Heather McGhee’s debut book is a triumph. It is extremely difficult to be clear-eyed about American racism while still maintaining hope, but McGhee strikes that fine balance. This is in large part because her analysis invokes its own solution: in any number of ways, white people have destroyed their own resources in order to avoid sharing them. When this false zero-sum mentality can be overcome, and The Sum of Us provides powerful examples of this, everyone benefits. That conclusion is reason for hope, and McGhee’s extraordinarily compelling writing is reason to celebrate.

After a human-caused a cataclysmic event, a group of animals representing their species meet to decide whether or not to kill and eat the small remainder of humanity. This book has something for everyone: postapocalyptic doom; a charming fable with talking animals (though it's definitely not for children); dark humor; and adventure. For me, the book really shines in the small details about the animals we meet. Each character has a unique voice to go with its (often hilarious) animal traits. I loved the rich world of history and lore. Among other things, we learn what cats and dogs really think of each other; why the word “pooch” is derogatory; which animals write the most profound poetry; and which animals you should turn to for a black ops mission. This book was utterly delightful! It was the perfect balm for the pandemic blues.

Yotsuba and her dad, Koiwai, have a special place in my heart and on my bookshelves. Every character is so funny and loveable, and Azuma’s attention to background and texture — from soft pancakes to traffic lights to stray leaves on the street — makes this series feel especially tangible and cozy. His story and style fully embody the manga’s tag line, “enjoy everything.” (Particularly this volume’s chapter, “Rocks”... I cried a little.)

Another year, another Murderbot. With Network Effect, though, we finally get a full novel instead of novella length, wheeeee. Everyone needs to meet the antisocial, snarky AI that just wants to hide away and binge-watch space soap operas, maybe keep an eye on their “not friends,” and maybe keep them out of trouble. The Murderbot is still my go-to series to push on the World! #Murderbot4ever

It’s no surprise that there is a lack of diversity in publishing, which is why the #ownvoices movement is paramount in giving authors from underrepresented and marginalized groups a platform to stand on and, finally, some recognition. Enter Torrey Peters's debut novel Detransition, Baby, a beautiful and poignant book about identity, love, motherhood, and the heartbreaking realities of being trans. There is a reason this book is so critically acclaimed: it's incredible and Torrey Peters is a badass.

Sometimes you find a book in the exact moment that you need it. This year, what I really needed was the story of an emotionally scarred woman with uber-deadly abilities and crippling self-loathing who meets an ultra-hot warrior with wings and a heart of gold. A Court of Silver Flames is keep-you-up-at-night exciting and completely heartbreaking at the same time. I cried for Nesta — she is shockingly relatable for a high-fae death goddess — and I cheered for her to annihilate her enemies.

This book follows three generations of Palestinian women as they navigate life in modern-day Brooklyn. An emotionally profound read about family, trauma, and loss, but ripe with themes of courage, hope, and the incredible power of reading.

I eagerly anticipate each and every new book by Miriam Toews, one of my favorite writers. Toews’s books always feel fresh and new, with one consistency: they open your heart and your mind. In Fight Night, you will fall in love with the vivid protagonists Swiv and her grandma Elvira and you’ll laugh out loud and be moved to tears.

Equal parts Miyazaki and David Lynch. I consumed this short book on a hot summer afternoon and was left in a daze the rest of the week. Much like the main character, I had a hard time grasping what had just occurred but knew full well that it had its teeth in me.

House of Hollow is a culmination of every book I wanted to write, and in turn, every book I wanted to read throughout my life, but was never able to find. I have never read a novel quite so original. It contains every strange detail I have wanted a novel to have, from other worlds and creatures to characters and how their relationships develop beautifully throughout, and still manages so many twists I never saw coming. House of Hollow is something I will never forget and will remain one of my favorite books for the foreseeable future.

