Best of

The votes are all in and we’re ready to celebrate the consensus very best books of 2024, based on a broad collection of lists. As was plainly clear from the start, Percival Everett’s JAMES towered above all others as the consensus book of the year. In nonfiction, Hanif Abdurraqib’s THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR was a leader from the start as well, joined in the end by Salman Rushdie’s KNIFE to share the distinction of nonfiction book of the year. Liz Moore’s GOD OF THE WOODS was first featured in one of our Buzz Books samplers, and in all, 17 books […]

After all these years of aggregating everyone else’s picks for the best book of the year, we decided to give ourselves a vote. Like you all, we do this because we are book people; we are readers first. The first five picks represent consensus staff favorites for 2024 (which align directly with the broad sentiment), while the next four are more personal picks from each of us. James, by Percival Everett Rejection, by Tony Tulathimutte All Fours, by Miranda July The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore The Most, by Jessica Anthony On the […]

With about 50 “votes” counted, we are closing in on our final aggregations of the very best of the “best books of the year,” now with full lists in all of our tracked categories. The fiction picks remain dominant, in keeping with the year’s sales and mood, and Percival Everett’s JAMES towers above all others. The rest of the adult lists are pretty firm at this point, with a little room at the bottom, particularly among nonfiction. Next week we’ll share the PM staff’s own picks and at the end of the week we will publish the final lists, with editor, […]

The lists are flowing and we are ready with the first iteration of our annual aggregations of the very best of the “best books of the year,” including votes from about 35 sources so far. This year the issue of the Book of the Year is already settled: Percival Everett’s JAMES, fresh from his National Book Award for Fiction, is far and away the consensus choice. Also, with Danzy Senna’s COLORED TELEVISION in contention for the top 10 works of fiction, Everett and Senna are our first-ever married couple to make the list together. As is standard for this time […]