Nisi Shawl
[isbn]
Wahingtonian Nisi Shawl is a veteran speculative fiction writer and multi-award winner and nominee for her short fiction. Her work and teaching career have long focused on diversifying the speculative fiction community and canon, and on the ways sci-fi and fantasy writing can be used to address colonialism, globalization, sexism, and racial inequality. New Suns continues with these themes, focusing on the experience of otherness and... (read more)
Recommended by Rhianna W.
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Amina Cain
[isbn]
Your attention will be captured from the very first sentence as you are introduced to our mysterious and engaging narrator, who longs to write. It's a book about choices and finding fulfillment. Written in hauntingly quiet and elegant prose, this deceptively slender book is my book find of the year to date!
Recommended by Sheila N.
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Edna OBrien
[isbn]
Completely gut-wrenching, Edna O'Brien's stark yet vivid prose detailing the horrors that our young narrator experiences will stay with you a very long time, as will the anger it inspires. Also well worth reading: Our Bodies, Their Battlefields: War Through the Lives of Women by Christina Lamb.
Recommended by Sheila N.
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Rebecca Watson
[isbn]
One day. Every thought, every observation, every suppression of a particular niggling memory and all the tiny magnified moments that make up that day (and that unbidden memory). Far from being gimmicky, Watson’s experimental prose proves an extremely effective way of portraying, from the inside, the aftermath of betrayal and violation. I was awed by the emotional honesty and compulsive poetry of this slim foreboding novel, and left both... (read more)
Recommended by Lori M.
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Adeline Dieudonne, Roland Glasser
[isbn]
A young girl grows up surrounded by violence and terror. Her only solace is figuring out how to help her beloved younger brother after a terrible accident upends their lives. Our unnamed heroine is intelligent, resourceful, and fiercely independent, and the first half of the book reminded me of Swamplandia! But the second half is like nothing I've ever read before. This dark, feminist thrill ride has stayed with me for months, and is... (read more)
Recommended by Amy W.
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Margaret Atwood
[isbn]
I discovered Margaret Atwood’s poetry in the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore in Chicago, and six years later my best friend was reading “Variations on the Word Sleep” at my wedding. If you love Atwood’s imaginative and incisive novels, her ability to channel those gifts into the discipline of poetry will transport you.
Recommended by Rhianna W.
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Ernest Cline
[isbn]
Let’s face it: We all could use a nostalgia machine right now. Cline’s Ready Player Two is here to whisk you back into the riddle-riddled world of Oasis for a story of wit, trivia, and one-on-one combat.
Recommended by Matt K.
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Yaa Gyasi
[isbn]
Transcendent Kingdom is a searching, intimate novel about so many issues: race and the immigrant experience, the twin scourges of addiction and depression and our society's failure to grapple with them, the power and the limitations of religious faith and of scientific inquiry, and how we cope with profound loss and grief. This is a moving, urgent story, and I couldn't put it down.
Recommended by Tim B.
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Karen Russell
[isbn]
This is a deeply unsettling novella that makes for particularly foreboding reading during our current pandemic. Sleep Donation was first published in 2014, but from the view point of 2020, it reads less like an imagined dystopia and more like a thinly veiled rebuke of late-stage capitalism, corruption, exploitation, and the federal pandemic response.
Recommended by Emily B.
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Maaza Mengiste
[isbn]
From its first beautiful sentence — “She does not want to remember but she is here and memory is gathering bones” — Maaza Mengiste’s magisterial The Shadow King drew me into the stark, dusty sweep of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Drenched in the blazing light of near-equatorial Africa , a light that feels almost omniscient as it slants through the narrative, the novel focuses most closely on a female servant named Hirut who becomes a... (read more)
Recommended by Rhianna W.
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Hiroko Oyamada and David Boyd
[isbn]
Three workers get jobs in a sprawling Japanese factory that is a society unto itself. A paper shredder, a proofreader, and a biologist — their jobs so mundane and pointless as to be suspicious. Oyamada's world of the factory is a unique blend of painfully ordinary and fantastical. What could so easily have become Kafkaesque or literary horror remains a subtle, yet surreal commentary on capitalist Japanese culture. I found its understated... (read more)
Recommended by Amy W.
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Alison Bechdel
[isbn]
Before Fun Home and Are You My Mother?, this brilliant creator brought us the long-running, hilarious, insightful, and heartbreaking comic strip, "Dykes to Watch Out For." My all-time favorite soap opera in cartoon form.
Recommended by Doug C.
