A Best Friend Is Someone Who Gives Me a Book I’ve Never Read, A. Lincoln

Sixty contributors (34 female, 26 male) responded to this annual (16th!) MillersTime call for favorite reads. Readers of this site offered 172 titles identified as books they’ve particularly enjoyed over the past year. Fiction (F) led Non Fiction (NF) 60%-40%.

Unlike in previous years, there were only two titles that appeared more than twice: Percival Everett’s James (F) and Doris Kearns Goodwin’s An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s (NF).

As has been the case in previous years, there is a wide range of titles, and it is particularly the readers’ comments that makes this list worth the time it will take you to get the full benefit why contributors’ made the choices they did. (NOTE/BRIBE: If you tell me you read through the entire post, that will allow you to add an extra book to the number books you will be allowed to list at the end of 2025.)

And, I am indeed thankful for the time each contributor took to write and send in their (up to five) titles. Know that others use it, as one of the first places to look for new reads, and they often return to this list in search of what to read next.

Contributors are listed alphabetically by first name. Any errors are solely my responsibility. Please feel free to let me know corrections I may need to make.

INDIVIDUALS’ FAVORITES

ALLAN LATTS:

Shantaram (F) and the sequel The Mountain Shadow (F) by Gregory David Roberts. Shantaram follows Lin, an escaped Australian convict, as he builds a new life in Mumbai. He sets up a health clinic in the slums, gets involved in the city’s underworld, and searches for redemption and identity. In The Mountain Shadow Lin continues his journey in Mumbai, dealing with new mafia leaders and personal losses. He seeks love, faith, and meaning while navigating a dangerous world.

How to Decide (NF) by Annie Duke. A practical guide to improving decision-making skills. Duke, a former professional poker player, shares strategies to help readers make better choices by understanding the role of luck, avoiding common cognitive biases, and using structured frameworks. The book emphasizes the importance of gathering information, considering multiple perspectives, and learning from past decisions to enhance future outcomes

I am listening to another book that is super interesting…It is called The Coming Wave (NF) by Mustafa Suleyman (founder of DeepMind…now owned by Google) and Michael Bhaskar. It was on Bill Gates’s reading list … best book he says about AI. It is super interesting…and scary. Worth a read.

ANITA RECHLER:

Beginner’s Mind (NF) by Yo-Yo Ma. Civility, compassion, exuberance, and, yes, also music. Listen to this reflection on life and art for 90 minutes, and you and the world will feel more connected and alive.

BARBARA FRIEDMAN:

All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia (NF) by Simon Garfield is a very interesting history of the encyclopedia. There are 26 chapters . . . beginning with Aah, Here Comes Andrew Bell, and ending with Zeitgeist (you can guess which letters the in-between chapters start with)!  And within each chapter, the section heading begins with that same letter. . . such as Accumulation, Accurate Definitions and Action, Alphabetical order . . . you get the idea.  It is not a heavy read but a very informative and enjoyable one.

The Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky (NF) by Simon Shuster is an excellent book of Zelensky’s rise from being a star comedian to the President of Ukraine during the horrific (and continuing) war against Russia.  A MUST read of current history, alas.

The Commander-in-Chief Test: Public Opinion and the Politics of Image-Making in US Foreign Policy (NF) by Jeffrey A. Friedman is a very interesting and well-researched book showing that voters look for a president with leadership strength in foreign policy rather than good judgment. And he shows that voters equate hawkish foreign policies with leadership strength whether they agree with the policies or not. To support these conclusions, the author looks at presidential candidates and elections starting with JFK and continues through the Obama elections. In one example, he notes that Nixon could have ended the Vietnam War with a peace treaty in October 1972, but instead deliberately prolonged the fighting (and continuing soldier deaths!) through the November election to avoid voters’ questioning his foreign policy competence. The peace treaty instead was signed early January 1973!  The author details similar situations under other US presidents. There is a lot more to learn and understand when you read this book..

Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adamas (NF) Louisa Thomas (no relation) relates the life of Louisa, who was among many things, the only First Lady who was foreign born (until Melania Trump) and illegitimate!  (Her parents eventually married when Louisa was around 11 years old.)  Her life with John Quincy was widespread – from London to St. Petersburg to Berlin to Paris to Washington DC and of course to Quincy MA.  Besides relating the remarkable story of Louisa and the many fascinating things she did, the biography also relates the very interesting time in which she lived.  This biography is well worth reading.

The Demon of Unrest (NF) by Erik Larson is an excellent history of the US from the start of the Civil War to its end .. . . beginning with the end of Buchanan’s term with the shelling of Fort Sumter and until Lincoln was shot at Ford’s theater.  Various people were highlighted – such as Mary Chestnut (wife of a prominent planter) and Major Robert Anderson (Sumter’s commander and slave owner) and William Seward which bring to life personalities, egos, and bloodthirsty radicals.  As is true with other of Larson’s books, it is a very interesting and enjoyable read.)

Elon Musk (NF) by Walter Isaacson is a very interesting biography of a very interesting man.  The book is “choppy” – the chapters are not necessarily long but contain many sub-chapters, some of which are only a few paragraphs long.  To his credit, Musk did a number of great “things” but was also a very troubled man which seriously effected his relationship with people – both employees and family. 

BEN SENTURIA:

The Briar Club (F) by Kate Quinn. I have read a number of good Kate Quinn novels focused on women during WW I and II followed by Quinn books from other eras that were disappointing. The Briar Club was her best.  Situated in D.C. during the McCarthy era, it focuses on a women’s boarding house featuring each woman’s story  and their coming together as a group. It is  typically well written and well paced. I was riveted.

BINA SHAH:

Lessons in Chemistry (F) by Bonnie Garmus.

This Ends with Us (F) by Coleen Hoover.

BILL PLITT:

I have just completed reading a rather scholarly work by Jamil Zaki, Hope For Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness (NF). I found his work over several years to be so relevant in these days we are facing. I have written a book recently that is built upon capturing people I visited who were working for justice and equality in Israel, Palestine, and our own country over a 15 year period. Because of that experience, I fundamentally believe that people desire to be good. And there is the link for me. Zaki says, “When we expect the worst in people, we often bring it out of them….  We need to adopt a “hopeful skepticism”. I n doing so,.. “we are thinking critically about people and problems while honoring and encouraging our strengths and rebalance our view of human nature and help build the world we truly want.” May it also be so.

BRIAN STEINBACH:

All fiction this year. In addition to those in the midyear list:

Crook Manifesto (F) by Colson Whitehead. A sequel to Harlem Shuffle, set this time in the Harlem of 1971, 1973, and 1976. Our furniture store owner, now with a successful middle-class life, finds himself drawn back in to “the game” against the background of a crooked cop, celebrity drug dealers, up and coming comedians, and, in the bicentennial year, a gang of arsonists for hire. Once again, many colorful and well-drawn characters, with a background of cultural history and a portrait of the meaning of family.

Swamp Story (F) by Dave Barry. A salesperson at Politics & Prose Bookstore suggested this to me for vacation reading, and as I always found Dave Barry funny, I bought it. It’s a caper story involving some Everglades residents, a failed tourist attraction, and a presidential hopeful. And of course, some buried gold. Not great literature, but a good yarn that will leave you laughing.

The Mission Song (F) by John LeCarré. With the Cold War over, this 2006 submission from LeCarré involves a Congolese half-breed who is educated at a mission school in the East Congo province of Kivu and later immigrates to England where he trains as an interpreter in the minority African languages of his youth. He becomes involved in a secret meeting between Western financiers and East Congolese warlords who plan a coup to obtain mineral resources. His decision to try to prevent it leads him down dark paths of hypocrisy and love. The background explores the political and ethnic tension of the region, the greed and amorality of local bureaucrats and Western interest, and apathy about the continuing humanitarian crisis of the Congo wars.

