.
Recommended by Nate

“Economix: How Our Economy Works (And Doesn’t Work) in Words and Pictures’’ by Michael Goodwin
Everybody’s talking about the economy, but how can we, the people, understand what Wall Street or Washington know, or say they know? Read “Economix.’’
Recommended by Nate

“The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln’’ by Noah Van Sciver
This graphic novel follows a young Abraham Lincoln as he battles a dark cloud of depression, unknowingly laying the foundation of character he would use as one of America's greatest presidents.
Recommended by Nate

“My Friend, Dahmer: a Graphic Novel’’ by Derf Backderf

Writer-artist Backderf creates a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a disturbed young man struggling against the morbid urges emanating from the deep recesses of his psyche.
Recommended by Susie

“Underwater Welder’’ by Jeff Lemire
As an underwater welder on an oil rig, Jack Joseph is used to the immense pressures of deep-sea work. Nothing, however, could prepare him for the pressures of impending fatherhood.
Recommended by Nate

“Wizzywig: Portrait of a Serial Hacker’’ by Ed Piskor
Wizzygig is the thrilling tale of a master manipulator and his journey from precocious child scammer to
federally wanted fugitive, and beyond.
Recommended by Nate

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

Our Favorite Nonfiction and Biographies of 2012

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.

The Best Nonfiction of 2012

I continue my quest to track down the best books of the year by looking at the nonfiction lists (Please see my previous post for best fiction.). The following is compiled from the 2012 best lists from Amazon, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, New York Times, Barnes & Noble, Book Page and the Washington Post. While several books stand out, no book made all seven compilations. For more information about the following books, click on the title to go to our library catalog.

Four books were mentioned five times:

1) 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 Mubai International Airport. The New York Times called it an “exquisitely accomplished first book. Novelists dream of defining characters this swiftly and beautifully, but Ms. Boo is not a novelist. She is one of those rare, deep-digging journalists who can make truth surpass fiction, a documentarian with a superb sense of human drama. She makes it very easy to forget that this book is the work of a reporter. …. Comparison to Dickens is not unwarranted.”

2) "Mortality'' by Christopher Hitchens. When the author/journalist learned he had esophageal cancer, he spent the next 18 months until his death writing about the disease and his pending death. Kirkus Reviews described it as “a jovially combative riposte to anyone who thought that death would silence master controversialist Hitchens.’’

3) "Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power'' by Jon Meacham. This is the latest biography of the third president of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence. The author won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2009 for “American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. Joyce Appleby for the Washington Post wrote that Meacham “accomplishes something more impressive than dissecting Jefferson’s political skills by explaining his greatness, a different task from chronicling a life, though he does that too — and handsomely. Even though I know quite a lot about Jefferson, I was repeatedly surprised by the fresh information Meacham brings to his work. Surely there is not a significant detail out there, in any pertinent archive, that he has missed.’’

4) "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail'' by Cheryl Strayed. An Oprah Book Club pick, the author, who is devastated by her mother’s death and the end of her marriage, decides to hike more than 1,000 miles over three months. The Library Journal wrote that “She takes readers with her on the trail, and the transformation she experiences on its course is significant: she goes from feeling out of her element with a too-big backpack and too-small boots to finding a sense of home in the wilderness and with the allies she meets along the way.’’

Four books were listed four times:

1) “Far from the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity’’ by Andrew Solomon. The author, who won the National Book Award for “The Noonday Demon’’ in 2001, interviewed more than 300 families that have exceptional children. Publisher’s Weekly writes, “Profoundly moving…Solomon’s own trials of feeling marginalized as gay, dyslexic, and depressive, while still yearning to be a father, frame these affectingly rendered real tales about bravely playing the cards one’s dealt.”

2) “Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956’’ by Anne Applebaum. The author, who won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction for “Gulag’’, provides a sequel about the spread of communism after World War II. The Washington Post wrote, “One of the most compelling but also serious works on Europe’s past to appear in recent memory…In her relentless quest for understanding, Applebaum shines light into forgotten worlds of human hope, suffering and dignity.”

3) “Joseph Anton: a Memoir’’ by Salman Rushdie. When novelist Salman Rushdie was sentenced to death in 1989 by the Ayatollah Khomeini, the writer spent the next nine years in hiding, using the alias “Joseph Anton. “A harrowing, deeply felt and revealing document: an autobiographical mirror of the big, philosophical preoccupations that have animated Mr. Rushdie’s work throughout his career,’’ wrote Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times.

4) “Passage of Power: the Years of Lyndon Johnson’’ by Robert A. Caro. Caro’s fourth book in his LBJ series follows years 1958-1964. Neal Thompson from Amazon wrote, “Lyndon Johnson finally reaches the White House. At 600-plus pages, it’s a brick of a book, but it reads at times like a novel, and a thriller, and a Greek tragedy. Caro's version of JFK's assassination is especially chilling, and the characters—not just LBJ, but the Kennedys and the power brokers of Washington --are downright Shakespearean.’’

