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Around the end of every year  many “best of” lists are published and circulated. As a librarian, I am on the receiving end of many “best books” lists. And as a librarian, it’s no surprise to know that the lists of books I am especially keen to see are those compiled by Library Journal.

For the uninitiated, Library Journal (LJ for short) is a library trade magazine that was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey – the same man responsible for the decimal classification system we use in our libraries!

The books that make it into LJ’s lists are chosen by its review editors, many of whom were once professional librarians. In other words, these lists are chosen by librarians for librarians.

Many of these titles are not the usual obvious choices that you see in mainstream media, and often include works by lesser known and debut authors. Yes, librarians cannot help themselves in championing good literature and promoting underrated authors even when they are compiling year-end lists.

So, take a peek at their chosen top ten books for 2012 below, many of which are already available in our libraries. Some of them are also in our digital library collection in Overdrive.

Fiction

  • A Land More Kind Than Home – Wiley Cash (Call No: CAS-[TH])
  • Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk – Ben Fountain (Call No: FOU)
  • Some Kind of Fairy Tale – Graham Joyce (Call No: JOY, eBook available in our library’s Overdrive collection)
  • The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller (Call No: MIL)
  • NW – Zadie Smith (Call No: SMI)

Non-fiction

  • By the Iowa Sea: A Memoir of Disaster and Love – Joe Blair (Call No: 977.74092 BLA)
  • Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity –Katherine Boo (Call No: 305.569 BOO, eBook available in our library’s Overdrive collection)
  • Crusoe: Daniel Defoe, Robert Knox, and the Creation of a Myth – Katherine Frank (the title is on order, and will be on our shelves soon)
  • The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt’s Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer – Anne-Marie O’Connor (eBook available in our library’s Overdrive collection, and the books will be available soon at our libraries)
  • Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from “Dear Sugar” – Cheryl Strayed (Call No: 070.444 STR, eBook available in our library’s Overdrive collection)

Click here for more information on the list. And if you liked that, here’re a couple more notable “best of” lists:

The Daily Beast‘s The Best of the Best List

Largehearted Boy’s Online “Best of 2012″ Book Lists

Contributed by K. Lock