Best Books of 2011 Year-End Honors by Book Best Books of 2011 Honors by Book - Fiction Ranking (updated mar 1 2012) Best Books of 2011 Honors by Book - Nonfiction Ranking (updated nov 30 2011) 04/16/2012: 2012 Pulitzer Prize Finalists for Fiction 03/01/2012: ALA Notable Books for Fiction 2012 02/21/2012: 2012 PEN/Faulkner Award Finalists 02/21/2012: 2011 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalists 01/21/2012: 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalists for Fiction 12/18/2011: New Yorker Favorite Books From 2011 12/07/2011: Economist Books of the Year 12/07/2011: TIME Magazine Top 10 Fiction Books of 2011 11/30/2011: New York Times 10 Best Books of 2011 Fiction | Nonfiction 11/21/2011: New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 11/17/2011: Library Journal Best Books 2011: The Top Ten 11/08/2011: Amazon Top 10 Literature & Fiction of 2011 | Best Books of 2011 11/07/2011: Publisher's Weekly BestBooks of 2011 10/18/2011: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes wins the 2011 Man Booker Prize 10/12/2011: 2011 National Book Award Finalists for Fiction | Nonfiction 09/06/2011: 2011 Man Booker Prize Shortlist Top 5 Fiction The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht 331 reviews (352p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 10 Literature & Fiction #4 Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #10 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Fiction (16) New York Times 10 Best Books of 2011 Michiko Kakutani's Recommendations for 2011 (10) New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Library Journal Best Books 2011: The Top Ten #1 National Book Award Finalist Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #17 Hudson Booksellers Best Books of 2011: Fiction (10) Economist Books of the Year: Fiction (8) ALA Notable Books - Fiction Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides 313 reviews (496p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 10 Literature & Fiction #3 Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #5 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Top 10 #1 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Library Journal Best Books 2011: More of the Best (19) National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction Finalist Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2011: The Top 25 Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #4 Economist Books of the Year: Fiction (8) NPR: The 10 Best Novels of 2011 - Maureen Corrigan Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami 370 reviews (928p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 10 Literature & Fiction #2 Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #2 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Library Journal Best Books 2011: The Top Ten #1 Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2011: The Top 25 Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #3 Washington Post Best Books of 2011 (10) Economist Books of the Year: Fiction (8) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach 364 reviews (528p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 10 Literature & Fiction #1 Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #1 New York Times 10 Best Books of 2011 Michiko Kakutani's Recommendations for 2011 (10) New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #8 The New Yorker: Favorite Books from 2011 - Fiction (23) NPR: The 10 Best Novels of 2011 - Maureen Corrigan ALA Notable Books - Fiction Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page OPEN CITY by Teju Cole 53 reviews (p) New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 TIME Magazine Top 10 Fiction Books #4 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction Finalist Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2011: The Top 25 Economist Books of the Year: Fiction (8) The New Yorker: Favorite Books from 2011 - Fiction (23) NPR: The 10 Best Novels of 2011 - Maureen Corrigan Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page Top 5 Nonfiction 1 Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie 211 reviews (p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #29 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Top 10 #6 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Nonfiction (25) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page 2 The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt 88 reviews (356p) Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction ALA Notable Books - Nonfiction Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #53 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Nonfiction New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 National Book Award for Nonfiction Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Nonfiction (25) Hudson Booksellers Best Books of 2011: Nonfiction (10) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page 3 Malcolm X by Manning Marable 94 reviews (608p) Pulitzer Prize for History Pulitzer Prize for Biography ALA Notable Books - Nonfiction Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #24 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Nonfiction New York Times 10 Best Books of 2011 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 National Book Award for Nonfiction National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Nonfiction (25) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page 4 Bossypants by Tina Fey 820 reviews (p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #12 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Top 10 #5 Library Journal Best Books 2011: More of the Best (19) Hudson Booksellers Best Books of 2011: Nonfiction (10) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page 5 In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson 710 reviews (p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #4 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Nonfiction New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Nonfiction (25) Hudson Booksellers Best Books of 2011: Nonfiction (10) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page Other Notable Fiction Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman 20 reviews (392p) National Book Award Finalist National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction Winner LA Times Book Prize for Fiction Finalist Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Empty Family: Stories by Colm Tóibín 24 reviews (288p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #36 Library Journal Best Books 2011: The Top Ten #1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page Swamplandia! by Karen Russell 224 reviews (336p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #58 New York Times 10 Best Books of 2011 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Finalist NPR: The 10 Best Novels of 2011 - Maureen Corrigan ALA Notable Books - Fiction Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page West of Here by Jonathan Evison 90 reviews (496p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #30 Hudson Booksellers Best Books