Book List

20 Books You Really Should Have Read by Now

  • FICTION

    DEACON KING KONG

    MARCH 3, 2020

  • FICTION

    GREAT CIRCLE

    MAY 4, 2021

FICTION

GREAT CIRCLE

by Maggie Shipstead

Ingeniously structured and so damn entertaining; this novel is as ambitious as its heroines—but it never falls from the sky. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    HARLEM SHUFFLE

    SEPT. 14, 2021

THRILLER & SUSPENSE

HARLEM SHUFFLE

by Colson Whitehead

As one of Whitehead’s characters might say of their creator, When you’re hot, you’re hot. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    THE LOVE SONGS OF W.E.B. DU BOIS

    AUG. 24, 2021

FICTION

THE LOVE SONGS OF W.E.B. DU BOIS

by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

If this isn’t the Great American Novel, it's a mighty attempt at achieving one. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    THE SWIMMERS

    FEB. 22, 2022

FICTION

THE SWIMMERS

by Julie Otsuka

The combination of social satire with an intimate portrait of loss and grief is stylistically ambitious and deeply moving. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    TRUST

    MAY 3, 2022

FICTION

TRUST

by Hernan Diaz

A clever and affecting high-concept novel of high finance. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW

    JULY 5, 2022

FICTION

TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW

by Gabrielle Zevin

Sure to enchant even those who have never played a video game in their lives, with instant cult status for those who have. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB

    SEPT. 22, 2020

MYSTERY & DETECTIVE

THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB

by Richard Osman

A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • FICTION

    BABEL

    AUG. 23, 2022

  • FICTION

    BOMBSHELL

    AUG. 24, 2021

  • NONFICTION

    THE GULF

    MARCH 14, 2017

HISTORY

THE GULF

by Jack E. Davis

An elegant narrative braced by a fierce, sobering environmental conviction. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • NONFICTION

    EVICTED

    MARCH 1, 2016

CURRENT EVENTS & SOCIAL ISSUES

EVICTED

by Matthew Desmond

This stunning, remarkable book—a scholar’s 21st-century How the Other Half Lives—demands a wide audience. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • NONFICTION

    AN IMMENSE WORLD

    JUNE 21, 2022

NONFICTION

AN IMMENSE WORLD

by Ed Yong

One of the year’s best popular natural histories. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • NONFICTION

    CASTE

    AUG. 11, 2020

NONFICTION

CASTE

by Isabel Wilkerson

A memorable, provocative book that exposes an American history in which few can take pride. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • NONFICTION

    THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE

    FEB. 25, 2020

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

THE SPLENDID AND THE VILE

by Erik Larson

A captivating history of Churchill’s heroic year, with more than the usual emphasis on his intimates. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • NONFICTION

    THE HUMANITY ARCHIVE

    FEB. 28, 2023

NONFICTION

THE HUMANITY ARCHIVE

by Jermaine Fowler

A timely, powerful approach to history that looks into the past to find a path into a better future. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • NONFICTION

    OUR MIGRANT SOULS

    MAY 9, 2023

NONFICTION

OUR MIGRANT SOULS

by Héctor Tobar

A powerful look at what it means to be a member of a community that, though large, remains marginalized. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • NONFICTION

    FREDERICK DOUGLASS

    OCT. 2, 2018

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

FREDERICK DOUGLASS

by David W. Blight

A masterful, comprehensive biography, particularly of Douglass’ Civil War, Reconstruction, and Gilded Age years and... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • NONFICTION

    FOUNDING PARTISANS

    NOV. 7, 2023

NONFICTION

FOUNDING PARTISANS

by H.W. Brands

An essential book for understanding the foundation of American partisanship. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >
  • NONFICTION

    REQUIEM FOR THE MASSACRE

    NOV. 1, 2022

NONFICTION

REQUIEM FOR THE MASSACRE

by RJ Young

An arresting account of Black ambition and endurance from an important new voice in narrative nonfiction. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

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