The Good Earth (F) by Pearl Buck. Somewhere I picked up a 1994 edition complete with a length scholarly introduction, as well as critical excerpts. I’ve always heard of this book but never had a chance to read it. I was pleased at how much I was drawn in to the saga of a Chinese peasant who gradually becomes a successful farmer and landowner while raising two successful sons who, alas, do not plan to carry on his own devotion to the land. A portrait of peasant life in the late 19th century under the last emperor and continuing with political and social upheavals of the early 20th century. A surprising amount of insight into the background of the later revolutions. The background of Buck’s life was also very interesting. Apparently a lot of Chinese in the 1930’s did not like the fact that the book portrayed rural life.

The Ink Black Heart (F) by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling). The sixth in Rowling’s Cormoran Strike series (there are now seven, with three more expected), the main plot involves the attempt to determine the identity of the person called “Anomie” (pun presumably intended) who harasses online and then murders the co-creator of an online cartoon, and who also attacked and paralyzed the co-creator. A deep dive into online behavior in the late teens, somewhat difficult to read at times because the pages reproduce chats, often in as many as three columns. Many leads go nowhere, including a particularly interesting connection to a far-right quasi-Nazi group. The murderer is, of course, finally revealed as something of a surprise but not without some foreshadowing. A bit overlong and sometimes confusing, but typically of Rowling it ultimately proves well-plotted with many interesting characters. And the not-quite love affair between Strike and Robin continues, with Robin getting her name on the office door at he end.

CAROL HAILE:

The Space Between Cheslie’s Smile and Mental Illness (NF) by April Simpkins and Cheslie Kryst. I needed to know why Cheslie, a smart, successful attorney and then TV personality, a beautiful (former Miss USA), well liked, adored by her family woman would take her own life. Sadly, this is the profile of many dealing with depression and unable to find a way out of the internal darkness.  I cannot imagine the grief and yet strength of her mother as she wrote the second part and finished the book. 

You will learn about the life of pageantry from someone who chose to participate and wasn’t pushed by her parents.  

A few memorable quotes: 

-“As you grow and change, your life will show you different sides of your friends. Some will stay on the journey with you. And some won’t.” 

-“Guilt is like planting a permanent review mirror in front of you….” 

Her mother is now a mental health advocate and a list of resources is provided at the end. 

The majority of the book is about Cheslie and her vibrant life, not her depression.

Just Add Water: My Swimming Life (NF) by Katie Ledecky. There aren’t enough positive adjectives to describe my thoughts about Katie Ledecky. She is an inspiration, not only as an accomplished Olympian; but, also as a young woman who is a positive role model for all ages. Katie competes in the swimming world because she LOVES swimming.  Her parents did not push her one iota. She shares in her own voice (audio version) how she came to love the sport, how she continues to set and conquer new goals, her priorities in life and the special relationship she had with her Jewish paternal grandmother; Berta, who was a force in her own right. Katie is wiser and more mature than most 27 year olds. Loved when she won silver (not gold as was the norm) in an Olympic event and the interviewers were pushing her to say she was disappointed.  She held her ground, replying that she just won a SILVER medal at the Olympics. How can you be disappointed about that?

She is also a talented writer , and I’m sure had an equally talented editor.  

The Lion Women of Tehran (HF) by Marian Kamali. By the same author as The Stationary Shop, this coming of age story about two unlikely friends growing up in the 1950’s in Iran is filled with all the emotions of friendship, trust, betrayal, guilt and grief. The author does an excellent job of describing the political climate and women’s rights (or lack thereof) in a country that constantly seems to be in turmoil.

It is educational, emotional and eloquently written.

CHRIS BOUTOURLINE:

The Friend (F) by Sigrid Nunez. The novel explores relationships, often troubling in nature, through the musings of a writer/teacher who inherits a Great Dane after her mentor’s suicide. I loved the dark humor of the protagonist and the overall cleverness of Nunez’s yarn. I heard the movie being made of the novel was delayed because they couldn’t find the right Great Dane, which, if you read the book before the movie doubtlessly butchers it, makes little sense.

Small Things Like These (F) by Claire Keegan. I enjoyed Keegan’s book Foster so much that it was one of my MillersTime book submissions last year. While Foster was, primarily, a charming tale, this novella is much darker. Keegan’s economic writing is remarkable for the information and feeling it conveys.

Same Bed Different Dreams (F) by Ed Park. The novel explores the realities of a split Korea with a sort of “truth is stranger than fiction” approach. As the New York Times review put it, “If Park’s suitcase is stuffed, well, it’s an inspired choice for an odyssey that unpacks, in Pynchonesque fashion, Korean history and American paranoia”.

Winter in Sokcho (F) by Elisa Shua Dusapin. Another novel about the two Koreas. Where Ed Park’s novel (see above) careens about like a pinball machine this one has a stark, oddly romantic approach that leaves an impression.

CHUCK TILIS:

The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: The Rise and Fall of an American Organized Crime Boss (NF) by Margalit Fox. Ms. Fox, a former editor for the NYT obituary pages, found a story of truth stranger than fiction—a Jewish Mother invented the organized crime business back in the 19th century and the Mafia stole her business model. The story has everything you would expect–bribery, extortion, and corrupt politicians and policemen alike.  The one difference—no murder–just good old fashioned thievery and coverups.  Definitely worth reading—and find out how the Pinkerton’s came to be as well.

Death in Cornwall (F) by Daniel Silva. While Silva has authored 24 books, I’ve read only two which are the bookends of his distinguished career–his first and now most recent. This was my first introduction to his spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon, and I must say I couldn’t put the book down. It is more than a murder mystery as Gabriel untangles the murder of an art professor while navigating the clandestine world of billionaire greed and power.

The Three Governors Controversy: Skullduggery, Machinations, and the Decline of Goergia’s Progressive Politics (NF) by Charles S. Bullock III, Scott E. Buchanaan and Ronald Keith Gaddief. If you’re looking to see the callousness of politics in the South, read this book which in essence, lays bare the racism of Herman Talmedge and the acceptance by Georgia’s electorate. But it does go further to explain how Georgia overtly prevented African Americans from voting, used a cockamamie county system for tallying the winners, and in essence had the party apparatus determine winners before election day. All of this in addition to the cockamamie story of three governors claiming power at once.  

The End of Ambition–America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East (NF) by Steven A. Cook. As Dustin Hoffman was informed—I have one word “Oil.”  Cook in less than 200 pages helps us understand the intent of our Middle East Policy from his perch at the Council on Foreign Relations. Very readable and balanced which can infuriate one at times with its honesty and timely given the events unfolding today.  

CINDY OLMSTEAD:

James (F) by Percival Everett. I have become a devoted fan of Everett’s writing. This novel is a National Book Award Winner and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It is an absorbing re-imagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view. It is humorous, yet tragic, poignant and a very vivid saga of the adventures of runaway slave. Everett has a special way of weaving tragedy with the drive for freedom. Well worth the read.

Quoted from a “literary” source (Amazon Books):  “When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all listeners of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.”

I Am Not Sidney Poitier (F) by Percival Everett. I had no idea what or where this book was going to take the reader. The main protagonist is a black man who has come into heaps of money. His journey along with his name get him into unbelievable, comical, diabolical and heartfelt situations. Ted Turner is his “adopted father” which adds to the humor and quizzical plot of the novel. Everett is a master at sharing the plight of the black man while creating a sense of comedy, if you can believe that to be possible.

DAVID STANG:

Skating on Thin Ice: A Zen Path of Self-Realization (NF) by Ezra Bayda. The author, who lives in La Jolla, California has written eight books on life philosophy over the past 30 years. His book, Zen Heart (2009) was a life transforming influence for me. The first word of that title reveals his philosophical orientation. His intent is not to convert his readers to Zen but to induce them to evaluate their lives seeing and acting through a Zen lens. His Skating on Thin Ice can fairly be regarded as a synthesis of his prior writings. Bayda’s latest book conveys his philosophical /psychological framework for living one’s life.