Eight books were named three times:

1) “Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama’’ by Alison Bechdel: A graphic novel follow-up to Fun Home with humorous stories about the author's mother.

2) “Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies’’ by Ben Macintyre: The work of six double agents helped Allied troops across the Channel on D-Day.

3) “End of Your Life Book Club’’by Will Schwalbe: A touching story about how a son forms a book club with his dying mother.

4) “People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished From the Streets of Tokyo and the Evil that Swallowed Her Up'' by Richard Lloyd Parry: Follows a gruesome murder case in Japan.

5) “Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis’’ by Timothy Egan: A biographical portrait of a famous photographer who photographed more than 80 Native American tribes.

6) “Social Conquest of Earth’’ by Edward O. Wilson: A groundbreaking book about evolution by a celebrated scientist.

7) “Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic’’ by David Quammen: Tracks the animal origins of human diseases.

8) “Winter Journal’’ by Paul Auster: A memoir from an acclaimed novelist.

Thirty books made the cut two times:

1) “Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo’’ by Tom Reiss

2) “By the Iowa Sea: A Memoir’’ by Joe Blair

3) “Cronkite’’ by Douglas G. Brinkley

4) “Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child’’ by Bob Spitz

5) “Darwin’s Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution’’ by Rebecca Stott

6) “Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt’’ by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco

7) “Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power’’ by Rachel Maddow

8) “500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars’’ by Kurt Eichenwald

9) “God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine’’ by Victoria Sweet

10)  “Gypsy Boy: My Life in the Secret World of the Romany Gypsies’’ by Mikey Walsh

11) “Haiti: The Aftershocks of History’’ by Laurent Dubois

12) “Hello, Goodbye, Hello: A Circle of 101 Remarkable Meetings'' by Craig Brown

13) “Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’’ by Terry McDermott and Josh Meyer

14) “Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan’’ by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

15) “Lincoln’s Code: The Laws of War in American History’’ by John Fabian Witt

16) “Mansion of Happiness: A History of Life and Death’’ by Jill Lepore

17) “On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson’’ by William Souder

18) “On the Eve: The Jews of Europe Before the Second World War’’ by Bernard Wasserstein

19) “On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines - and Future’’ by Karen Elliott House

20) “Patagonian Hare: A Memoir’’ by Claude Lanzmann and John Gaffney

21) “Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy’’ by David Nasaw

22) “Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business’’ by Charles Duhigg

23) “President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity’’ by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy

24) “Quiet: Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking’’ by Susan Cain

25) “Reinventing Bach’’ by Paul Elie

26) “Tender Hour of Twilight: Paris in the '50s, New York in the '60s: A Memoir of Publishing's Golden Age’’ by Richard Seaver, Jeannette Seaver and James Salter (not in catalog)

27) “Turing’s Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe’’ by George Dyson

28) “Voice Is All: The Lonely Victory of Jack Kerouac’’ by Joyce Johnson

29) “When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God’’ by T.M. Luhrmann

30) “Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?’’ by Jeanette Winterson

I hope this list gives you great reading and gift ideas. Do you have a nonfiction book that you think should have made the list?

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

Holiday Romantic Fiction

It’s the most wonderful time of the year again, and with it comes a crop of new holiday romantic fiction. I love diving into this genre in December! Here are some of my picks for this season:

What Happens at Christmas by Victoria Alexander

Publishers’ Weekly calls this book a “divine Christmas confection.” Camille, the widowed Lady Lydingham, hires a troupe of actors to impersonate her family and staff in order to win the affections of the mysterious prince Nicolai Pruzinsky. But her plans are thwarted by the surprise arrival of her long-lost love, Grayson Elliot, and all sorts of other unexpected events that complicate the farce. Witty and entertaining, this is an ideal light holiday book.

Angels At the Table by Debbie Macomber

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a new Debbie Macomber novel. The angels Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy reappear in this year’s book, as they descend upon New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve with an apprentice angel, Will, in tow. The novice angel spies a young couple in the crowd and assists them in a New Year’s Eve kiss. Then the love-at-first-kiss couple loses all contact with one another, and it’s up to the angels to set things right. This is a quick, heartwarming read that will bring joy to the season.

‘Twas the Night After Christmas by Sabrina Jeffries

Pierce, the rakish Earl of Devonmont, wants nothing to do with his mother after being banned from his family’s estate for twenty-three years. But when he receives a letter from his mother’s companion, Camilla, telling him his mother is on her deathbed, he rushes to her side … only to discover that his mother is in perfectly good health. Rather than firing Camilla and returning to London, Pierce stays on the estate and growing increasingly interested in the young woman. Kirkus Reviews says the book is “an enchanting holiday charmer with a complex and captivating plot; characters that interact with emotional authenticity; and a rich set of conflicted, heart-tugging obstacles--all of which combine to provide a satisfying happily-ever-after set against a fun holiday backdrop.” I’m in the middle of it right now and can’t put it down!

Other titles on my list:

Last Chance Christmas by Hope Ramsay

Lady Louisa’s Christmas Knight by Grace Burrowes

My Kind of Christmas by Robyn Carr