Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Best Books of 2015
Did you miss last night's book discussion at the Happy Dog? Here's the full list of 2015 book recommendations from Cal Zunt, of the Notable Books Council of the American Library Association, and Karen R. Long, Manager, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.
Karen R. Long's Recommendations:
Fiction:
The Book of Aron by Jim Shepard
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins
Outline by Rachel Cusk
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
Nonfiction:
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones
H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald
SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard
Strangers Drowning: Grappling with Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices and the Overpowering Urge to Help by Larissa MacFarquhar
References: National Book Critics Circle picks, List of past Book Critics winners
Cal Zunt's Recommendations:
Fiction:
The Sympathizer: A Novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen
[2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction]
Did You Ever Have a Family: A Novel by Bill Clegg
Delicious Foods: A Novel by James Hannaham
A Little Life: A Novel by Hanya Yanagihara
Nonfiction:
Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs by Sally Mann
[2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction]
Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America by Ali Berman
The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle by Lillian Faderman
M Train by Patti Smith
The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humbolt's New World by Andrea Wulf
Poetry (Notables):
Bastards of the Reagan Era by Reginald Dwayne Betts
Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings: Poems by Joy Harjo
Complete list of ALA 2016 Notable Books, Complete list of 2016 Carnegie Award winners and finalists
Other / Audience Recommendations:
A Modest Proposal For preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the publick by Jonanthan Swift (1729) Full text here
Purity by Jonathan Franzen (Fay Walker, The City Club)
Rattled by Debra Gallant
The Prize: Whose in Charge of America’s Schools? by Dale Russakoff
Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys by David Tanis
Authors: Carl Hiassan, Tim Dorse
