Welcome to the Best Books of 2008. The big news of the year may have been the endlessly dramatic presidential election and the financial meltdown, but the stories we were drawn to included a father's searing portrait of his daughter's sudden madness, a vivid history of an even more chaotic political era, and two thrilling new novels that find Shakespearean echoes in the most American of stories. And our editors' pick as the best book of the year, Philip Hensher's brilliantly imagined novel, The Northern Clemency, took us inside the ordinary and extraordinary lives of two families in Sheffield, England, a place we knew little about but now feel we know intimately.
You'll find many more great books for readers of all ages and interests in our top 100 editors' and customers' lists, as well as our year-end top 10s in dozens of categories, including two new lists this year: our favorite book videos and covers of the year.
Our top 100 customer favorites are ranked according to customer orders on Amazon.com through October. (Only books published for the first time in 2008 are eligible.) The list starts with these bestsellers:
We've put our top 10 editors' category picks side-by-side with the bestselling new books in those categories during 2008. Follow the link to either list and then, when you're there, click over to the other to compare.
You know we loved the books in our Editors' Top 100. But what did other readers think? Check out the favorable and critical customer reviews for our top 10 books that other customers rated "most helpful" and decide for yourself what's the best book for you. (And then write your own review!):
2008 was the year when every author was suddenly told, "We need you to do a video for your book." And they're getting the hang of it: here are our favorites among the hundreds of videos we've added to our book pages this year (you can also watch them in rotation below):
Books will always inspire discussion and debate, but some titles take things to a whole other level. With five-star and one-star ratings comprising over 65% of the total review count, our most polarizing books of 2008 drew very distinct battle lines with Amazon customers this year. Take a look and decide what side of the coin you're on.
The Best Books of 2008 on Your Kindle
With over 240,000 books available for immediate download on the Amazon Kindle 2, it's no surprise that most of our top 100 editors' picks and customer favorites (over three-quarters, in fact) are available for your Kindle. See our list of the Kindle-ready editors' picks and customer favorites.
Welcome to the Best Books of 2008. The big news of the year may have been the endlessly dramatic presidential election and the financial meltdown, but the stories we were drawn to included a 
You know we loved the books in our 
