Emily St. John Mandel
[isbn]
I usually veer away from post-apocalyptic fiction; reading about bleak futures and humankind's seemingly inevitable descent into gritty, animal cruelty just leaves me depressed. I'm so glad that I gave Station Eleven a chance, because unlike so many post-apocalyptic novels, it's full of hope. At the heart of this book is the assertion that art — of all kinds — is what allows us to connect to one another, and the conviction that in times... (read more)
Recommended by Madeline S.
|
Rene Denfeld
[isbn]
"This time will be different," I tell myself. "This time, I won't tear through the new Rene Denfeld book in twenty-four hours and then be sad I don't have it to look forward to anymore," I lie as I turn another page. "This time, I'll savor it," I mutter unconvincingly as I look up from my half-read book to discover day has turned to night.
Recommended by Tove H.
|
Dean Koontz
[isbn]
A supernatural thriller featuring a body-hopping killer, Koontz's What the Night Knows sequelizes the events of his novella, Darkness Under the Sun. While investigating a horrific homicide, detective John Calvino begins to note eerie similarities between the scene and that of crimes perpetrated by deceased killer Alton T. Blackwood... the man who, coincidentally, killed Calvino's family as well. What follows is a gripping... (read more)
Recommended by Shane H
|
Kirino, Natsuo
[isbn]
In Grotesque, Kirino shows off her ability to dive into the most deplorable corners of the human psyche and make readers want to stay there even as they're squirming to get away. The book showcases three different perspectives, all of which are unreliable in their own ways. As one reads, their grasp on the reality within the book becomes tenuous, and that sense of tension forms all of the unease and discomfort you could possibly want... (read more)
Recommended by Mar S.
|
Dean Koontz
[isbn]
A supernatural thriller featuring a body-hopping killer, Koontz's What the Night Knows sequelizes the events of his novella, Darkness Under the Sun. While investigating a horrific homicide, detective John Calvino begins to note eerie similarities between the scene and that of crimes perpetrated by deceased killer Alton T. Blackwood... the man who, coincidentally, killed Calvino's family as well. What follows is a gripping... (read more)
Recommended by Shane H
|
Sylvia Plath
[isbn]
This bookstore is like a fig tree. Wonderful worlds beckoning on every shelf like branches. Overwhelmed with indecision on which fig to choose? Don't let this prescient, timeless work dry up and go to waste...
Recommended by Etan L.
|
Virginia Woolf
[isbn]
This deeply poetic novel is often considered Woolf’s masterpiece. The novel itself serves as an excellent example of the complexity and diversity of topics and styles that Woolf includes throughout her work. This story begins with six children playing by the sea and discusses the light and joy in childhood and in friendship; in the very same novel, she uses these characters to show the reality of grief and sadness. Woolf did many interesting... (read more)
Recommended by Aster A.
|
Sylvia Plath
[isbn]
This book is one of my favorite works of fiction. However, stating that has earned me more than one concerned glance over the years. The thing about this book is, even sixty years after its publication, it is something that many young girls, and young people in general, still relate to. Truly the most wonderful thing about this novel is its truth and vulnerability, both of which are often the reason people turn away from it. It is meant to be... (read more)
Recommended by Aster A.
|
David Benioff
[isbn]
Fans of the Last of Us series may recognize this title as a reference point left by Neil Druckmann in the second game, and it's easy to see Benihoff's influence on Druckmann's writing. City of Thieves is a bruising escapade, whipping the reader from a joke into contemplation into tragedy moment to moment. An extremely effective rumination on survival, suffering, and the absurdity of war.
Recommended by SitaraG
|
Mary Doria Russell
[isbn]
This book absolutely dazzled me, taking a common sci-fi premise — humanity finally makes contact with alien life — and making it feel completely new. A team of scientists, anthropologists, and linguists journeys into space to meet the newly discovered extraterrestial culture. Their mission is funded by the Jesuits, but there are a range of religious beliefs, and lack thereof, among them. The vision of what the alien world would be like is... (read more)
Recommended by Claire A.
|
Stephanie Danler
[isbn]
Set in New York City, this is the book for anyone who's ever been curious about the inner life of restaurants. Or someone who is looking for delicious food and even more savory drama.