One of the principal values espoused in his book is that perseverance is the key to life of fulfillment. He encourages his readers to shift their focus from a “predominant orientation toward sleep and mechanicalness – whose primary goals are comfort, security, approval, and the control – to a growing orientation toward wanting to live more awake.” Perseverance combined with curiosity establish Bayda’s pathway to personal growth and fulfillment. He emphasizes that “until we become intimate with her difficulties and cheers, until we can welcome them with curiosity, they will always limit our ability to love.” His framework for following this pursuit consists of asking oneself five questions:

“(1) What is going on right now?

 (2) Can I see this as my path?

 (3) What is my most believed thought?

 (4) What is this? and

 (5) Can I let this experience just be?

Bayda points out that the best way to undertake such an inquiry is to expand one’s curiosity while learning to become more perceptively awake. He adheres to Plato’s belief that the unexamined life is not worth living. Each of his 44 chapters Bayda presents the reader with a separate key to unlocking the doorway to Truth.

DOMINIQUE LALLEMENT:

Daughter of Fire (HF) by Sofia Robleda. Set in the 16th C. in Guatemala, this is the story of Catalina, the daughter of Don Alonso Lopez de Cerrato, appointed president by the Spanish Emperor, and his second wife, an indigenous woman who was killed by the Inquisition for continuing to practice the traditional religion of the K’iche (Maya) people. Educated secretly by her mother on the culture and language of the K’iche people, Catalina had promised to protect the Popol Vuh, a book consigning the history of the K’iche people and codices of practices to honor their gods. Catalina struggles between the power of her Spanish father and her commitment to her deceased mother to finally opt to make her life with the last king of the K’iche, although she has been disowned by her father and they live in poverty. This is an easy read but reminds us of the losses of cultures and suffering of indigenous people that result from colonization.

Pompeii (HF) by Robert Harris. It blends historical fiction with the real life eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD. I particularly enjoyed the scientific descriptions of volcanology, as well as of the hydraulic systems that had been developed by the Romans: aqueducts, reservoirs etc. I was less keen on the detailed description of a rich Roman, Ampliatus, feeding a slave to his eels (apparently a real historical case of Vedius Pollio! The subtext of comparing the preeminence of the United States and the Roman Empire over the rest of the world is also quite interesting, especially in the current context with the United States losing its preeminence as a world power.

Joseph Fouché: The Portrait of a Politician (NF) by Stefan Zweig. ‘Gambler-in-chief at the great roulette board of human destiny,’ Joseph Fouché is one of the most amazing figures in history. He is ‘the most remarkable politician the world has ever known,’ says Stefan Zweig, making his point through this brilliant biography. Fouché being from Nantes, my hometown, where he spent his youth and early career, made it all the more interesting — although ‘nothing to be proud of’. Against the flaming background of the French Revolution we see Fouché, hitherto unknown, a ‘semi-priest,’ take his seat as member of the dreaded National Convention of France. When the people cry for the blood of the aristocrats he proceeds to Lyons, which has risen against the revolutionists, and plunges into an orgy of murder and blasphemy; when the people turn to moderation he repudiates his former companions, helps to speed Robespierre to the guillotine, and becomes the most moderate of moderates. His rise is meteoric, his fall equally so. Suddenly Citizen Fouché sinks into obscure poverty, making a living from petty spying and tending to a swine farm. Then Fouché rises again to new and greater heights as Minister of Police to Napoleon. Not only does he spy out Napoleon’s enemies, he even uses Josephine to spy on the Emperor himself. Joseph Fouché, the man who killed aristocrats and tended swine, finally became Duke of Otranto, millionaire, aristocrat, master-spy, and super-blackguard. From the pages of this volume emerge not only Fouché, but some of the great figures of history: Napoleon, Robespierre, Louis XVIII, Talleyrand, Lafayette. To read it is to gain knowledge of sixty of the most volcanic years the world has known. Had President Macron taken the time to read the chapters about Napoléon, he could have avoided the mistake of dissolving the French National Assembly in July 2024, which has led to the most troubled period in French Politics of modern times, and the end is not in sight! 

Animal Farm (F) by George Orwell. A brilliant book, very witty and hopeful at the beginning, then turns into a rather tragic story of what happens to societies when a dominant group progressively takes over and comforts the installation of a dictatorship. The rebellion of the animals is reminiscent of the French and Soviet Revolutions and their aftermaths. The name of Napoleon for the pig becoming the dictator is the parody of the true Napoleon who declares himself the leader, bestows honors upon himself (allusion to his own coronation in Notre-Dame, actually mentioned in Macron speech at the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris!!!), and surrounds himself with cronies. The dominant group cannot refrain from living in grand style, and progressively adopts the lifestyle of those they got rid of.They enslave the other groups to work more, eat less etc. and eventually abandon all principles of establishing an egalitarian socialist system. In the end, pigs look more and more like like men (walk on their hind legs, triple chins, drinking etc…) to the point that there is no difference. Animal Farm is still so relevant to our modern times: reminiscent of how Putin and the Oligarchs did away with 75 years of communist aspirations, and of the surge in the political right in a majority of European countries, let alone in the US after this last election. This is a book worth reading or rereading before the next presidential inauguration, as pre-dictatorial signs are already emerging,  and US corporate cronies stepping back on critical societal issues after decades of fighting for equal rights had been finally achieved (see: https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/disney-removes-transgender-storyline-upcoming-pixar-streaming-series-rcna184664#).

Too bad I can’t share some of the literary jewels I also read:

Medelaine avant l’aube (F) by Sandrine Collette, prix Goncourt des lyceens 2025, a novel about a wild child that brings a wind of revolt in a backward community, I have never read such a poignant description of starvation among peasant communities exploited by the nobility.  

Jacaranda (F) by Gaël Faye, Prix Renaudot, 2024, a novel about  trauma left from the Genocide in Rwanda.

DONNA POLLET:

Leaving (F) by Roxana Robinson. Love is always complicated and never more so than when an unexpected late in life affair offers a lasting companionship. Insightful and beautifully written, Leaving examines in heart rendering detail the conflict between the self and the inescapable commitment made to those closest to you.

Rules of Civility (F) by Amor Towles. A novel of style, atmosphere, and lyrical language which immerses you in another time and place. It’s post depression New York City, a heady time for the young, well-heeled, and the newly arrived looking for opportunity and adventure. Like the city’s persona, the characters are vibrant and captivating but also opaque and misleading, and the reader is caught up in all the poignant high’s and low’s of a different social sensibility.

Small Mercies (F) by Dennis Lehane. It’s 1974 in Boston right before busing desegregation and tempers are running high in the Irish working class enclave of Southie. Set against this backdrop, Lehane creates a mesmerizing and violent personal story of a mother’s love and retribution in what appears to be the  unconnected events of the death of a young black man found in the subway and the disappearance of a white teenage girl. But, of course, in Lehane’s world,  it is all insidiously connected to the times we live in, racism, class injustice, criminality, and above all, power and control.

Watching the Stars (F) by Tommy Orange. It’s all about the legacy and the torturous history of Native Americans which traces the prejudice, displacement, and genocide from the very beginning through contemporary times as seen poignantly through one family in Oakland. It helps to have read Orange’s first book, There There, but it is not a precondition. The message is clear and devastating.

ED SCHOLL:

Chasing Hope: A Reporter’s Life (NF) by Nicholas Kristof. I loved this autobiography by my favorite NY Times columnist. He richly deserved his two Pulitzers (for Tiananmen Square and Darfur coverage), but since he became a columnist, I greatly admire and look forward to reading his columns. This book also describes how he met and professionally collaborated with his wife, Sheryl WuDunn.

