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The author's previous book, The Factory, was so strange and interesting, plus it's another slim volume that's so easy to carry around. — Jennifer K.

I’m really excited to read the final installment in The Wizards of Once series, Once, Never, and Forever by Cressida Cowell. The first three books in this middle grade series became a family read-aloud that helped us get through the early days of the pandemic. It’s a well-written fantasy that explores the nuances of good and evil and how preconceived notions of what certain groups of people “should” be like damage us all. Cowell goes deep with her characters while still managing to balance things out with lots of fast-paced action and a hearty dose of humor. I can’t wait to cozy up with the kids and devour this one! — April C.

Geoff Dyer's brilliant mind is one that I'm endlessly interested in probing. His book See/Saw will be no exception as he continues the conversation about photography and the ways in which it changes our perspectives and influences our lives. Carrying on a tradition started many years ago by critics like John Berger, Roland Barthes, and Susan Sontag, Dyer promises to turn his sharp critical eye towards recorded images and their effect on society and culture at large. — Eric L.

I had so much fun in P. Djèlí Clark’s alt-Cairo universe, which he introduced in two short novellas, The Haunting of Tram Car 015 and A Dead Djinn in Cairo, that I was overjoyed to find out that there was a full-length novel in the works. Agent Fatma is back with her colleagues from the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities for another case full of murders and magical mischief. Bring on the Djinn! — Mecca A.

I recently read a wonderful story by this author in The New Yorker so I'd like to check out one of his novels, starting with this one, which moves into the mystical and features Coyote. — Jennifer K.

I plan to reread Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier in 2021. As a teenager, I was completely taken by the gothic aspect of the novel, my sympathies with the unnamed narrator. A few months ago, just before the release of the new dramatization of Rebecca was released, I read an interesting book review, where the reviewer found the narrator to be sly and manipulative. I'm curious to know why the reviewer thought so and will reread Rebecca with pleasure. — Sheila N.

I am absolutely going to read Ishiguro's Karla and the Sun in 2021. Ishiguro is a master writer, winning countless awards including the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2017, and Never Let Me Go (2005) remains one of my all-time favorite books. — Kim S.

There are always new voices to be introduced to, so I often find it hard to fit in returning to the same authors within my reading list. When it comes to Kazuo Ishiguro, well, I have to bend the rules. He is among the select writers that I’ll set anything else aside for in order to give him my front-and-center attention. His stories fill my whole being with warmth, sorrow, and hope (all at once), and you can bet I’m going to read his new novel, Klara and the Sun, the moment I get my hands on it. — Aubrey W.

It's been said that Stacey Abrams's persistence in increasing voter turnout and fighting voter suppression in Georgia is why Biden was able to flip the state in the recent election. I want to learn more about this fascinating and determined person, because it seems like she's going to be a leading public figure for a long time to come. — Chip G.

The Poppy War Trilogy
by R. F. Kuang

The series I really want to read in 2021 is The Poppy War trilogy by R. F. Kuang. I've been waiting for the whole trilogy to come out before reading because I know I'm going to plow through them. I've heard it's got everything I love in fantasy — great world-building, an academic setting, and lots of trials and tribulations. Can't wait to get started! — Brenna M.

I'm excited to read this novel about the experience of aging women in all its fabulous messiness. — Jennifer K.

I'll be beginning 2021 with The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It's been on my nightstand for a few months, waiting patiently for me while I've been preoccupied with a life that feels more important than reading in our ever-changing present. Still, it waits, wonderful and hopeful. It will be an amazing story to immerse myself in at the new year. — Anna A.

The author of the strikingly prophetic American War returns in 2021, this time turning his exquisite storytelling attention to the desperate journey of refugees fleeing the violence of their homelands in What Strange Paradise. Omar El Akkad’s debut novel was easily one of the best books I’ve read in the past decade, remarkable for its piercing observation of the fault lines that divide America. I cannot wait to read what he has in store for us next. — Mary S.

