Best of

Right on schedule as usual, with many more listmakers weighing in, the favorites have separated into two pretty clear lists of top fiction and nonfiction. At the top of the lists, novels by James McBride and R.F. Kuang are vying for book of the year honors, with a number of other titles tightly packed and right behind them. In nonfiction the competition at the top is equally close between Safiya Sinclair’s memoir and David Grann’s latest. (Kuang’s Babel was tied for No. 9 on last year’s fiction list, while McBride’s Deacon King Kong was tied for No. 6 on the […]

With almost 25 lists counted so far (and likely another 25 or more to go before the end of the year), our annual aggregation of the very best of the “best books of the year” is taking shape, right on schedule. The good news is that there are a number of novels getting honors, with titles by Nana Kwame Adheu-Brenyah, R.F. Kuang and James McBride tied at the top for now, and works by Paul Murray, Ann Napolitano and Jesmyn Ward are close behind. Safiya Sinclair’s memoir has a clear lead among nonfiction titles, and the historical pattern makes it […]