The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism (NF) by Tim Alberta. As a Christian and a believer in democracy and the establishment clause of the Constitution , I am aghast at the rise of Christian Nationalism in the US and in many other parts of the world. This book helped me understand the Christian nationalist movement and why it is such a perversion of the tenets of Christianity and a threat to our pluralistic democracy and freedom of, as well as freedom from, religion.

ELLEN MILLER:

The last half of 2024 was not a great time for reading for me so I looked for options that would be arresting, not too long, and a little different than my usual fare.

All Fours (F) by Miranda July was certainly one book. (Little did I know when I started it, that it would be listed as No. 1 on the NYT’s Best fiction list of the best 100 books for the year!) I suggest you read about it before you buy it because you should be for for warned. (There is a chance you might either dump the book as trash or find it as enticing as I did. (To call it sexually explicit would be underrating its content, but I think almost all of us are adults on this list.)

The Safekeep (F) by Yael van der Wouden. This is another remarkable novel though in a different way than the first one I have listed (although there is love affair which is key to the story). This book is set in 1960s in Amsterdam. The primary character, Isabel, clings to her childhood home after the death of her mother. When her brother brings his girlfriend into the house, pretty much everything changes. The writing is excellent and the story gallops along. The book was nominated for the 2024 Brooker prize.

Baumgartner (F) by Paul Auster. Auster has always been a delightful read, and we readers lost a literary giant when he died last April. After his death, I looked for his most recent book, and I will be forever grateful to have read it. When he finished writing it, he said that it was the last one he’d ever write. He was a right. He died five months later. It’s his 18th novel, and it’s the story of an older man (Sy Baumgartner) who has lost the love of his life but who goes on to live joyously, although sometimes he struggles. The book is witty, and the stories he tells us about his past are delightful. This is one of the books which grabs you from the very beginning. You won’t want to put it down, and you’ll be sorry when it’s over.

Neighbors and Other Stories (F) by Diane Oliver. This is a collection of stories from an author who died at the age of 22 in a motorcycle accident. She was still a graduate student at the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop when she died. The stories range in topic (and in quality), but each one
tells an intimate story about families who struggled under the overt racism of the 1950s and ‘60s. They illustrate the strengths and sometimes the weaknesses of families and their children as they navigated their circumstances. I found each these stories very compelling. While I have read much about this topic, I found these short stories particularly intimate. I highly recommend them.

ELLEN SHAPIRA:

Goyhood (F) by Reuven Fenton. This was probably my favorite book of the year.  After the election, this was a perfect pick-me-upper:  entertaining, funny, with a fast moving plot and flawed characters who were likable.  Goyhood tells the story of Mayer, an Orthodox Jewish Talmudic scholar who discovers in midlife that he isn’t Jewish (thus entering a stage of “Goyhood”). Mayer reconnects with his estranged twin brother and while he tries to figure out how to deal with this new life altering  knowledge, the brothers set out on a road trip throughout the south which ultimately changes both of their lives.  Themes of religious faith, grief, and family dysfunction are explored through the various characters and experiences along the way in a thoughtful yet engaging way.  The book has been described as a cross between Chaim Potok’s The Chosen and Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Table for Two (F) by Amor Towles. I don’t usually enjoy short stories, but this book by one of my favorite authors was an exception and was absolutely delightful. The first half was a selection of six sharp-edged satirical stories mostly based in New York City, and the second half of the book was a novella set in Golden Age Hollywood. The novella follows the heroine, Evelyn from Towel’s novel Rules of Civility as she has left New York and has traveled to Hollywood where she hob-nobs with the rich and famous and helps to solve a murder. 

Night Watch (F) by Jayne Anne Phillips.  This 2024’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction tells the story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the aftermath of the Civil War. Eliza, the mother, hasn’t spoken in a year, and the twelve year old daughter ConaLee has taken charge of her. Eliza ends up as a patient in the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia with her daughter pretending to be her servant so she can remain with her.  Beautifully written, Night Watch is a tale of survival through hardship and war.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies (F) by John Boyne. Set in Ireland, we are shown the history of Ireland from the 1940’s to today through the eyes of one ordinary man. The Heart’s Invisible Furies proved to be a book about relationships above all else:  the protagonist, Cyril’s relationship first with his adoptive parents, the boy he fell in love with when he was seven, and many more people who came into his life.  The story demonstrated how the harsh judgmental Catholic culture of mid twentieth century Ireland  impacted the lives of homosexuals and then finally gave way to the less rigid attitudes of today.

ELIZABETH TILIS:

While I read many great fiction mysteries over the last twelve months, the best book of the year was the non-fiction book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt. This book explores the collapse of young people’s mental health in the age of smartphones, social media, and big tech. Importantly, it gives strategies for parents to help their kids plan for a healthier and freer childhood. Also, it looks at how we as a society and parents in particular under protect kids in the digital world and overprotect them in the real world. Everyone should read this book especially if you have kids under the age of 18. Or even if you’re an adult struggling with how much you are addicted to technology.  

Brooklyn, age 7 1/2: A fiction series:

The Wild Robot, The Wild Robot Escapes, and The Wild Robot Protects all by Peter Brown.

        Samantha, age 8 3/4:

The BFG (F) by Roald Dahl, The One and Only Ivan (F) by Katherine Applegate, and Curse of the Artic Star (F) by Carol Keene…Nancy Drew and her friends must navigate a cruise ship crisis in the first book of the Nancy Drew Diaries, a fresh approach to a classic series.

ELLIOTT TROMMALD:

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories (F) by Ken Liu. Read the first story: “State change” written 12 years earlier, pp 10-25 and “The man who ended history: a documentary” written 2011, pp 389-450. If you react even close to the way I did, then you will want conversation, and I will come east, beg a bed with Richard, and buy an old-fashioned for the group and enjoy a night of discussion with you. In the 21st-century with AI making book writing and publishing simple and people retreating into bubbles and echo chambers, I frequently read parts of books–also due to limited time as we age.

An Emancipation of the Mind: Radical Philosophy, the War over Slavery,and the Refounding of America (NF) by Matthew Stewart. Add this book to the discussion above; the book is about what we have lost and what refounding might look like. And yes, there’s a good chunk of Lincoln in it that speaks to the 21st-century.

Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution (NF) by Cat Bohannon. Beautifully written, scientifically accessible to all. I learned how little I had learned evolving in the 20th and 21st centuries. She writes that the last 20 years has seen a revolution in the science of womanhood. This book rewrites the story of what women are and how women came to be. I thought I knew something about that. Wrong. You can read selective chapters. I found a new understanding in all, but particularly in “womb,” “brain,” and “love.” End notes and bibliography fascinated me. And don’t ignore the footnotes: they will engage millennials and alphas and provide humor that is the stuff of life.

EMILY NICHOLS GROSSI:

I continue to recommend Babel (F) by R.F. Kuang which I adored at the half-year mark and still think about.

Case Histories (F) by Kate Atkinson, the first in the Jackson Brodie detective series. It is a hilarious romp through England and Scotland with some incredible characters and lots of well-written mayhem. I didn’t know Atkinson wrote such works, and this one was first published in 2004. So old, but new to me and seemingly only in used-version availability now. But I adored it.

Also recommending in very late-to-the-game fashion Demon Copperhead (F) by Barbara Kingsolver Hell of a story, incredibly sad, incredibly funny at times, and beautifully written. No need to write more due to the many MillersTime readers who’ve recommended it in past years.

I have many books in process which I so far recommend–Cacophony of Bone(NF) by Kerri Dochartaigh, The Garden Against Time (NF) by Olivia Laing, and Small Rain (NF) by Garth Greenwell (NF)–and will likely share later, but a fine ps for now.

