Best books of 2012
(Fulcrum Publishing / FULCRUM PUBLISHING)
PHOTOS | As the end of the year approaches, we’ve chosen our favorite fiction, nonfiction and graphic novels from 2012.
Recent Reviews
The fan is mightier than the sword in ‘The Stockholm Octavo’
In Karen Engelmann’s 18th-century costume drama, a compelling story slowly unfolds.
After “Madame Butterfly”
David Rain’s first novel, “The Heat of the Sun,” chronicles the life of Cio-Cio-San’s son.
‘Sleep Like a Tiger’
A magical picture book about going to bed — or not, by Mary Logue and Pamela Zagarenski.
‘Starry River of the Sky’
Grace Lin returns to the old, fantastical China of her Newbery Honor book.
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.
Back to France with Peter Mayle
Enterprising bon vivant Sam Levitt is back for another delicious detective romp in “The Marseille Caper.”
‘A Question of Identity,’ by Susan Hill
The controversial, award-winning writer’s latest toys with what is most sacred to us.
Henry James’s bridge to modernism
Michael Gorra’s “Portrait of a Novel” shows how “The Portrait of a Lady” left Victorianism behind.
Spanish lessons for modern America
In “History in the Making,” Sir John Elliot looks back on his career as a Hispanist.
Larger, sexier and richer than life
REVIEW | In Bill Roorbach’s new novel, a young man gets drawn into the deadly lives of celebrities.
Unwrapping America’s cheese culture
REVIEW | Kirstin Jackson wedges through the jargon and pomp for a sharp look at the state of cheese.
Authors must be marketers
In the competition for readers, writers including Sarah Pekkanen must become modern marketers.
An epic fantasy from Caleb Carr
In “The Legend of Broken,” Carr conjures up an alternate history of the Dark Ages.
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.
Savvy advice for hotel guests
“Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality,” by Jacob Tomsky.
Sunday reviews
The author who couldn’t say no
“Thornton Wilder: A Life” explores why the Pulitzer-winning novelist and playwright sought solitude out West.
The mother behind the author
REVIEW | “Marmee and Louisa” explores how Louisa May Alcott’s mother influenced her work.
Wine’s journey through history
“Divine Vintage” and “Inventing Wine” tell the vintage story from biblical days to the latest fads.
China and its foreign friends
In “Restless Empire,” Odd Arne Westad offers a provocative view of foreign influence in China.
Football at its most outrageous
In “The Dallas Cowboys,” Joe Nick Patoski chronicles America’s most hated and most loved football team.
The John Lennon letters
Hunter Davies has compiled and annotated the musician’s notes, screeds, asides and howls
Treason at the CIA
Sandra Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuille recall Aldrich Ames, the CIA mole who spied for the KGB
A Small Town Near Auschwitz
Mary Fulbrook examines the people who ignored the death camps in their neighborhoods
The Web and economic power
In “Makers,” Chris Anderson assesses the new tech-driven industrial revolution.
America’s exception fighting corps
In “Underdogs,” Aaron B. O’Connell charts the making of the modern Marine Corps.
“A Wicked War”
Amy S. Greenberg examines how the Mexican War altered the livesof Henry Clay, James K. Polk and Abraham Lincoln
Polaroid
Christopher Bonanos chronicles the camera maker and its founder who would inspire Steve Jobs.
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
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
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
Unhappily ever after
REVIEW | The bright young couple in Christine Schutt’s “Prosperous Friends” are miserable soon after saying, “I do.”
Michael Dirda
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
Spanish lessons for modern America
In “History in the Making,” Sir John Elliot looks back on his career as a Hispanist.
Michael Dirda
Shakespeare’s Common Prayers
The Book of Common Prayer and the Elizabethan Age, by Daniel Swift. Reviewed by Michael Dirda.
Jonathan Yardley
“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
Get the latest on readings, signings and author appearances in the D.C. area.
Best books of 2011
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