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Poet and Guggenheim Fellow Mary Karr recounts her descent into alcoholism and her relationship with her mother, her daughter, and herself.
Jayne Anne Phillips’ novel “Lark and Termite” entrances readers with its distinct, sensual descriptions and unfamiliar characters.
Wells Tower delves into the lives of fathers, sons, brothers, and ex-husbands struggling to love and survive in the depths of Wild America.
The construction and embodiment of identity is assiduously scrutinized by Dan Chaon in his new novel “Await Your Reply.”
In “Wolf Hall,” Hilary Mantel tackles a larger-than-life character that has been exonerated, bashed, recast, and recycled for centuries: Henry VIII.
Short story collection "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders" puts the triumphs and tragedies of Pakistani life on center stage
Blake Bailey provides detailed personal insight into the simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary life of author John Cheever
In his collection of short stories “Love and Obstacles,” Aleksander Hemon renders lost youth and an extinct Sarajevo without oppressive nostalgia.
In “Just Kids,” punk queen Patti Smith reveals the nuances of her creative relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in 1970s bohemian New York.
We're obsessed with email, and John Freeman tackles this obsession in a thought-provoking work of social commentary.
Top 100
Poet and Guggenheim Fellow Mary Karr recounts her descent into alcoholism and her relationship with her mother, her daughter, and herself.
Jayne Anne Phillips’ novel “Lark and Termite” entrances readers with its distinct, sensual descriptions and unfamiliar characters.
Wells Tower delves into the lives of fathers, sons, brothers, and ex-husbands struggling to love and survive in the depths of Wild America.
The construction and embodiment of identity is assiduously scrutinized by Dan Chaon in his new novel “Await Your Reply.”
In “Wolf Hall,” Hilary Mantel tackles a larger-than-life character that has been exonerated, bashed, recast, and recycled for centuries: Henry VIII.
Short story collection "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders" puts the triumphs and tragedies of Pakistani life on center stage
Blake Bailey provides detailed personal insight into the simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary life of author John Cheever
In his collection of short stories “Love and Obstacles,” Aleksander Hemon renders lost youth and an extinct Sarajevo without oppressive nostalgia.
In “Just Kids,” punk queen Patti Smith reveals the nuances of her creative relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in 1970s bohemian New York.
We're obsessed with email, and John Freeman tackles this obsession in a thought-provoking work of social commentary.
Tom Rachman’s debut novel, about a bunch of foreign correspondents in Rome, makes a splash in the literary scene.
In her debut novel, Kathryn Stockett portrays controversy, heartbreak, and love in the lives of black women who live and work in Jackson, Mississippi.
With a brand of satire rarely found in American literature, Sam Lipsyte serves his audience “The Ask,” a bundle of rank truths, no cherry.
“Where the God of Love Hangs Out” dishes out love and repercussions in Amy Bloom’s candid collection of short stories.
Jaron Lanier pushes for more power to the people in his commentary on the present state of the Internet, “You Are Not a Gadget.”
Colm Toibin creates an unforgettable heroine who braves the Atlantic and an entirely new life for the sake of her family in Ireland.
David Finkel’s “The Good Soldiers” captures the heartbreaking and tragic events that surround a platoon of soldiers serving in Iraq.
Only 192 pages, “Tinkers” overflows with electric language that captures the state of mind of George Washington Crosby, a dying man who is haunted by memories of his father.
In his 600-page novel, Stieg Larsson covers the corruption of big business and the depravity of what really goes on in sex trafficking.
Douglas Brinkley takes on Theodore Roosevelt's efforts to save America's wilderness in "The Wilderness Warrior," a book as big as its subject.
Depression: a frame of mind or a sales tactic? "Manufacturing Depression" exposes the pharmaceutical industry's role in developing depression as we know it.
T.C. Boyle takes us on a crazy ride of literature in “Wild Child,” spitting out a collection of stories and characters that are thoroughly unique.
