Best Books of 2011

The story of a watershed year in the life of a strong-willed 25-year-old rising through New York society at the tail end of the Great Depression. There's much to love here in the complex relationships between the main characters, and the sparkling atmosphere makes for a vivid fictional delight.

A sleeper pick from a relatively unsung author, this is another book that earned votes from multiple staffers. A woman receives a manuscript from her ex-poet ex-husband that surprisingly turns out to be a thriller about a man in search of his abducted family. The chapters of the mystery are interspersed with the reader's responses, resulting in a novel with all the rich characterization of literature and all the suspense of a potboiling vacation read.

Guterson's best since Snow Falling on Cedars, it's a modern retelling of the Oedipus saga that's also a marvelous portrait of modern-day Seattle.

Another favorite of Roger's, this novel is in epic in miniature. In fewer than hundred pages relating the experiences of a logger and laborer, Johnson captures the changing American West of the 20th century.

Every day Christine wakes up not knowing where she is. Her memories disappear every time she falls asleep. Her husband, Ben, is a stranger to her, and he's obligated to explain their life together on a daily basis--all the result of a mysterious accident that made Christine an amnesiac. With the encouragement of her doctor, Christine starts a journal to help jog her memory every day. One morning, she opens it and sees that she's written three unexpected and terrifying words: "Don't trust Ben." Suddenly everything her husband has told her falls under suspicion. What kind of accident caused her condition? Who can she trust? Why is Ben lying to her? And, for the reader: Can Christine’s story be trusted?

The US ambassador to Germany and his family are caught up in the glamor of pre-war Berlin society, only gradually realizing the monstrosity of Hitler's regime. Erik Larson's knack for riveting historical narrative is in full effect here.

Adam Gopnik may be the finest practitioner of a certain kind of essayistic writing, combining intellectual ideas with the details of domestic life, so it's a blessing to see him take on the perfect subject, family and food.

A book about a WWI survivor who became the world's biggest box office star would make for a remarkable book even if that actor hadn't been a German Shepherd. Susan Orlean explores the relationship between humans and animals, 20th-century entrepreneurship, and much more with the help of an unlikely vehicle, an internationally beloved dog.

An unconventional but illuminating biography that provides context for Hemingway in all his contradictions--boorish and brawling, generous and sensitive.

Roger Ebert is best known as an opinionated film critic, occasionally ebullient but often irascible in his defense of the cinematic arts, but his life has been much more multifaceted than his public image indicates. He here relates anecdotes from his involvement in Chicago politics and the film-making world, and is especially candid and thoughtful about his personal life. Since 2006, he's been unable to eat, drink, or speak due to complications from cancer treatment, but his writing and his outlook on life have never been stronger and deeper.