Best of the Year, so far 2022 Playlist

Horse

“This book centers on Lexington, often considered the greatest horse in history. But this book is much more than the story of a horse. Brooks writes of slavery, the Civil War, academia, art and publishing, love and loyalty, and racism in history and today. I loved the bond between Jarret, an enslaved boy, and Lexington. I will be thinking of this book for quite some time.”

Melanie, Bookstore1Sarasota

This Time Tomorrow

“If you were raised on 13 Going on 30 or 17 Again you will love this book. There is something so magical about body-swapping time travel to make you appreciate your own life. Straub takes the classic trope and infuses the magic of New York City, living without technology, and a heartwarming relationship between a father and daughter. Add in the magical narration of Marin Ireland (who can do no wrong, every audiobook she touches is pure joy) and you have yourself 8.5 hours of all-consuming entertainment that has you ignoring all your responsibilities and tripping over tree roots on your walk (true story).”

Kimi, Buttonwood Books and Toys

A “bold and unflinchingly sexy” (Vogue) debut novel about a young woman who follows her desires into a world of pleasure, decadence, and privilege, unraveling everything she thought she knew about sex . . . and herself.
 
“One of the most entertaining books about sex I’ve ever read . . . The perfect read for fans of Raven Leilani and Ottessa... Read more »

If you enjoyed Red at the Bone, then you’ll love Brown Girls.

“What an absolutely gorgeous debut. The audiobook, narrated by Tashi Thomas, was more of a breathtaking performance than a mere narration. I highly recommend listening to this book and getting swept up in the life Thomas gives it. This book follows a female friend group from Queens over the course of their lives, taking us through the different paths they travel and the common experiences shared. Told in first person plural and present tense, Palasi Andreades brings an urgency to their story, a universality to their experience. By having a whole group of girls as the protagonist, we the readers are able to meander through multiple lives, always feeling allied with each."”

Julie, Pocket Books Shop

Notes on an Execution

“When the book opens, we meet the murderer Ansel Packer in his jail cell, 12 hours from execution. In the next chapter, he is a toddler in 1973 and we learn about his origins. At that chapter, I was hooked! As the book progresses, everything we learn about Ansel is from the point of view of the women in his life: his mother, his wife, and—my favorite—an 11-year-old girl who was in the foster care system with him. This is such an interesting exploration into the mind of a murderer. He feels very real, and very relatable.”

Donna, A Great Good Place for Books

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

“Rosie Walsh’s The Love of My Life is my favorite kind of thriller—gripping, heartbreaking and impossible to put down.”—Laura Dave

“A dazzling supernova of a book, it picks you up on line one and doesn't let you go until the very end. Each chapter is filled with heart-breaking... Read more »

Pure Colour is a galaxy of an audiobook: explosive, celestially bright, huge, and streaked with beauty. It is a contemporary bible, an atlas of feeling, and an absurdly funny guide to the great (and terrible) things about being alive. Sheila Heti is a philosopher of modern experience, and she has reimagined what a book can hold.

Here we are, just...

A clear, practical, first-of-its-kind guide to communicating and understanding numbers and data—from bestselling business author Chip Heath.

How much bigger is a billion than a million?

Well, a million seconds is twelve days. A billion seconds is…thirty-two years.

Understanding numbers is essential—but humans aren’t built to understand them.... Read more »

The seven Shaw siblings have long been haunted by two early and profoundly consequential events. Told in turns from the early twentieth century through the 1950s, the story builds as each sibling relays their own versions of the memories that surround both their mother’s mysterious death and the circumstances of one sister’s scandalous teenage... Read more »

A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK • An indelible love story about two very different people navigating the entanglements of class and identity and coming of age in an America coming apart at the seams—this is "an extraordinary debut about the ties that bind families together and tear them apart across generations" (Ann Patchett,... Read more »

Great Circle

“Great Circle is about two women 100 years apart: pilot Marian Graves and Hadley Baxter, the actress cast to play the famous pilot. This epic novel is fascinating, adventurous, and well-written, with great characters, historical details, and fantastic settings. Don’t miss this journey!”

Kathy Morrison, Newtown Bookshop

Mary Jane

“Mary Jane, oh, Mary Jane... You'll be singing along too, I promise you, to the expert and pitch-perfect audio performed by Caitlin Kinnunen, best known for playing Emma Nolan in the musical The Prom, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. This tragicomic novel by Jessica Anya Blau was so fabulous, so fresh yet so nostalgic, it's absolutely the book I will be recommending for anyone's beach read. The dialogue was superb, the characters were loveable, the time period—1970s!!—was the best I loved it!”

Jenny, The Vermont Book Shop

Hour of the Witch

“Mary Deerfield is married to a cruel and violent man who outwardly appears to be a pillar of the Putritan Boston community of 1662. She tries to divorce miller Thomas, but during the trial she runs up against suspicions of witchcraft, a hanging offense. ”

Pat, Village Square Booksellers

We Are the Brennans

“I ABSOLUTELY love this book! We Are the Brennans is the debut novel by Tracey Lange and centers around the Brennan family and the secrets that threaten to destroy their wonderfully dysfunctional Irish Catholic family.”

Kathleen, A Great Good Place for Books

A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!

An instant New York Times bestseller!

A USA Today bestseller!

Named a Best Book of 2021 by Amazon • Esquire • Marie Claire • Refinery29 • Kirkus • Redbook • Ms. Magazine • The Millions • Undomesticated Magazine • Paperback Paris

"A once-every-few-years reading experience."—Mary Beth Keane, New York... Read more »