Best Books of 2008
Best Books of 2008, in which our critics name their top picks for the year. We'll add new lists throughout the holiday season.
Librarian Nancy Pearl Dips Below The Reading Radar()
January 1, 2009 There are so many books published these days that it's often hard for readers to plow through everything that's available. That's when Nancy Pearl, librarian extraordinaire, swoops in for the rescue.
Five Books To Give Yourself This Year()
December 19, 2008 You've shopped for the family, put up the tree, baked the kugel, prepped the brisket and mailed off your packages. Now give yourself a present: time alone with a good book.
Maureen Corrigan's Best Books Of 2008()
December 17, 2008 You know you have a terrific book in your hands when you encounter language or elegantly presented research that startles you into fresh awareness; you know it when the atmosphere of a novel doesn't leave you for days, or years.
Best Superhero Graphic Novels Of 2008()
December 16, 2008 Don't let the capes and external underwear fool you; no longer escapist entertainment, superhero comics capture the timbre of the times as no pollster can. And this year, the mood is dark.
Best Collections Of Literary Letters 2008()
December 15, 2008 Dear reader, sitting down with a collection of letters — or a vivid reflection on them — affords a singularly intimate encounter with a writer, so please give a look to these exercises in mail bonding.
Give A Book (And Yourself) This Holiday Season()
December 12, 2008 If reading a story is — as John Gardner said — like falling into a vivid and continuous waking dream, then is giving a book like giving someone a dream? Reviewer Alan Cheuse puzzles over the perfect books for your loved ones this year.
Alan Cheuse's Top Fiction Picks For 2008()
November 20, 2008 Reading shouldn't be work; it should be pleasure, even as it teaches us something about ourselves, or about the world of history and time.
Booksellers' Picks For Your Holiday Lists()
December 11, 2008 Small-town America may or may not be the heart of the country, but it sure is at the heart of many of the books suggested by the independent booksellers this year.
Top Five Crime And Mystery Novels Of 2008()
November 18, 2008 To swipe the immortal lines uttered by Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, a great mystery should take "the lid off life and let [you] look at the works." Maureen Corrigan's picks for the top five crime novels of the year do just that.
Best Foreign Fiction Of 2008()
December 1, 2008 Works of humor, wisdom, supreme originality and stunning ambition top Jessa Crispin's foreign fiction list. Engage the global conversation with these five novels from five countries.