D.A. Powell’s poetry collection “Chronic” soars in its electric anger, celebration and suspicion of love.
In "Backing into Forward," the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer draws a candid picture of his life and career.
“The Collected Poems of C.P. Cavafy,” translated by Daniel Mendelsohn, renders the poet’s exquisite Greek ruminations in analogous English.
In "The Believers," a controversial attorney defends an alleged Muslim terrorist in court before falling into a coma, bringing out the best and worst in his manic-depressive family.
“Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It” approaches the difficulties of human relations in the controlled voice of Maile Meloy.
Dave Cullen digs deep to comprehend the Columbine school shooting. “Columbine” paints a true portrait of the killers and the news media that shaped them.
Paul Yoon’s debut collection, “Once the Shore,” entrances the reader with its unhurried observations and stark but dazzling prose.
Jonathan Tropper’s fifth novel reinvents the dysfunctional family with cutting one-liners and laugh-out-loud humor that, despite everything, brings out the best in his characters.
Tad Friend, a staff writer for the New Yorker, pens a hilarious and touching memoir about quirky relatives on the brink of extinction.
Lauren Weber challenges the guilt-free spending that many Americans have come to take for granted.
"Anne Frank" by Francine Prose combines literary gossip and historical facts to lay claim to the belief that the young WWII icon was nothing short of a literary genius.
Lucia Perillo echoes Sylvia Plath in “Inseminating the Elephant,” a collection of poems that blend tragedy with wit and humor.
A former food critic reflects on a life consumed by a love of food—and the ensuing physical and emotional struggles.
“Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi” is a brilliant satire vacillating between ancient and modern worlds and tribulations.
The vibrant wit and clever twists of Amy Gerstler’s poems make “Dearest Creature” a must-read.
Far-fetched yet poignant, “Big Machine” is an epic combination of crazy characters and loopy plotlines that will have readers laughing.
In "Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy," journalist Melissa Milgrom brings the world of taxidermy to life through interviews, observation, and her own firsthand accounts.
World-famous primatologist Frans de Waal discovers evidence of human empathy in his book “The Age of Empathy.”
“Never-Ending Birds” by David Baker covers all the topics that make great poetry with sweeping Midwestern landscapes and stories of childhood, loss, and new loves.
The complexities of love and hatred, truth and fiction, are managed with exquisite skill in “Shadow Tag” by Louise Erdrich.
In “Summertime,” Coetzee blurs the lines between truth and fiction to examine his own life.
“The Checklist Manifesto” demonstrates, with solid prose and plenty of gore, how the medical field can avoid deaths without spending a dime.
New York Times reporter Joyce Purnick paints a complicated, in-depth portrait of New York City’s 108th mayor in her telling biography, "Mike Bloomberg."
“The Glass Room” traces the history of a home and how it survives the ruin and chaos of dissolved families, wartime possession, and new inhabitants.
In “Essays,” award-winning playwright Wallace Shawn tackles difficult subjects like morality, privilege, and art with his characteristic dry humor.
"How It Ended" brings together three decades of short stories, representing the breadth of Jay McInerney's career.
Heather McHugh’s book of poems, “Upgraded to Serious,” is a clever social commentary on the world today through ones of the oldest forms of literature.
Jonathan Lethem pens a hilarious cultural satire that captures, with brilliance and wit, the essence of New York.
John Updike’s final collection of short stories offers an unflinching look at isolation and the insignificance of human affairs.
A tale of two sisters, Lisa See's “Shanghai Girls” weaves an intimate, eventful plot into the fabric of China's recent history.
Kaylie Jones struggles to emerge from the shadow of her father’s legacy after growing up with the likes of Kurt Vonnegut, James Baldwin, and Norman Mailer.
In “News of the World,” Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Philip Levine shifts effortlessly between verse and prose.
In "Farm City," one woman transforms her corner of an urban wasteland into a self-supporting ecosystem of sustainability
Zadie Smith tackles topics from Kafka to Katherine Hepburn, from the Oscars to Obama, in “Changing My Mind,” her first collection of nonfiction.