Recommended by Taylor W.
|
Karl Marlantes
[isbn]
I think Marlantes, from Oregon, has written the greatest Vietnam novel. Stark and powerful, Matterhorn is not for the squeamish and seems absolutely authentic. Absorbing and very descriptive, it puts you with our group of G.I.s, all of them "too thin, too young, and too exhausted." - Bookseller Paul S.
Recommended by Paul S.
|
Alan Bradley
[isbn]
Oh, what a charming little ditty of a mystery. Firstly, Alan Bradley has a knack for weaving words in such a precise tapestry that you feel, smell, and absorb the world he creates around you. It's so exact and precise in description, with little flourishes of sighs for gentle beauty, that you feel as if you've settled into a warm memory. Nice light prose that bubbles off the page in lyrical humor and subtle grace.
Secondly, little... (read more)
Recommended by Benvolio E.
|
Don Delillo
[isbn]
A thoroughly endearing and post-modern examination of family, consumerism, truth, and dread/death anxiety. The hilarious cast of characters' confusion about everyday events becomes increasingly relatable as you read on! Fun and good!
Recommended by Adam B.
|
Adolfo Bioy Casares
[isbn]
This intricate, sun-soaked daydream of a novel influenced classic films like The Shining and Last Year at Marienbad, and Jorge Luis Borges and Octavio Paz both called it "perfect."
Recommended by Kai B.
|
Brendan Slocumb
[isbn]
Dr. Bern Hendricks has landed his dream job, authenticating a lost manuscript by his favorite musician. While researching the piece of music by Frederick Delaney, Bern and his friend Eboni discover that the revered composer might not be the musical genius everyone believes him to be. I loved the alternating timelines, one modern and one during the jazz age, both populated with fascinating characters. As more secrets are uncovered and the drama... (read more)
Recommended by Jennifer H.
|
Chuck Palahniuk
[isbn]
My favorite Chuck Palahniuk title! A naive cult member becomes a religious icon and international celeb! A bit like Being There with an UNHINGED ending!
Recommended by Adam B.
|
Hervé Le Tellier
[isbn]
The #1 bestseller in France during the lockdown, and my favorite of that year! This dizzying, whip-smart novel blends crime, fantasy, sci-fi, and thriller all in one. The ending stunned me.
Recommended by Nan S.
|
Franz Kafka and Susan Bernofsky
[isbn]
Whether this is your first time encountering this classic story, or you haven't read it since school, Bernofsky's new translation sizzles with humor and humanity often obscured in previous renderings.
Recommended by Jubel B.
|
Benjamin Percy
[isbn]
If you're looking for very well-written escapism, this sci-fi book is for you! Debris from a comet turns a dying Minnesota town into a violent, crazed, weird, greedy boom town. Percy is a successful superhero comic writer. It shows.
Recommended by Nan S.
|
Jerzy Kosinski
[isbn]
Very good! Rated: scarring!
We've all read disturbing books but this one is burned in my mind. An abandoned child tries to survive in the depraved chaos of WWII Europe.
Recommended by Adam B.
|
Lindsay Ellis
[isbn]
An action-packed, first-contact novel from video essayist Lindsay Ellis, Axiom's Edge dispenses with "E.T. is good, if we could JUST understand them" and instead wrestles with questions of whom we can trust, whether humans or aliens. I'm eagerly awaiting the second installment in the series.
Recommended by Anne R.
|
Ursula K Le Guin
[isbn]
Patron saint of PNW scifi, Le Guin has been changing my brain chemistry since I was an undergrad and this book's no exception. Her 1971 meditation on the sinister possibilities of a world where dreams really can come true examines everything from eugenics, power, equity, and personal ethics to the nature of reality and our perceived control of it. With disturbing prescience, Le Guin urges readers to cast a wary eye towards dreams of utopia that... (read more)
Recommended by SitaraG
|
T H White
[isbn]
A brief obsession with knights, magic, and the round table led me to White's classic and it delivered on every front. His characters are hilarious, tragic, and romantic, the writing is absolutely beautiful, and his creativity breathes new life into all the old Arthurian stories and mythology. Meditative, lyrical, and so warmly written that I laughed and cried in equal measure. Best in front of a fireplace.
Recommended by SitaraG
|
John Edwar Williams
[isbn]
Reading this book is like watching your emotionally repressed dad cry. A moving portrait of a quiet academic life, Stoner left my head ringing like a struck bell for days after I put it down.
