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- Editor's Letter: Best Books Blitz Part 2
- Best Core Nonfiction 2011: Business, Consumer Health, Memoir & Sci-Tech
- Best Poetry 2011
- Best How-To 2011: Art Instruction, Cooking, Parenting, Self-Help & More
- Best Graphic Novels 2011
- Best YA Lit for Adults
- Introducing the Reviews Center
- Librarians' Best Books of 2011: Ready Player One, Killing the Cranes & More
- Best Acknowledgments of 2011
Best Books Blitz Part 2
Heather McCormack - @HuisceBeatha
Welcome to the second installment in our Best Books of 2011 blitz. Last issue, we presented our Top Ten, runners-up, winners in genre fiction, and librarian-selected bests. (No less than honoree George R.R. Martin linked back to our lists twice; thank you, sir.) Today we unveil outstanding titles in perennially popular nonfiction subjects, plus poetry, graphic novels, and YA lit for adults. On December 15, you will get the crème de la crème of media, including audiobooks, DVDs, video games, and music. All of these lists—along with BookSmack! content and reviews from our regularly slated magazine issues—will live on our clean new Reviews site. Stand by for tweaks there designed to offer you more perspective, cohesion, and context, and do send us your comments. Or, if you need a break, browse my London and Venice photo album while imagining yourself imbibing sulfites-free red vino in that wrinkle-erasing Canaletto light. Buona lettura!
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| Best Books 2011: Business By Sarah Statz Cords  Banerjee, Abhijit V. & Esther Duflo. Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way To Fight Global Poverty. PublicAffairs: Perseus. ISBN 9781586487980. $26.99.Economics professors Banerjee and Duflo reveal that those living in poverty often act according to their preferences and habits much like others would, necessitating more complex answers to their lives' challenges than previously offered. Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Consumer Health By Barbara Bibel  Barken, Frederick M., M.D. Out of Practice: Fighting for Primary Care Medicine in America. Cornell Univ. ISBN 9780801449765. $26.95.Barken, a retired primary-care physician and health policy instructor at Ithaca College, fairly examines and critiques the current health-care model. The problem: insurance companies and government administrators make decisions. (LJ 5/1/11) Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Memoir By Julie Kane & Therese Purcell Nielsen  Bartók, Mira. The Memory Palace. Free Pr: S. & S. ISBN 9781439183311. $24.95.Chilling in its horrible intimacies, this is an amazing rendering of an artist's life surrounded by, and surviving, mental illness. Post-It notes mark portions I want to reread because they are so striking. (LJ BookSmack! 10/21/10) Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Sci-Tech By Gregg Sapp  Eagleman, David. Incognito: The Hidden Lives of the Brain. Pantheon. ISBN 9781847679383. $26.95.Neurological research and psychological experimentation suggest that there is much more to cognition than consciousness. Eagleman cites numerous examples of how brain states of which we are totally unaware affect our choices. Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Poetry By Barbara Hoffert  al-Jubouri, Amal. Hagar Before the Occupation/Hagar After the Occupation. Alice James. ISBN 9781882295890. pap. $17.50.An honored presence in the Islamic tradition, Hagar (pronounced with a soft g) serves as the focal point for this spare, vivid, achingly heartfelt collection from Iraqi-born al-Jubouri, who captures a millennia-old country traversing a momentous event. (LJ 9/15/11) Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Art Instruction By Heather Halliday  Bellamy, David. David Bellamy's Complete Guide to Watercolour Painting. Search, dist. by IPG. ISBN 9781844487349. pap. $19.95.This guide covers all the basics of watercolor painting, a widely attempted though rarely mastered medium. Projects are easy to follow, and many diagrammed examples are included as illustrations. (LJ 8/11) Read More... |
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Library Journal Extras
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| Best Books 2011: Cooking
By Carrie Scarr & Lisa Campbell  Bauer, Jeni Britton. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home: More Than 100 Addictively Good Artisanal Recipes. Artisan: Workman. ISBN 9781579654368. $23.95.This inspiring collection of seasonal ice cream recipes from Ohio-based ice cream whiz Bauer stands apart for its creative, unconventional flavors like Sweet Basil & Honeyed Pine Nut and Sweet Potato with Torched Marshmallows. Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Crafts By Nanette Donohue  The Complete Book of Home Crafts: Projects for Adventurous Beginners. Skyhorse, dist. by Norton. ed. by Carine Tracanelli. ISBN 9781616083229. $24.95.The highlight of this collection is the large amount of territory covered, including picture framing, decorative painting, decoupage, tile work, and beadwork. Both directions and projects are included, and the information is sufficient to get novice crafters started on a new hobby. (LJ 7/11) Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Fiber Crafts By Nanette Donohue  Briar, JC. Charts Made Simple: Understanding Knitting Charts Visually. Glass Iris. ISBN 9780983079200. pap. $17.95.Knitters who are intimidated by the shorthand found in knitting charts need look no further. This sounds like dry material, but Briar's zeal for her topic makes this title not only a useful reference but also a surprisingly readable book about the art of knitting. (LJ 4/15/11) Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Do It Yourself By Karen Ellis  Backyard Cottages & Gazebos: Fresh Ideas for Outdoor Living. Oxmoor House, dist. by Hachette. (Sunset Outdoor Design Guide). ISBN 9780376013866. pap. $19.95.Covering a wide range of outdoor structures, this lovely book illustrates a variety of possibilities. Each section focuses on a general type, from guest houses to simple tool sheds. The emphasis is on inspiration, but there are key design, material, and construction considerations throughout. Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Interior Design By Gayle A. Williamson  Bonney, Grace. Design*Sponge at Home. Artisan: Workman. ISBN 9781579654313. $35.Bonney gathers close to 550 color photographs of over 50 interiors and 100 do-it-yourself projects that have been submitted to her popular website, Design*Sponge. With its diverse projects and pictured decor, this is a useful guide for readers of all skill levels seeking inspiration to create their own unique style. (LJ 8/11) Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Parenting By Julianne J. Smith  DeBenedet, Anthony T. & Lawrence J. Cohen. The Art of Roughhousing: Good Old-Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kid Needs It. Quirk. ISBN 9781594744877. pap. $14.95.“Safety First has evolved into a fretful new motto of Safety Only,” say the authors, and the result is stifled creativity and apathy. The prescription? Giddyup, Dad!—among other fun activities kids zero to ten will treasure. (LJ BookSmack! 1/20/11) Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Self-Help By Deborah Bigelow  Beattie, Melody. Codependent No More Workbook. Hazelden. ISBN 9781592854707. pap. $15.95.Beattie's 12-step workbook is designed not only for those suffering from codependency but also for those experiencing phobias and other addictions and disorders. Readers are guided through exercises to identify underlying issues and set healthy limits. A workbook without equal. (LJ 5/15/11) Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Spiritual Living By Graham Christian  Carlson, David. Peace Be with You: Monastic Wisdom for a Terror-Filled World. Thomas Nelson. ISBN 9780849947186. pap. $15.99.This is one of the most touching and surprising spiritual responses to a post-9/11 world, consisting in part of encounters and interviews with abbots, nuns, monks, and other spiritual figures and striving to find places where the differing worldviews of Christianity and Islam might meet. (LJ 7/11) Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: Graphic Novels By Martha Cornog & Steve Raiteri  Bá, Gabriel & Fábio Moon. Daytripper. Vertigo. ISBN 9781401229696. pap. $19.99. FBrás de Oliva Domingos pens obituaries for a Brazilian paper but dreams of crafting novels. In beautiful writing and art that meditates on what-ifs, each of his life episodes is told as ending in his own death. (LJ 9/15/11) Read More... |
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| Best Books 2011: YA Lit for Adults By Angelina Benedetti  Billingsley, Frannie. Chime. Dial: Random. ISBN 9780803735521. $17.99. FSeventeen-year-old Briony is an insightful and completely unreliable narrator caught in the ages-old conflict of duty and desire. Saving her village imperils her beloved Eldric—and may get her hung as a witch. Fans of The Folk Keeper (1999) have waited 12 years for this lyrical tale. (LJ BookSmack! 6/15/11) Read More... |
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We could think of no better way to count down to our Top Ten Best Books of 2011 than by inviting ten librarians to guest blog on their favorites of the year. Best more than ever is a relative concept, but given the
exploding number of choices available, we could all use some guidance on
what to pull next from the content mines, and librarians remain an
authority. Their takes on fiction and nonfiction as eclectic as Ernest Cline's Ready Player One and Meghan O'Rourke's The Long Goodbye prove there are too many good books and not enough time. Read More...
Librarians—like all mortals—love to be on the receiving end of gratitude. When the occasional library, archives, or special collections researcher publishes the results of all that research and expresses thanks to the library in the book's acknowledgments, and includes the names of the staff who helped, well, the staff in question are thrilled. Natch.Read More...
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