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Yuval Noah Harari
[isbn]
There are a lot of choices in evolutionary science titles, and I personally feel it can get a bit overwhelming. When Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens came out a few years ago, it really brought evolutionary science to the masses. Thoughtful, engaging writing that is accessible, even to the non-science-y folks. With The Birth of Human Kind (Sapiens #1), we can see Harari's work brought to life in captivating illustrations, further encouraging... (read more)
Recommended by Corie K-B.
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Kate Baer
[isbn]
Poetry is difficult for me. I like poetry, and I don't like it. It's not uncommon for me to find a book of poetry so lifeless that I put the poems down and never return to the words. Kate Baer has a different effect on me. Her relatable prose can hit me hard. Is this her life she's writing about, or is it mine? Her first book, What Kind of Woman: Poems, focuses on all things female: friendships, dating, marriage, motherhood, and life.... (read more)
Recommended by Corie K-B.
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James Lee Burke
[isbn]
Nobody can bring the sights and flavors of Louisiana to mind quite like James Lee Burke. The incredibly steadfast Detective Robicheaux will guide us through another mystery, but this particular novel contains quite a bit of the supernatural. There is always a little something for everyone in James Lee Burke's novels, and I suspect this one will bring a few more followers to the fold.
Recommended by Corie K-B.
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Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris
[isbn]
The calmness of nature poetry combined with beautiful watercolor artistry makes for a delightful combination. I find myself staring at the few sample copies provided, and yearning for more. I'm bookmarking this title as my go-to gift for all my fellow nature lovers.
Recommended by Corie K-B.
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Tana French
[isbn]
Tana French's latest is set in a small Irish village and features a retired Chicago cop. It's richly atmospheric. Like all French's work, it is dark and utterly compelling.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Rebecca Roanhorse
[isbn]
The first of a trilogy based on ancient Aztec and Mayan mythology, Roanhorse has created a marvel of world-building and populated it with fascinating, fantastical characters. I loved the hard drinking, mermaid sea captain. This wonderful read left me anxiously waiting for the rest of the story.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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V E Schwab
[isbn]
I rarely read fantasy, but this story pulled me compulsively through all 600 pages, from France in the 1700s to current day NYC. Addie LaRue makes a deal with "darkness" for immortality, only the catch is that no one will remember her once she is out of sight. This makes Addie's 300-year adventure a fascinating challenge and a great tale of choosing life despite crippling loneliness, forging a career as an artistic muse, outwitting the "dark,"... (read more)
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Elena Ferrante and Ann Goldstein
[isbn]
Based on my love for Ferrante's Neopolitan Quartet, I'm waiting impatiently for this new offering. Again set in Naples, featuring class struggle and a young woman's coming-of-age, this promises to be classic Ferrante.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Anthony Horowitz
[isbn]
Horowitz returns to the wonderful characters from Magpie Murders and revisits the book-within-a-book plotting device. It works again, brilliantly, in this bright, modern homage to Agatha Christie.
Recommended by Kathi K.
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Allie Brosh
[isbn]
Allie Brosh fans have been waiting 100 years for this book to be ready. I just know it will be funny, tragic, awkward, and totally relatable.
Recommended by McKenzie W.
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Alyssa Cole
[isbn]
It doesn't sound very sexy to call How to Catch a Queen the perfect romance for 2020, but honestly this is the exactly right book for the world right now. Our heroine is an activist and feminist who agrees to marry the king of a failing kingdom in order to bring positive change to his small country and the people who live there. This story proves that a quiet voice can still be powerful, that ignorance is not a valid excuse, and that you... (read more)
Recommended by McKenzie W.
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Madeline Miller
[isbn]
Madeline Miller is quickly making herself the present-day star of rewriting ancient mythology, and in Circe she tackles the age-old conundrum of the gods' preoccupation with mortals. Focusing in on the lesser goddess Circe, Miller paints an epic portrait of a sorceress who tries to understand humankind. Written in engaging and approachable prose, readers aren't required to be fans of mythology to enjoy the book. Nevertheless, the story... (read more)
Recommended by Alex Y.
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Amy Hempel
[isbn]
In Sing to It, stories told in just a handful of spare paragraphs glint like small precious stones, while others fill page after page with uncommonly brilliant prose, throwing the lid back on the treasure chest. This remarkable collection — Hempel's first in over a decade — was every bit worth the wait.
Recommended by Tove H.
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Patti Smith
[isbn]
I'm not the type to underline passages, but this book tested my resolve. A poetic, ruminative dream of a book, Year of the Monkey chronicles a difficult year in a mesmerizing and unpredictable way. Everything Smith writes feels like a gift, and this is no exception.
