Best Books of 2012: Non-Fiction

This is the Best Non-Fiction segment of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2012 feature. Also available are our picks for best SF/F, best books for children and young adults,  best crime, mystery and thriller fiction of 2012, in two parts: one and two. As well, here are the best cookbooks of 2012. Still to come: our contributors’ selections of the Best Fiction of 2012. 

Both Flesh and Not: Essays

Holiday Gift Guide: A Shtinky Little Christmas by Patrick McDonnell

Those who love Patrick McDonnell’s “Mutts” comic strip featuring Earl the Dog and Mooch the cat will get a kick out of A Shtinky Little Christmas (Andrews McMeel).

Earl and Mooch find a lost kitten in a garbage can, name it Shtinky Pudding and try to give it shelter. Comic-style hijinx ensues, but there’s a happy ending and, on the way there, we are given one of the best take away lines in a

Holiday Gift Guide: Reel Terror: The Scary, Bloody, Gory, Hundred-Year History of Classic Horror Films by David Konow

It should not be surprising that the author of the definitive guide to heavy metal music should come back with another, similar guide, this time devoted to what some would say is the film world’s heavy metal equivalent.

Reel Terror: The Scary, Bloody, Gory, Hundred-Year History of Classic Horror Films (St. Martin’s Press/Thomas Dunne) takes a long, loving look behind the scenes at the century

Holiday Gift Guide: A Year of Writing Dangerously by Barbara Abercrombie

The idea behind A Year of Writing Dangerously (New World Library) is to provide, as the subtitle says, “365 Days of Inspiration & Encouragement.” And it does.

Every day, seasoned author Barbara Abercrombie offers a single page that contains a relevant quote plus an essay, anecdote or even a question or thoughts, all about writing and all intended to get your juices flowing. As Abercrombie writes

Holiday Gift Guide: Books to Die For edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke

As much as readers may enjoy selecting their own literary diversions, they’re also curious to know what novels authors themselves have enjoyed. Which makes Books to Die For: The World’s Greatest Mystery Writers on the
World’s Greatest Mystery Novels (Atria/Emily Bestler), a 560-page compilation of tributes to more
than 120 memorable works of crime, mystery and thriller fiction, so delightful.

Holiday Gift Guide: Florence: Art and Architecture and Venice: The Golden Centuries

If various reports are to be believed, the recession is drawing to a close. Even so, money is tight, gifts are precious and travel is dear. That might mean a lot of the things, but to me it means that gorgeous, elegant and rich books about wonderful places are going to be among the top holiday time gifts this year. How could they not be? Even an expensive book is a tiny fraction of the cost of a

Billionaire Art Collector Buys Phaidon

It just can’t seem anything but good that high-end art press, Phaidon, has a new boss. The new owner is Leon D. Black and his family, and Black is the same billionaire art collector who was rumored to have purchased Munch’s Scream for $120 million last year. It would seem to follow that anyone willing to drop an extreme fortune for some paint and canvas will do the right thing by a respected

Art & Culture: Elevating Western American Art: Developing an Institute in the Cultural Capital of the Rockies edited by Thomas Brent Smith

There was a time not so very long ago that the art of the American West was not given serious shrift by the fine art mainstream. That was then. But if you are unconvinced of the breadth and quality of the work that continues to emerge from the West, Elevating Western American Art (Denver Art Museum) is quite likely to change your mind.

The publication commemorates the 10th anniversary of the

New Today: Care to Make Love in that Gross Little Space Between Cars? Amy Sedaris, Judd Apatow, et al

Three months into the year and I’m already fairly certain that Care to Make Love in that Gross Little Space Between Cars? (Vintage) will be among my picks for best of the year. And why? Because it’s aberrant. Off-the-wall. Well-drawn. And very, very funny.Since 2005, Amy Sedaris has had a column in The Believer magazine called “Sedaratives.” It’s silly -- though sometimes thoughtful -- stuff, as

Art & Culture: Movies of the 2000s by Jürgen Müller

Art critic Jürgen Müller continues Taschen’s movies decades series with Movies of the 2000s, a look at the important films made since the turn of the century.“There is a good argument that the first decade of the 21st century will be the last in which cinema as a mass medium will continue in the form we have always known it,” Müller writes, reminding us that, as an internationally respected film

