Best Books of 2020Like this list

100 items

• Actress

  a Novel

  Enright, Anne, 1962-

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  "What was she like before she went crazy," people ask Norah about her late mother, "as though their own mother might turn overnight, like a bottle of milk left out of the fridge." The narrator of this haunting novel attempts to answer that…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Address Book

  What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power

  Mask, Deirdre,

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  Addresses empower and isolate, while street names often commemorate and describe. This remarkable and highly original book takes readers on an exciting journey covering historical events and fascinating people through this lens of street…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• After the Last Border

  Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America

  Goudeau, Jessica,

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  Presenting the compelling stories of two women alongside the history of refugee resettlement in the United States, journalist Jessica Goudeau humanizes the discussion of immigration in this moving new book. Goudeau illustrates how the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Afterlife

  a Novel

  Alvarez, Julia,

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  Alvarez's first book for adults in 15 years is a multifaceted work, an ode to Latina sisterhood and a reflection on loss layered onto a novel about battling compassion fatigue in a post-2016 world. Antonia is a retired English professor…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Awkward Black Man

  Stories

  Mosley, Walter,

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  Perhaps best known for his Easy Rawlins mysteries, Mosley is a versatile writer who excels in many genres, as demonstrated in his latest masterful collection of short stories, which showcase the experiences of a diverse cast of man facing…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Begin Again

  James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own

  Glaude, Eddie S., Jr., 1968-

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  Disturbed by the turmoil of our current era and the setbacks it has presented to American civil rights, a noted scholar returns to the wisdom of James Baldwin's post-1968 writings for inspiration and clarity in forging a path forward in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Blacktop Wasteland

  Cosby, S. A.,

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  Beauregard "Bug" Montage is a small-business owner (mechanic) raising kids with his wife and believing his past criminal life as a getaway driver is well behind him, but his debts are mounting, and his efforts to make some fast cash by…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Book of Rosy

  a Mother's Story of Separation at the Border

  Pablo Cruz, Rosayra,

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  In this powerful page-turner, we hear the story of the crisis on the border directly from two mothers: Rosy, a Guatemalan refugee separated from her young children and placed in ICE detention, and Julie, an American mother who, like many,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Burning

  Majumdar, Megha,

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  Majumdar's searing, timely debut tells the story of Jivan, a Muslim shop-girl who lives with her parents in Kolabagan, a slum of Kolkata, India. When Jivan witnesses a train being set on fire at the railway station near her home, and then…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Caste

  the Origins of Our Discontents

  Wilkerson, Isabel,

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  Isabel Wilkerson's latest (after the One Book One Chicago selection The Warmth of Other Suns) blends research, hard-won insight, and the kind of first-hand anecdotal evidence that makes big ideas relatable into a work of rare acuity. Her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Children of the Land

  Hernandez Castillo, Marcelo, 1988-

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  Award-winning poet Hernandez Castillo uses his singular and powerful voice to tell the story of his crossing into the U.S. as a child with his family. Those who have traversed the Kafaesque American immigration system will recognize their…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Children's Bible

  a Novel

  Millet, Lydia, 1968-

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  A group of disaffected children, brought together when their parents jointly rent a swanky East Coast manor for vacation, spend their days doing their best to ignore their parents who are busy embarrassing and disgusting their offspring…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The City We Became

  Jemisin, N. K.,

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  Every city in the world has a heartbeat, a pulse, a rhythm all its own. But what keeps that city moving and breathing? What protects it from threats, both existential and physical? In NK Jemisin's latest, New York City is finally taking…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Cleanness

  Greenwell, Garth,

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  In this strong new collection from rising literary talent Greenwell (What Belongs to You), the author explores the life of a young American teacher working abroad in Sofia, Bulgaria, and his students, friends and lovers. A few stories deal…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Cold Millions

  a Novel

  Walter, Jess, 1965-

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  After the death of his mother, teenager Rye Dolan heads west to tramp along the rails and find work with his older brother Gig, an idealistic and well-read committeeman in the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World). Rye is swept up into…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Come Home, Indio

  a Memoir

  Terry, Jim (Artist),

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  Terry's gripping graphic memoir describes a loner's childhood that develops into a young adulthood filled with loss and alcohol abuse and the redemption that follows, first through sobriety, and then through activism against the Dakota…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Conjure Women

  a Novel

  Atakora, Afia,

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  Atakora's debut novel takes the reader on a back-and-forth journey in time to tell a story of how three women's escapades are intertwined through secrets, transgressions, and lies. This generational saga, set on a slave plantation in the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Crooked Hallelujah

  Ford, Kelli Jo,

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  The bonds of mothers and daughters across four generations of Cherokee women are put to the test in this lyrical debut that focuses on Justine, who becomes pregnant at age 15 and flees her religiously conservative family, determined to…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Days of Distraction

  a Novel

  Chang, Alexandra, 1988-

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  An enterprising young writer, the unnamed narrator of Chang's smart debut is a first generation Chinese-American woman who reviews gadgets for a tech magazine in the bay area. In a wry, frustrated voice, the narrator muses on our…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Deacon King Kong

  McBride, James, 1957-

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  James McBride (author of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird) has hit it out of the park with this multi-layered novel centered on a housing project in Brooklyn as the 60s wind down. A neighborhood rummy shoots a drug dealer…Read moreRead more of this annotation