Village Gamer

Amazon.ca has announced their annual list of the Best Books of the Year So Far. Chosen by Amazon.ca book editors, the list features the top 20 books published in Canada from January to June of 2012, as well as the top ten books in individual categories like Literature & Fiction, Cooking, Food and Wine and Biographies & Memoirs, to name a few.

“With stunning novels from breakout Canadian writers and a host of top-notch nonfiction titles, the first half of 2012 has been a tremendous time for book lovers,” said Steve Oliver, director of Amazon.ca. “With even more great reads coming out in the second half of the year, we wanted to give our customers a head-start on the year’s most remarkable books and a perfect selection to enjoy on a leisurely summer day.”

Topping the list of the Best Books of the Year So Far is Above All Things by debut Canadian novelist Tanis Rideout, a meticulously detailed fictional account of George Mallory’s final attempt to conquer Mount Everest and a heartbreaking day in the life of his wife, Ruth Mallory. Customers can also discover an intense thriller about a marriage gone wrong; a dramatic true account of life in the Annawadi slum of Mumbai; an incendiary, uncensored coming-of-age story; and many other titles that should be on every book-lover’s cottage reading list.

Here are Amazon.ca’s top 20 books of the year (* = Canadian Authors):

1. Above All Things* by Tanis Rideout (McClelland & Stewart) – Literature & Fiction

2. Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (Random House) – Nonfiction

3. Maidenhead* by Tamara Faith Berger (Coach House Books) – Literature & Fiction

4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Crown) – Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Dutton Juvenile) – Teen

6. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain (Ecco) – Literature & Fiction

7. The Headmaster’s Wager* by Vincent Lam (Doubleday Canada) – Literature & Fiction

8. Quiet by Susan Cain (Crown) – Nonfiction

9. Everybody Has Everything* by Katrina Onstad (Emblem Editions) – Literature & Fiction

10. Cures for Hunger* by Deni Y. Béchard (Goose Lane Editions) – Biographies & Memoirs

11. A Thousand Farewells* by Nahlah Ayed (Viking Canada) – Biographies & Memoirs

12. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (Bond Street Books) – Literature & Fiction

13. Malarky* by Anakana Schofield (Biblioasis) – Literature & Fiction

14. Wild by Cheryl Strayed (Knopf) – Biographies & Memoirs

15. My Year of the Racehorse* by Kevin Chong (Greystone Books) – Nonfiction

16. Stray Love* by Kyo Maclear (Phyllis Bruce Books) – Literature

17. Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power by Steve Coll (Penguin Press) – Nonfiction

18. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (HarperCollins) – Literature & Fiction

19. A Book of Great Worth* by Dave Margoshes (Coteau Books) – Literature & Fiction

20. Tumblin’ Dice* by John McFetridge (ECW Press) – Mystery, Thriller & Suspense