Gone Girl By Gillian Flynn And No Easy Day By Mark Owen Make Bookspan's Book Clubs List Of Top 12 Books Of 2012

NEW YORK, Dec. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bookspan, the largest direct-to-consumer distributor of media products in the United States, and home to 22 books clubs including Doubleday Book Club®, The Good Cook® and History Book Club®, is pleased to announce the top 12 books of 2012 as selected by their distinguished book club editors.  The list includes...

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn selected by Christine Zika, Editor-in-Chief, The Literary Guild® – This breakthrough novel for award winner author Flynn is an edge-of-the-seat thriller.  It dissects the dysfunction of a marriage that seems perfect on the outside...but is rotten underneath.

No Easy Day by Mark Owen (with Kevin Mauer) selected by Tyshon Rogers, Editor, Military Book Club® – A first person account of the mission to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. At its core, it reveals intimate details of Operation Neptune Spear that only someone on the ground would know.

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe selected by Deborah Sinclaire, Editor-in- Chief, Book-of-the-Month Club® – One of the most soulful, inspirational and uplifting books of the year.  You'll finish it with a tear, a smile and a promise to read as many books as you can.

Theodore Boone: The Accused by John Grisham selected by Desmond Campbell, Editor, Children's Book-of-the-Month Club® – A legal thriller for kids in which a thirteen-year-old lawyer discovers the truth about his best friend's abduction.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman selected by Jennifer Hufford, Editor-in-Chief, Doubleday Book Club – It's no wonder our editors chose this as a National Blue Ribbon recipient this year.  A beautiful, complex debut novel that evokes a rare combination of emotion, impact, and timelessness.

The Whitney I Knew by BeBe Winans selected by Carol M. Mackey, Editor-in-Chief, Black Expressions Book Club® – A close and personal look at superstar Whitney Houston and her friendship with dear friend and gospel royalty, BeBe Winans. A touching and moving tribute to the late singer.

Bared to You by Sylvia Day selected by Christine Zika, Editor-in-Chief, Rhapsody Book Club® – Bared to You has everything a romance novel should: tormented brooding Alpha-male hero, a sympathetic heroine, strong chemistry, steamy love scenes and larger than life emotion.

The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Cheryl and Griffith Day selected by Beth Goehring, Editor-in-Chief, The Good Cook – The Back in The Day bakery owners generously re-craft their best recipes for home bakers and tell a heartwarming story of creating a community around their delicious riffs on the food we grew up loving.

The Parasol Protectorate Volume 2 by Gail Carriger selected by Rome Quezada, Senior Editor, Science Fiction Book Club® – Ms. Carriger's novel about vampires and werewolves arms her main character, Alexia Tarabotti with rapier wit as she leads a band of supernatural creatures, politicians and actors on a very merry chase.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo selected by Michael Connor, Senior Editor, Quality Paperback Book Club® – Boo's narrative of life in Mumbai's shanty towns is as gripping and page-turning as any thriller, and knowing there are real lives on the line gives the book an emotional immediacy.  You'll be moved, angered and entertained by this well-written memoir.

The Monks and Me: How 40 Days in the Thich Nhat Hanh's French Monastery Guided Me Home by Mary Paterson selected by Kristine Pidkameny, Editor-in-Chief, One Spirit® – This wonderfully honest and often humorous chronicle is about finding a true home within ourselves.  Life changing and inspiring, it will touch your heart.

The Passage of Power by Robert A. Caro selected by Joseph Craig, Editor-in-Chief, History Book Club – The latest installment of Robert Caro's multi-volume biography on Lyndon Johnson, it covers the pivotal years of 1958 to 1964 in Johnson's political life, from the heights of the Senate to the nadir of the vice presidency to the assumption of the Oval Office following JFK's assassination.

Bookspan, together with its sister company Direct Brands, Inc., is the largest direct-to-consumer distributor of media products in the United States.  It is the parent company of 24 multi-platform businesses including iconic brands such as Book-of-the-Month Club, Doubleday Book Club and Columbia House®.  Bookspan is also the parent of cultural and lifestyle retail communities such as Black Expressions Book Club, Science Fiction Book Club, Quality Paperback Book Club and One Spirit.  Members of each of these clubs can purchase from catalogs and websites tailored to their entertainment preferences. http://directbrands.com

SOURCE Bookspan