Recommended by Tove H.
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Neil Gaiman
[isbn]
Appreciated as one of the greatest graphic novel series of all time, The Sandman is Neil Gaiman's first foray into the medium. Working with a wide array of characters, Gaiman breathes new life into biblical figures, American superheroes, Greek and Norse gods, Roman politicos, and so much more. This vast and layered series follows the seemingly innocuous Sandman and asserts his place in mythology, delighting readers for over two decades.
Recommended by Alex Y.
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Akira Himekawa
[isbn]
Zelda enthusiasts will be thrilled to know they can relive the adventure through a beautifully illustrated manga, now with both parts complete in one volume. Ocarina of Time is one of the best installments of the Zelda series, and with this translation to text, none of the Hyrulian magic is left behind. Perfect for die-hard Zelda fans, or the fantasy manga lover in your life.
Recommended by Alex Y.
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Greg Rucka
[isbn]
Rucka is the cocreator and writer of a long list of great comics, graphic novels, and thrillers. He brought us the series Stumptown, set in a very real and current Portland, and the new Netflix hit, The Old Guard. This is my superhero pick of the season, but there's not much of the costumed kind here.
Recommended by Doug C.
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Alyssa Cole
[isbn]
The publisher describes this as Rear Window meets Get Out. The heartbreak of your lifelong neighborhood being lost to gentrification turns to fear, paranoia, and wonder. What is happening to all those people who moved out of the neighborhood? I can't wait to find out.
Recommended by Doug C.
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Helen MacDonald
[isbn]
Helen MacDonald returns with an essay collection centered on our relationship to the world around us. Whether she’s discussing migration patterns, mushroom hunting, or returning to her childhood stomping grounds, MacDonald paints an eloquent and illuminating portrayal of the natural world.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Raven Leilani
[isbn]
A dark, literary, funny, impossible-to-put-down book, Luster is centered on 23-year-old Edie. The novel covers a period of her life intersecting with a much older lover, his wife, and their adopted teenage daughter. In phenomenal prose (Edie's descriptions and observations about the world are impeccable), Raven Leilani has captured complex, intimate ways that people help and hurt each other, the drudgery of modern workplaces and the gig... (read more)
Recommended by Michelle C.
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Emma Donoghue
[isbn]
Emma Donoghue's luminous story of three days in an Irish maternity ward at the height of the Great Flu is a tale of death and life, of history, of feminism, of determination, of all kinds of love, painted in gorgeous prose that at times made me stop to copy down passages — not just because of their beauty but because of the heart-in-the-throat feeling of being reminded that, in the midst of such brutal reality, can be stunning moments of joy.
Recommended by Gigi L.
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Aysegul Savas
[isbn]
Walking on the Ceiling is a beguiling novel about memories — how tricky they are and how they can affect one's perception — and loss. It's also a book about the fragility of relationships. Aysegul Savas's haunting and powerful debut is a treat not to be missed.
Recommended by Sheila N.
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Jo Nesbo
[isbn]
Here is a standalone thriller from the master of Scandinavian dark mysteries. I'll make sure to read this with the lights on. Sure glad I don't live in Norway!
Recommended by Doug C.
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John Banville
[isbn]
This traditional mystery threatens to become much more. It's the 1950s in Ireland, and the Catholic Church stands against any truth the police might uncover in the untimely murder of a priest.
Recommended by Doug C.
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Joy Harjo and Leanne Howe and Jennifer Foerster
[isbn]
Spanning centuries and containing poems from more than 90 tribal nations, this anthology is divided into five geographic regions, each introduced with an essay. United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo has compiled a rich and varied tapestry for readers to enjoy for years to come.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
[isbn]
This riveting, tautly written novel tells the parallel stories of Josephine, who escapes slavery to become a successful farmer, and her fifth-generation descendant, Ava, both of whom find themselves in the clutches of dangerous white women. The Revisioners illustrates how alive the connections between our past and our present remain, while delivering an intriguing cast of characters and suspenseful plot that make this book difficult to... (read more)
Recommended by Matt K.
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S Jae Jones
[isbn]
A darkly fantastical mix of Goblin King mythology, romance, family drama, and baroque music. Wintersong is all things lush and gorgeous and breathtaking. This book filled the place in my heart left by Labyrinth.
Recommended by Joanna S.
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Jonathan Bate
[isbn]
It's the 250th anniversary of William Wordsworth's birth and we've been inundated with books and programs about him and the influence he wielded. I spent the first two weeks of the Covid-19 lockdown listening to BBC podcasts, reacquainting myself with his poetry, and immersing myself in Jonathan Bate's rousing new biography on Wordsworth. Although this is not a comprehensive work — for example, Bate does not dwell very much on Wordsworth's later... (read more)
Recommended by Sheila N.
