imaginary | Nonfiction
For more recommendations, subscribe to us Read like the wind Check out our newsletter Romance Columnist’s Favorite Books In the year so far or visit us what to read pg
At The New York Times Book Review, we write thousands of books every year. Many of them are good. Some are great too. But we understand that sometimes you just want to know, “What should I read that is good or great for me? Well, there you have it — a list of some of the best, most interesting, most talked about books of the year.
imaginary
Give me a gritty drama about family and art
a hypocriteIf by Hamya
One August afternoon in 2020, an elderly British writer arrives at a London theater to see his daughter’s latest play – only to discover that it is a thinly veiled fantasy of their argument on a Sicilian holiday years ago. This sharp and crisp novel is an art monster story and a dysfunctional family saga that explores the ethics of creating work inspired by real life. (Join the book discussion at Book Review Book Club.)
I want to catch the summer book
All ForceBy Miranda July
The eponymous heroine of July’s heartwarmingly vivid comic novel plans a cross-country road trip just 30 minutes from home. There she lavishly redecorates a motel room and begins a strange but passionate affair with a young man who works at a rental car agency.
How about a deliciously escapist, spicy romance?
This pairBy Casey McQuiston
In the latest quirky romance from the writer of “Red, White and Royal Blue” and “The Last Stop,” Kit and Theo — who haven’t seen each other since their brutal breakup — find themselves on the same European food tour. Stops in France, Italy and Spain. To show how far they’ve come, the two exes, who are both bisexual, start a hookup competition.
I like my plots straight out of the horror section of the video store
I was a teenage slasherBy Stephen Graham Jones
Jones’s wickedly clever new novel turns a gruesome killer into “your friendly neighborhood slasher.” Tolly Driver decides to crash a party thrown by cool kids – the same kids who caused the death of another student a few years ago. When this dead student reappears as a zombie at the party to seek revenge, some of his demon blood splashes onto Tolly’s forehead, turning our narrator into an unstoppable, superhuman killing machine.
Give me an exciting new look at an American masterpiece
JamesBy Percival Everett
In this reworking of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Jim, the enslaved man who accompanies Huck down the Mississippi River, is the narrator, and he retells the classic story in his own language and with surprising details that reveal far more. A character more resourceful, cunning and powerful than we knew.
I want a great American book full of humanity
Heaven and Earth Grocery StoreBy James McBride
McBride’s latest opens with a human skeleton found in a well in the 1970s, and then travels back in time, to the 20s and 30s, to explore the remains’ connection to a city’s black, Jewish and immigrant history. But rather than a straightforward whodunit, McBride weaves an intimate story of community.
I want to read a book that everyone is (still) talking about
Demon CopperheadBy Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver’s powerful novel, published in 2022 and now available in paperback, is set in Appalachia, contemporary to Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield.” Although the story traverses issues including childhood poverty, opioid addiction, and rural dispossession, its larger focus remains on the question of how the artist’s consciousness is formed. Like Dickens, Kingsolver It is unmistakably political and works on a grand scale, animating its pages with an abundance of charm and the presence of seemingly every reptilian thing that has ever been created on earth.
How about a gritty story centered around heroic women?
The WomanBy Christine Hanna
Best selling the author Follows the San Diego debutante of “The Nightingale” who works as an Army nurse during the Vietnam War. “Hannah’s real superpower is her ability to lead you from disaster to disaster, sometimes looking between your fingers, because you just can’t let go of her characters,” our reviewer wrote.
I want the master’s moody, mesmerizing crime novel
the hunterBy Tana French
For fans of Tana’s French, each thriller author’s twisty, witty books are a phenomenon. This one, a sequel to “The Searcher,” once again sees retired Chicago cop Cal Hooper, a perennial outsider in the Irish west-country village of Ardenaculty, caught up in crimes — seen and unseen — that seem mostly picturesque. the village
Give me a smart romantic comedy that avoids cliches
Good stuffBy Dolly Alderton
Alderton’s novel, about a 35-year-old struggling to make sense of a breakup, eschews the most delightful aspects of a romantic comedy — snappy dialogue, realistic relationship dynamics, funny meet-cutes and misunderstandings — and clichéd gender roles. Traditional wedding plot.
