B&N Gift Giving Top Ten Books for 2012

*Barnes and Nobel - Our Top Ten Gifts - Books

Mastering the Art of French Cooking 2-Volume Boxed Set
by Julia Child
Before celebrity chefs like Emeril and Nigella came onto the culinary scene, Julia Child was teaching America how to flambé. Complete with satin ribbon markers, this deluxe, limited edition, slipcased set of her two-volume magnum opus, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, will make a perfect gift for all the francophiles on your gift list.

The Confession
by John Grisham
An innocent man is facing execution for a murder he didn't commit. The one man who knows he didn't do it -- the murderer himself -- is now at death's door himself and ready to fess up, but will anyone believe him? Invoking the famous paradox of the liar, Grisham spins a riveting legal thriller around that ancient question.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (the Book)
by Jon Stewart
The premise of this wonderful new Jon Stewart production is that time is running out for the human race. After we've destroyed ourselves, there will be questions. Who were we? Where did we come from? What did we do? Who better to explain it than the irreverent and witty Jon Stewart and his team of elfin writers from The Daily Show?

Cleopatra
by Stacy Schiff
Looking for a role model? How about Cleopatra? In Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Stacy Schiff's hands, we see not just the much-mythologized seductress of legend but also the highly educated and shrewdly competent monarch whose reign forever changed the ancient world. To quote Tracy Kidder, "Schiff has done what only the best writers can do: she has made the world new, again."

Star Wars Year by Year
by Lucy Dowling
An unprecedented event in Star Wars history, this hefty coffee table book presents all four decades in a fully illustrated year-by-year format, using material from the movies, novels, comic books, collectible merchandise, and computer games. It's a must for the ultimate Star Wars fan and a great intro for newcomers to that galaxy far, far away.

The Elements
by Theodore Gray
Did you imagine that you'd ever be able to "see" oxygen? It turns out you can; at -183 C, oxygen turns from a colorless gas to a beautiful pale blue liquid. Representing each of the 118 elements that make up our universe, this visually stunning, fact-filled volume (and companion DVD) makes a perfect gift for the naturally curious on your gift list.

Autobiography of Mark Twain
by Mark Twain
Find out what the great American novelist, raconteur, and wit really thought about his life and times in this uncensored autobiography he insisted not be issued until a full century after his death in 1910. The first of a planned three volumes collected by the Mark Twain Project,Autobiography of Mark Twain is the literary event of the season.

Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy Deluxe Boxed Set
by Stieg Larsson
The perfect collectible for the Stieg Larsson fan -- and the ideal gift for those who have yet to meet his heroine, Lisbeth Salander -- this deluxe boxed set includes: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, along with a previously unpublished collection of essays about the author.

Simpsons World The Ultimate Episode Guide
by Matt Groening
The ultimate episode guide to all 20 seasons of The Simpsons is here -- complete with 128 new gut-busting episodes never before covered, quotes and quips from all your favorite characters, and much more. Packaged in the ultimate wraparound slipcase and weighing in at a hefty 8.8 pounds, Simpsons World is meant for reading, not throwing!

DC Comics Year by Year
by Daniel Wallace
For more than 70 years, DC Comics has been entertaining children and adults alike. Now, with this elegant slipcased year-by-year chronicle, readers will have a chance to revisit their favorite characters -- Superman, Batman, and more -- and to meet the geniuses who invented them. It is the quintessential gift for comic book collectors, as well as for historians curious about how world events filtered into pop culture.

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