Also a Poet by Ada Calhoun
Calhoun’s biography of the poet Frank O’Hara unexpectedly transformed into an absorbing and insightful memoir about her father.
Free by Lea Ypi
Political scholar Ypi’s poignant, funny memoir views Albania’s journey out of socialism through a child’s eyes.
Half American by Matthew F. Delmont
Delmont provides a top-notch overview of the contributions of Black service members and civilians during WWII.
How to Read Now by Elaine Castillo
Castillo brilliantly argues that being a good reader means learning how to interrogate the stories all around us.
An Immense World by Ed Yong
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Yong’s nonfiction study of animal senses is an immersive, page-turning reading experience.
In Love by Amy Bloom
Bloom is known for examining the dynamics of intimacy in her fiction, but she has never gotten closer to the flame than in this memoir of her husband’s early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
In the Shadow of the Mountain by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado
Unlike mountaineering memoirs that celebrate the individual, Vasquez-Lavado’s is intimately collaborative.
Inciting Joy by Ross Gay
Gay’s powerful and poetic sixth book asks: What incites joy? And more importantly, what does joy incite in us?
The Invisible Kingdom by Meghan O’Rourke
O’Rourke compassionately chronicles the rise of autoimmune disease alongside her own search for healing.
Last Call at the Hotel Imperial by Deborah Cohen
Historian Cohen brilliantly captures the complicated lives of America’s most influential interwar journalists.
The Man Who Could Move Clouds by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
Rojas Contreras makes the history of Colombia immediate and personal.
Raising Lazarus by Beth Macy
Macy’s follow-up to Dopesick will radically change your opinions on the opioid crisis.
Red Paint by Sasha LaPointe
LaPointe offers a poetic narrative of trauma and healing through ancestral rites and punk rock.
The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Schiff vividly renders an essential Founding Father: Samuel Adams.
River of the Gods by Candice Millard
In this unforgettable history of the Nile, European explorers’ egos loom godlike, but East African guides save lives.
The Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee
This captivating book from Pulitzer Prize winner Mukherjee explores how cellular engineering can reshape medicine.
South to America by Imani Perry
In a vibrant blend of travelogue, memoir and cultural history, Perry shows the South’s iniquity and beauty.
Stay True by Hua Hsu
Hsu’s remarkable memoir examines the reverberations of a friendship frozen in time by untimely death.
Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv
This stunning book profiles people whose experiences of mental illness exceed the limits of Western psychiatry.
Tell Me Everything by Erika Krouse
Krouse’s compelling, highly personal account of a landmark Title IX case reads like a detective novel.
This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan
Carvan makes an excellent case for embracing what you like and the delight it brings—no shame allowed.
Under the Skin by Linda Villarosa
Villarosa’s wonderfully written book makes stunning points about the health risks of racism.
Virology by Joseph Osmundson
Sparkling prose, glittering insights and accessible writing make this one of the best science books of the year.
