Highlights

Best Books of 2019

FacebookTwitterEmailLinkedIn

Our speakers have had an incredible year! As 2019 comes to a close, we are proud to showcase some of this year’s celebrated books from authors on our roster. These debuts, award-winners, and fan favorites are a wonderful reminder of the universal impact of books, year after year.

Best Books of the Year

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

Longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award, Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, Instant New York Times Bestseller, Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2019, Amazon’s Best Books of 2019, EW’s Best Books of 2019, New Yorker’s Best Books of 2019, The Washington Post’s Best Books of 2019, Variety‘s Best Books of 2019, TIME‘s Best Books of 2019, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019, The New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2019

“A lyrical work of self-discovery that’s shockingly intimate and insistently universal…Not so much briefly gorgeous as permanently stunning.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

 

Red at the Bone

Red at the Bone - Jacqueline Woodson

Instant New York Times Bestseller, A New York Times  Notable Book of the Year, Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2019, Amazon’s Best Books of 2019, EW’s Best Books of 2019, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019, Oprah Magazine‘s Best Books of 2019, The New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2019

“With Red at the Bone, Jacqueline Woodson has indeed risen — even further into the ranks of great literature.” —NPR

The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

The Nickel Boys (Winner 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) - Colson Whitehead

Longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award, Winner of the Kirkus Prize, New York Times Bestseller, Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2019, Amazon’s Best Books of 2019, EW’s Best Books of 2019, Variety‘s Best Books of 2019, TIME‘s Best Books of 2019, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019

“A necessary read.”—President Barack Obama

The Water Dancer

The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi Coates

New York Times Bestseller, Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2019, Amazon’s Best Books of 2019, TIME‘s Best Books of 2019, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019, The New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2019, Oprah Magazine‘s Best Books of 2019, Oprah’s Book Club Pick

“[The Water Dancer] is flecked with forms of wonder-working that push at the boundaries of what we still seem to be calling magical realism.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times

Say Nothing

Say Nothing - Patrick Radden Keefe

Winner of the Orwell Prize, Longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award, Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of 2019, New York Times Bestseller, New York Times Best Books of 2019, EW’s Best Books of 2019, Variety‘s Best Books of 2019, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019

“Keefe’s narrative is an architectural feat, expertly constructed out of complex and contentious material, arranged and balanced just so. . .an absorbing drama.” —Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times

Olive, Again

Olive, Again - Elizabeth Strout

New York Times Bestseller, Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2019, EW’s Best Books of 2019, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019, Oprah Magazine‘s Best Books of 2019, Oprah’s Book Club Pick

“The great, terrible mess of living is spilled out across the pages of this moving book. Ms. Strout may not have any answers for it, but she isn’t afraid of it either.” – The Wall Street Journal

How to Be an Antiracist

How to Be an Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi

Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of 2019, New York Times bestseller, The Washington Post‘s Best Books of 2019, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019

How to Be an Antiracist punctures the myths of a post-racial America, examining what racism really is—and what we should do about it.” — Time

The Old Drift

The Old Drift - Namwali Serpell

Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2019, New York Times Best Books of 2019, TIME‘s Best Books of 2019, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019

“A dazzling debut, establishing Namwali Serpell as a writer on the world stage.”—Salman Rushdie, The New York Times Book Review

The Secrets We Kept

The Secrets We Kept - Lara Prescott

Instant New York Times Bestseller, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019, A Hello Sunshine x Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

“Enthralling… This is the rare page-turner with prose that’s as wily as its plot.”Vogue

Black Is the Body

Black Is the Body - Emily Bernard

Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of 2019, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019

“Emily Bernard is a master storyteller. She writes with an honesty and vulnerability that is uncommon. These stories are about what it means to be human—to love, to hurt, to heal. They will make you think, re-think, feel, and grow.”—Nana-Ama Danquah, author of Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman’s Journey through Depression

Furious Hours

Furious Hours - Casey Cep

NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019, New York Times Bestseller

“A brilliant take on the mystery of inspiration and the even darker mysteries of the human heart.” —People

Biased

Biased - Dr. Jennifer L. Eberhardt

Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of 2019

“In accessible language and compelling examples, Dr. Eberhardt draws on copious empirical research to challenge the idea of human objectivity and the tragic outcomes of this false belief. …This book should be required reading for everyone.” —Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility

Becoming Dr. Seuss

Becoming Dr. Seuss - Brian Jay Jones

Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Nonfiction, Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of 2019

Becoming Dr. Seuss is more compelling than mere pop hagiography; it is sweeping in scope, unstinting in detail, and willing to criticize or contextualize when needed.”—The New Yorker

 

The Starless Sea

The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern

Amazon’s Best Books of 2019, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019

“A richly imaginative ode to books and storytelling…this fantasy-filled novel entwines a mysterious underground world with the story of a grad student on a quest to understand his past.”—People

 

The Fountains of Silence

The Fountains of Silence - Ruta Sepetys

Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2019

“[Sepetys] tells a moving story made even more powerful by its placement in a lesser-known historical moment. Captivating, deft, and illuminating historical fiction.”—Booklist (starred review)

 

Inheritance

Inheritance - Dani Shapiro

Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of 2019, New York Times bestseller

“Profound… The true drama of Inheritance is not Shapiro’s discovery of her father’s identity but the meaning she makes of it…Shapiro’s account is beautifully written and deeply moving — it brought me to tears more than once.” —Ruth Franklin, The New York Times Book Review

 

Orange World and Other Stories

Orange World and Other Stories - Karen Russell

Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2019, NPR’s Favorite Books of 2019

“The must-read short-story collection of the summer… Orange World makes me want to shout with joy. Russell’s ease with her material, her sheer glee on the page, shines through in each piece… Delicious… We’re in the hands of a master.” –The Washington Post