I read 20 books in all during 2012. Four fiction and 16 non-fiction. Plus four issues of Granta, cover to cover.
When I think about what books will stick me for awhile, “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo was by far the most moving and meaningful.
Here’s the full list:
“The Innocent” by Ian McEwan
“Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal” by Eric Schlosser
“The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America” by Marc Levinson
“The Visible Man” by Chuck Klosterman
“Moneyball” by Michael Lewis
“The Ominivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan
“The Marriage Plot” by Jeffrey Eugenides
“Louise: Amended” by Louise Krug
“Between Terror and Tourism: An Overland Journey Across North Africa” by Michael Mewshaw
“Liar’s Poker: Rising through the Wreckage of Wall Street” by Michael Lewis
“Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener and Happier” by Edward Glaeser
“At Home: A Short History of Private Life” by Bill Bryson
“Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before It Conquers Us” by Maggie Koerth-Baker
“The End of Leadership” by Barbara Kellerman
“Do Not Ask What Good We Do” by Robert Draper
“The Panic Virus” by Seth Mnookin
“Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity” by Katherine Boo
“The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns” by Sasha Issenberg
“The Last Bohemia: Scenes from the Life of Williamsburg, Brooklyn” by Robert Anasi
“The Red House” by Mark Haddon
Granta No. 118: “Exit Strategies”
Granta No. 119: “Great Britain”
Granta No. 120: “Medicine”
Granta No. 121: “The Best of Young Brazilian Novelists”