Recommended by Kai B.
|
Julia Phillips
[isbn]
Both a mystery and lyrical, character-driven exploration of a tightly-knit community on the remote Siberian peninsula Kamchatka. Each chapter is told from a different perspective — I loved how this illuminates not only the mystery of who committed the crime the book revolves around, but the mysteries of the bonds of family, community, nation, and time.
Recommended by Claire A.
|
Becky Chambers
[isbn]
Each of the four books in Chambers's Wayfarers series is remarkable, but Record of a Spaceborn Few is by far my favorite. This book is a deep reminder for me of what it means to be human, how small acts of deliberate kindness can make all the difference, and that everyone's story deserves to be told. I cried on the bus while reading this book about five different times, and there's no higher recommendation I can give.
Recommended by Anna B.
|
Vince A. Liaguno and Rena Mason
[isbn]
As a peer and self-identified "other," I ran to this book like a madman. It's hard to say I was terrified by any of the stories in this compilation because I'm too focused on the justice of an inclusive horror anthology with Big 5 traction, but that's not to say that you won't be. The stories are both feral and poised, grotesque and dazzling, highlighting Hailey Piper's "The Turning" and Tananarive Due's "Incident at Bear Creek Lodge."
Recommended by Stacy W.
|
H D Carlton
[isbn]
Please note this is a very dark romance, please check trigger warnings online. A stalker with a heart of gold and an unsolved murder mystery are only the beginning of this dark romance. Adeline, an author, moves into her grandmother's old mansion and with the discovery of a secret diary, finds she may have more in common with her ancestor than originally thought. Who was the man who stalked and loved her grandmother? What made him eventually... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren M
|
Elspeth Barker
[isbn]
Elspeth Barker is one of those rare writers whose charisma can be felt through the page. Originally released in 1991, her only novel is an enigmatic, poetic, and dark-but-humorous story that plays with genre and Gothic aesthetic. Our young heroine, Janet, is ill-fated and yet the story is not about her end; it is an illumination and a celebration of her life in spite of the end. To fans of castles, brooding landscapes, witty narrative, or the... (read more)
Recommended by Katie P
|
Samantha Shannon
[isbn]
In this quasi-medieval world, East and West are at odds — the East reveres their water dragons and their dragon riders, while the West hates all dragons after one of the wretched, fire-breathing ones nearly destroyed the world. There’s a large cast of endearing characters, but the hearts of the story are Ead, lady-in-waiting to the queen, and Tané, dragon-rider in training, both harboring dangerous secrets. The Priory of the Orange Tree... (read more)
Recommended by Carly J.
|
Neal Stephenson
[isbn]
Neal Stephenson’s books seem to either have devoted fans or vocal detractors, and Seveneves is perhaps the most polarizing book I’ve ever read! I have always enjoyed books that break the conventions of storytelling, and while I was initially shocked at where Stephenson takes Seveneves two-thirds of the way through the novel, I quickly found myself happily along for the ride. Seveneves explores what humanity will do when... (read more)
Recommended by Lesley A.
|
Ann Leckie
[isbn]
Before there was Murderbot, there was Breq, the AI protagonist of Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, which caused a genderfuss when it was first published in 2013. Breq is non-gendered and the default pronoun for much of society in that civilization is “she,” regardless of gender. Four years later, All Systems Red, the first Murderbot novella, was published. In the space of four years, awareness of gender fluidity expanded.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
|
William Gibson
[isbn]
Set in the then-present day of 2002, William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition is the work of a mind that is usually thinking ahead, but has paused to look deeply at the present. Reading it today, it’s remarkable how — although it may no longer be about the present — it remains shockingly current. Gibson foresaw — any write-up of a William Gibson novel will contain at least one sentence starting this way — that information merchants would... (read more)
Recommended by Keith M.
|
Neil Gaiman
[isbn]
In 1992, Neil Gaiman moved to America. In 2001, he released American Gods. In the 10th anniversary edition, he recollects “this strange huge place where [he] now found [himself] living” and the urge not just to understand it but also to describe it. Describe it he did. I hesitate to use the term “masterwork” in book reviewing but here no lesser word applies. American Gods is masterful. Gaiman’s ability as a storyteller and myth... (read more)
Recommended by Sarah R.
|
Vonnegut, Kurt
[isbn]
Possibly Vonnegut's most underrated work, Jailbird is my personal favorite story of his and one that deserves the same level of commendation as Slaughterhouse Five. An astonishing portrait of the true love and solidarity at the center of the American labor movement: love they neighbor, and solidarity forever.
