The year-end best-of lists have started to appear in earnest: The Atlantic’s Benjamin Schwarz picks his five favorites, the Guardian lists its books of the year, Library Journal lists its top ten books, the New York Times lists its 100 notable books, and USA Today lists its best books from independent publishers. (If you need more, the literary and music blog Largehearted Boy is aggregating dozens of best-of lists from a variety of outlets.) &nbnbsp;
Benjamin Moser reviews Peter Nadas’ novel Parallel Stories for the New York Times Book Review.
Carolyn Kellogg reviews Luis Alberto Urrea’s novel Queen of America for the Los Angeles Times.
Gerald Bartell reviews Sue Grafton’s new mystery, V Is for Vengance, for the Kansas City Star.
Steve Weinberg reviews Charles J. Shields’ biography of Kurt Vonnegut, And So It Goes, for In These Times.
Anne Trubek reviews Claire Tomalin’s biography of Charles Dickens for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Meredith Maran reviews Joyce Carol Oates’ latest collection of short stories, The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares, for the Boston Globe.
Your reviews and recommendations help seed these roundups: If you’re an NBCC member with a review you’d like considered for inclusion, please email nbcccritics@gmail.com. You can also get our attention by using the Twitter hashtag #nbcc, posting on the wall of our Facebook page, or joining our members-only LinkedIn group.