ERIC STRAVITZ:

Last Days (F) by Alexander Sammartino, a fine prose stylist, but the subject of this novel was grim.

Lincoln in the Bardo (F) by George Saunders. Wonderful, heartwarming, and surprisingly funny.

The Intuitionist (F) by Colson Whitehead. Smart, interesting fiction with a deep dive into elevator workings.

Thunderstruck (HF) by Erik Larson. Enjoyable historical fiction.

Summit Lake (F) by Charlie Donlea. Excellent, easy reading mystery/thriller.

FRUZSINA HARSANYI:

James (F) by Percival Everett. (Audio) This was by far my favorite book this year.  Winner of the National Book Award and the Booker Shortlist, it’s the Huckleberry Finn story re-told from the perspective of his travel companion, the enslaved man James. 

You don’t have to read the classic first to appreciate this brilliant re-imagining.  It’s no longer just the beloved coming-of-age story.  Instead, the reader is dropped in the midst of all the horror and crime against humanity that was part of our history. Listening to it is a must.

The Woman Who Would Be King (NF) by Kara Cooney.  Hatshepsut was one of the few queens of Egypt  (1479 BC-1458 BC) 1400 years before Cleopatra. Great Royal Wife of a pharaoh, she married her brother at 12, gave birth to her first child at 13, and ruled Egypt as queen in her own right by the time she was 16.  According to the writer, a UCLA Egyptologist, she was enormously successful but little known in history because … well, she was a woman.  Like us, the ancients distrusted female rulers with authority, which, says Cooney, makes her achievements even more astonishing. The book stands out not only for its history of this extraordinary ruler, but also for its richness of details about everyday life.

Three other books would easily make my list: 

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (F) won the Booker in 2023. 

Kairos (NF) by Jenny Erpenbeck (NF) won the Booker this year.  

An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s (NF) by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

GARLAND STANDROD:

Where Europe Begins (F) by Yoko Tawada. Tawada is a Japanese woman living in Germany who writes both in Japanese and German. She is not a realist but writes strange and unrealistic tales. This collection was chosen as a 2005 Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year. In these stories disparate settings―Japan, Siberia, Russia, and Germany―the reader becomes as much a foreigner as the author, or the figures that fill this book: the ghost of a burned woman, a traveler on the Trans-Siberian railroad, a mechanical doll, a tongue, a monk who leaps into his own reflection. Yoko Tawada discloses the virtues of bewilderment, estrangement, and Hilaritas: the goddess of rejoicing.

Buzz Aldrin, What Happened To You In All The Confusion? (F) by Johan Harstad. This Norwegian author details the picaresque adventures of a thirty year old gardener who idolizes Buzz Aldren because he was the second man on the moon, and not the irst. He lives in Stavinger, Norway and loses his job. In his travels he meets the director of a halfway house home to a group of misfits who delight in life in second place. “Harstad combines formal play and linguistic ferocity with a searing emotional directness.” (Dedi Felman, Words Without Borders)

The Devils Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood (NF) by Julie Salamon. This book came out in 1991, and I found it in a used book store. The author sat in on the complete process of making a film of the Tom Wolfe book. It is simply the best book I’ve read on how movies are made, despite the fact the movie was a flop. It has vivid vignettes of Brian DePalma, Tom Wolfe, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, and Melanie Griffith.

Kathmandu (NF) by Thomas Bell. The author is a British journalist who knows Kathmandu quite well, unlike so many people who every year discover it for the first time. He captures the richness of its history and the complexity of Kathmandu’s current situation, including the civil war and the earthquake. I foundit of special interest as I knew some of the people who he mentions, including Pashupati Shumshere Jung Bahador Rana, my former boss when I was there.

A Terribly Serious Adventure: Philosophy and War at Oxford 1900 – 1960 (NF) by Nikhil Krishan. The two main themes of philosophy in the twentieth century were continental existentialism and English language philosophy. This book is delightful and lively for a book about philosophy and is filled with Oxford characters as it tells how this movement began and what made it influential. I was a New York Times best book of the year. I wish I had had this book before I studied philosophy at Leeds in 1960.

GEORGE INGRAM:

The Art of Diplomacy (NF) by Stuart Eizenstat – Analyzes the role of diplomacy in a dozen key foreign policy negotiations since the end of the Cold War; the final chapter is a guide to good negotiating practices. It is an interesting walk through some of the principal foreign policy issues of our lifetime – a good reminder of what we have lived through.  

Patriot Presidents (NF) by William Leuchtenburg – an easy 250 page read of the role of how each of the first five presidents (all founding fathers) influenced the nature and structure of the office of the president.

The American President (NF) by William Leuchtenburg- an 800 page tome from Teddy Rosevelt through Bill Clinton – a fascinating but heavy lift (not tedious) – a useful read given today’s politics to remind us that the country has been through questionable presidencies (maybe not as bad as the one coming) and intense partisan divides, and survived! At 101, he is working on the third volume!

HAVEN KENNEDY:

The Singing Hills Series (F) by Nghi Vo. This is a brilliant and beautiful series. The book centers around a cleric whose job it is to record stories. Each book delves into Vietnamese folklore beautifully. It’s fantasy but would appeal to anyone who enjoys a beautifully written, thought-provoking book. 

The Dictionary People (NF) by Sarah Ogilvie. This is a fascinating and in-depth book on the creation of the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) and the people who helped create it. Before picking this book up I never knew the story behind the OED’s creation. This book explains its creation, the people behind its creation, and the thousands of people – mostly volunteers- who helped make it happen. It took fifty years and thousands of slips to make the Dictionary. The book is written from A to Z, each letter highlighting s particular group of people. It’s mini history lessons throughout the book. I finished reading the book in three sittings and was left with a great respect for the work that went into creating the OED. I’m a lover of words, books, and history- and especially forgotten history. This book checked all those boxes. I ended up with a long list of people and events I wanted to know more about. 

JANE BRADLEY:

This was a year when I gravitated toward books that kept me distracted.  In addition to the new releases by Louise Erdrich, Sally Rooney, Lauren Groff, Colm Toibin, and Richard Powers, these provided a welcome escape:

How to Say Babylon (NF) by Safiya Sinclair .

Master, Slave, Husband, Wife (NF) by Ilyon Woo.

Nowhere in Africa:  An Autobiographical Novel (F) by Stephanie Zweig.

The Road to the Country (F) by Chigozie Obioma.

James (F) by Percival Everett

JEFF FRIEDMAN:

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (F) by Suzanna Clarke. The narrative takes place in an alternate 19th century England, where magic existed hundreds of years ago but somehow went extinct. A reclusive scholar figures out how to bring it back. The characters and their world are very absorbing, I felt completely immersed.

Playground (F) by Richard Powers. A story about humans’ relationship to the ocean and to artificial intelligence. Powers has reliably interesting views about science and nature, the book has some beautiful scenes about life in the deep sea, and the book ends with a rather mind-bending exploration of AI’s future.

JESSE MANIFF:

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone (F) by Benjamin Stevenson.

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect (F) by Benjamin Stevenson.

The Demon of Unrest (NF) by Erik Larsen.

An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s (NF) by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  

JUDY WHITE:

The Elephant Whisperer (NF) by Lawrence Anthony. Wonderful story of a white man raised in Africa successfully gaining the trust of a herd of elephants scheduled to be destroyed because the trauma they’d endured had left them unable to trust and dangerous. Just a great story with applications to badly hurt humans too. Mike and I read it out loud to each other after our first readings.

The Devil’s Element (NF) Dan Eagan. This is about phosphorus, and I couldn’t imagine why my book club chose it until I read it. Dan Eagan is one of those rare writers who can make unpromising topics fascinating.  His The Death and Life of the Great Lakes (NF) is good too, especially for those who live near the Great Lakes.  