I know I’ve found my favorite picture book of the year when I end up carrying it around with me to read out loud to people. I’ve read Lala’s Words at backyard dinner parties, over zoom calls, and at a bookseller-filled picnic in the park. It is a jubilant debut where kind words become magical incantation and the pages brim with kindness and burst with color. So very special indeed.

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.

I’ve read a lot of romance books in the last two years. Like, embarrassingly a lot. Satisfaction Guaranteed is hands down my favorite. Equally steamy and sweet, it tells the story of Cade and Selena and the Portland, Oregon, sex toy shop they co-inherit. I loved it for how real the characters are, their incredible chemistry, and how local author Stetz-Waters makes Portland a tertiary character in this fun and very funny wlw romance.

If you've ever received a gift so generous you couldn't find the right words for a Thank You card, then you know both the gratitude indie booksellers felt when Danny Caine’s How to Resist Amazon and Why landed in stores, and the quandary I'm in trying to write a review that captures how much this little book means to me. This is the hours-long conversation I wish I could have with every customer about what Amazon’s business model means for small businesses, and what small businesses mean for the communities they serve; about the hidden implications of those low, low prices and hyperfast shipping times; about the trajectory we're on as a society and what we can do — as consumers, as workers, as community members — to right our course. Caine has captured it all here, more succinctly and charmingly than I ever could, and I'm so grateful. This is essential reading for a better world.

My favorite book of all time celebrates its 42nd anniversary with a brand-new hardcover edition featuring highly imaginative illustrations. Arthur Dent wakes up to the most eventful Thursday of his life when a fleet of flying saucers arrives to demolish Earth to build a hyperspace bypass. Unbeknownst to him his best friend is an alien, and the two escape the destruction and embark on a wacky adventure that eventually spans five books. The answers to the meaning of life, the universe, and everything lie within the pages of this wholly remarkable book by the late and missed Douglas Adams.

Set in Mississippi a few decades after the lynching of Emmett Till, deeds of the past come to roost in a way that is beyond twisted and grotesque. Everett's The Trees is a gruesome, horrifying police procedural and supernatural mystery that is truly, and unexpectedly, hilarious. With that being said, it is a poignant, profound, and biting critique of contemporary American society, deeply concerned with the ways in which our history bleeds, violently, into our present and future. Not only do I now recommend this to everyone that I talk to, but I consider it to be necessary reading for everyone.

This book is a soothing balm for the anxious, overwhelmed soul. The writing so beautifully captures the beauty and burden of human existence, emotions, and love. It’s not easy to protect your creativity and dreams in our capitalist world. To me, this book was never about the love interests, but rather about Casey learning to love and trust her art, and by extension, herself.

I read a lot of books about climate change. They can be depressing, infuriating, and induce apathy over action. All We Can Save is truly the most inspirational book I've read on our climate emergency. The book is full of essays, poetry, and art by a wonderful variety of women who share their passion, creativity, ideas, and hope as they fight for the future. What a fantastic collection.

Ní Ghríofa’s A Ghost in the Throat is the most interesting and beautiful book I’ve read this year. Biography, memoir, and autofiction (an intoxicating blend for anyone with lit critical impulses), A Ghost explores Ní Ghríofa’s obsession with Eibhlín Dubh and her 18th-century lament “Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire.” Unable to find much scholarship about Dubh, Ní Ghríofa plunges headfirst into translation and archival records, traversing Ireland as she imagines the circumstances of Dubh’s life and losses into being on the page. At the same time, Ní Ghríofa is bearing, nursing, and caring for four children, and the twin acts of raising a ghost and raising children form the core of the work, which is as invested in female sacrifice and desire as it is in literary biography. A poet, Ní Ghríofa has an unerring talent for structure and the tonal quality of words; there’s no exposition here, only deeply felt, keenly designed chapters that pull the reader into Ní Ghríofa’s fixations and experiences. A remarkable work that remakes biography and memoir into something wholly unexpected and pulsing with life.

