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25 Notable Books Unfairly Overlooked by ‘The New York Times’

By Emily Temple on

Earlier this week, The New York Times published their annual year-end list of the “100 Notable Books of 2012,” as chosen by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. As usual, the list is filled with very predictable (though often very worthy) choices, but this year we were surprised not only by the amazing, under-the-radar books the Times ignored, but by the equally amazing but high-profile and relatively commercial books that also got snubbed. To that end, we’ve compiled an alternative, or an addendum, if you will, to the Times’ list, including both lesser-known books we loved this year, and some big name books we can’t believe didn’t make the cut. Click through to read our list, and if you so desire, register your own addendums to our addendum in the comments. … Read More

Books

The Man Booker Prize 2012 Longlist Announced

By Emily Temple on

Attention book lovers on all sides of the pond! The Man Booker 2012 longlist, as selected by Dan Stevens (aka Matthew Crawley, swoon), Dinah Birch, Amanda Foreman, Bharat Tandon, and chair Sir Peter Stothard, has just been announced. There are some pretty obvious picks (we would have been shocked if Hilary Mantel’s Bring up the Bodies didn’t make the longlist), some pleasant surprises (Jeet Thayil’s awesome debut novel Narcopolis!) and enough books that haven’t made it over to the states yet that we have a lot to explore before the shortlist is announced in September.

What do you think, dear readers? Will we hear more of the same accusations of dumbing-down that we heard last year? Are you so excited by the panel’s choices that you’re going to go out and buy the whole list or do you think you’ll skip this round? Let us know who you’re rooting for in the comments, and keep an eye on the Booker Prize website for more updates. … Read More

Books

The 10 Best Books of the Year (So Far)

By Emily Temple on

As you may have noticed from the boiling temperatures, it’s the last day of June, which means we’re pretty much halfway through the year. To mark the year’s midpoint, Amazon put together a list of their picks for the best books of the year so far, but of course we have our own ideas about which books have made the biggest splash so far. It’s been a great six months in the book world, but we’ve got some heavy-hitters coming up this fall (new books by Michael Chabon, Zadie Smith, Junot Diaz and Paul Auster, just to name a few), so we’ll be interested to find out which of the books below hold on to their rankings when the year-end lists come around! Click through to read our picks for the ten best books of the first half of 2012, and let us know which you would have chosen in the comments. … Read More

Books

10 New Must-Reads for April

By Emily Temple on

Spring has sprung, and all the extra greenery we’re seeing has definitely got us dreaming about long walks in the park and picnics among the daffodils — with a book, of course. This month, do some mental spring cleaning with a novel about the Bombay underbelly, celebrate the birds and the bees with stories about animals falling viciously in love, and ponder essays on the nature of artistic creation. After all, spring is all about new beginnings. Click through to check out our must-read list of books coming out in the coming month, and let us know which ones you’re most excited about (whether they made our list or not) in the comments! … Read More