New Today: Writing in Pictures by Joseph McBride

With the Golden Globes just behind us and the Oscars just ahead, a lot of attention is focused on the movies right now. And when that happens, those of us who love books inevitably think of the words that make those films. In some cases, we take all of that another step and think about writing for film. If all this movie talk turns your head in that way, you might want to take a peek at Writing

War Horse: The Making of the Motion Picture

The Oscar race this year is upon us. Nine films are vying for Best Picture, and I myself have a few favorites. The Artist is amazing, with an idea and performances that are nothing short of stunning. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, heartbreaking in so many different ways, is a pretty faithful adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s brilliant novel. But for me the movie that really stands out

Best Books of 2011: Art & Culture

This is the art & culture segment of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2011 feature. You can see other sections as follows: Best Fiction, Best Non-Fiction, Best Biography, Best Books for Children and Young Adults, Best Cookbooks, Best Science Fiction/Fantasy, Best Crime Fiction (part I) and Best Crime Fiction (part II).Alan Lomax: The Man Who Recorded the World by John Szwed (Viking)For a good

Holiday Gift Guide: Illustration Now 4 and Illustration Now: Portraits edited by Julius Wiedermann

Illustration Now 4 and Illustration Now: Portraits, both published by Taschen and edited by Julius Wiedermann, showcase some of the best and the brightest in contemporary illustration.Often as fascinating as the illustrations themselves is the variety of media with which they are produced. It’s interesting to note that 15 years ago -- perhaps even 10 -- it would not have been necessary to specify

Holiday Gift Guide: Highly Inappropriate Tales for Young People by Douglas Coupland and Graham Roumieu

“It’s like a children’s book that you’d never let a child read,” Douglas Coupland told the Globe and Mail when talking about his most recent book. “We just wanted to do something really dark and nihilistic, really, with no social redeeming value.” His plan worked.It has, it seems, been that kind of year, what with the incredible success of Adam Mansbach’s Go the F*ck to Sleep, which has been on

Holiday Gift Guide: Roadsworth by Roadsworth with Bethany Gibson

I want Roadsworth to come to my city. I want him to spawn a movement and encourage others everywhere to take up his special brush. It seems that Montreal, or parts of it, anyway, are much more beautiful due to his slightly subversive art.I say “slightly” because it maybe isn’t as subversive as it once was, but even then it was pretty. In 2001, his art started appearing on the streets of Montreal.

Holiday Gift Guide: Architecture Now! Houses: 2 by Philip Jodido

Say the word “house” and everyone creates their own mental picture. A place, perhaps, of comfort. Shelter. Even safety. And those are fine things, maybe even good things. But what we come to understand in Philip Jodido’s book, Architecture Now! Houses: 2, (Taschen) is that “house” can mean so much more.Jodido brings us the idea -- not a new one, but still -- that “house” can be more than the sum

Holiday Gift Guide: My Last Supper: The Next Course by Melanie Dunea

It’s rare that a really good book be followed by an even better sequel, but that just what’s happened here. Melanie Dunea (Precious, My Country) follows up her wonderful 2007 book My Last Supper with My Last Supper: The Next Course (Rodale). And the next course really is terrific.Here’s the premise: photographer Dunea asks famous chefs to talk about their own last meal. What would it look like?

Holiday Gift Guide: The Misanthrope’s Guide to Life (Go Away!) by Meghan Rowland and Chris Turner-Neal

It’s true: the best of the season can bring out the worst in everyone. If the person you’re buying for is a candidate for The Misanthrope’s Guide to Life (Adams Media) you probably don’t need much prompting. We all know at least one of those “Bah! Humbug!” sorts. The only thing often missing for this sort of friend or relative is the perfect gift. And now? Here it is! From the book:The

Holiday Gift Guide: The Wizard of Oz: A Scanimation Book by Rufus Butler Seder

There’s something charmingly nostalgic and convincingly high tech about artist, inventor and filmmaker Rufus Butler Seder’s Scanimation books. Take his interpretation of The Wizard of Oz (Workman) for instance. It is, in all ways, a perfect little package. A delight. Even before you open the book, the glittery red of Dorothy’s shoes glints at you from the cover. But then you do open the book,