The Best Books Of 2011: The Complete List - NPR

The Best Books Of 2011: The Complete List


text size A A A November 20, 2011 Use the list below to browse NPR's Best Books Of 2011 recommendations. Each critic's list is presented separately. Click on the article names to read our critics' comments about the books.





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Year-End Wrap-Up: The 10 Best Novels Of 2011

Recommended by MAUREEN CORRIGAN



Swamplandia!, by Karen Russell, paperback, 400 pages, Random House, list price: $14.95



Open City, by Teju Cole, hardcover, 259 pages, Random House, list price: $25



The Submission, by Amy Waldman, hardcover, 299 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, list price: $26



The Art Of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, hardcover, 512 pages, Little Brown & Co, list price: $25.99



The Illumination, by Kevin Brockmeier, hardcover, 257 pages, Random House, list price: $24.95



The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta, hardcover, 355 pages, St Martins Press, list price: $25.99



The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides, hardcover, 406 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, list price: $28



State Of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, hardcover, 353 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $26.99



Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson, hardcover, 116 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, list price: $18



The Pale King: An Unfinished Novel, by David Foster Wallace, hardcover, 548 pages, Little Brown & Co, list price: $27.99



... And Two Nonfiction Titles You Shouldn't Miss



In the on-air version of her year-end list, Maureen Corrigan also included two nonfiction recommendations:

To End All Wars: A Story Of Loyalty And Rebellion, 1914-1918, by Adam Hochschild, hardcover, 480 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $28



The Swerve: How The World Became Modern, by Stephen Greenblatt, hardcover, 320 pages, W.W. Norton & Company, list price: $26.95





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7 Books With Personality: Nancy Pearl's 2011 Picks

Recommended by Nancy Pearl



In Zanesville: A Novel, by Jo Ann Beard, hardcover, 289 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $23.99



A World On Fire: Britain's Crucial Role In The American Civil War, by Amanda Foreman, hardcover, 958 pages, Random House, list price: $35



Blind Sight, by Meg Howrey, hardcover, 289 pages, Random House, list price: $24.95



The Summer Of The Bear, by Bella Pollen, hardcover, 448 pages, PGW, list price: $24



By George: A Novel, by Wesley Stace, paperback, 383 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $14.99



Vaclav & Lena, by Haley Tanner, hardcover, 292 pages, Random House, list price: $25



Down The Mysterly River, by Bill Willingham, hardcover, 336 pages, Starscape, list price: $15.99





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Booksellers' Picks: Catch The Year's Freshest Reads

Recommended by Lucia Silva, Portrait of a Bookstore



A Christmas Tree For Pyn, by Olivier Dunrea, hardcover, 32 pages, Philomel, list price: $16.99



The Toaster Project: Or A Heroic Attempt To Build A Simple Electric Appliance From Scratch, by Thomas Thwaites, paperback, 191 pages, Chronicle Books LLC., list price: $19.95



Unpacking My Library: Writers And Their Books, by Leah Price, hardcover, 201 pages, Yale University Press, list price: $20



Forgotten Bookmarks: A Bookseller's Collection Of Odd Things Lost Between The Pages, by Michael Popek, hardcover, 182 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $18.95



How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, by Christopher Boucher, paperback, 239 pages, Random House, list price: $15



Recommended by Rona Brinlee, The Book Mark



Birds Of Paradise, by Diana Abu-Jaber, paperback, 368 pages, WW Norton & Co., list price: $15.95



The Girl Who Would Speak For The Dead, by Paul Elwork, hardcover, 308 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $24.95



A Good Hard Look, by Ann Napolitano, hardcover, 326 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $25.95



On Canaan's Side, by Sebastian Barry, hardcover, 256 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $25.95



Pasta By Design, by George L. Legendre, hardcover, 208 pages, WW Norton & Co., list price: $29.95



Rules Of Civility, by Amor Towles, hardcover, 335 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $26.95



Recommended by Daniel Goldin, Boswell Books



American Boy, by Larry Watson, hardcover, 251 pages, Milkweed Editions, list price: $24



The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann, hardcover, 390 pages, Simon & Schuster, list price: $16.99



Gimbels Has It!, by Michael J. Lisicky, paperback, 157 pages, History Press, list price: $19.99



The White Woman On The Green Bicycle, by Monique Roffey, paperback, 439 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $16



Just My Type: A Book About Fonts, by Simon Garfield, hardcover, 356 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $27.50



This Burns My Heart, by Samuel Park, hardcover, 310 pages, Simon & Schuster, list price: $25





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Top 5 Books For Backseat Readers (Age 9 And Up)

Recommended by Michele Norris



Heart And Soul:The Story Of America And African Americans, by Kadir Nelson, hardcover, 108 pages, Harpercollins Childrens Books, list price: $19.99



The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente, paperback, 272 pages, Feiwel & Friends, list price: $6.99



The Secret History Of Balls: The Stories Behind The Things We Love To Catch, Whack, Throw, Kick, Bounce, And Bat, by Josh Chetwynd and Emily Stackhouse, paperback, 221 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $13.95



Drawing From Memory, by Allen Say, hardcover, 63 pages, Scholastic, list price: $17.99



Saint Louis Armstrong Beach, by Brenda Woods, hardcover, 137 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $16.99



Honorable Mentions:



Tall Story, by Candy Gourlay, hardcover, 293 pages, Random House Childrens Books, list price: $16.99



Jefferson's Sons: A Founding Father's Secret Children, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, hardcover, 360, [4] p., Penguin Group USA, list price: $17.99



