1

Weeks on List: 3

Tenth of December

Tenth Of December

by George Saunders

Hardcover, 208 pages, Random House Inc, $26, published January 8 2013 | purchase
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  • Tenth Of December
  • George Saunders

A collection of stories includes "Home," a wryly whimsical account of a soldier's return from war; "Victory Lap," a tale about an inventive abduction attempt; and the title story, in which a suicidal cancer patient saves the life of a young misfit.

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2

Weeks on List: 33

Gone Girl

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

Hardcover, 416 pages, Crown Publishing, $25, published June 5 2012 | purchase
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  • Gone Girl
  • Gillian Flynn

After a woman disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary, her diary reveals hidden turmoil in her marriage. Her husband, desperate to clear himself of suspicion, realizes that something more disturbing than murder may have occurred.

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3

Weeks on List: 3

A Memory of Light

A Memory Of Light

by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Hardcover, 909 pages, St Martins Pr, $34.99, published January 8 2013 | purchase
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  • A Memory Of Light
  • Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

In the conclusion to the Wheel of Time series, all of humanity is in peril as Rand al'Thor moves forward to break the seals on the Dark One's prison, and the Last Battle will determine the fate of the world.

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4

Weeks on List: 12

Flight Behavior

Flight Behavior

by Barbara Kingsolver

Hardcover, 400 pages, HarperCollins, $28.99, published November 6 2012 | purchase
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  • Flight Behavior
  • Barbara Kingsolver

Tired of living on a failing farm and suffering oppressive poverty, bored housewife Dellarobia Turnbow, on the way to meet a potential lover, is detoured by a miraculous event on the Appalachian mountainside. It ignites a media and religious firestorm that changes her life forever.

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5

Weeks on List: 16

cover image from The Round House

The Round House

by Louise Erdrich

Hardcover, 321 pages, Harper, $27.99, published October 2 2012 | purchase
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  • The Round House
  • Louise Erdrich

When his mother, a tribal enrollment specialist on a reservation in North Dakota, slips into an abyss of depression after being brutally attacked, 13-year-old Joe Coutts sets out with his three friends to find the person who destroyed his family.

News and Reviews

6

Weeks on List: 2

The River Swimmer

The River Swimmer

Novellas

by Jim Harrison

Hardcover, 240 pages, Grove Press, $25, published January 8 2013 | purchase
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  • The River Swimmer
  • Novellas
  • Jim Harrison

Two novellas provide insight on the human condition as a 60-year-old art history academic embarks on an unexpected journey of discovery, and a young farm boy is drawn to the water of Lake Michigan as an escape.

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7

Weeks on List: 1

Suspect

Suspect

by Robert Crais

Hardcover, 320 pages, Penguin Group USA, $27.95, published January 15 2013 | purchase
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  • Suspect
  • Robert Crais

After losing his partner, Stephanie, to a nighttime assault, LAPD officer Scott James teams up with a traumatized military patrol dog named Maggie to track down Stephanie's killers.

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8

Weeks on List: 7

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

The Twelve Tribes Of Hattie

by Ayana Mathis

Hardcover, 243 pages, Knopf, $24.95, published December 6 2012 | purchase
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  • The Twelve Tribes Of Hattie
  • Ayana Mathis

In 1923, 15-year-old Hattie Shepherd flees Georgia, hoping for a chance at a better life. Instead, she marries a man who will bring her nothing but disappointment and watches helplessly as her firstborn twins succumb to an illness a few pennies could have prevented. Hattie gives birth to nine more children, whom she raises with grit and mettle and not an ounce of the tenderness they crave. Captured here in 12 luminous narrative threads, their lives tell the story of a mother's monumental courage and the journey of a nation.

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9

Weeks on List: 18

This Is How You Lose Her

This Is How You Lose Her

by Junot Diaz

Hardcover, 213 pages, Riverhead Hardcover, $26.95, published September 11 2012 | purchase
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  • This Is How You Lose Her
  • Junot Diaz

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao presents a lyrical collection of stories that explore the heartbreak and radiance of love as it is shaped by passion, betrayal and the echoes of intimacy.

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10

Weeks on List: 11

Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth

by Ian McEwan

Hardcover, 352 pages, Random House Inc, $26.95, published November 13 2012 | purchase
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  • Sweet Tooth
  • Ian McEwan

Recruited into MI5 against a backdrop of the Cold War in 1972, Cambridge student Serena Frome, a compulsive reader, is assigned to infiltrate the literary circle of a promising young writer whose politics align with those of the government.

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11

Weeks on List: 24

Bring Up the Bodies

Bring Up The Bodies

by Hilary Mantel

Hardcover, 410 pages, Henry Holt & Co, $28, published May 8 2012 | purchase
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  • Bring Up The Bodies
  • Hilary Mantel

The spark has gone out of Henry VIII's second marriage. When his roving eye leaves Anne Boleyn and begins to settle on Jane Seymour, another woman at court, the monarch turns to his chief adviser, Thomas Cromwell, for help. Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies is the second book in a planned trilogy about Cromwell.

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12

Weeks on List: 14

A Thousand Mornings

A Thousand Mornings

by Mary Oliver

Hardcover, 82 pages, Penguin Group, $24.95, published October 11 2012 | purchase
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  • A Thousand Mornings
  • Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver returns to the imagery that has come to define her life's work, transporting us to the marshland and coastline of her beloved home, Provincetown, Mass. In these pages, Oliver shares the wonder of dawn, the grace of animals and the transformative power of attention. Whether studying the leaves of a tree or mourning her adored dog, Percy, she is ever patient in her observations and open to the teachings contained in the smallest of moments.

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13

Weeks on List: 9

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

by Maria Semple

Hardcover, 304 pages, Little Brown & Co, $25.99, published August 14 2012 | purchase
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  • Where'd You Go, Bernadette
  • Maria Semple

Bee Fox is a nice kid, a good musician and a great student. But her mother, Bernadette, is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect. Then, Bernadette goes missing, and Bee begins a search that will take her to the ends of the earth.

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14

Weeks on List: 17

The Casual Vacancy

The Casual Vacancy

by J.K. Rowling

Hardcover, 503 pages, Little, Brown & Company, $35, published September 27 2012 | purchase
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  • The Casual Vacancy
  • J.K. Rowling

The early death of a small-town councilman reveals deep-rooted conflicts in the seemingly idyllic community of Pagford, which rapidly deteriorates in the face of cultural disputes, generation clashes and a volatile election.

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15

Weeks on List: 2

Standing in Another Man's Grave

Standing In Another Man's Grave

by Ian Rankin

Hardcover, 388 pages, Little Brown & Co, $25.99, published January 15 2013 | purchase
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  • Standing In Another Man's Grave
  • Ian Rankin

Two Scottish detectives investigate the disappearance of a hitchhiking teenage girl, their only clue a photo sent from the missing girl's cellphone.