So you’re in the mood for a good book, but you’re not sure what to pick?
Hall of Fame Faves
- Amp’d, by Ken Pisani
- The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach
- Beautiful Ruins, by Jess Walter
- The Book of Joy, by the Dalai Lama and Bishop Desmond Tutu
- Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall
- Catch and Kill, by Ronan Farrow
- The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makkai
- The Heart’s Invisible Furies, by John Boyne
- Less, by Andrew Sean Greer
- A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
- Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris
- The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
- The Snow Child, by Eowen Ivey
- The Most Fun We Ever Had, by Claire Lombardo
- Real Life, by Brandon Taylor
- Mouth to Mouth, by Antoine Wilson
- Wellness, by Nathan Hill
- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
Mama Drama
- American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins
- Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett
- Today Will Be Different, by Maria Semple
- Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
- Shuggie Bain, by Douglas Stuart
- Same As It Ever Was, by Claire Lombardo
Daddy Drama
- Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett
- Claire of the Sea Light, by Edwidge Danticat
- The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett
- This Dark Road to Mercy, by Wiley Cash
- The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley, by Hannah Tinti
Families That Put the Fun in Dysfunctional
- Amp’d, by Ken Pisani
- Ask Again, Yes, by Mary Beth Keane
- The Ash Family, by Molly Dektar
- The Best Kind of People, by Zoe Whittall
- Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty
- The Burning Girl, by Claire Messud
- The Casual Vacancy, by JK Rowling
- Crossroads, by Jonathan Franzen
- Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver
- The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett
- Educated, by Dr. Tara Westover
- The Family Fang, by Kevin Wilson
- The Favorite Sister, by Jessica Knoll
- The Girls, by Emma Cline
- The History of Wolves, by Emily Fridlund
- How to Build a Girl, by Caitlin Moran
- The Immortalists, by Chloe Benjamin
- In One Person, by John Irving
- Lake Success, by Gary Shteyngart
- The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta
- Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng
- Mrs. Fletcher, by Tom Perrotta
- The Museum of Extraordinary Things, by Alice Hoffman
- The Most Fun We Ever Had, by Claire Lombardo
- Nothing to See Here, by Kevin Wilson
- The Nest, by Cynthia Sweeney
- Perfect Little World, by Kevin Wilson
- Spoonbenders, by Daryl Gregory
- Wellness, by Nathan Hill
Apocalypse Now
- The Country of Ice Cream Star, by Sandra Newman
- The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta
- The Lightest Object in the Universe, by Kimi Eisele
- Weather, by Jenny Offill
Memoirs Aren’t Just for Old Folks
- After Visiting Friends, by Michael Hainey
- All Over But the Shoutin’, by Rick Bragg
- As You Wish, by Cary Elwes
- Bad Feminist, by Roxane Gay
- Becoming, by Michelle Obama
- Believer, by David Axelrod
- Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall
- Bossypants, by Tina Fey
- Disrupted, by Dan Lyons
- Educated, by Dr. Tara Westover
- Inside Out, by Demi Moore
- I Want My MTV
- Love Life, by Rob Lowe
- Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson
- Theft by Finding, by David Sedaris
- VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV’s First Wave
- Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
Political Bullshit
- Al Franken, Giant of the Senate
- Believer, by David Axelrod
- Fear, by Bob Woodward
- Fire and Fury, by Michael Wolff
- The Fifth Risk, by Michael Lewis
- The Presidents Club, by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy
- Thanks, Obama, by David Litt
- The Threat, by Andrew McCabe
- A Very Stable Genius, by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker
Batshit Crazy Fiction
- The Actress, by Amy Sohn
- The Ash Family, by Molly Dektar
- Big Little Lies, by Liane Moriarty
- The Circle, by Dave Eggers
- The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore, by Benjamin Hale
- The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
- Motherland, by Amy Sohn
- My Dark Vanessa, by Kate Elizabeth Russell
- Ohio, by Stephen Markley
- Purity, by Jonathan Franzen
- Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn
- State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett
All About Love & Friendship
- Alice & Oliver, by Charles Bock
- Attachments, by Rainbow Rowell
- An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones
- Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
- Forever, Interrupted, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- The Heart’s Invisible Furies, by John Boyne
- In Five Years, by Rebecca Serle
- Landline, by Rainbow Rowell
- The Light Between Oceans
- To Be Sung Underwater, by Tom McNeal
- This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
- Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar
Whodunit Whydunit WTF He’s the Killer?
- American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins
- Before I Go to Sleep, by S.J. Watson
- Cuckoo’s Calling, by Robert Galbraith
- Dante’s Poison, by Lynne Raimondo
- Finders Keepers, by Stephen King
- The Flight Attendant, by Chris Bohjalian
- The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins
- I Am Pilgrim, by Terry Hayes
- The Institute, by Stephen King
- Mr. Mercedes, by Stephen King
- The Passenger, by Lisa Lutz
- Since We Fell, by Dennis Lehane
Truth
- The American Way of Eating
- Bad Blood, by John Carreyrou
- The Book of Honor by Ted Gup
- Catch and Kill, by Ronan Farrow
- Deep Down Dark, by Héctor Tobar
- Missoula, by Jon Krakauer
- So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
- Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
- Think Again, by Adam Grant
- Three Women, by Lisa Taddeo
But I Really Just Need to Laugh
- Bossypants, by Tina Fey
- Calypso, by David Sedaris
- Cool, Calm and Contentious, by Merrill Markoe
- Drop Dead Healthy, by A.J. Jacobs
- Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge, by Helen Ellis
- Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris
- Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, by Jenny Lawson
- Living with a SEAL, by Jesse Itzler
- Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris
- A Million Ways to Die in the West, by Seth McFarlane
- Southern Lady Code, by Helen Ellis
I Wanna Cry Ugly
- Mischling, by Affinity Konar
- The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead
- The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
- The Light Between Oceans
- The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makkai
- The Heart’s Invisible Furies, by John Boyne
- Less, by Andrew Sean Greer
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
- To Be Sung Underwater, by Tom McNeal
- Detransition, Baby, by Torrey Peters
Booklists
Previous years …
2010:
A Reliable Wife Robert Goolrick
South of Broad Pat Conroy
The Guinea Pig Diaries — My Life as an Experiment A.J. Jacobs
Secrets of Eden Chris Bohjalian
Game Change Jon Heilemann
Born to Run Christopher McDougall
Letter to my Daughter George Bishop
That Old Cape Magic Richard Russo
The Space Between Us Thrity Umrigar
Freedom Jonathan Franzen
True Prep Lisa Birnbach
Killing Floor Lee Child
A Secret Gift Ted Gup
Simple Time: Crafts for Poor People Amy Sedaris
A Gate at the Stairs Lorrie Moore
Little Bee Chris Cleave
LitzyDitz 