All of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (F) books by Alexander McCall Smith, twenty so far.  I have loved them for many years, and needing therapy after the election, I read the 3 most recent, and they were just what I needed.  Best to start with one of the first but the order you read them in isn’t critical; the first chapter of each of them establishes the characters and background.

KATE LATTS:

The God of the Woods (F) by Liz Moore was best book I read this year. For anyone who went to summer camp, you won’t be able to help picturing your own camp in this mystery set in the mid 70s when the daughter of the camp owners goes missing. The characters and twists and turns along the way make it hard to put down. Very well written too. 

Looking for Jane (F) by Heather Marshall delves into the underground abortion network that existed in Toronto long into the 80s when abortion was finally legalized. It starts off in the 60s at a home for unwed pregnant women where two young women meet and become friends. There are a few twists and turns in the women’s lives after their experience that becomes the focus of the book. I enjoyed the book but there were a few too many convenient coincidences as the story unfolds.

My two books from first half of the year were good but not amazing:

The Women (F) by Kristin Hannah is the highly anticipated next historical fiction book by the author of The Nightingale, The Great Alone and The Four Winds. Unfortunately this one did not live up to expectations. I am glad that I read it and learned a lot/was reminded about the Vietnam war and the experience of those who spent time in Vietnam. This book focused on a young woman from a well to do (likely republican) family in Southern California with a long line of military service who goes to Vietnam to serve as a nurse. The details of her time in service was well done, but the second half of the book when she returns to the US crams too many things in and seems a bit sloppy. I thought this book would be about several women who spent time in Vietnam, comparing their varying background and experiences. This book does that a smidge but largely just focuses on one woman. 

Only the Beautiful (F) by Susan Meissner also did not live up to the writer’s previous book The Nature of Fragile Things. Again this was a nice read with some twists and turns but largely a story told many times before with fairly predictable events. It is the story of a teen girl in the 1940s who is orphaned, ends up pregnant, goes to a home, and has to give the baby away. 

KATHLEEN KROOS:

The Good Lord Bird (HF) by James McBride –  Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1856–a battleground between anti- and pro-slavery forces–when legendary abolitionist John Brown arrives. When an argument between Brown and Henry’s master turns violent, Henry is forced to leave town–along with Brown, who believes Henry to be a girl and his good luck charm.

The Two Family House (F) by Lynda Cohen Loigman. Moving family saga set in Brooklyn 1947.  In the midst of a blizzard two babies are born minutes apart to two women. They are sisters by marriage, but as the years progress their once deep friendship begins to unravel.

Woman on Fire (F) by Lisa Barr. A rising young journalist needs to locate a painting stolen by the Nazis 75 years earlier.

KATHY CAMICIA:

This year is an easy one for books for me.  Usually I can’t get excited about the latest fiction but this year I found two  fabulous books:  

Playground (F) by Richard Powers—The Overstory was one of my favorites when it came out, and this one is great but not quite on the same level, shorter for starters.  He uses the same style of colorful characters whose lives intersect. This is partly about the environment and partly about outrageous capitalism.

By the Sea (F) by Abdulrazak Gurney—Nobel Prize winning author who takes on immigration from different angles, including British colonialism.  Great writing.

Angle of Repose (F) by Wallace Stegner—a re-read; a reminder of what a great writer he was.  Somewhat dated but still a great novel

Best Short Stories 2024 (F) ed. by Amor Towles. These are the O.Henry winners, not the other best short stories series, and consequently more international in  scope. If you are like me and must read something before you go to sleep, these fit the bill.

Essays, Vol 5 (NF) by Virginia Woolf. I will say it again, what a genius.

Can’t and Won’t (NF) by Lydia Davis. A great essayist.

KEVIN CURTIN:

She Rides Shotgun (F) by Jordan Harper. Crime mystery; a good page turner that centers on a developing father-daughter relationship.

The North Water (F) by Ian McGuire. Crime thriller, set in the late 1800s on a whaling ship in the North Sea.

The Searcher (F) by Tana French. Mystery set in Ireland. Excellent read – ‘m planning to read more of her books including, this past year’s The Hunter.

LARRY MAKINSON:

New York Trilogy & The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster (F). When Paul Auster died this year, I read his most famous work – New York Trilogy – then started in on everything else he’d written over the years. The Trilogy is an excellent introduction to Auster, with some of the most bizarre characters you’ll ever encounter. The Brooklyn Follies was my favorite of all the others, though nearly all of them were deeply satisfying. 

New Cold Wars by David Sanger (NF). A scary look at what the future may hold for the US and the world in the years ahead. Even without the election of Donald Trump, the future is fraught with new kinds of danger as the world’s powers jostle for dominance using the latest innovations in technology.

The Devil’s Bargain by Stella Rimington (F). A brilliant spy novel by a brilliant spy. Remington was head of Britain’s MI-5 before she started a second career as a novelist. This one was my favorite.

Transcription by Kate Atkinson (F). Another superb spy novel, this one about a woman enlisted by British intelligence to transcribe the conversations of pro-German fascists in 1940. The book switches back and forth between 1940 and 1950, when she’s working for the BBC. The Economist rates it as one of the best spy novels ever written.

LINDA ROTHENBERG:

I did like The Painted Veil (F) by Somerset Maugham. It’s worth a read. About a couple who move to China so the microbiologist husband can find a cure for cholera which is ravaging the country while dealing with an unloving wife.

Kantika (HF) by Elizabeth Graver. Based on a true story, about the resilient Rebecca who is a Turkish/Spanish Jewish woman and how she survives whatever comes her way.

LOIS BARBER:

In May of this year, while driving across the country from Denver to Amherst, MA, we listened to and totally enjoyed This Is Happiness (F) by Niall Williams. We were sorry when the story ended and wanted it to go on and on and take us with it. It’s 1958 and electricity comes to a small village in County Clare, Ireland. It’s a deep and joyful immersion into the lives of a young boy, his grandparents, the village doctor and his daughters, and a stranger who comes to town on a mission of his own. Humor that makes the listener smile and humor that occasionally makes the listener laugh out loud. The narrator, Dermot Crowley, with his lovely Irish brogue, brought this already excellent story even more to life and into our hearts. 

LOUISE McILHENNY:

The books I am recommending are all good stories, all fiction that is more character driven. Since the election, I’ve become a bit of an ostrich up here in the Maine woods, and these will help you avoid reality!

The Whalebone Theater (F) by Joanna Quinn.

Violeta (F) by Isabel Allende.

Tell Me Everything (F) by Elizabeth Strout. 

How to Read a Book (F) Monica Wood.

The Frozen River (F) by Ariel Lawhorn. I’m reading this now, and it is very popular in Maine

LYDIA HILL SLABY:

Finding Margaret Fuller (F) by Allison Pataki (2024) — the fictionalized version of the very real and fascinating compatriot of Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and more in both the United States and Europe. Another wonderful book working to share women’s stories that the patriarchy chose not to elevate.

Hamnet (F) by Maggie O’Farrell (2020) — a beautifully written story of Shakespeare’s third child, who died at age 11, about four years before a play named for him was released to wide acclaim. Without using the playwright’s name once, this heart wrenching story shares the life of the Shakespeare family at home in Stratford, and how a grief-stricken father memorialized his son in the only way he knew how. (Side note — in all of the literature that I have read, this is the best ending to a book I’ve ever experienced.)

The Storyteller (F), by Jodi Picoult (2013) — carve out a few days to read this because you won’t be able to put it down. Picoult deftly weaves five stories through each other to tell the story of a Jewish grandmother’s experience in Europe before and during World War Two and her granddaughter’s experience in present day befriending one of the elderly SS officers who oversaw Auschwitz. It’s a history, moral philosophy, criminal justice, and creative writing master class all in one novel.

