The 10 best books of the year, according to Amazon
1. "Fates and Furies" by Lauren Groff: In this engaging novel, Groff presents the story of Lotto and Mathilde, a couple who falls madly in love with one another and gets married at 22. A decade later, their marriage seems to still be going strong, but readers come to find that things are more complicated than they seem.
2. "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates: Hailed by Toni Morrison as "required reading," this is Ta-Nehisi Coates's story of how he realizes his place in the world through a series of experiences - including everything from his childhood to moments in Civil War battlefields. Personal narrative, reimagined history, and emotionally charged reporting come together beautifully in this book that will leave readers touched.
3. "Becoming Nicole" by Amy Ellis Nutt: Amy Ellis Nutt spent almost four years reporting this account of an American family confronting their long-held views on gender and identity. Compiling personal diaries, home videos, clinical journals, legal documents, and medical records, she tells the story of an emotionally gripping transformation that changes the family forever.
4. "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir: In this harrowing tale, the Martial Empire has created a brutal world where defiance is met with death. When a girl named Laila finds her brother is arrested for treason, she risks her life to spy on the empire from within its best military academy. It is there that she meets Elias, who longs to break free of the tyranny he enforces. The two soon find that their destinies are intertwined.
5. "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah: Bestselling author Kristin Hannah takes readers into a rarely seen part of WWII, choosing to focus on women's roles in the time period. The book tells the story of two sisters who are separated by years and morals as each goes on her own path in German-occupied France.
6. "The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough: A two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, David McCullough dives deep into the story of brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright, who taught the world how to fly. McCullough draws on details of the Wright Papers, which include private diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, and over a thousand letters from private family correspondences to reveal not just the history, but the human side of their story.
7. "H is for Hawk" by Helen Macdonald: Helen Macdonald, whose father dies suddenly on a London street, has always been an experienced falconer. Left in devastation after the incident, MacDonald decides to attempt to train one of the most vicious predators, the goshawk. As she plans to raise the goshawk, she finds the experience will profoundly change her life.
8. "Purity" by Jonathan Franzen: "Purity" is the daring story of youthful idealism, fidelity, and murder. Pip Tyler has never known her father and can't understand why her mother lives as a recluse with a different name. As she comes in contact with The Sunlight Project, an organization that traffics in the secrets of the world, the mysteries begin to unfold, and she finds herself questioning her ideas of right and wrong.
9. "Hold Still" by Sally Mann: In this memoir, Sally Mann reveals her family history. As she sorts through boxes of family papers and photographs, she finds more than she expected, including domestic abuse, accidents, disputed family affairs, deceit, and maybe even a murder. Filled with engaging prose and revealing photographs, the memoir reads just like a gripping drama novel, only it is based on the author's own life.
10. "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins: This gripping thriller is about a girl who takes the same train and encounters the same couple every day. One day, she comes across a shocking sight that changes her experience with them forever. For those who liked Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl," this eerie tale is right up your alley.
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