The compelling Tassie Keltjin comes of age in Lorrie Moore’s long-awaited novel, “A Gate at the Stairs.”
Pete Dizinhoff’s righteous contentment with the life of suburban comfort he has built falters in “A Friend of the Family.”
Pat Tillman, the football star who turned down a million-dollar NFL contract to join the military, is the star of Jon Krakauer’s latest book.
Published less than a month after his death, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s memoir, “True Compass” pays homage to the family and political life he loved.
Guy and girl meet. Guy and girl fall in love. It’s a familiar story, made unique by the Proustian prose of Andre Aciman’s novel “Eight White Nights.”
Struggles, past and present, are equally viable in Joshua Mohr’s blunt, fearless first novel “Some Things Meant the World to Me.”
“Strength in What Remains” is an inspirational tale of a civil war escapee who, although haunted by the atrocities he witnessed, survives and surpasses the odds.
"Scary, No Scary," a delightfully bizarre poetry collection by Zachary Schomburg, draws readers into a post-apocalyptic dreamscape.
Richard Powers creates an all-too-real dystopia of rearranged chromosomes, chemical imbalances, and a pharmaceutical industry bent on manufacturing happiness.
Jill Ciment’s whirlwind novel involves disease, terrorist attacks, and an unforgettable elderly couple from New York.
“Raymond Carver” follows the short story writer’s turbulent life, from the vices that caused his downfall to the people who contributed to his authorial success.
The compelling biography “Pops” argues that Louis Armstrong’s cheerful manner and exultant playing were the man’s essence, not a stage act.
Sharply written and laced with the complexities of female power, “Unfinished Desires” transports the reader through a hundred years at a Catholic school in North Carolina.
The 14 stories in Joyce Carol Oates’ “Dear Husband” tackle the suffocating and sometimes fatal nature of family ties.
“Big World” is riddled with female characters who teeter dangerously on the threshold of disaster, making this collection a disturbingly honest look into the feminine psyche.
In “Green Metropolis,” David Owen argues that New York City is not only the greatest place to live in America—it's also the greenest.
In “The Age of Wonder,” Richard Holmes draws compelling links between the discoveries of 19th-century British scientists and their poetic contemporaries.
Peter Richardson’s “A Bomb in Every Issue” examines the legacy of a magazine that made history with its risky and controversial journalism.
The horrific yet plausible future depicted in Margaret Atwood's “The Year of the Flood” compels the reader to reexamine the present.
In “The Three Weissmanns of Westport,” Cathleen Schine puts her spin on Jane Austen, with characters seeking love in Manhattan and Westport, Connecticut.
Meticulously researched and clearly presented, "The First Tycoon" reconstructs the life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the wealthiest man of his time.
David Grann mixes fact and conjecture to tell the story of Percy Fawcett, the Victorian explorer lost in the Amazon rainforest and—until now—in the pages of history.
In “Model Home,” Eric Puchner’s debut novel, a suburban family faces the inevitable reality of the American dream.
Relying on bare facts rather than sentimentality, “Zeitoun” takes the reader straight to the heart of Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath.
“Drift” forces us headfirst into the minds of various people whose lives are as stable as the waves crashing into the California coast.
A story of origins and women, “Half Broke Horses” brings the author’s hardy, poker playing, schoolteacher grandmother to life.
Politicians are exposed in “Game Change,” Mark Halperin and John Heilemann’s juicy amalgam of White House gossip and scandalous stories.
Best known for his short stories, Leonard Michaels also wrote essays, published together in this posthumous collection.
With the keen eye of an expert historian, Joyce Appleby traces the unlikely origins of capitalism in “The Relentless Revolution.”
Richard Dawkins faces his critics head-on in "The Greatest Show on Earth," which sweeps Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” into the 21st century.
Hauntingly written and accompanied by mesmerizing sketches, "Stitches" recounts author David Small's adolescent years.