If you’ve never read Jonathan Franzen’s fiction, you may be surprised by how insightful and moving Crossroads is. If you’re a fan, you'll see a new humbleness and empathy in his writing that makes this story of a family in crisis in the early 1970s Franzen’s best book yet.

For days after I finished reading this, my heart was brimming with the gentle kindness Becky Chambers infuses into her stories. This little book about two very different souls has so much heart and humanity, and I recommend it to anyone who has ever felt a little lost.

Interwoven with mystical themes it challenges as much as celebrates, White Magic is a layered, structurally innovative memoir. It is many things: a narrative about addiction and what lives beneath it; a map of landscapes, both physical and emotional; an unearthing of generational trauma; a story about feeling lost in a place that’s supposed to be home. Ultimately, heartbreak leads Washuta to find her own authority... as a “powerful witch.” Thankfully, the book gives no easy answer about what witchcraft or magic mean, but through its vulnerability, stylistic ingenuity, and authentic voice, the book weaves a spell of its own.

The Great Offshore Grounds is the great American novel turned on its head. I was lost in the pleasure of the language, the characters, and their real but transformative journeys. This book is why I read.

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.

This book telescopes and concentrates things I think about a lot: governance, gender and women’s liberation, cults and religions, undeclared and “forever” wars… crucially, it isn't just about what happened but about what is possible.

As a big fan of Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series, I was beyond ecstatic to pick up her first adult novel. I was not disappointed. I like to describe this book as a slow-burn murder mystery with an ending that will make you cry, laugh, and then cry some more. This has been my go-to recommendation for 2021.

Reading CAConrad’s poetry, for me, often feels like reading my way back into aliveness itself. Their latest collection, the eco-poetic AMANDA PARADISE: Resurrect Extinct Vibration, is no exception. Emanating from a series of (Soma)tic rituals based on the recorded sounds of extinct animals, its poems shape-shift in playful, creaturely forms, even as they broach complex (and interconnected) traumas, from state violence to the AIDS crisis. The result is a devastating, exuberant, and utterly capacious love song to queerness, friendship, “dirty poems,” crystal grids, and, ultimately, personal and planetary healing whose frequencies I will carry with me for a long time.

Inio Asano is a master of his craft; and personally, I think this series is the pièce de résistance of his large catalog of work. This series is proof of his beautiful and mind-bendlingly challenging creative process of painstakingly redrawing photoshopped pictures of real locations and objects for backgrounds and props in comic panels; creating cute and charmingly surreal characters; and evoking an unending sense of dread as the end of the world looms closer and closer. If you ever wanted the real world reflected directly at you, but through the guise of an alien invasion (an admittedly cooler premise to the end to the world) and the high school girls trying desperately to continue their normal lives, this series in the perfect combination of biting satire and genuine desire to see lies beneath the surface of humanity’s desperation to keep “normal” while facing their direct end...

I love this heartbreaking, inventive story about teenage Benny, who hears voices from the objects around him, and his mother Annabelle, who has a hoarding problem. The eclectic group of friends that Benny makes along the way adds a richness to this story that made it a true pleasure to read.

For anyone who knows me, it should come as no surprise that this is my top choice — I've read Mrs. Dalloway every summer (or thereabouts) for over 20 years. And this new annotated edition is like reading it again for the first time. Editor Merve Emre's meticulously researched notes, her critical analysis of Woolf's writing, and all of the photos and illustrations throughout are bound to add something new and fascinating to your reading of this classic novel, no matter if this is the first time or the fiftieth.

“Freedom” has never felt so fraught or so complicated as it does in our current moment. In a time when the term is often invoked as an individual right, this book wrestles with the notion that freedom is inseparable from our responsibilities to one another. This is a powerful, rigorous, detailed, nuanced exploration of a concept that is at once central to our self-conception as a society and more misunderstood and misused than any word in our language, and it doesn't shy away from even the thornier implications of what freedom can (and perhaps should) mean.