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J M Coetzee
[isbn]
Waiting for the Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee is a meaty allegory written during the time of apartheid in South Africa. Although quite short, ugly truths of oppression fill the novel and unfortunately reveal similarities between the oppression of apartheid in South Africa and the systemic racism in America. Perhaps the novel's brevity is why it is read 40 years after its initial publication, and I can think of no better time to... (read more)
Recommended by Alex Y.
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Vanessa Veselka
[isbn]
Vanessa Veselka is a keen observer of the world and a powerhouse storyteller, and you can't help but fall in love with sisters Livy and Cheyenne. The Great Offshore Grounds is a gritty but luminous epic, beautifully cerebral, a deeply real story with touches of surrealism, loads of dark humor, and loads of heart.
Recommended by Gigi L.
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Megha Majumdar
[isbn]
An accused terrorist, an aspiring actress, and a P.E. teacher... Three narratives so incongruous they could serve as the setup for a joke instead intertwine to form this compelling literary debut. With powerful (and timely) social commentary, empathetic character development, and a propulsive plot, A Burning does not disappoint. I held out hope for every hopeless character, and marveled at Majumdar’s skill — I can’t wait to see what else... (read more)
Recommended by Tove H.
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Ayad Akhtar
[isbn]
Homeland Elegies delves powerfully into the experiences of Muslim Americans, delivering a scathing portrait of America as a pecuniary hell devoid of the compassion or imagination necessary to achieve multiracial equality. It is also an intimate work of autofiction, and Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar hides little in his exploration of his parents’ marriage and flaws and of his own uneasy relationship with his Pakistani and American... (read more)
Recommended by Rhianna W.
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Joyce Carol Oates
[isbn]
Another wonderful novel from Joyce Carol Oates filled with spectacular characters (even if I really didn't like quite a few of them). The book opens with an all-too-familiar police brutality scene which permeates the family drama to follow for the next 700-plus pages. Oates brings the reader into every member of the family. Not once did I feel this book was too long. The 82-year-old author not only shows no signs of slowing, but she also has a... (read more)
Recommended by Jeffrey J.
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Madeleine St John
[isbn]
I discovered this novel because of Hilary Mantel, and she's quite right to categorize Madeline St. John's delightful novel as a gift that cheers the reader up. It's a perfectly joyous book, written with wit and charm. Sadly, Madeline St. John only wrote four novels and they are not easy to track down, so hang on to them if you manage to find them!
Recommended by Sheila N.
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Hendrik Groen, Hester Velmans
[isbn]
If you've ever been curious about how life continues for your elderly relatives in an extended care facility, Hendrik Groen is just the person to shed some light. He is quite frank about his fears and anxieties concerning the health and well-being of himself and his friends as they age, but there is a prominently positive air to the whole tale. I found myself grinning from ear to ear at their antics one minute, somberly pondering my own aging in... (read more)
Recommended by Corey S.
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Matt Furie
[isbn]
Furie's comic strip follows lowbrow stoner roommates Andy, Brett, Landwolf, and Pepe as they play video games, sling catchphrases, and get high. Feels good man.
Recommended by Haley B.
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Megan Campisi
[isbn]
Campisi weaves a vicious, chilling tapestry in this novel, detailing the life of a Sin Eater in 16th-century England. Branded as untouchable and not allowed to speak aside from performing the ritual eating of sins, our young protagonist must find her voice and the truth in a world that is dead set on her silence.
Recommended by Haley B.
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Rion Amilcar Scott
[isbn]
I innocently picked up The World Doesn't Require You by Rion Amilcar Scott due to
the striking cover. Though the writing was excellent and so creative, I was not enjoying it.
The flagrant use of the N-word made me uncomfortable and at one point I had to put it
down and read a different book. This book is dense, challenging and difficult, not an easy
read. Yet very intelligent, intriguing and incredible. So glad I did finish this powerful... (read more)
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Emily St. John Mandel
[isbn]
The Glass Hotel is a haunting tale of inner demons and personal catastrophe. Fans of Station Eleven will not be disappointed, for the characters in this story are just as richly flawed and gorgeously detailed. An ethereal and dreamlike quality seeps into the pages, guiding readers through a plot that rewards them with a deeply satisfying ending. This is a contemporary ghost story unlike any other I've read.
Recommended by Alex Y.