Recommended by CJ H.
|
Gabrielle Zevin
[isbn]
Video games and their infinite potential as transgressive, powerful, artistic endeavors told through the incisive and probing medium of literary fiction? It’s about time. If you’ve ever loved an indie game, sought meaningful connection, or considered the vast possibilities of human creativity: this one’s for you.
Recommended by Sarah R.
|
Calla Henkel
[isbn]
Henkel quickly draws you into the intoxicating story Hailey and Zoe craft in the hopes of inspiring their landlord's next book. Set in Berlin in 2008, Amanda Knox is small talk and drugs are plentiful. With themes of love, sex, obsession, and ultimately murder — you won't want to put it down!
Recommended by Kyra R
|
Peter Straub
[isbn]
Unrelenting — by the end I was begging it to stop and praying that it wouldn't. Like a bad dream in all the best ways.
Recommended by Warren B.
|
Kerrigan Byrne
[isbn]
The Fiona Mahoney Mysteries will suck you into a gritty Victorian era London full of murders. After finding the brutalized body of her friend, Fiona inadvertently creates a new job for herself... cleaning up the blood from crime scenes. Now she's pulled into another mystery surrounding murdered sex workers, while still trying to seek justice for her friends' death. Surrounded by an eclectic cast of friends and foes, from Jack the Ripper to Oscar... (read more)
Recommended by Mecca A.
|
Tara Isabella Burton
[isbn]
The World Cannot Give is about longing and desire, the kind you feel so deeply that it makes your soul ache. For Laura, these emotions are painfully apparent in her obsession with famous author Webster. When she arrives at his old boarding school, her devotion shifts to fellow student Virginia Strauss. Virginia wants to be "world historical" like Webster was. Laura is willing to do anything to help her achieve that. I recommend this for... (read more)
Recommended by Charlotte S.
|
Grady Hendrix
[isbn]
Clever, clever, hair-raising, and then cleverer still, Horrorstör is one of those books that makes you feel hip when reading it. Equal parts consumerism commentary and true-to-form haunted house horror, Horrorstör is one of those books you never shut up about it. Plus it's really fun to read in public, hehe.
Recommended by Stacy W.
|
Jean Rhys
[isbn]
An uncompromising prequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Rhys explores madness and betrayal, class and culture, all told from the perspective of Brontë's mysterious "Madwoman in the Attic."
Lovers of Brontë's work will enjoy a new look into her most famous story; however, Wide Sargasso Sea works as a stand-alone novel, so don't worry if you've never read Jane Eyre.
Recommended by Nickolas J.
|
John Steinbeck
[isbn]
Cannery Row is a strange, episodic tale about the misadventures of the curious people who live in and around the eponymous town. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loved Steinbeck's other works, or who wants to read more classic novels from U.S. authors. Steinbeck is one of my favorite writers, and I consider Cannery Row to be as indispensable as The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, and Of Mice and Men.
Recommended by Nickolas J.
|
Vivian Shaw
[isbn]
In a twist of the Van Helsing classic, author Vivian Shaw gives us Dr. Greta Helsing, the Addams Family version of Meredith Grey. That's right. Even vampires, mummies, and werewolves have to call in sick. This London-based series has all the great makings of a cozy mystery but with a spooky streak any monster-lover will eat right up.
Recommended by Stacy W.
|
Viet Thanh Nguyen
[isbn]
The Committed is a sequel as praiseworthy as its predecessor, The Sympathizer. Viet Thanh Nguyen has once again crafted something so multifaceted and provocative in its content that I am left in awe. The explorations into the mind of the antihero just hit harder and harder as you witness the effects of the events of the previous book play out in his new life in Paris. I rocketed through The Committed, propelled forward... (read more)
Recommended by Jun L.
|
Shea Ernshaw
[isbn]
Oregonian author Ernshaw has a way of fully drawing you into the world of her story, where you can smell the trees and feel the dirt on your toes. I loved both her YA novels and was equally spellbound by her adult debut. This book is so artfully woven, each chapter pulling the threads, picking at a knot, carefully unraveling the story to reveal its secrets. What happened to Maggie St. James?