of 2011: Fiction (10) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Pale King by David Foster Wallace 51 reviews (560p) Michiko Kakutani's Recommendations for 2011 (10) New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Library Journal Best Books 2011: More of the Best (19) TIME Magazine Top 10 Fiction Books #2 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Finalist NPR: The 10 Best Novels of 2011 - Maureen Corrigan Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips 68 reviews (384p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #42 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Library Journal Best Books 2011: The Top Ten #1 Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2011: The Top 25 Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #21 Hudson Booksellers Best Books of 2011: Fiction (10) The New Yorker: Favorite Books from 2011 - Fiction (23) ALA Notable Books - Fiction Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt 144 reviews (336p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 10 Literature & Fiction #8 Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #20 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Fiction (16) Man Booker Prize Finalist Hudson Booksellers Best Books of 2011: Fiction (10) ALA Notable Books - Fiction Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page Ten Thousand Saints: A Novel by Eleanor Henderson 50 reviews (p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #57 New York Times 10 Best Books of 2011 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 The New Yorker: Favorite Books from 2011 - Fiction (23) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page State of Wonder by Ann Patchett 484 reviews (368p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #86 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Top 10 #3 TIME Magazine Top 10 Fiction Books #3 Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2011: The Top 25 Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #6 Washington Post Best Books of 2011 (10) NPR: The 10 Best Novels of 2011 - Maureen Corrigan Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock 114 reviews (272p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #89 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Top 10 #2 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes 283 reviews (160p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #31 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Man Booker Prize Winner Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2011: The Top 25 The New Yorker: Favorite Books from 2011 - Fiction (23) ALA Notable Books - Fiction Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson 65 reviews (320p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #69 TIME Magazine Top 10 Fiction Books #6 Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #20 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Submission: A Novel by Amy Waldman 78 reviews (p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #33 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2011: The Top 25 Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #19 NPR: The 10 Best Novels of 2011 - Maureen Corrigan Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka 154 reviews (144p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #83 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Library Journal Best Books 2011: The Top Ten #1 National Book Award Finalist Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #15 PEN/Faulkner Award Winner LA Times Book Prize for Fiction Finalist Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta 161 reviews (p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #73 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2011: The Top 25 NPR: The 10 Best Novels of 2011 - Maureen Corrigan Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page Train Dreams by Denis Johnson 31 reviews (128p) Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Fiction (16) New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Finalist Economist Books of the Year: Fiction (8) The New Yorker: Favorite Books from 2011 - Fiction (23) NPR: The 10 Best Novels of 2011 - Maureen Corrigan Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 981 reviews (400p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 10 Literature & Fiction #5 Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #11 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Fiction (16) Library Journal Best Books 2011: More of the Best (19) Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #5 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks 59 reviews (432p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 10 Literature & Fiction #7 Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #18 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 The New Yorker: Favorite Books from 2011 - Fiction (23) PEN/Faulkner Award Finalist ALA Notable Books - Fiction Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page Chango's Beads and Two-Tone Shoes by William Kennedy 16 reviews (304p) Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Fiction (16) New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje 113 reviews (288p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 10 Literature & Fiction #9 Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #25 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #13 Economist Books of the Year: Fiction (8) ALA Notable Books - Fiction LA Times Book Prize for Fiction Finalist Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page Cain by Jose Saramago 40 reviews (176p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #55 Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Fiction (16) Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #22 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Stranger's Child by Alan Hollinghurst 76 reviews (448p) Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2011: Fiction (16) New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction Finalist The New Yorker: Favorite Books from 2011 - Fiction (23) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page Zone One by Colson Whitehead 195 reviews (240p) Library Journal Best Books 2011: More of the Best (19) Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #14 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page 11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King 1719 reviews (p) Amazon Best Books of 2011: Top 100 Editors' Picks #93 New York Times 10 Best Books of 2011 New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2011: The Top 25 Barnes & Noble Best Books of 2011: Adult Fiction (25) #1 Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page The Angel Esmeralda by Don DeLillo 19 reviews (224p) Michiko Kakutani's Recommendations for 2011 (10) New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2011 The New Yorker: Favorite Books from 2011 - Fiction (23) PEN/Faulkner Award Finalist Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page Don't understand the data above? 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