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Lisa See
[isbn]
Lisa See’s The Island of Sea Women turns gender roles inside out as best friends Mi-ja and Young-sook, working in an all-female diving collective on the Korean island of Jeju, navigate their lives and differences across decades. See’s writing is lyrical, and the story is thoroughly engrossing in this tale of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness.
Recommended by Gigi L.
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Deborah Eisenberg
[isbn]
“Writer’s writer” is an annoying phrase — implying both commercial failure and writing that’s too good for the masses — but it’s really the best way to describe Deborah Eisenberg, whose wryly funny, language-rich short stories have been enthralling literary fiction fans for decades, and rarely get the mainstream recognition they warrant. The stories in Your Duck Is My Duck range from an artist reckoning with her patrons to a child trying... (read more)
Recommended by Lucinda G.
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Anthony Doerr
[isbn]
If you feel paralyzed by the idea of choosing just one short story collection, pick up the 2019 edition of the Best American Short Stories series instead. The beauty of this collection is that you can skip the stories that don’t immediately engage you, read stories by well-known masters of the form, and be introduced to new favorites. Edited by Anthony Doerr (All the Light We Cannot See), the 2019 anthology is a perfect fit for folks who... (read more)
Recommended by Matt K.
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Etgar Keret
[isbn]
Etgar Keret is so smart and funny that you’ll forgive him for imagining a third-term Trump administration in “Arctic Lizard,” one of the many brief satirical pieces in his new collection. From a debate between a father and son, who, watching a man teeter on a roof, can’t decide if he’s suicidal or a superhero, to a very dark story about a child Hitler clone being raised for slaughter by a Holocaust survivor, the 22 stories in Fly Already... (read more)
Recommended by Moses M.
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Jennifer Weiner
[isbn]
What better way to escape from the stresses of Covid life than sinking into a yummy beach read? Jennifer Weiner’s Big Summer is that and more, a tale of the reconnection of plus-size Instagram influencer Daphne and her old high school frenemy Drue — with a sumptuous Cape Cod wedding, a murder mystery, and loads of sexy, mayhem-y fun.
Recommended by Gigi L.
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Erica Heller
[isbn]
If you could ask for one more experience with a lost loved one, who would it be? Memoirist Erica Heller asked this question of friends and family members of a slew of fascinating subjects — from James Baldwin to Julia Child to Rod Serling to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and more and more. What follows is a wonderful array of fantasy lunches between people, a collection of richly imagined, deeply human, engagingly varied stories, including, of... (read more)
Recommended by Gigi L.
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Kent Haruf
[isbn]
When I finished Our Souls at Night, I wanted to recommend it to everyone — friends, coworkers, unsuspecting bystanders. How Haruf managed to fit such a marvelous love story into such a tiny package is baffling, but he did so masterfully, and if you'll set aside just a few hours to read it, I have no doubt you'll love it, too.
Recommended by Tove H.
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Upile Chisala
[isbn]
A Fire Like You reads like a good therapy session, addressing personal trauma head-on with gentle reminders that you are more than your past experiences. Upile Chisala writes taut and loving personal poetry, but her underlying message is plucked from our collective conscious.
Recommended by Alex Y.
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Hazel Jane Plante
[isbn]
A gorgeous ode to the life of Vivian and our author's unrequited love for her, Little Blue Encyclopedia gushes with loss and desire between trans women. This is pure tenderness in the face of struggle, about grief and the ways that we hold each other. One of the best love letters ever written.
Recommended by Cosima C.
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Megan Giddings
[isbn]
Reeling from the loss of her grandmother, and unable to provide her ailing mother with the financial and medical support she needs, Lena drops out of college and volunteers to take part in a mysterious research study. The benefits are unreal: a handsome payout; free room and board; and — most crucially — full coverage of her mother’s medical expenses. But the study’s strict nondisclosure agreement and invasive screening process are the first of... (read more)
Recommended by Tove H.
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Natalie Diaz
[isbn]
Postcolonial Love Poem is earth-bending, earth-breaking, earth band-aiding. These are the hottest basketball poems I've ever read, the hardest long night wolf poems I've ever read, the smoothest river poems that you cannot stop.
Recommended by Adie B.
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Kit Rocha
[isbn]
Solar flares have decimated the world as we know it. Devious corporations experimenting with cloning and genetics rule the higher echelons of the populace. The Mercenary Librarians are trying to keep a low profile to help their community survive and thrive. But they are about to be dealt a load of betrayals, heaped with murder, mayhem, and sexual tension. What more could you ask for in a story! GIMME the next book ASAP!!!
Recommended by Mecca A.
