Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books
About the Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books
The Adult Books editors have selected the following titles as representative of the year’s outstanding books for public-library collections. Our scope has been intentionally broad, and we have attempted to find books that combine literary, intellectual, and aesthetic excellence with popular appeal.
Administered by:
| Name | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|
| The Testament of Mary | The Testament of Mary | 2012 - Selection |
| Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937–1948 | Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937–1948 | 2012 - Selection |
| Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010 | Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010 | 2012 - Selection |
| The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom. | The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom | 2012 - Selection |
| Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic | Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic | 2012 - Selection |
| The Spark of Life: Electricity in the Human Body. | The Spark of Life: Electricity in the Human Body | 2012 - Selection |
| The Social Conquest of Earth | The Social Conquest of Earth | 2012 - Selection |
| Global Weirdness: Severe Storms, Deadly Heat Waves, Relentless Drought, Rising Seas, and the Weather of the Future | Global Weirdness: Severe Storms, Deadly Heat Waves, Relentless Drought, Rising Seas, and the Weather of the Future | 2012 - Selection |
| Stag’s Leap | Stag’s Leap | 2012 - Selection |
| New Collected Poems | New Collected Poems | 2012 - Selection |
| The Mansion of Happiness | The Mansion of Happiness | 2012 - Selection |
| Thornton Wilder | Thornton Wilder | 2012 - Selection |
| Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power | Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power | 2012 - Selection |
| Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis | Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis | 2012 - Selection |
| The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson | The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson | 2012 - Selection |
| How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. | How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. | 2012 - Selection |
| Love Song: The Lives of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya | Love Song: The Lives of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya | 2012 - Selection |
| The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill; Defender of the Realm, 1940–1965 | The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill; Defender of the Realm, 1940–1965 | 2012 - Selection |
| Joseph Anton | Joseph Anton | 2012 - Selection |
| James Joyce: A New Biography | James Joyce: A New Biography. | 2012 - Selection |
| I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen. | I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen. | 2012 - Selection |
| The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King | The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King | 2012 - Selection |
| Barack Obama: The Story | Barack Obama: The Story | 2012 - Selection |
| And Bid Him Sing: A Biography of Countée Cullen | And Bid Him Sing: A Biography of Countée Cullen | 2012 - Selection |
| American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White, and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama | American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White, and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama | 2012 - Selection |
| Leonardo and the Last Supper | Leonardo and the Last Supper | 2012 - Selection |
| The Big Screen: The Story of the Movies | The Big Screen: The Story of the Movies | 2012 - Selection |
| This Is How You Lose Her | This Is How You Lose Her | 2012 - Selection |
| Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version | Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version | 2012 - Selection |
| Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years among the Poorest Children in America | Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years among the Poorest Children in America | 2012 - Selection |
| The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court | The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court | 2012 - Selection |
| Dear Life | Dear Life | 2012 - Selection |
| Telegraph Avenue | Telegraph Avenue | 2012 - Selection |
| Sweet Tooth | Sweet Tooth | 2012 - Selection |
| The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry | The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry | 2012 - Selection |
| True Believers | True Believers | 2012 - Selection |
| Sutton | Sutton | 2012 - Selection |
| Skagboys | Skagboys | 2012 - Selection |
| The Round House | The Round House | 2012 - Selection |
| The Lower River | The Lower River | 2012 - Selection |
| In One Person | In One Person | 2012 - Selection |
| Home | Home | 2012 - Selection |
| Gods without Men | Gods without Men | 2012 - Selection |
| Flight Behavior | Flight Behavior | 2012 - Selection |
| The Dream of the Celt | The Dream of the Celt | 2012 - Selection |
| The Cove | The Cove | 2012 - Selection |
| Arcadia | Arcadia | 2012 - Selection |
| The People’s Pension: The Struggle to Defend Social Security since Reagan | The People’s Pension: The Struggle to Defend Social Security since Reagan | 2012 - Selection |
| Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else | Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else | 2012 - Selection |
| Thunder on the Mountain: Death at Massey and the Dirty Secrets behind Big Coal | Thunder on the Mountain: Death at Massey and the Dirty Secrets behind Big Coal | 2012 - Selection |
| Angelmaker | Angelmaker | 2012 - Selection |
| Astray | Astray | 2012 - Selection |
| The Bartender’s Tale | The Bartender’s Tale | 2012 - Selection |
| Beautiful Ruins | Beautiful Ruins | 2012 - Selection |
| The Beginner’s Goodbye | The Beginner’s Goodbye | 2012 - Selection |
| Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. | Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk | 2012 - Selection |
| Bring Up the Bodies | Bring Up the Bodies | 2012 - Selection |
| By Blood | By Blood | 2012 - Selection |
| That’s Not a Feeling | That’s Not a Feeling | 2012 - Selection |
| When God Was a Rabbit | When God Was a Rabbit | 2011 - Selection |
| The Year We Left Home | The Year We Left Home | 2011 - Selection |
| The Winter Palace | The Winter Palace | 2011 - Selection |
| When She Woke | When She Woke | 2011 - Selection |
| West of Here | West of Here | 2011 - Selection |
| Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation | Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation | 2011 - Selection |
| Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris | Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris | 2011 - Selection |
| Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools | Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools | 2011 - Selection |
| The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water | The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water | 2011 - Selection |
| The Quantum Story: A History in 40 Moments. | The Quantum Story: A History in 40 Moments | 2011 - Selection |
| A Planet of Viruses | A Planet of Viruses | 2011 - Selection |
| Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,000 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them | Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,000 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them | 2011 - Selection |
| The Book of Universes: Exploring the Limits of the Cosmos | The Book of Universes: Exploring the Limits of the Cosmos | 2011 - Selection |
| Dear Prudence: New and Selected Poems | Dear Prudence: New and Selected Poems | 2011 - Selection |
| Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels | Jerusalem: The Biography | 2011 - Selection |
| Jerusalem: The Biography | Jerusalem: The Biography | 2011 - Selection |
| The Greater Journey: American in Paris | The Greater Journey: American in Paris | 2011 - Selection |
| Obama on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President. | Obama on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President | 2011 - Selection |
| Turn of Mind. | Turn of Mind | 2011 - Selection |
| John Huston: Courage and Art | John Huston: Courage and Art | 2011 - Selection |
| George F. Kennan: An American Life | George F. Kennan: An American Life | 2011 - Selection |
| Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock | Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock | 2011 - Selection |
| The Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President | The Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President | 2011 - Selection |
| Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman | Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman | 2011 - Selection |
| Becoming Dr. Q: My Journey from Migrant Farm Worker to Brain Surgeon. | Becoming Dr. Q: My Journey from Migrant Farm Worker to Brain Surgeon | 2011 - Selection |
| Verdi’s Shakespeare: Men of the Theater | Verdi’s Shakespeare: Men of the Theater | 2011 - Selection |
| Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. | Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend. | 2011 - Selection |
| The Paper Garden: An Artist (Begins Her Life’s Work) at 72 | The Paper Garden: An Artist (Begins Her Life’s Work) at 72 | 2011 - Selection |
| Higher Gossip: Essays and Criticism | Higher Gossip: Essays and Criticism. | 2011 - Selection |
| The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ’n’ Roll | The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ’n’ Roll | 2011 - Selection |
| 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day | 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day. | 2011 - Selection |
| The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Inequality around the Globe | The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Inequality around the Globe. | 2011 - Selection |
| The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood. | The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood | 2011 - Selection |
| The Invisible Line: Three American Families and the Secret Journey from Black to White | The Invisible Line: Three American Families and the Secret Journey from Black to White | 2011 - Selection |
| By Colleen Mondor. Publisher: Lyons | The Map of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska | 2011 - Selection |
| The Time in Between | The Time in Between | 2011 - Selection |
| The Secret History of Costaguana | The Secret History of Costaguana | 2011 - Selection |
| Saints and Sinners | Saints and Sinners | 2011 - Selection |
| Millennium People | Millennium People | 2011 - Selection |
| The Matchmaker of Kenmare | The Matchmaker of Kenmare | 2011 - Selection |
| The Marriage Plot | The Marriage Plot | 2011 - Selection |
| Luminarium | Luminarium | 2011 - Selection |
| Lost Memory of Skin | Lost Memory of Skin | 2011 - Selection |
| The Glass Demon | The Glass Demon | 2011 - Selection |
| The Forgotten Waltz | The Forgotten Waltz | 2011 - Selection |
| Faith | Faith | 2011 - Selection |
| The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore | The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore. | 2011 - Selection |
| The Empty Family | The Empty Family | 2011 - Selection |
| Emily, Alone | Emily, Alone | 2011 - Selection |
| Conquistadora | Conquistadora | 2011 - Selection |
| Changó’s Beads and Two-Tone Shoes | Changó’s Beads and Two-Tone Shoes | 2011 - Selection |
| The Cat’s Table | The Cat’s Table | 2011 - Selection |
| Caleb’s Crossing | Caleb’s Crossing | 2011 - Selection |
| Broken Irish | Broken Irish | 2011 - Selection |
| The Art of Fielding | The Art of Fielding | 2011 - Selection |
| American Boy | American Boy | 2011 - Selection |
| 1Q84 | 1Q84 | 2011 - Selection |
| The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement | The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement | 2011 - Selection |
| News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media | News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media | 2011 - Selection |
| The Most Human Human: What Talking to Computers Teaches Us about What It Means to Be Alive | The Most Human Human: What Talking to Computers Teaches Us about What It Means to Be Alive | 2011 - Selection |
| The Mirage Man: Bruce Ivins, the Anthrax Attacks, and America’s Rush to War. | The Mirage Man: Bruce Ivins, the Anthrax Attacks, and America’s Rush to War. | 2011 - Selection |
| To Be Sung Underwater | To Be Sung Underwater | 2011 - Selection |
| The Cello Suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece | The Cello Suites | 2010 - Selection |
| The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin The World Again | The Death and Life of American Journalism | 2010 - Selection |
| Handling One Another Along | 2010 - Selection | |
| Pauline Kael: A Life in the Dark | Pauline Kael: A Life in the Dark | 2008 - Selection |
| Clara and Mr. Tiffany | Clara and Mr. Tiffany | 2008 - Selection |
| 2008 booklist editors choice adults | 2008 - Selection | |
| 2007 booklist editors choice adults | 2007 - Selection | |
| 2006 booklist editors choice adults | 2006 - Selection | |
| 2005 booklist editors choice adults | 2005 - Selection |