Recommended by Carly J.
|
Kate Quinn
[isbn]
Kate Quinn can do no wrong! Quinn brings history to life, immersing the reader into the atrocities of WWII and the important impact women had on its outcome. We feel the joy, love, sorrow and gut-wrenching heartaches of each woman's journey.
Recommended by Mariette E.
|
Nita Prose
[isbn]
Meet the Amelia Bedelia of locked-door cozy mysteries. Molly is too literal to navigate social niceties, but she’s an absolutely perfect hotel maid — until she finds the body of a wealthy guest in an executive suite. Zany, adorable, and compelling, The Maid is a real midwinter treat.
Recommended by Rhianna W.
|
Charlotte McConaghy
[isbn]
Follow the thrilling (and, yes, sometimes painful) story of Franny Stone as she throws herself into the frigid North Atlantic while tracking the last migration of Arctic terns. Why is it the last? Why do you think? Why is Franny using near-superpowers in pursuit of her goal? Wouldn't you? This book is a beautiful and disturbing allegory about the impending fate of our planet.
Recommended by Peter N.
|
Susanna Clarke
[isbn]
This is the kind of book I love: dreamlike and a bit esoteric, all about the ways we exist in the world and relate to each other. I felt myself pulled into these mysterious hallways just as the titular character is, and it stayed with me like the best dreams do.
Recommended by Alice H.
|
Pat Barker
[isbn]
What impressed me most about this absorbing novel is how Pat Barker counters the grand scale and heroic mythos of The Illiad with an equally bold and expansive portrait of the women caught at its center. The characters are phenomenal — nuanced and realistic, but still tied to the gods — and Barker's attention to historical detail makes the sights and smells of the Greek war camp and arena come to life. Harrowing and vivid, The... (read more)
Recommended by Rhianna W.
|
Nico Walker
[isbn]
A lightly fictionalized autobiography, Cherry documents an Iraq War vet's cycle of crime and addiction. This book doesn't shy away from the ugly fallout of that conflict, making it not only a difficult read but an important one: this is Walker's story, but it's not just Walker's story.
Recommended by Lucinda G.
|
Caitlin Starling
[isbn]
So creepy and fascinating! A thrilling debut from a PNW author, this book is really hard to put down. Gyre is a caver who may or may not have falsified some of her credentials in order to get a job. She soon discovers the job itself is not as advertised, and her employer is keeping things from her. Spooky and atmospheric, this book is an amazing combination of psychological thriller, extreme adventure story, and creeping horror. Highly, highly... (read more)
Recommended by Azalea M.
|
Herman Koch
[isbn]
Like the cover foretells, The Dinner is a scorching story of two families entangled in a problem bigger than they can handle. Koch skewers conventions every which way in this blistering takedown of family, politics, and the lengths a parent will go for their child.
Recommended by Dianah H.
|
Dorothy B Hughes
[isbn]
A WWII veteran with a dark secret winds up in California... will the law catch up with him before the body count rises? Hughes's terse, suspenseful style is marvelous. If you love classic noir or The Talented Mr. Ripley, you'll probably love this brief, gripping novel.
Recommended by Eva F.
|
Magda Szabo
[isbn]
The Door is an astonishing novel. It left me speechless, reeling, heart between my teeth. Szabo's characters are so real, so lived in, so particular and surprising in the way that everyone is particular and surprising, if only we had the time and the perceptive capacities to see each other clearly, wholly, without judgement or fear. Her story is truly unlike anything I've read. If I were the kind of person to throw around words like... (read more)
Recommended by Darla M.
|
Leigh Bardugo
[isbn]
Leigh Bardugo’s adult debut is an immersive, heart-pounding, brain-twisting read set in an alternate New Haven. Alex Stern’s connection to Yale’s secret societies may be more dangerous than she bargained for. Drenched in magic and darkness, this world will clench you between its bony fingers until the end.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
|
Paul Tremblay
[isbn]
There might be five pages that aren't suspenseful in The Cabin at the End of the World, and that's only if you don't read the synopsis. Tremblay will draw you in beginning with a friendly stranger stopping by to chat with a little girl playing in her front yard, and it won't end until the final page. Be prepared to stay up past your bedtime.
