Books Update: The 10 Best Books of 2011

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December 9, 2011 Books Update

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review The 10 Best Books of 2011 The Book Review picks the year's best fiction and nonfiction. 100 Notable Books Selections by Michiko Kakutani | Janet Maslin | Dwight Garner Notable Children's Books of 2011 Notable Crime Books of 2011 ADVERTISEMENT Also in the Book Review 'Back To Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy' By BILL CLINTON Reviewed by JEFF MADRICK Bill Clinton presents his views on the country's challenges and explains his plan for creating jobs. 'No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington' By CONDOLEEZZA RICE Reviewed by SUSAN CHIRA Condoleezza Rice offers her account of George W. Bush's presidency. 'Buckley: William F. Buckley Jr. and the Rise of American Conservatism' By CARL T. BOGUS Reviewed by GEOFFREY KABASERVICE Carl T. Bogus traces the making of the man who remade conservatism. 'The Artist of Disappearance: Three Novellas' By ANITA DESAI Reviewed by RANDY BOYAGODA The characters in Anita Desai's three novellas are in search of personal fulfillment. 'Love and Shame and Love' By PETER ORNER Reviewed by MARIA RUSSO In Peter Orner's novel, three generations of men share a fundamental lack of understanding of the women they love. 'Assumption' By PERCIVAL EVERETT Reviewed by ROGER BOYLAN Percival Everett toys with the murder-mystery genre while pursuing larger themes of identity and truth. 'Adam and Evelyn' By INGO SCHULZE Reviewed by ADAM THIRLWELL A young couple from Dresden go bed-hopping abroad and risk defecting just ahead of German reunification. On Poetry 'The Solitudes' By LUIS DE GONGORA Reviewed by DAVID ORR Like most difficult poems, Luis de Góngora's "Solitudes," recently published in a new translation, is often preoccupied with simplicity. 'The Uninnocent: Stories' By BRADFORD MORROW Reviewed by JULIE MYERSON Bradford Morrow's tales walk the line between clarity and chaos. 'Explorers of the Nile: The Triumph and Tragedy of a Great Victorian Adventure' By TIM JEAL Reviewed by BEN MACINTYRE This book recounts the Victorian-era search for the river's headwaters. 'Life Upon These Shores: Looking at African American History, 1513-2008' By HENRY LOUIS GATES JR. Reviewed by DAVID MARGOLICK A visual summary of the African-American experience. 'Love Goes to Buildings on Fire' By WILL HERMES Reviewed by GERALD MARZORATI The Bronx may have been burning, but downtown Manhattan's mid-'70s music scene was even hotter. 'The Sisters' By NANCY JENSEN Reviewed by CAROLINE LEAVITT In this first novel, two sisters lose their relationship over a miscommunication. ADVERTISEMENT

Best Sellers Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction Hardcover Fiction Hardcover Nonfiction Paperback Trade Fiction Paperback Mass-Market Fiction Paperback Nonfiction All the Lists Plan your holiday shopping with The New York Times 2011 Holiday Gift Guide. Back Page Anarchist Anthropology By THOMAS MEANEY The activist-scholar who helped start Occupy Wall Street rewrites the history of debt and reimagines its future. TBR Inside the List By GREGORY COWLES Julian Barnes's novel "The Sense of an Ending" continues lurking on the best-seller list, one of several testaments to the influence of literary prizes. Editors' Choice Recently reviewed books of particular interest. Paperback Row By IHSAN TAYLOR Paperback books of particular interest. Book Review Podcast This week, the Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2011; Gerald Marzorati on "Love Goes to Buildings on Fire," Will Hermes' book about the New York music scene in the 1970s; the Times's Susan Chira discusses Condoleeza Rice's new memoir; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. 'Batman' Soars to No. 1 'Wind in the Willows' Musical in the Works An App to Take You Deep Into Dickens's London Reviews by The Times's Critics 'Look, I Made a Hat' by Stephen Sondheim 'Extra Virginity' by Tom Mueller 'An Honourable Englishman' by Adam Sisman 'Love Goes to Buildings on Fire' by Will Hermes 'Parallel Stories' by Peter Nadas Archive Crime Columns Children's Books The New York Times Book Review: Back Issues Editor's Note Thanks for taking the time to read this e-mail. Feel free to send feedback; I enjoy hearing your opinions and will do my best to respond. John Williams Books Producer The New York Times on the Web ADVERTISEMENT

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