Colson Whitehead’s semi-autobiographical novel features a boy named Benji and his family’s summer in the Hamptons.
Lydia Millet's first short story collection brings together animals and celebrities in an exploration of what it means to be human.
In "That Old Cape Magic," Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Russo tackles the age-old fear of turning into one's parents.
Dani Shapiro seeks the wisdom of a yogi, a Buddhist, and a rabbi to help answer life’s ambiguous questions about faith and spirituality.
Written as a series of e-mails, "e2" draws readers into the world of an ad agency—and the workings of the Worldwide Web.
In "And Now There's This," Bill Wasik examines herd mentality and the dissemination of information in the digital age.
Author Morris Dickstein gleans positive creative outcomes from the Great Depression in his book, “Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression.”
In this surprising indictment of positive thinking, Barbara Ehrenreich criticizes American optimism, linking it to such phenomena as the Iraq War and the economic recession.
Yet another reason to take cooking classes: "Catching Fire" posits that the linchpin of human evolution is the ability to cook.
Lori Gottlieb, a single parent, takes a refreshingly realistic look at the dating habits of women across the nation in “Marry Him,” a book on tough love and finding true romance.
From sitcoms to reality shows, from novels to memoirs: Reality takes center stage in "Reality Hunger," David Shields's self-proclaimed manifesto.
Lise Eliot lays out the strengths and weaknesses of both sexes in a refreshingly clear and accessible how-to book aimed at today’s parents.
All questions, no answers: Every sentence in "The Interrogative Mood" ends with a question mark, yet the effect is mysteriously satisfying.
Random
World-famous primatologist Frans de Waal discovers evidence of human empathy in his book “The Age of Empathy.”
Richard Dawkins faces his critics head-on in "The Greatest Show on Earth," which sweeps Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” into the 21st century.
Wells Tower delves into the lives of fathers, sons, brothers, and ex-husbands struggling to love and survive in the depths of Wild America.
“Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi” is a brilliant satire vacillating between ancient and modern worlds and tribulations.
“Drift” forces us headfirst into the minds of various people whose lives are as stable as the waves crashing into the California coast.
In “Just Kids,” punk queen Patti Smith reveals the nuances of her creative relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in 1970s bohemian New York.
In “The Three Weissmanns of Westport,” Cathleen Schine puts her spin on Jane Austen, with characters seeking love in Manhattan and Westport, Connecticut.
In “News of the World,” Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Philip Levine shifts effortlessly between verse and prose.
Depression: a frame of mind or a sales tactic? "Manufacturing Depression" exposes the pharmaceutical industry's role in developing depression as we know it.
Relying on bare facts rather than sentimentality, “Zeitoun” takes the reader straight to the heart of Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath.
Most Popular
Jayne Anne Phillips’ novel “Lark and Termite” entrances readers with its distinct, sensual descriptions and unfamiliar characters.
Wells Tower delves into the lives of fathers, sons, brothers, and ex-husbands struggling to love and survive in the depths of Wild America.
Short story collection "In Other Rooms, Other Wonders" puts the triumphs and tragedies of Pakistani life on center stage
Poet and Guggenheim Fellow Mary Karr recounts her descent into alcoholism and her relationship with her mother, her daughter, and herself.
In “Just Kids,” punk queen Patti Smith reveals the nuances of her creative relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in 1970s bohemian New York.
The construction and embodiment of identity is assiduously scrutinized by Dan Chaon in his new novel “Await Your Reply.”
We're obsessed with email, and John Freeman tackles this obsession in a thought-provoking work of social commentary.
In “Wolf Hall,” Hilary Mantel tackles a larger-than-life character that has been exonerated, bashed, recast, and recycled for centuries: Henry VIII.
Blake Bailey provides detailed personal insight into the simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary life of author John Cheever
In his collection of short stories “Love and Obstacles,” Aleksander Hemon renders lost youth and an extinct Sarajevo without oppressive nostalgia.
