It's the time of year when publications pick there best books of the year.    Here are some of the ones that have weighed in on their choices for the best of 2012:

The New York Times 10 Best Books of 2012
The New York Times 100 Notable Books
The Washington Post Best Books of 2012
Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2012

The National Book Award Winners were announced last night.  Here are the winners:

Fiction: The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Non-Fiction: Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
Young Adult Literature: Goblin Secrets by William Alexander
Poetry: Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations by David Ferry

The  best books of the year lists are starting to come in.   Here are Publishers Weekly's choices for the Best Books of 2012.

David Mitchell has gotten a lot of attention recently because of the forthcoming star-studded film of his "Cloud Atlas."  While I enjoyed reading it for a book group earlier this year, this is a highly unusual book in every way, and the movie promises to be even more challenging.

But Mitchell has also written some more traditional novels that are simple yet stunning.   During the storm, I found the time to read (by candlelight) his 2006, "Black Swan Green," a coming-of-age novel set in a small village in England during the time of the Falklands War in the early 1980s.  Hero Jason Taylor will remind some people of Holden Caulfield, with hints of the boy from "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime."  Mitchell has done an incredible job of getting inside the head of this young man, and bringing the reader along.  To say more about the plot would spoil the joy of discovery, but give this one a try if you enjoy exceptional character development and a truly humane attitude by an author towards his creations.

Submitted by Mary Rindfleisch, Assistant Director