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Francine Prose
[isbn]
Prose writes a scathing tale that encompasses so many aspects of life, it's kind of hard to believe. It's a pleasure to watch her set fire to the entirety of academia, political correctness, sexual harassment, the ignorance of youth, infidelity, the funk of mediocrity, and the midlife crisis. A perfect gem, Prose absolutely nails this modern-day tragicomedy.
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
[isbn]
This English-language debut by Vietnamese poet Nguyen is a story of familial love, kindness, and perseverance that never loses sight of the violence, displacement, and intergenerational trauma inflicted on the Vietnamese people. Necessary own-voices reading for people, like me, who grew up learning about Vietnam only through the lens of war.
Recommended by Emily B.
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Ramiza Shamoun Koya
[isbn]
I have just begun this debut novel by Portland author Koya and am really enjoying it. Amina moves to DC to further her career and be close to her family in the years following 9/11. There, she develops a relationship with her nephew, who is fascinated by their East Indian heritage and is searching for answers. This is a well-crafted story about second-generation Americans finding their place in the world.
Recommended by Jennifer H.
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Kazuo Ishiguro
[isbn]
A perfect character study, this novel depicts Stevens at the end of his long career as a butler in postwar England. As he reflects on his service, he begins to understand things to which he was once oblivious. What else has he overlooked in his life? Ishiguro absolutely nails this exquisite study of the reckoning of a life.
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Peter Mayle
[isbn]
British author Peter Mayle and his wife make real their dream of living in the French countryside when they purchase a 200-year-old stone farmhouse. When Mayle's publisher complains about the lateness of his expected manuscripts, Mayle writes back a detailed account of the trials and indignities he faces with the upkeep of said farmhouse. That letter to his publisher eventually becomes A Year in Provence, and the book is hilarious,... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Max Porter
[isbn]
The stage is set: Author Max Porter is the Pied Piper, and you are being called. Lanny will play your heart like a flute, luring you into its song of childhood landscapes, extending nature forward into its wild, animated state. And when the tune is complete, it will have fulfilled all its promises of consequence and heartbreak, in an astounding encore of reverie.
Recommended by Aubrey W.
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Mira Jacob
[isbn]
Good Talk may initially appear a bit flat — literally so, given Mira Jacob’s decoupage drawing style — but this unfailingly perceptive and honest memoir-in-conversations will stun you with its depth. This book is humorous, moving, and raises all the right questions about parenting, race, and gender in contemporary America.
Recommended by Keith M.
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Barry Lopez
[isbn]
As someone who has broadened the notion of what it means to be both a world traveler and a profoundly curious writer, it’s no wonder that National Book Award–winning author Barry Lopez, now 74 years old and battling terminal cancer, has given us a work so expansive it can only be named Horizon. Lopez has visited more than 70 countries, and though his book is loosely divided into just six regions — from the Oregon Coast to the... (read more)
Recommended by Renee P.
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Sophia Shalmiyev
[isbn]
When I read it back in March, Mother Winter immediately popped to the top of my best books list for 2019. Portland author Sophia Shalmiyev tells her personal story of strength and perseverance with sharp honesty and vivid scenes. Any mother, feminist, artist, son or daughter, or immigrant will appreciate the gift Sophia has shared with us.
Recommended by Kim S.
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Calvin Gimpelevich
[isbn]
Effortlessly laying bare the intersections of oppression — Calvin Gimpelevich's Invasions conjures visions and possibilities that liberate even as they ache. Every story is a gem, but "Rent, Don't Sell" and "You Wouldn't Have Known" were so good they hurt: exploring gender, bodies, and minds in bold and groundbreaking ways.
Recommended by Cosima C.
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Torrey Peters
[isbn]
Some people are afraid trans people are going to destroy civilization as we know it, and here Torrey Peters brazenly responds, "So what if we did?" What would happen if we released a virus that made everyone stop producing hormones, a world where everyone gets to understand what it means to choose? Infect Your Friends and Loves Ones is the radical and deeply honest trans dystopia that rises from these seeds: a raging novella seething... (read more)
Recommended by Cosima C.
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Kai Cheng Thom
[isbn]
Author Kai Cheng Thom has a problem with the easily consumable trans narratives that cis people love so much, wherein trans people suffer through the trials and tribulations society inflicts like angelic sacrificial lambs. In her stunning Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars, she delivers us the cure. It's a memoir/not-memoir, featuring pantheons of trans goddesses as deeply complex as they are beautiful, knife fights in the name of fallen... (read more)
Recommended by Cosima C.