The entire Inspector Gamache series (F) by Louise Penney — the most recent of these, Grey Wolf (2024), is a fantastic addition to this mystery series set in Quebec.

MARY BARDONE:

The Paris Book Seller (HF) by Kerri Maher.

The Women (F) by Kristen Hanna,

Solito (NF) by Javier Zamora.

MARY L:

It’s been three years since Stephen Sondheim died, and accepting that fact remains unfinished and still unbelievable.  But, because James Lapine had only just written Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park With George (NF) when it happened, NOT reading it became part of the denial. Now I’ve read it, and I do recommend it, but it may not be for everyone.  If you’ve never seen the show, you’ll be lost.  But if you have and if you’ve every wondered how theatre people make stuff happen, it’s a great read and further proof that art isn’t easy.  

MELANIE LANDAU:

The Weight of Ink (F) by Rachel Kadish, 2017.

The Diamond Eye (HF) by Kate Quinn.

MIKE WEINROTH:

My best book recommendation for this year is Kantika (HF) by Elizabeth Graver. This family saga is roughly non-fiction, and it follows the migration of a Sephardic family as they navigate issues of safety and well being, beginning in the early 20th century. It is beautifully written and well documented.
We agreed with our book club facilitator that the title does not do justice to this novel. The title falls short of the vivid picture that you’ll remember well after you finish the last page.

MIKE WHITE

Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World (NF, unfortunately) by Anne Applebaum. Very timely as we reflect on those being selected to wield power in America now.

NICOLE CATE:

[from my midyear]:  Bright Young Women (F) by Jessica Knoll. Novel focused on women victims of serial killer Ted Bundy. The story is intense (actually gave me bad dreams while reading it), but I really loved it. Addresses dynamics around gender, violence, public perceptions, and power structures. Engaging and interesting.

The Anthropologists (F) by Aysegul Savas.  Beautiful, compassionate, wistful, wise writing. The author told a brief story about a young couple home-hunting in a foreign city, but the concepts and feelings were much larger and more broadly applicable.

Dinners with Ruth (NF) by Nina Totenberg (audiobook). The title didn’t accurately convey how much of the book was about Nina Totenberg’s really interesting and impressive life. I enjoyed this story of challenges and successes in friendship, love, and career.

You Could Make This Place Beautiful (NF) by Maggie Smith (audiobook). I thought the writing was beautiful and the subject matter — about motherhood and disintegration of a marriage — was interesting.

All the Sinners Bleed (F) by S.A. Cosby.  A well-rounded mystery about a sheriff and serial killer, with good characters and engaging plot.

NICK FELS:

Black Majority (NF) by Peter Wood is a recently updated history of slavery in colonial South Carolina, as documented in local newspapers, property records, and family journals. (The author’s real claim to fame is that he roomed with me at Harvard.)

NICK NYHART:

James (F) by Percival Everett – This award-winning retelling of Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, recounts that tale through the eyes of James, the slave known as “Jim” in the original. The difference in perspective from the story we all read as children is a well-told lesson in the impact of race and identity on narrative, a potent lesson as anti-DEI political efforts seek to suppress these viewpoints.

The Heart in Winter (F) by Kevin Barry – I switched back and forth between my Kindle version and a read-aloud one. Listening to it being read, with a pace and intonation that reflected the rollicking nature of the story and the joy of its language was the best. The story covers an illicit romance in the late 19th century as a ne’er do-well drinker and writer takes off with a wealthy man’s new bride. The husband hires ruthless trackers to chase the couple across Montana, Idaho and the Pacific Northwest during winter. The harshness of the season and the heartlessness of the pursuit contrast the heated attachment of the couple.  

Creation Lake (F) by Rachel Kushner. What I liked about this book was much less the plot than the observational writing. Kushner’s cynical lead character’s comments on the French radical environmental activists she is infiltrating on behalf of corporate interests make this an enjoyable read. 

It’s been a good year for reading! I’ve also enjoyed four of the Slough House novels, Prequel (NF) by Rachel Maddow and Cahokia Jazz (F) by Francis Pufford.

PAUL HOFF:

The New York Game, Baseball and the Rise of a New City (NF) by Kevin Baker, with the caveat that I have not by any means reached the end of this 475 page book. It is an interesting and unique mix of baseball history (no Abner Doubleday did not invent baseball) and a social history of New York City for over a 100 years. For anyone interested in baseball and the history of New York City.  Baker’s prose keeps it lively.

PENN STAPLES:

I absolutely love The World’s Wife, a poetry collection by Carol Ann Duffy!  It’s a brilliant blend of playfulness and depth, where she reimagines the voices of famous women from mythology, history, and literature, giving them vibrant new life. What stands out to me is how she takes stories we think we know and transforms them into something fresh, relatable, and powerful. Her ability to turn the ordinary into the lyrical is truly remarkable!

Each poem feels like a conversation with an old friend—one who can make you laugh while also making you think. And goodness knows, we all need a laugh right now.  It’s a collection I keep returning to, and it never fails to delight.

RANDY CANDEA:

When The Jassamine Grows (HF) by Donna Everhart. An historical novel set in the Civil War period. Centered on a woman who opens  her home and farm to soldiers on both sides of the war at a time when being neutral was extremely dangerous.

Let The Willow Weep (F) by Sherry Parnell. A heart-wrenching portrait of a humble hardscrabble rural life.

REBEKAH JACOBS:

I loved:

The Wedding People (F) by Alison Esprch. Wedding chaos, quirky characters, plenty of humor— but also tender and serious with broken relationships and family dysfunction. 

Long Island Compromise (F) by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. You’ll love or hate this book. Explore what happens when a wealthy patriarch is kidnapped outside his home and the effects on his children Nathan, Beemer, and Jenny for years to come. From the author of Fleischman’s in Trouble. 

Same As It Ever Was (NF) by Julia Ames looks back on her life, marriage, and special friendship.

Morning After the Revolution (NF) by Nellie Bowles. Former New York Times reporter, Nellie Bowles, starts questioning everything. I am a big fan of Nellie Bowles and her wife Bari Weiss who started Free Press. If you like the book, you’ll love her TGIF column every Friday which recaps the news of the week.

RICHARD MARGOLIES:

The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton (NF) by Andrew Porwancher. It so happens that Hamilton was Jewish. NO!, you say. Miranda of Broadway fame did not bring that out. Nor did Chernow, although he hinted at it. This book also explains the extensive antisemitism in early America where Jews in most states could not hold office, or practice law, among other restrictions. Hamilton, understandably, hid his Jewishness. This book is a shock to what we were taught and have believed.  “Deeply researched, and uncovering new information, it should be read by all who are interested in one of the most important figures in America’s founding generation,” says Annette Gordon-Reed of Harvard. You might think this book was published by some obscure small Jewish publishing house. It was published by Princeton University Press.

RICHARD MILLER:

Table for Two (F) by Amor Towles. Short stories were good and the novella very good. Towles can spin a story that keeps the reader engaged. His characters, setting (Los Angeles), and story (novella) are not only entertaining but also refreshing. 

A Tattoo on My Brain (NF) by Daniel Gibbs. Neurologist’s personal battle against Alzheimer’s disease. Knowledgeable discussion of the importance of early detection and management for all forms of dementia, including his own. Includes his treating of patients and taking part in a variety of long studies. 

Master Slave Husband, Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by IIyon Woo (NF). More “Who Knew” – Story of Ellen and William Craft and their escape from slavery. Worthy for not only for the story but also for the history surrounding the story and for the relationship of the two primary characters. A Best Book of 2023 by various outlets and a 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner for History.  This book sent me to: Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom: The Escape of William & Ellen Craft from Slavery by William & Ellen Craft and also to Love, Liberation, and Escaping Slavery in Cultural Memory by Barbara McCaskill.