Recommended by Jeffrey J.
|
Philip Roth
[isbn]
At a New England college, an elderly classics professor lets slip a comment that is taken for, but not meant as, a racial slur. What happens next changes his life and reveals the carefully hidden past he's taken great pains to conceal. Exploring themes of racism, family, deceit, and shame, this is an amazing book, and it made me fall in love with Roth!
Recommended by Dianah H.
|
Lisa Jewell
[isbn]
As a birthday present, a friend gave me an advanced reader copy of this book. I initially ignored it because I thought the title sounded ridiculous (Don't judge a book by its title, amiright or amiright?).
One night, I was feeling especially bored, and I picked it up. I read the first page and instantly was like, "Oh. So this is actually good." Told through the eyes of three characters, each unreliable in their own way, the story reaches into the... (read more)
Recommended by Briauna M.
|
Nick Cutter
[isbn]
Nick Cutter has a gift — and that gift is the ability to write a book so brutal and spine-chilling that it left me breathless and weak in the knees. Five boy scouts and their scoutmaster leave for their annual trip to a remote island when an impossibly thin (and impossibly hungry) stranger unexpectedly enters their midst. And that's the least of their problems. What happens from there is the breakdown of absolutely everything as they know it.... (read more)
Recommended by Nicole S
|
Colson Whitehead
[isbn]
Colson Whitehead has shown himself to be a master of multiple genres, and here he adds to that list with his take on crime fiction. Following a furniture salesman in 1960s Harlem, Whitehead shows that when historical forces meet a fast-changing city, it creates many opportunities for the crooked.
Recommended by Keith M.
|
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.
|
Pajtim Statovci, David Hackston
[isbn]
Pajtim Statovci’s Bolla is a moving and often difficult novel about the forces of war, within and without. Set in Kosovo, before and after the war, the forces of ethnic sectarianism and homophobia both lead to societal and individual breakdown, and drive people to commit unforgivable acts. Bolla is not without hope, but it makes clear that hope can only come after one faces the hardest questions.
Recommended by Keith M.
|
Richard Adams
[isbn]
My dad used to read to me and my brother almost every night before bed, and those nights are some of my favorite childhood memories. Many of the books we read together have stuck with me through the intervening years, but I have particularly fond memories of listening to him read Watership Down. 25 years later, I can still remember the feeling of being completely absorbed in the story. I was so enthralled that, when he had to go on a... (read more)
Recommended by Emily B.
|
Leslie Marmon Silko
[isbn]
A profound portrait of PTSD and cultural marginalization, on and off the Laguna Pueblo reservation, Silko’s classic novel remains cutting-edge 44 years after its original publication. Weaving between past and present, Native folklore and stark depictions of reservation life, Silko uses formal innovation and lyricism to convey how trauma, depression, and colonization coalesce to break the spirit, and the potential of Native storytelling and... (read more)
Recommended by Rhianna W.
|
Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
[isbn]
One of the most achingly beautiful and intensely romantic books I've ever read — totally unexpected and deeply, lyrically human, right in the middle of a science fiction story about two far-future agents on opposing sides — one a technotopia, the other an organic hive. If these two opposites can fall in love, then there is hope for all of us.
Recommended by Warren B.
|
William Goldman
[isbn]
Like so many people, I fell in love with the film first. It’s like the grandfather says: “Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles.” There’s something for everyone, and it taps into something so magically, extraordinarily human. Also like so many people, I found a battered paperback with a broken spine on my shelf that I couldn’t remember buying, and then I fell in love all over again. Goldman’s... (read more)
Recommended by Madeline S.
|
Tim O'Brien
[isbn]
No single book has had more of an impact on how I interact with fiction than Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. Still, it is difficult to articulate just how monumental this novel is. I could tell you that this is the one book assigned in high school with a place of honor on my bookshelf. I could examine failings of US history classes and how O’Brien’s “war story” — his “love story” — was my first entry point to the Vietnam war. You... (read more)
Recommended by Sarah R.
|
Alex Michaelides
[isbn]
This clever campus murder mystery thriller is a satisfying follow-up to The Silent Patient. Michaelides builds an aura of menace while throwing out enough red herrings to make the big reveal surprising and satisfying. The intriguing characters and expertly woven-in Greek mythology keep The Maidens engrossing, even for readers who aren't psychological thriller devotees.