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Paul Murray
[isbn]
Yes, Skippy dies, but what happens next is a perfectly told tale of an Irish boys' school, which is both hilarious and horrible. Here you will find the typical types: the geek, the jock, the drug dealer, the clueless teachers, the clueless administrators, the clueless parents. Murray is a wonderful writer, and he imbues his characters with the quirks, motives, and humanity that make this a stand-out school story. One of my favorite reads of 2010.
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Lisa Kleypas
[isbn]
The last in The Ravenels series! Cassandra Ravenel and Tom Severin finally get their story, and with their fiery chemistry and emotional journey (and prioritization of consent!) it was absolutely worth the wait. Lisa Kleypas's books are the kind you can't help but read over and over again (I read Devil in Spring, uh, five times last year) and Chasing Cassandra is no exception.
Recommended by Joanna S.
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Andrzej Sapkowski
[isbn]
Season of Storms was actually published more than a decade after the other novels; and as Sapkowski has promised to never write anything set after the events of Lady of the Lake, serves as a "mid-quel" set between the events of the short stories. However, I would personally recommend reading this as the last Witcher book, being a good way to decompress from the finale. This is definitely worth a read if you have enjoyed this... (read more)
Recommended by Mike H.
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Maggie Doherty
[isbn]
A well-researched group biography of five women and their experiences at Radcliffe's Institute for Independent Study. These writers and visual artists all struggled to balance society's expectations of women with their own artistic and personal goals, and through their friendships and collaborations helped guide and inspire women for years to come.
Recommended by Adam P.
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Noah Van Sciver
[isbn]
Fante Bukowski is the self-declared creative genius most of us know much too well. In fact, he may even be us. Or at least, he may be me. I'm laughing with him, I promise, not at him. This complete collection of the Fante Bukowski comics by Noah Van Sciver is both a pain and a pleasure to read.
Recommended by Doug C.
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Diana Clarke
[isbn]
The bond between twin sisters Rose and Lily, though palpably strong — they can taste each other's emotions and feel each other's pain — is more of a tangled knot than a taut line, and as their own struggles intensify, so does the complexity of their relationship. Thin Girls is by no means a comfortable read (and readers sensitive to discussions of body image and eating disorders should take extra care), but it’s an engrossing,... (read more)
Recommended by Tove H.
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Hilary Mantel
[isbn]
Hooray, after eight years it's finally here, the last installment in the Wolf Hall trilogy. Do we already know what happens? Well, sure, it's based on a true story. But does it matter? Nope! Mantel's brilliant use of language makes history new again, and you can't help but hang on every word.
Recommended by Leah C.
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Miranda July
[isbn]
The single word to describe The First Bad Man is unforgettable. Nobody writes characters like Miranda July. Nobody. Prepare to fall in love (and fall over laughing/crying). But seriously, just read the plot description! I'm dying all over again. How do you even come up with this stuff?! And not only that, how do you write it WELL? Okay, I'm going to go read it again now, bye.
Recommended by Adie B.
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Ali Shaw
[isbn]
A modern fairy tale, this gorgeously atmospheric island love story is so unique, I've never read anything like it. Visitor Ida is slowly turning to glass and is desperate for a cure; local Midas is also desperate for a cure for Ida. The imagination with which Shaw imbues his story is just so original, it's made me hungry for everything he's ever written.
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Myla Goldberg
[isbn]
Myla Goldberg delivers a brilliant story of a woman whose life is informed almost completely by her art. Lillian spends every spare minute honing her passion for photography, and is thrilled when she gets her first show in a gallery. When photos Lillian took of her daughter are declared obscene, an arrest, a prison stint, and lawsuit after lawsuit blow Lillian's world apart — dragging her daughter along for the ride. Goldberg digs deep into the... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Lucy Foley
[isbn]
A New Year's Eve weekend at a remote lodge in Scotland is the perfect getaway for Miranda and all her old college friends. When the weather takes a turn and the friends are stuck with no way in or out, tensions flare. Yes, they were friends in college, but were they really? Is it just convenience that has the group getting together once a year? Do they even really like each other? Drinking, drugs, and isolation fan the flames of anger that strain... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Natasha Pulley
[isbn]
The Bedlam Stacks is a strange and enchanting slow-build tale that moves at the pace of its damaged protagonist. Merrick Tremayne was once a formidable adventurer and smuggler for the East India Company before an accident left him a shadow of his former self. When his old boss appears one day with an assignment that will end Merrick’s financial troubles and once again give him purpose, Merrick takes the job. There were times when I... (read more)
Recommended by Steph C.