The quantal-surreal imagination of César Aira takes on divorce — which is to say, there’s an impossible fire, someone stages a coup in a Darwin appreciation club, and a man is literally drenched by love. A treat for fans of Borges and Bolaño, this slim volume opens up infinities.

Samuel Delany has one of those minds with whom it’s always a pleasure to spend time. Ranging the gamut from silent interviews with Octavia Butler to extensively researched musings on Hart Crane, Occasional Views, Vol. 1, is an impressive display of the breadth of Delany's talent.

I actually read this whole trilogy in 2021 and was thoroughly obsessed with it from start to finish. The world-building is top-notch, the characters are so compelling, and I loved every point of view that was introduced (a rarity for me). These books are that perfect blend of heart-pounding action and heartbreaking personal stakes that I need to really fall in love with a story, and this final installment was so satisfying. Secrets, sibling rivalry, soulmates, and sweeping rides on magical phoenixes — I couldn’t ask for more! Perfect for fans of the Throne of Glass series.

It has The Cat Returns energy. To be honest, this book just makes me happy. It's cute, short, and sweet, and it talks about one of the reasons I love storytelling so much. It's good escapism for when capitalism makes you very, very tired.

The Baseball 100 is perhaps the best baseball book I’ve read. Joe Posnanski makes the less interesting players fascinating (Kid Nichols, Arky Vaughan) and looks at those who’ve been written to death (Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams) from a new angle other writers haven’t delved into. The Baseball 100 gives credit to Black players who never had a shot at the main limelight before Jackie Robinson and brings their stories to life. This book is the perfect gift for baseball fans. It may be very thick, but it reads quickly.

The modern serial killer you’ve never heard of. This isn’t your average droll retelling of the killer’s crimes, but a compelling recount of the investigation and arrest. Callahan begins with Keyes’s final kill and then goes backwards in time, making you feel like you’re part of the investigation. It’s entertaining and terribly tragic. This has quickly topped my list of true crime favorites.

I fell in love with Margaret Owen’s uniquely smart, emotionally resonant, surprisingly funny writing with her Merciful Crow duology. (I say “surprisingly” because I didn’t expect to do any laughing reading about a fantasy plague.) These traits are at their best in Little Thieves, a standalone fairy tale retelling that has been hijacked off the beaten path by protagonist Vanya, who would like to know the going rate for said retelling and where she can hock it. I’m incredibly picky about first person, but it’s such a delight to be in Vanya’s mischievous, terrible, wonderful head that I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Full of complex, fascinating characters (Ragne is the gremlin of my heart), supported-but-surprising twists and turns, an impeccably told demisexual romance that made me feel very seen, and a running game of find-the-lady with the best payoff imaginable, this fabulous fantasy mystery/con/adventure is not to be missed.

In A Year in the Life of Death, Shawn Levy’s provocative, insightful book of poetry based on New York Times obituaries from 2016, each poem is a tiny mystery story with the last line revealing its subject. So many made me cry. So many made me laugh. Together, they form a unique history of the 20th century full of fascinating facts, nostalgia, social and political commentary, and, of course, human stories running the gamut from heroes and celebrities to unknown people I’m so glad to have been introduced to through Levy’s elegant words.

I had been looking forward to this memoir for ages, ever since I first heard the name Ruth Coker Burks. Yes, All the Young Men is about the AIDS epidemic, but it is also about kindness, compassion, and love for other people even when you’re afraid or unsure of what it means to be afraid. This book is not for the faint of heart, but as Burks takes you on her journey as she cares for these young men — men exiled by their families — you will discover what it means to show up for someone. What a book. What a woman.

I had so much fun reading Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts! Racculia has created some of the quirkiest, relatable characters I've ever read; I care about all of them, which makes the book so, so hard to put down. It’s smart-fun with streaks of mystery, romance, and just a hint of horror. Pairs well with a cozy blanket, best read on a rainy day.