Recommended by Emily B.
|
Stacey Abrams
[isbn]
Maybe you need a breather before the next extremely stressful election night, but you still crave a thrill? Stacey Abrams can provide that too: here’s a twisty tale of shadowy operatives, corrupt politicians, enigmatic Justices, and a law clerk caught in the middle.
Recommended by Keith M.
|
Chris Whitaker
[isbn]
Best Book 2021! Compelling mystery. Devastating!
Recommended by Adrienne C.
|
Natsuo Kirino
[isbn]
I ventured into Out having gone on a detective murder mystery kick: the great Raymond Chandler, the invincible Dorothy L. Sayers... So it was no surprise that I next turned to Japan's queen of crime writing. Out is a can't-stop-reading, classy, well done, get-into-their-heads-type psychological you-know-whodunnit. Excellent translation, her first into English. I can't wait to read more by Kirino!
Recommended by Adrienne C.
|
Viet Thanh Nguyen
[isbn]
In the long-anticipated sequel to The Sympathizer, we find our antihero embroiled in the Paris underworld. Beneath the rip-roaring action resides dark humor, deep character study, and meditations on identity, capitalism, and colonization. The Committed is a powerful follow-up to Nguyen's award-winning, way-more-than-just-a-spy-novel.
Recommended by Gigi L.
|
Dave Eggers
[isbn]
Back in 2013, when The Circle was first published, the idea of social media taking over the world was beginning to become less dystopian and increasingly realistic. I am convinced now, in 2020, that Dave Eggers has an uncanny ability to predict the future. Fans of 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale will recognize similar creepy, and near-apocalyptic themes of surveillance and late-stage capitalism. While The Circle... (read more)
Recommended by Alex Y.
|
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.
|
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.
|
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.
|
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.
|
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.
|
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.
|
Thornton Wilder
[isbn]
Theophilus quits his job in the summer of 1926 and retreats to Newport, Rhode Island, where he soon finds himself entangled in the lives of the residents, whose social status stretch across all of what he calls the "Nine Cities" of Newport. Using his wits and compassionate grasp of human nature he endeavors to help where he can while preserving his own independence. Sly, humorous, and authentic, this is a heartfelt investigation into the many... (read more)
Recommended by Warren B.
|
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.
|
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.
|
M R Carey
[isbn]
This is the terrific story of Melanie: a young girl caught in a dystopic land, kept in a jail cell, guns pointed at her every day, and all she wants to do is go to school. Don't read anything else about this book — you have to just dive in blind. With an absolutely perfect ending, The Girl With All the Gifts is a straight-up fantastic, fun read!
Recommended by Dianah H.
|
Andrzej Sapkowski
[isbn]
The Time of Contempt serves as the escalation from exposition to nonstop action! Yennefer and Ciri continue to make their way to the conclave of mages at Aretuza, where the politics are as deadly as any war. Geralt enlists the help of a spy network to uncover the truth about the conspiracy against Ciri. Meanwhile, Nilfgaard still waits in the wings, ready to strike. Don't miss this essential entry of The Witcher Saga!
Recommended by Mike H.
|
Andrzej Sapkowski
[isbn]
The Brotherhood of Sorcerers has fallen from within. Geralt of Rivia lies broken and bloody in Brokilon Forrest after a destiny-altering duel. This chapter of The Witcher Saga reads like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Full of humorous new characters, former enemies becoming friends, accidental participation in major battles, and a parrot named Field Marshall Windbag. This is as good as it gets!
Recommended by Mike H.
|
Andrzej Sapkowski
[isbn]
A witcher, a bard, a knight, a dryad, a thief, and a vampire. In this penultimate book of The Witcher Saga, Geralt of Rivia, along with his fellowship, continue their search for Ciri and seek to stop the conspiracy against her. Meanwhile Ciri, now going by Falka, comes face to face with her most dangerous enemies yet. The Tower of Swallows brings myth into reality, and forces the reader to start to realize, this story may not have a... (read more)
Recommended by Mike H.
|
Jeff VanderMeer
[isbn]
The king of the New Weird genre has swung for the fences with this experimental work set in the same world as his 2017 novel Borne. Exploring technology and ecological apocalypse, this book is an avant-garde warning about our current abuse of the planet and all those who inhabit it.