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Wayne Koestenbaum
[isbn]
Wayne Koestenbaum’s deep and wide knowledge of art and literature, his respect for sentences and punctuation, and his passion for ambiguity of form and function make these febrile essays a joy to read. With the exercises he suggests, and using his ecstatic influence as a guide, we can puzzle through our need for answers in writing, and find a new consciousness — like seeing our hometowns from above for the first time.
Recommended by Adam P.
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A M Homes
[isbn]
Homes is a master of the short story collection, and she has a keen eye for everyday minutia, which she is somehow able to mine for meaning. With an eye to domestic drama, Homes serves up one stellar story after another, but don't stop at her short story collections — her novels are sublime!
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Cho Nam Joo, Jamie Chang
[isbn]
Offering both a window into a unique culture, and a universal call to arms, this novel follows a millennial Korean everywoman as she experiences the impacts of institutional sexism, rigidly gendered social roles, and casual misogyny. The effects on her are both sadly predictable and utterly unexpected.
Recommended by Keith M.
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Lily King
[isbn]
This is the exact book you need right now. Casey is 31 years old, deeply in debt, and splitting her time between waitressing and working on her novel. Her mother recently died, and she grieves her way into an accidental love triangle. Lily King has perfectly captured holding onto a creative practice while juggling the expectations and narrowing constraints of an adult life.
Recommended by Michelle C.
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Louise Erdrich
[isbn]
Even within Erdrich's superlative body of work, her newest, a tribute to her grandfather, truly shines. This book is perfect in every way — the characters, tone, pacing, and the WRITING... swoon! Her creativity and mastery of language are on full display, and it's mind-blowing. I loved every second of reading this!
Recommended by Leah C.
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Kawai Strong Washburn
[isbn]
I admit, the gorgeous cover on this one drew me in and I’m so glad it did. The Flores family is struggling to survive in Hawaii even as one of the kids has a gift from the gods. All three kids end up moving to the mainland to try to find a better life, but can’t seem to shake the hold the island has on them. This book is beautiful, heartbreaking, and I can’t stop thinking about it.
Recommended by Jennifer H.
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James McBride
[isbn]
Here is an ensemble of characters so ripe and joyfully alive in the tumescence of their maladies, carried out in a rare, ornamental fashion that only a master writer can pull off. In Deacon King Kong, James McBride invites you into a story that has always existed — the carnival of the tragedy of life — then steps aside, acting as a guide to reveal axioms of wisdom within the frolic. It is an understatement to call this novel a nonpareil... (read more)
Recommended by Aubrey W.
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Andrew X. Pham
[isbn]
Gritty and emotional, this travelogue/immigration tale had me transfixed. Pham skillfully narrates his family's story both settling in the US and in leaving war-torn Vietnam. His bicycle tour through 1990s Vietnam is a fantastic (and scary!) experience no tourist could have while he seeks a deeper understanding of "home."
Recommended by Ruth J.
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Hester Fox
[isbn]
The Witch of Willow Hall is a well-written, old-fashioned ghostly suspense tale made all the more enjoyable by a slow-build romance that doesn’t overtake the plot but only deepens it. A strong, smart protagonist with believable flaws, buried secrets, sisterly rivalry, lies and tragedy, all set in the misty countryside of colonial New England, had me devouring pages long after my bedtime.
Recommended by Steph C.
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Dasa Drndic, Celia Hawkesworth
[isbn]
With Belladonna, the late Croatian maestro Drndic forces us to hold our gaze again and again at the interminable horrors of the 20th century. The first in a trilogy that forms one of the masterworks of the decade.
Recommended by Adie B.
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Silvina Ocampo, Suzanne Jill Levine, Jessica Powell
[isbn]
Thanks to City Lights, the only novel written by the author that Borges called "one of our best" is finally available in English translation. Ocampo shows us the self as a spiraling cavern lined with the mirrors of other people. It's a terrifyingly beautiful and perfectly confounding sight.
Recommended by Adie B.
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Stewart ONan
[isbn]
All of the knights of the round table cannot match the nobility and honor displayed by Manny, the manager of a Red Lobster in suburban Massachusetts slated to close the next day. A deeply felt novel about the meaning of even the most seemly meaningless jobs, and the best novel about work that I've read in years.
Recommended by Eva F.
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Charlie Mackesy
[isbn]
This book is beautiful, kind, and sweet. The sentiment is inspiring and the drawings full of simple perfection invite the eye to linger on each page. This is the perfect book for a lazy day and a blanket, or a quick escape to lighten your mood and lift your spirit.
Recommended by Steph C.
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