Top 5 Fiction Titles of 2012
“Telegraph Avenue” by Michael Chabon
“NW” by Zadie Smith
“This Is How You Lose Her” by Junot Diaz
“Beautiful Ruins” by Jess Walter
“Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn
—Naomi Huffman

Top 5 Books of 2012
“NW” by Zadie Smith
“A Hologram for the King” by Dave Eggers
“The Age of Miracles” by Karen Thompson Walker
“HHhH” by Laurent Binet
“Treasure Island!!!” by Sara Levine
—Kelly Roark

Top 5 Fiction Releases of 2012
“This Is How You Lose Her” by Junot Diaz
“A Hologram for the King” by Dave Eggers
“The Age of Miracles” by Karen Thompson Walker
“Hope: A Tragedy” by Shalom Auslander
“NW” by Zadie Smith
—Eric Lutz Read the rest of this entry »

Top 5 Literary Series
Reading Under the Influence
Neutron Bomb
Write Club
Quickies
P. Fanatics
—John Wawrzaszek

Top 5 Nonfiction Books
“Rin Tin Tin” by Susan Orlean
“Plastic: A Toxic Love Story” by Susan Freinkel
“Moonwalking with Einstein” by Joshua Foer
“The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory and Why Outsiders Thrive After High School” by Alexandra Robbins
“Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History” by Ben Mezrich
—Kelly Roark Read the rest of this entry »

Top 5 Chicago Literary Cameos (and supporting roles)
“The Instructions,” Adam Levin (McSweeney’s)
“Saul Bellow: Letters,” Ed. Benjamin Taylor (Penguin Classics)
“Wilson,” Daniel Clowes (Drawn and Quarterly)
“The November Criminals,” Sam Munson (Doubleday)
“Slut Lullabies,” Gina Frangello (Emergency Press)
—Rachel Sugar

Top 5 Film Books
“Goodbye Cinema, Hello Cinephilia: Film Culture in Transition,” Jonathan Rosenbaum
“Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo,” Werner Herzog
“The Foreign Film Renaissance on American Screens, 1946-1973,” Tino Balio
“Another Fine Mess: A History Of American Film Comedy,” Saul Austerlitz
“The New Biographical Dictionary Of Film,” David Thomson
—Ray Pride

Top 5 Books
“Chronic City,” Jonathan Lethem (Doubleday)
“War Dances,” Sherman Alexie (Grove Press)
“Generosity: An Enhancement,” Richard Powers (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux)
“Ruins,” Achy Obejas (Akashic Books)
“Inherent Vice,” Thomas Pynchon (Penguin Press)
—Tom Lynch

Top 5 Local Books
“Ruins,” Achy Obejas (Akashic Books)
“Her Fearful Symmetry,” Audrey Niffenegger (Scribner)
“How to Hold a Woman,” Billy Lombardo (OV Books)
“The Way Through Doors,” Jesse Ball (Vintage)
“The Adventures of Cancer Bitch,” S.L. Wisenberg (University of Iowa Press)
—Tom Lynch Read the rest of this entry »

Top 5 Books

“Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape,” Raja Shehadeh (Scribner)

“Netherland: A Novel,” Joseph O’Neill (Pantheon)

“Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, The End of Civilization,” Nicholson Baker (Simon & Schuster)

“Sleeping it Off in Rapid City: Poems, New & Selected,” August Kleinzahler (FSG)

“A Better Angel: Stories,” Chris Adrian (FSG)

-John Freeman

Top 5 Books

“The Lazarus Project,” Aleksandar Hemon (Riverhead Books)

“Indignation,” Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin)

“Lush Life,” Richard Price (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux)

“When You are Engulfed in Flames,” David Sedaris (Little Brown and Company)

“Crime,” Irvine Welsh (WW Norton & Company)

-Tom Lynch

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Top 5 Books
“Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape,” Raja Shehadeh (Scribner)
“Netherland: A Novel,” Joseph O’Neill (Pantheon)
“Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, The End of Civilization,” Nicholson Baker (Simon & Schuster)
“Sleeping it Off in Rapid City: Poems, New & Selected,” August Kleinzahler (FSG)
“A Better Angel: Stories,” Chris Adrian (FSG)
—John Freeman

Top 5 Books
“The Lazarus Project,” Aleksandar Hemon (Riverhead Books)
“Indignation,” Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin)
“Lush Life,” Richard Price (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux)
“When You are Engulfed in Flames,” David Sedaris (Little Brown and Company)
“Crime,” Irvine Welsh (WW Norton & Company)
—Tom Lynch

Top 5 Cookbooks Featuring Chicago Chefs
“From Our Hearts to Your Table: Favorite Recipes From a Greek American Family,” Dorothy Bezemes (N/A)
“Cooking with Les Dames d’ Escoffier: At Home with the Women Who Shape the Way We Eat and Drink,” Les Dames d’ Escoffier (Sasquatch Books)
“The Parthenon Cookbook: Great Mediterranean Recipes from the Heart of Chicago,” Camille Stagg (Agate Surrey)
“Alinea,” Grant Achatz (Ten Speed Press)
“Market-Fresh Mixology: Cocktails for Every Season,” Bridget Albert with Mary Barranco (Agate Surrey)
—Veronica Hinke

Top 5 New Recurring Reading Series
Windy City Story Slam, windycitystoryslam.com
Quickies, quickieschicago.blogspot.com
The Parlor Reads, theparlorreads.com
Sappho’s Salon, womenandchildrenfirst.com
Lovable Losers Literary Revue, lovablelosersliteraryrevue.com/blog
—Robert Duffer

Top 5 Books
“The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears,” Dinaw Mengestu (Riverhead)
“The Country of Men,” Hisham Matar (Dial Press)
“The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism,” Naomi Klein (Metropolitan)
“Picasso: The Triumphant Years, 1917-1932,” John Richardson (Knopf)
“Sleeping and Waking,” Michael O’Brien (Flood Editions)
—John Freeman
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