Recommended by Mary S.
|
Elliot Ackerman
[isbn]
Ackerman pens an unbelievably moving novella: his ode to wartime, family, friendship, pain, fear, and death. When Eden Malcom comes home from his tour of duty, burned beyond recognition, sightless, and voiceless, his wife Mary must choose his next path. As the marriage of Eden and Mary is revealed, her decision wavers as he waits in pain and silence. Ackerman's insight into a tiny slice of a life no one would ever want is heartbreaking and... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
|
Ivy Pochoda
[isbn]
In These Women, Pochoda wastes little ink on the villain of the story, focusing instead on the women whose lives have been affected by his crimes. A grieving mother, a dancer, a vice cop, a burgeoning artist, a strait-laced neighbor, a survivor — their narratives share a common thread, but it’s easy to imagine each of their stories as the basis for an equally compelling standalone novel. A subversion of the standard serial killer trope,... (read more)
Recommended by Tove H.
|
Richard Chiem
[isbn]
I love the strange, subtly cinematic arc of the story. The way it unfolds and comes together was clever, sometimes disorienting. Reminded me of Dennis Cooper at times — that sort of calm, out-of-body terror. Sometimes when I take a book on the bus, I ignore it for easier distractions, like looking at my phone or out the window. But I couldn't wait to open up King of Joy every day before and after work.
Recommended by Kevin S.
|
Ernesto Quiñonez
[isbn]
Set in Spanish Harlem, Taína is a 15-year-old pregnant virgin. Julio believes her and has
liked her from afar, though she never notices him. Many Puerto Rican food and music references. I was so delighted by this endearing and enchanting story! This is a perfect Christmas-time read.
Recommended by Adrienne C.
|
James Baldwin
[isbn]
A brightly burning story of a love triangle in 1950s Paris. Wonderfully written and poetically absorbing, this classic novel features great dialogue too. Must have been amazing for gay and bisexual readers to find this book in bookstores in 1956.
Recommended by Kevin S.
|
Ian McEwan
[isbn]
In the blink of an eye, life can drastically change through no doing of your own, and this is precisely what happens to Joe when he and a group of other people try to avert a hot air balloon accident. A study in OCD, this gripping story is based on a real-life case of De Clerambault's syndrome: a homo-erotic obsession with religious overtones. Jed begins to stalk Joe, and his obsession threatens every aspect of Joe's life. Written with a sense of... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
|
William Gibson
[isbn]
It's been six years since William Gibson's last novel, The Peripheral, and Agency was worth the wait. A sequel of sorts to The Peripheral, Gibson's latest opens with Verity Jane, an "app whisperer," taking a job to test an AI assistant named Eunice. Several of Gibson's signature themes are present here, connected to evocative and relevant questions: How does the future affect the past? How and why did we arrive in this... (read more)
Recommended by Jill O.
|
James Baldwin
[isbn]
After a celebrated actor suffers a heart attack on stage, he reflects back on his queer becoming in the theater and on the streets of 1940s Harlem. Leo recalls his early days in the Greenwich Village art scene, coming into the orbit of aspiring actress Barbara, a white woman. Their complicated love affair opens for Leo the doors to a world of artistic freedom — and racist restrictions — he had hardly imagined. This lesser-read Baldwin has all his... (read more)
Recommended by Thomas L.
|
Andrzej Sapkowski
[isbn]
This first collection of short stories set the stage for the destiny that will make The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, its reluctant pawn. Curses will be broken, a Butcher will be named, a promise will be made, and a simple wish will bond two souls together in love until the bitter end. I cannot recommend this journey more, and it all starts here!
Recommended by Mike H.
|
Andrzej Sapkowski
[isbn]
Past oaths come rushing back into Geralt's life, in this follow-up collection to The Last Wish. The Child of Prophecy, whom he is destined to protect, makes their existence known. However, first our Witcher must experience a dragon hunt, a broken heart, and a civilization beneath the sea. The bloody Battle of Sodden Hill rocks both The Continent and Geralt's world, Nilfgaard is here. The Sword of Destiny has two sides, life or death for... (read more)
Recommended by Mike H.
|