the year’s best books
The authors of some of this year’s biggest releases share their own favourite books of 2017. Because with holidays coming up, you might finally have time to read them
Bestselling authors reveal their favourite reads of 2017.
DANZY SENNA AUTHOR OF NEW PEOPLE ($29.99, RIVERHEAD)
TOP PICK: WHAT WE LOSE BY ZINZI CLEMMONS ($29.99, 4TH ESTATE) “This novel shows such beautiful restraint in its exploration of what it is to come into adulthood as you are losing your mother. Clemmons has a light touch, yet this work runs deep.” CELESTE NG AUTHOR OF LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE ($29.99, LITTLE, BROWN) TOP PICK: THE FACT OF A BODY BY ALEXANDRIA MARZANO-LESNEVICH ($39.99, MACMILLAN) “Part true-crime story, part memoir, this book is like nothing you’ve ever read. The sympathy with which the author unspools her own story and that of a convicted murderer is deeply moving.” JENNY ZHANG AUTHOR OF SOUR HEART ($24.99, BLOOMSBURY) TOP PICK: THERE ARE MORE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAN BEYONCÉ BY MORGAN PARKER ($22.99, TIN HOUSE BOOKS) “For people who don’t ‘get’ poetry or think it’s too cheesy, Parker will challenge your every assumption.” VIET THANH NGUYEN AUTHOR OF THE REFUGEES ($32.99, CORSAIR) TOP PICK: LONESOME LIES BEFORE US BY DON LEE ($38.95, WILEY) “A novel about a musician who’s totally dedicated to his music, in a world that couldn’t care less. Anybody with an artistic soul will sympathise.”
RACHEL KHONG AUTHOR OF GOODBYE, VITAMIN ($29.99, SCRIBNER) TOP PICK: SORRY TO
DISRUPT THE PEACE BY PATTY YUMI COTTRELL ($29.99, TEXT PUBLISHING) “Cottrell’s voice is like no other, and her protagonist, a Koreanamerican adoptee trying to find the reason behind her brother’s suicide, is one you won’t readily forget.” GEORGE SAUNDERS AUTHOR OF LINCOLN IN THE BARDO ($29.99, BLOOMSBURY) TOP PICK: STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING: THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF RACIST IDEAS IN AMERICA BY IBRAM X KENDI ($39.99, NATION BOOKS) “A must-read for anyone struggling with questions of race and justice. It reconfigures the question in a radical, heartful way that makes the reader feel newly liberated to see the world from a more correct, loving perspective.” KAMILA SHAMSIE AUTHOR OF HOME FIRE ($22.49, BLOOMSBURY) TOP PICK: THE WINDFALL BY DIKSHA BASU ($27.99, BLOOMSBURY) “It’s distressingly rare to find a novel that is both a sparkling, delightful comedy of manners and a sharp, thoughtful look at a changing world.” JESMYN WARD AUTHOR OF SING, UNBURIED, SING ($39.99, BLOOMSBURY) TOP PICK: HUNGER BY ROXANE GAY ($32.99, CORSAIR) “Gay’s non-fiction hurts in the best possible way.”