On Call (NF) by Anthony Fauci, MD. Enjoyed it thoroughly even though there was a bit more science and technical details than I understood. While some might say it’s a ’self-serving’ account of his life (it is to some degree), reading what Fauci did over his lifetime and what that meant for the country and world is inspiring and leads to the conclusion of how fortunate we and the world were to have him as a leader at NIH, etc. Also, his decency comes through and his ability to write simply, clearly, and honestly make On Call a delight.

An Unfininshed Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s(NF) by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Loved it. For a number of different reasons: Great story telling. A period (mostly the 1960s) that I remember well and was important in my life. Wonderful episodes behind the events of those period. Deeper understanding of JFK, LBJ, RFK, McCarthy and the roles that Dick Godwin played with each of them. Goodwin’s amazing ability to write speeches and convey ideas, etc. and just who he was. The relationship Doris G had with LBJ. And the relationship of Doris and Dick. I read it over just a few days and thoroughly enjoyed almost every page.

RUTH QUINET:

Creation Lake (F) by Rachel Cushner, 2024. A corporate spy is employed to gather or plant incriminating evidence against so-called eco-terrorists in France. She is unprincipled but quick on her feet. The book is original, off beat, and intelligent.

The Daughter of Time (F) by Josephine Tey, 1951. Confined to a hospital bed for weeks, Detective Grant attempts to solve the mystery of Richard III’s supposed murder of his two nephews in the Tower. With the help of an unexpected researcher, he uses facts and evidence from that era only. His theory is that history can only be truly accurate in that way — the rest is hearsay or legend.

SAM BLACK:

The 900 Days (NF) by Harrison Salisbury, a classic history of the siege of Leningrad. A many-layered, compassionate account of how good people and bad, and the psychopathic Stalinist system, merged their determination and their communist fantasies to survive the German encirclement and starvation of the city.  One survivor told me he remembered chewing shoe leather to stay alive during the siege.  Up to 2,000,000 civilians and soldiers died. Exhausting to read (appropriately), but it draws you on like a mystery, a page-turner. Notable for the use of post-Stalin disclosures through 1969. We need a more recent account to see how it will differ based on the additional post-Soviet disclosures starting a generation later.  

Breath from Salt: A Deadly Genetic Disease, a New Era in Science, and the Patients and Families Who Changed Medicine Forever (NF) by Bijal P. Trovedi – an account of the identification of cystic fibrosis, (the illness always genetic and, before the 1970s, usually fatal during childhood), then stories of families with CF children, then the history of parents uniting to support each other, demand better medical care, and raise funds for research.  Then the biomolecular engineering required to develop new drugs that moderate and treat more and more strains of CF; this is a triumph of contemporary drug research. But all these narratives are written at an intimate and personal level, child by child, family by family, researcher by researcher, day by day; the author’s skill creates from this detail a suspenseful and thrilling account that left me greedy to turn every page and skip lunch and dinner to keep reading.  

A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through (NF) by J. K. Weinersmith. Space colonizations a much-discussed topic, mainly by (a) billionaires and (b) people whose hair is on fire. The authors could have terrific careers as stand-up comics; this book has laughs on every page, but it’s completely serious, carefully thought out, and convincing as to what we don’t know. (I had a mini-career as a “space” lawyer, representing launch consortia, insurers of space risks, and manufacturers of the world’s largest rocket engines; I can report that the book’s chapter on space law is only introductory,  but very good.)  Wicked funny.

Far from the Tree (NF) by Andrew Solomon. Takes you to worlds where you might otherwise never go, and gives insights into the lives of people whom you might never meet. There are children – millions of children – born into families who are profoundly different from their parents or different from most of their peers. Deaf children born to hearing parents. All deaf children. Trans children. Children with a genetic makeup resulting in dwarfism. Musical prodigies. Children who become schizophrenic. Children with autism. What is life like for their parents?  (I suggest being selective as to whom you recommend this book.)  For these children?  What are the effects of “progress” in medicine, public policy, and science on these children?  What about when they become adults, or politically active?  How does the rest of society react?  

Prophet Song (F) by Paul Lynch. A quiet novel about the end of democracy in a western European nation resembling Ireland. In increments, sometimes subtle, a society collapses utterly.  Unforgettable glimpses of a mother’s love, which is the beating heart of the book. Haunting, sorrowful, and terrifying.

STEVE RADCLIFFE:

Empire of the Summer Moon (NF) by S.C. Gwynne. It is a story about Quanah Parker, the last chief of the Comanches, the most powerful tribe of American history. It recounts the last Indian wars of the west and is a story not many know of our American History. I found it a fascinating read.

SUSAN BUTLER:

The Safekeep (F) by Yael van de Wouden is a story of love and obsession in 1960s Amsterdam. This erotic tales was shortlisted for the Booker Prize this year. I can’t give much away, because the pleasure is working towards the discovery as to who is who, and what they mean to each other. (Audible)

SUSAN & DIXON BUTLER:

An Unfished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s (NF) by Doris Kearns Goodwin. We have been listening to books this year, and we think this book is betterlistened to than read because you hear the actual voices of JFK, LBJ, and Bobby Kennedy; Brian Cranston reads Dick Goodwin’s letters. Dixon found the book a refuge from current political furor because it describes in detail a time when Presidents did big things to benefit the country and made advances in civil rights and other areas. Susan found it to have too many details. Dick Goodwin was in the thick of JFK and LBJ policy formulation and communication. The story is well told through all the material Dick Goodwin saved, and important insights are provided into the style of the personal interactions he had with Presidents and their White House and major agency personnel.

Palestine 1939 (NF) by Oren Kessler gives you a condensed history ofthe Zionist movement, beginning in the late 19th century. There was a pivotal uprising in 1936 which echoes the troubles and issues of 2023-24. Of course, it’s a sobering commentary on how far the situation has not progressed.

A Fever in the Heartland (NF) by Timothy Egan is a fascinating tale of the rise and fall of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana in the 1920s. Yes, Indiana!! It had the largest per capita number of members than any other state. Led by a charismatic charlatan, the KKK controlled every aspect of government from the local to the state, and, of course, the judiciary. And a woman, in her dying declaration, brought him and the KKK down. We are fans of Egan’s writing, and he’s at his best in this book.

All the Beauty in the World (NF) by Patrick Bringley. Do you ever wonder what the guards at museums are thinking? Well, here is your answer. Bringley was a guard at the Metropolitan Museum,and he shares with the reader his observations of patrons, fellow guards and the artwork. He has his favorite galleries and days of the week to be standing tall. We listened to this on our way to and from NYC. We’ll admire guards for the rest of our lives.

TIFFANY LOPEZ LEE:

King: A Life (NF) by Jonathan Eig. I found it interesting to perceive MLK more as a human while reading this book, and also extremely disappointed in J. Edgar Hoover and what he got away with in tormenting this man. Great work by the author. 

Where the Crawdads Sing (F) by Delia Owens. Such a beautiful, yet heartbreaking story written in such intricate detail that every page was a journey of the senses. I’m glad I finally took the time to read this one. 

TOM PERRAULT:

Personal History (NF) by Katharine Graham. It’s a wonderful reminder that what we’re experiencing today, in many ways has been experienced before. And we’ll get through it. Also, there are always good people of integrity that will do the right thing. Reading this has made me feel better since the election. 

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And if you somehow are unable to find a book of interest above, you can always check on the list(s) from a previous year.

To see previous years’ lists, click on any of these links: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. 2016, 2017. 2018, Mid-Year, 2018, 2019 Mid-Year. 2019. 2020, Mid-Year 2021, 20221. 3/30/22. 7/16/22, 2023 (Plus three mid-year posts: 6/1/23, 7/16/23, 6/25/24.)