There are about 185 books on this list; I need to add a few more. I'll continue to format/update through tomorrow, but I wanted to at least put the list up today. At the request of several friends and colleagues, I'll also try to give brief annotations for each book, but if my fingers seize up from typing you'll know why…



A few caveats:
–These are not in chronological or ranked order; I simply drew on my memory, notes, bookshelves, tweets, blog entries, and more. However, it is accurate to the point that I read each and every book on this list–some with better attention and/or comprehension than others.
–I read a lot of galleys and ARCs. Some of these books won't be available for sale until early-to-mid 2012. This is also why I often forget that I've read something. If you know I've read something (we've discussed it, etc.) and I've left it off of this list, let me know.
–As possible, I've used Indiebound links. However, for a few titles this wasn't possible even after numerous tries and configurations of search terms. In those cases, I've reverted to publisher pages.
–I have pretty "catholic-with-a-small-c" reading taste, as I believe is evident from this list. However, there are areas in which I'd love to improve. If you have suggestions for me, please send them! Since I'm gently retiring my moniker of The Book Maven, the best email address to use is bethannekellypatrick at gmail dot com.

An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler – Foodies, locavores, READ THIS BOOK.

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz — A surprisingly delightful Holmesian romp.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes — Childhood demons return, eke revenge.

The Next One to Fall by Hilary Davidson — A thriller set in Peru; great travel deets.

The Outermost House by Henry Beston — A classic of naturalism, set on Cape Cod.

Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore – Belle Epoque hijinks from the author of Fool.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson — An imperfect but powerful bio of man who was same.

Cleopatra by Stacey Schiff — A perfect and powerful bio of a woman who was the latter.

The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt — So good you may forget you learned anything.

Exley by Brock Clarke — A boy works through family dysfunction via A Fan's Notes.

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan — Dystopian inversion of The Scarlet Letter.

Other People We Married by Emma Straub — Freshly brewed short stories.

Zone One by Colson Whitehead — Zombies, yes, but the real action is emotional.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern — Steampunkish big-top nostalgia–and evil.

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan — Three generations of women, one summer house.

Room by Emma Donahue — Conceit so clever people overlooked second half's power.

Dirty Minds by Kayt Sukel — Early 2012 nonfic about the brain and desire.

Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George — Thomas Lynley is back, and so is Sgt. Havers.

The Astral by Kate Christensen — A man takes a Brooklyn walk–that's all? Yes.  A+

Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson — Lost upstate NY kids in 80s NYC.

The Outlaw Album by Daniel Woodrell — Read Winter's Bone. then this. SHIVER.

Open City by Teju Cole — So amazing, such a feat, just read it right now, mkay?

The Corn Maiden by Joyce Carol Oates – Worth it just for "A Hole in the Head."

So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman – You'll never look at NY dairy farms the same…

The Heroine's Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore – Grrrrl authorrrr power, and fun.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch – Wholly different. Lovely.

420 Characters by Lou Beach

The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure

A Cupboard Full of Coats by Yvvette Edwards

Vaclav and Lena by Hilary Tanner

Bright's Passage by Josh Ritter

11/22/63 by Stephen King

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

Dominance by Will Lavender

Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

Enjoy Every Sandwich by Lee Lipsenthal

The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

Aging as a Spiritual Practice by Lewis Richmond

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

What It Is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

We the Animals by Justin Torres

The Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks

The Lovers' Dictionary by David Levitan

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larsen

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman

Stone Arabia by Dana Spiotta

The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

Hitch-22 by Christopher Hitchens

Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller

The Memory Chalet by Tony Judt

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean

Love at First Bark by Julie Klam

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright

Making Babies by Anne Enright

Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber

Queen of America by Luis Urrea

The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco

The Magician King by Lev Grossman

The Foreigners by Maxine Swann

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

Odd Bits by Jennifer McIagan

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry

A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano

The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell

Tigerlily's Orchids by Ruth Rendell

The Vault by Ruth Rendell

The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsson

2222 by Anne Holt

The Leopard by Jo Nesbo

The Preacher by Camilla Lackberg

The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler

Habibi by Craig Thompson

Townie by Andre Dubus III

West of Here by Jonathan Evans

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips

Galore by Michael Crummey

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

As Always, Julia by Joan Reardon

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan

The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard

The Year We Left Home by Jean Johnson

My American Unhappiness by Dean Bakopoulos

A Covert Affair by Jennet Conant

The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

Tides of War by Stella Tilyard

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penney

There But for The by Ali Smith

I Married You for Happiness by Lily Tuck

Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie, Jr.

Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me by Ian Morgan Cron

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

The Mistress Contract by She

The Age of Miracles by Karen Walker Thompson

The Last Werewolf by Glenn Duncan

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer CLose

Swim Back to Me by Ann Packer

Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy

Life by Keith Richards

Just Kids by Patti Smith

Irma Voth by Miriam Toews

Swing Low by Miriam Toews

Satori by Don Winslow

The Sentimentalists by Joanna Skibsrud

The Maid by Kimberly Cutter

The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow

Leeches by David Albahari

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Poetsch

Wait for Me by Deborah Devonshire

American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar

You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

Lola, California by Edie Meidav

The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman

Untold Story by Monica Ali

The Inverted Forest by John Dalton

In Caddis Wood by Mary F. Rockcastle

The Good and the Ghastly by James Boice

The Ursula Hegi

The Little Bride by Anna Solomon

Snuff by Terry Pratchett

The Mistress's Revenge by Tamar Cohen

Daughters in Law by Joanna Trollope

After the Party by Lisa Jewell

How to Live by Sarah Bakewell

Enough about Love by Herve Le Tellier

Lamb by Bonnie Nadzam

The Glitter Scene by Monica Fagerholm

The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert

You Believers by Jane Bradley

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Doc by Mary Doria Russell

Lucky Break by Nell Freud

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

Let's Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell

Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier

Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross

The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Benjamin Hale

Paris to the Past by Ina Caro

Beijing Welcomes You by Tom Scocca

Clover Adams by Natalie Dykstra

The Taker by Alma Katsu

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter by Jennifer Reese

Canada by Richard Ford

2030 by Albert Brooks

The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank

The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen

Deliriously Happy: And Other Bad Thoughts  by Larry Doyle

Ali in Wonderland by Ali Wentworth

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

Game of Secrets by Dawn Tripp

The Curfew by Jesse Ball

The Year of the Gadlfy by Jennifer Miller

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths

The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths

A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths

Marriage Confidential by Pamela Haag

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson