This is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz
Yunior, a smooth-talking Dominican, explores the complexity of love, fidelity and cultural identity in these inventive, uncompromising stories.

Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
Two aging African-American musicians return to Berlin to find their friend, a jazz trumpeter arrested in Nazi-occupied France.

A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers
In a nod to Godot, an American salesman is in Saudi Arabia to close a deal which may salvage his way of life.

The Round House by Louise Erdrich
On the Ojibwe reservation, Oop hunts for his mother’s attacker and learns that law does not always provide justice.

Canada by Richard Ford
The twin teenage children of once upstanding citizens who rob a bank are left to fend for themselves. The murders come later, in Saskatchewan.

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
Bravo Squad was caught live on camera in a firefight. Now temporarily stateside, they are being exploited in a hyped-up victory tour.

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
A man, his dog, his airplane and a will to survive in post-apocalyptic Colorado.

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson
In a surreal sortie to a world of fabricated reality, Pak Jun Do is forced to become many people by the North Korean government.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo 
Documents the lives of the slum dwellers of Annawadi, whose work as garbage pickers barely keeps them alive.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Compelling arguments for why we should turn down the volume.

Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis by Timothy Egan
Illuminates one man’s quest to document and preserve the culture of indigenous American tribes.

Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story by Jim Holt
Why something instead of nothing?

Engines of Change: A History of the American Dream in Fifteen Cars by Paul Ingrassia
From the Model T to the Prius, we are what we drive.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
A 60-something retiree living near London searches through his memories to discern what role, if any, he may have played in a decades-old tragedy.

The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok
Beautifully wrought memoir chronicles the 17-year estrangement of the author and her homeless, schizophrenic mother and the painful reunion that brings them together.

Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue
Five-year-old Jack vividly narrates the story of his life confined in a room with his mother in this unsettling exploration of resilience and hope.

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
A‘70s punk band becomes the touchstone for a motley crew who spin their interconnected stories over time and distance.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
Two men – one black, one white – must confront the secrets surrounding their childhood friendship following the disappearance of two girls in rural Mississippi.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
This incisive portrait of the fractured Berglund brood captures the zeitgeist of contemporary America.

The Surrendered by Chang Rae Lee
The complex entangled lives of three people forever scarred by the Korean War are sympathetically portrayed in gorgeous prose.

Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes
An ambitious and idealistic American Marine faces the horror, heroism, futility, and pragmatism of war in this visceral portrayal of life in-country.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet: A Novel by David Mitchell
A young clerk attempts to establish himself in the artificial and intense world of Dejima, the Dutch trading colony in 1800s Japan.

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
Filled warmth and humor, this coming-of-age novel set in a Dublin boys schools is a sprawling homage to adolescence, string theory, donuts, and unrequited love.

The Lonely Polygamist: A Novel by Brady Udall
In this big-hearted novel, Golden Richards and his clan navigate their chaotic lives as each clamors to be noticed.

Travels in Siberia by Ian Frazier
Stricken by Russia love, a writer sets out to experience all things Siberian and takes us along for the rollicking journey.

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent
This intoxicating history of the 18th amendment reveals the surprising relationship between Prohibition and other social movements, and explores its lasting impact on American life.

The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn by Nathaniel Philbrick
An epic encounter between two iconic individuals is vividly portrayed in fluid, evocative, and decidedly objective prose.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
A science writer uncovers the fascinating story of an African-American woman's cancer cells harvested for medical research, thereby raising important questions of bioethics.

Just Kids by Patti Smith
The poet and musician's endearing memoir about her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe captures life and art in New York City during the 1960s and ‘70s.

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant
Russia's ecological and cultural history serves as the backdrop for this riveting adventure tale of man versus beast.

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
The 20th century exodus of over 6 million Black Americans from the South is sensitively retold through the lives of three who left.