Inside Out & Back Again, hardcover, 262 pages, Harpercollins Childrens Books, list price: $15.99



The Unforgotten Coat, by Frank Cottrell Boyce, hardcover, 112 pages, Gardners Books, list price: $17



The Romeo And Juliet Code, by Phoebe Stone, paperback, 304 pages, Scholastic Paperbacks, list price: $6.99





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Conversation Starters: 2011's Top 5 Book Club Picks

Recommended by Lynn Neary



State Of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, hardcover, 353 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $26.99



The Sense Of An Ending, by Julian Barnes, hardcover, 150 pages, Random House, list price: $23.95

We The Animals, by Justin Torres, hardcover, 128 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $18

Caleb's Crossing, by Geraldine Brooks, hardcover, 306 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $26.95

The Sojourn, by Andrew Krivak, paperback, 191 pages, Consortium Book Sales & Distribution, list price: $14.95





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From Tiny To Tome, The Best Gift Books Of 2011

Recommended by John McAlley



The New York Times Magazine Photographs, by Kathy Ryan, hardcover, 448 pages, Aperture Foundation, list price: $75



Harry Potter Page To Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey, by Bob McCabe, hardcover, 540 pages, Harper Design International, list price: $75



Life Upon These Shores: Looking At African American History, 1513-2008, by Henry Louis Gates, hardcover, 512 pages, Knopf, list price: $50



The Art Museum, by Phaidon Press, hardcover, 992 pages, Phaidon Press, list price: $200



The 50 Funniest American Writers: An Anthology Of Humor From Mark Twain To The Onion, by Andy Borowitz, hardcover, 461 pages, Penguin Group, list price: $27.95



Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, by Andrew Bolton and Susannah Frankel, hardcover, 240 pages, Yale University Press, list price: $45



Pilgrimage, by Annie Leibovitz and Doris Kearns Goodwin, hardcover, 244 pages, Random House, list price: $50



Theodore Gray's Elements Vault: Treasures Of The Periodic Table With 20 Removable Archival Documents, A Model Pop-Up Atom, A Poster, Plus 10 Real Elements Including Pure Gold! by Theodore Gray and Nick Mann, hardcover, 128 pages, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, list price: $39.95



The Art Of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse To The Magic Kingdoms And Beyond, by Christopher Finch and John Lasseter, hardcover, 503 pages, Harry N Abrams Inc, list price: $85



The American Heritage Dictionary Of The English Language, by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, hardcover, 2112 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $60





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Plot Driven: Alan Cheuse's Top 5 Fiction Picks

Recommended by Alan Cheuse



The Tiger's Wife, by Tea Obreht, paperback, 337 pages, Random House, list price: $15



The Art Of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, hardcover, 512 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $25.99



Once Upon A River, by Bonnie Jo Campbell, hardcover, 348 pages, WW Norton & Co., list price: $25.95



1Q84, by Haruki Murakami, hardcover, 925 pages, Random House, list price: $30.50



The Night Eternal, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, hardcover, 384 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $26.99





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Sherlockian Mysteries That Will Keep You Tied Up

Recommended by Maureen Corrigan



The House Of Silk, by Anthony Horowitz, hardcover, 294 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $27.99

On Conan Doyle: Or, The Whole Art Of Storytelling, by Michael Dirda, hardcover, 210 pages, Princeton University Press, list price: $19.95



Ghost Hero, by S.J. Rozan, hardcover, 325 pages, St. Martins Press, list price: $25.99

The End Of The Wasp Season, by Denise Mina, hardcover, 390 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $25.99



A Drop Of The Hard Stuff, by Lawrence Block, hardcover, 319 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $25.99





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2011's Best Cookbooks: Revenge Of The Kitchen Nerds

Recommended by T. Susan Chang



Cook This Now, by Melissa Clark, hardcover, 396 pages, Hyperion Books, list price: $29.99



The Food Of Spain, by Claudia Roden, hardcover, 609 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $45



All About Roasting, by Molly Stevens, hardcover, 573 pages, WW Norton & Co., list price: $35



The Food52 Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, hardcover, 440 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $35



What Chefs Feed Their Kids, by Fanae Aaron, hardcover, 211 pages, Globe Pequot Press, list price: $24.95



The Country Cooking Of Italy, by Colman Andrews, hardcover, 392 pages, Chronicle Books LLC, list price: $50



Lidia's Italy In America, by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali, hardcover, 359 pages, Random House, list price: $35

The Food Of Morocco, by Paula Wolfert, hardcover, 517 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $45



Ruhlman's Twenty, by Michael Ruhlman, hardcover, 367 pages, Chronicle Books LLC, list price: $40



American Flavor, by Andrew Carmellini, hardcover, 323 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $34.99



The Rosie's Bakery All-Butter, Cream-Filled, Sugar-Packed Baking Book, by Judy Rosenberg, paperback, 418 pages, Workman Pub Co., list price: $15.95





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What Sticks: Five 2011 Books That Stay With You

Recommended by Heller McAlpin



The Sense Of An Ending, by Julian Barnes, hardcover, 150 pages, Random House, list price: $23.95



There But For The, by Ali Smith, hardcover, 236 pages, Random House, list price: $25



Blue Nights, by Joan Didion, hardcover, 188 pages, Random House, list price: $25



The Art Of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, hardcover, 512 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $25.99



Moby-Duck, by Donovan Hohn, hardcover, 402 pages, Penguin Group, list price: $27.95