Aggregate list of best books

Yesterday, I wrote about overlooked books in the top lists of 2012. I also mentioned the usual suspects that seemed to be on everyone's list. Flavorwire took that one step further, actually documenting the books that appeared in several top lists of 2012. The lists they chose are as follows:

Publisher’s Weekly
Slate
TIME (Fiction)
TIME (Nonfiction)
Vogue
The Washington Post
Book Riot
Amazon
The Atlantic
Esquire
The Huffington Post
The New York Times
The Daily Beast
Newsday
Christian Science Monitor (Fiction)
Christian Science Monitor (Nonfiction)

This looks to be a fairly representative collection of American publications, spanning a wide range of reading interests, from commercial (Amazon) to industry (Publisher's Weekly), critical (New York Times, Washington Post) and general (Vogue, Esquire). It even polls a couple of blogs for good measure (Book Riot, The Daily Beast). The results aren't too surprising: Hilary Mantel's Bring Up The Bodies was the most listed book, appearing on 9 of 14 fiction lists. Other titles mentioned several times were Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain (7), Gone Girl (6), This is How You Lose Her (5), and Arcadia (4). It looks like I agree so far with several of these choices, though I have yet to read Mantel. 

Review: Gone Girl

Gone Girl is a fascinating read - it moves from a gripping police procedural whodunit to a psychological spine-tingler in no time, and with Flynn's clever writing, it works the whole way. The story opens with Nick Dunne getting a call that his front door is wide open and the cat is on the stoop. When he gets home to investigate, it's not a matter of someone simply forgetting to close the door, but the living room is tossed and Amy, his wife, is nowhere to be found.

The chapters alternate between the present, following Nick, and the past, following Amy's diary entries as the authorities search for missing Amy. Flynn reveals the clues as Nick discovers them, from the suspiciously organized tossed living room to the discovery of the anniversary treasure hunt that Amy has set up and is doomed to miss. Did I mention that this story starts on the day of their fifth anniversary?

Gone Girl is an examination of a marriage, of the human psyche, of nature vs. nurture - Nick and Amy are thoroughly pulled apart and put back together again over the course of the mystery. It is a chilling read as the reader learns more and more about Nick and Amy, their parents, friends and neighbours. Flynn keeps you guessing, and won't let you put it down!