From the esteemed publishing houses that appear to glide effortlessly through the world’s troubled waters like the majestic Queen Mary 2, to the little upstarts barely seen from decks on high, tough little boats working hard, very hard to stay afloat, PopMatters staff has enjoyed a fleet of books published in 2012. Their authors are both brave and brash enough to write at such length and depth, even though few will attain little more reward than the proverbial rubber dinghy tossed their way, if you will, where they will bob upon the waves of the seemingly endless maelstrom that is the modern economy. The titles we’ve chosen to highlight – but a fraction of the English language literary world’s generous offerings — may be first run, paperbacks or reprints published in 2012. Their mention may even disagree with a review we published earlier in the year. Such is the joy of literature in its many, varied forms, and such is the enthusiasm of PopMatters writers that implore you, dear reader, from these electronic pages of ours, Trust us, you’ll love this.