The legacy of empire and imperialism is very au courant in Europe right now. Tim Harper's comprehensive study looks at the history of Asian revolutionaries between the years of 1905 and 1927 and argues that while imperialism did foster globalism, it also allowed the anti-colonial activists to establish links with each other throughout the empire. It makes the perfect complement to Maoism: A Global History by Julia Lovell. — Sheila N.

As a historical fiction fan, this story has so many elements that are really exciting for me — dirty, 18th-century London, women poisoning their abusers, and centuries-old secrets that are just waiting to be discovered. The first novel from Sarah Penner promises to pack a lot of plot and atmosphere into a deftly woven tale! — Nicole L.

I read Master of the Senate in 2020 and was amazed a 1,000+ page book on a man’s years as a U.S. Senator could be so riveting. I’ve now read Caro’s three previous books on Lyndon Johnson, each better than the one before it, so obviously, I’m very excited to get to The Passage of Power. — Jeff J.

In her forthcoming new book, Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future — the first since winning the Pulitzer Prize for The Sixth Extinction — Elizabeth Kolbert looks to offer more of her shrewd, incisive reporting on the Anthropocene. The urgency of our current climate catastrophe and the sheer beauty of Kolbert’s prose make for required, if bittersweet, reading. — Jeremy G.

I’ve been waiting for the world, and my mind, to slow down enough to sink into the languid pace of Mantel’s evocation of Tudor England, but now it’s time to force the issue. I’m longing to escape into a world that may be just as tempestuous as our own, but which is written about with such meticulous perfection that every page feels like a gift wrapped in velvet. — Rhianna W.

Just the title is a balm, and I love this culturally rich and complicated period of Spain's history. — Jennifer K.

I've been procrastinating reading Real Life because I know that I'll love it and won't want the story to be over once I start it. BUT! I'll definitely have too much FOMO with this book by 2021 that it will inevitably force my hand to turn the cover. — Rachel M.

I couldn't pick just one — the books I'm absolutely reading in 2021 are forthcoming from authors who've written some of my all-time favorites, and whom I (hopefully not creepily) love to follow on Twitter. First up is Patricia Lockwood's No One is Talking About This. I read Priestdaddy on public transportation with tears (often, but not always, of laughter) streaming down my face. Like the lead character in her new novel, I am a little too online, and sometimes struggle to accurately capture what that feels like (or means) as a human. Second is Brandon Taylor's Filthy Animals. Have you read Real Life, yet? It is perfect, and I'm preparing my aching midwestern heart for these (sure-to-be beautiful) linked stories that will surely destroy me. — Michelle C.

The book I'm most looking forward to reading in 2021 is Pity Party by Kathleen Lane. I'm a huge fan of Lane's, both her adult and children's writing. Her voice is quirky and darkly funny. When she writes for kids, you can tell she understands them deeply. Yet as a grown-up, I get as much out of her children's books as I do any (really, really... really good) book for adults. And what could be better than Lane's droll, insightful take on the twisted-up, stomach-churning, dreadfully, painfully anxiety-ridden ball that is kidhood? — Gigi L.

A posthumous collection of three novellas from the author of The Savage Detectives and 2666, Robert Bolaño’s Cowboy Graves features a couple of characters from his previous works (including Arturo Belano!). A must-read for fans of the late Chilean poet and author, especially for assorted Bolaño-philes, completists, and infrarealist devotees. — Jeremy G.

A few years ago I picked up Viet Thanh Nguyen’s extraordinary short story collection, The Refugees, and couldn’t put it down. It felt effortless yet masterful and it left me wanting more, as the best collections do. I always meant to go back and read his Pulitzer Prize-winning debut novel, The Sympathizer — over the years it’s come up repeatedly in conversations with friends, family members, and coworkers and it was even featured on Powell's list of 25 Books to Read Before You Die: 21st Century. Now, as if I needed added motivation, The Committed — which continues the story of The Sympathizer’s unnamed narrator — is set to release in March. My plan is to enjoy both books in succession. — Renee P.