Put out by publishers of famously gorgeous books Phaidon Press, the book itself is an object of beauty and substance, weighing 20 lbs and measuring nearly a foot and a half tall. It includes 2000 images, both photographs and illustrations, and is dazzling to peruse. Enjoy this look inside.

J.K. Rowling returned, casually. Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith, Junot Diaz, Ian McEwan and Justin Cronin also released books during 2012. Another busy year. Read all about it, fron controversry to eagerly-anticipated sequels, bestsellers and more.

A Literary Review of 2012

I admit this was not my most plentiful year for reading. I didn’t read as many books as I wanted. I know exactly why, too, and can narrow it down to a two-word culprit: smart phone. Yes it’s true, up until early this year, I had an archaic talk-and-text, with perhaps an occasional game of Tetris thrown in for good measure. This year I succumbed to the hype…

Read the whole article, Beth’s Best Reads of 2012

Struck by the fact that a village close to his Devon home, Lydford on the edge of Dartmoor, had names not only from both world wars on its memorial, but also fatalities from the comparatively recent conflicts in the Falklands and Iraq, Aslet resolved to research and write the stories behind these nameless names. His book is at once a touching tribute to ordinary lives hallowed by the horrible accident of being brutally cut off long before their allotted time; and a vivid testimony to why memory – personal and collective – matters so much both to individuals, and to our increasingly fissiparous and fractured nation.

I have always been drawn to the memorials found in the villages throughout Britain. I look at the names and it’s always sad to see a host of soldiers with the same last name, and realize that an entire family was devastated by the Great War or World War II.  I feel this is going to be a desperately sad book but I think I’m going to have to read it. The book details the lives and deaths of the 22 men and one woman who are listed on the memorial in this small village of just 458 inhabitants.

It tells the story of Shannon, born to a mother in the midst of turmoil and subsequently left behind at the door of the YMCA, where a man is quietly watching from his vehicle. The story is gripping from the get-go, and very hard to put down, as readers and critics far and wide have agreed.

Just 31 years old, one might expect Celona to be head-in-the-clouds giddy with all the attention, but she remains firmly rooted to the ground and down-to-Earth. We got to catch up with her and hear all about her sense of belonging, growing up on Vancouver Island, her favorite books, and how it is essential to work with a dog at (or on) one’s feet. Read on for an interview with Marjorie Celona.

Which is exactly what Dr. Faye Skelton from the University of Lancashire has done, by asking a sample of women who have read the book to describe Grey, then creating a composite. The result:

A proposed Christian Grey. (Photo: UCLAN)

I don’t know. I think the nose is too long, or the eyes are too high and small, or something – he has a decidedly “Duuuuh” look to me. And if one is going to become a multi-millionaire with both private jet AND private helicopter by age 27, one must have one’s wits about them, no?

Meanwhile, the celebrity gossip world is abuzz about who will play Christian Grey in the 50 Shades of Grey movie, with guesses ranging from the sublime (Ryan Gosling, Chris Pine) to the ridiculous (Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman).

The novel is now the fastest selling paperback of all-time, even beating out Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.

Well, six months later, I have finally gotten off my rear end and read it, and I was wrong. I absolutely love this book. And for the record, I believe that both adults and children – over the age of 10, let’s say – will be caught up in it and enjoy every minute.

First, let me say that while I understand the comparisons to the Harry Potter series – there is magic, wonder and enchantment to rival the Hogwart’s great hall ceiling on every page of this book – it is absolutely its own unique creature. All of my misgivings about a circus book were in vain, so let me put that to rest for others who might have preconceived notions and be wrinkling their noses. This is not the chaotic, obnoxious rainbow circus we remember from childhood, punctuated by the brash honking of bicycle horns and the cringing guilt around wild animals doing tricks in captivity. Nobody will squirt water from a lapel flower or race around crammed into a tiny car with six of his friends. There are no folding metal chairs, no sticky cotton candy crushed beneath your feet.

The Night Circus is an experience unlike any you can imagine. It is magical and awe-inspiring, and a dreamscape so beautiful and impossible that you’ll never want to leave. The book, like the astonishing world it describes, reveals itself slowly, a bit at a time, always offering something new to explore around every corner. Morgenstern has offered us a tour of her entire imagination (and it’s an impressive one) – we can smell our dreams and favorite places, all contained in beautiful glass bottles and jars, snuff boxes and music boxes, lockets and keepsake tins. Some smell of salt air, suntan lotion and creosote, and sound like the ocean and the cry of gulls. Some surround you in baking apples and cinnamon, the sound of a crackling fire, the feel of pine needles underfoot. All our memories, all our dreams, all the fantastic wonders real and imagined, possible and impossible – they’re all here, inside this book. It was a treat to read.

Goodavage, a former USA Today reporter and the news editor at Say Media’s Dogster.com, has been writing about dogs for years. When news broke of the raid that ended the life of Osama bin Laden, everyone wanted to know all about the intrepid canine member of the Navy SEALS team and other dogs who serve their country. With Goodavage’s background and her longstanding passion for the topic of military dogs, a book on man’s best friend on the modern battlefield was a natural fit.

One of Smith’s aims is to challenge the view popularised by writers such as Malcolm Gladwell that what really makes the difference to success is practice and hard work. Smith thinks that downplays the good fortune of those who have the genetic and social advantages to be able to undertake the hard work. This is true enough, but the comparison with Gladwell highlights what’s really wrong with this book. Partly it’s a sense that the genre is starting to cannibalise itself. There is a world of fascinating material out there on luck written by philosophers, novelists, historians – but Smith’s frame of reference is primarily pop psychology books of the past few years. The main problem, though, is that people like Gladwell do it so much better.