Nonfiction
I want a deeply personal memoir by a trailblazing public figure
Lovely oneBy Ketanji Brown Jackson
“My march toward this shining moment was at times a steep and emotionally grueling climb,” writes Jackson, the first black woman named to the Supreme Court, in a fraught but fast-paced memoir that nonetheless emphasizes the “blessings” that sustained her. Lays: Devoted parents, encouraging teachers, cheerleading roommates, loving daughters and her college boyfriend — now husband — whose “partnership, that made this possible, is everything.”
Give me a fun history of American style
Queens of Seventh AvenueBy Nancy McDonnell
In lively prose and rich historical detail, McDonnell tells the story of a group of women who made New York the world fashion capital during the 1940s. Cut off from the great houses of Europe by World War II, indigenous designers, journalists and retailers created an American look — and a business — that was uniquely suited to the moment: accessible, youthful and modern.
How about a deep dive into an unexpected topic that I can’t put down?
FrostbiteBy Nicola Twilley
Twilley, a food and health reporter, travels the length of the cold chain in his fascinating new book, talking to the people who fill our shipping containers and cheese caves. “Frostbite” combines clear history, science and a thoughtful consideration of how daily life today is dependent on and distorted by this matrix of artificial cold.
I want to spend my weekends obsessing over a musical icon
TravelBy Ann Powers
This is a very personal, warts-and-all consideration of Joni Mitchell, whose 2015 post-aneurysm comeback and appearance at the 2024 Grammy Awards only burnished her reputation as the best of modern singer-songwriters. The book mixes close readings of Mitchell’s songs with digressions about phases of Mitchell’s career and Powers’ own experiences, memories and opinions.
I want to take a brief look at the US-Mexico border crisis
Everyone who’s gone is hereBy Jonathan Blitzer
This timely and instructive history from a New Yorker staff writer depicts the immigration crisis as the result of a long and bitter entanglement between the United States and its southern neighbors.
I’m ready to hear about one of the most shocking moments in recent literary history
the knifeBy Salman Rushdie
In his candid, plain-spoken and compelling new memoir, Rushdie recalls surviving an assassination attempt in 2022 during a presentation about protecting the world’s writers from harm. Her assailant had piranhaic energy. He also had a knife. Rushdie lost an eye, but has slowly recovered thanks to the attentive care of doctors and the wife he celebrates here.
Teach me about a forgotten chapter of American history
insanityBy Antonia Hilton
Hylton, Anne Arundel County, Md. An isolated refuge on 1,500 acres in, explores the hidden history of Crownsville Hospital, which has been in operation for more than 90 years. This story resonates today—especially in the context of America’s continued failure to care for the black mind.
I want an unflinching account of motherhood from our best personal essayists
Splinters: Another Kind of Love StoryBy Leslie Jamison
Jamison, who has previously written stylishly about her experiences with addiction, abortion and more, here details the surprising joys of divorce and new motherhood, cementing her status as one of America’s most talented auto-historians.
I want a revealing biography of someone I know all about
King: One LifeBy Jonathan Egg
The first comprehensive biography of Martin Luther King Jr. in decades, Eigg’s book draws on an avalanche of recently released government documents as well as letters and interviews. This is a book worthy of its subject: an intimate study of a complex and flawed human being and the journalistic account of a civil rights titan.
I need something to help me through the hard times (and also make me laugh).
Suffering is for peopleBy Sloane Crosley
The memoir follows Crossley, known for her humor, as she works to process the loss of her friend, mentor and former boss, Russell Perrault, who died by suicide.
Honestly, I really like reading about animals
What Owls Know: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic BirdsBy Jennifer Ackerman
About 260 species of owls span every continent except Antarctica, and in this fascinating book, Ackerman explains why the birds are both naturally amazing and culturally significant.
Post What book should you read next? appeared first New York Times.