From cloud computing services and security systems to movie production and book publishing, the everything store is inescapable. Whether you think the Big Tech oligopoly is terrifying or benevolent, we all need to understand the power and pitfalls of the everything store’s inescapable reach. Even if How to Resist Amazon and Why doesn’t convince you to give up your Prime subscription, reading Caine’s urgent polemic will give you crucial insight into the perils of this age of nascent technocracy and remind you of the importance of supporting small businesses. Make sure to buy your copy from your local independent bookstore.

I have long been a fan of Toews, but this one surprised me in the best way. I completely fell in love with Swiv and her sassy grandma — they make the best power couple! I can’t think of a book that made me laugh out loud more times, while simultaneously being thought-provoking, insightful, and heartwarming. I still miss these characters and I only wish I could experience them again for the first time.

This was my first introduction to the “horror novel.” I was unsure if I would like it, but it did not disappoint! This was a full-blown thriller with twists and turns. With just enough gore to make one shiver.

Meet Janina. But please do not forget that she cannot tolerate her own name and that she prefers to name the people around her according to their personalities or physical characteristics. She lives alone in a small, rather remote Polish village maintaining several properties for people who have summer homes there. She dabbles in astrology, translates William Blake, and is an animal lover, and one day her two dogs do not come home. Around the same time a neighbor turns up dead. She is convinced that deer killed him in revenge for his hunting them. No one believes her and other victims are found with animal tracks nearby.

In a(nother) year where laughter and levity were in short supply, not a single book provoked more guffaws and hilarity than Catalan author Max Besora’s stupendous novel, The Adventures and Misadventures of the Extraordinary and Admirable Joan Orpí, Conquistador and Founder of New Catalonia (in a feat of translation by Mara Faye Lethem). Ribald and racy, this absolutely irreverent work of quasi-historical fiction satirizes and lampoons, aiming at empire, religion, history, and more. With extraordinarily playful language and a sense of humor likely to provoke an entirely new shade of blush, Besora’s bawdy book is the balmiest of the year.

Perfect for rainy day reading even if you aren’t a dungeon master in training, this collection presents a tightly curated sampling of old favorites and hidden gems of the high and pulp fantasy stories of yesteryear. Bebergal’s introduction offers a quick look into the early history of Dungeons & Dragons and how Gary Gygax’s reading habits shaped his outlook as a game designer and Bebergal’s own relationship with fiction and the selected stories. A fantastic read by itself and a good jumping-off point for exploring the featured authors’ works.

Elizabeth Kolbert examines the ways human intervention has caused environmental devastation. And yet, further intervention seems all that will mitigate the consequences. Don’t we have a responsibility to explore any and all measures to save the environment? To what degree do we have the right?

Olga Tokarczuk knows how transfixing an unreliable narrator can be. In this novel, main character Janina fills her reclusive days by studying astrology, translating William Blake, raging against cruel animal hunting practices, and caretaking vacation properties in remote Poland. Janina's idiosyncrasies are somehow profoundly relatable. She’s fascinating enough as is, but then a brilliant murder mystery weaves into her life. This novel’s strange, snowy plot tumbles forth from there, finally reaching a profound conclusion.

Taking place over a hazy August weekend, Real Life is a pitch-perfect capture of so many things: a Midwestern university town, frustrations and uncertainty in academia, and emotionally charged 30-something dinner parties, to name a few. Biochem grad student Wallace takes a protective, guarded stance in his relationships, and the weekend holds multiple confrontations between and among his friends and labmates that challenge his ability to keep that protective distance while navigating very white spaces. Real Life is so good and so painful, in ways I struggle to articulate! I want everyone to read this book, and I want no one to talk to me about it because it makes me feel too vulnerable for other people to have read this book.

Radtke’s amazing book examines loneliness from various angles — not just her own personal stories, but also the psychological studies of monkeys, television laugh tracks, her father’s CB radio obsession, social media, cuddlers for hire, and much more. Radtke seamlessly splices interesting and stunning anecdotes about how humans live with solitude, sadness, and worse. Her art is consistently engaging, with intimate close-ups and haunting long shots.