Putting together this list of standout fiction published so far this year wasn’t an easy task, mostly because it could just as easily have been twice as long. It’s been a very good year for fiction, whether your tastes head more towards classical storytelling, or narrative innovation, or incisive societal observations. What follows is a list of some of the books published in the first half of 2016 that have impressed us the most.
Mid-Year 2016: The Year’s Best Nonfiction (So Far)
It’s been a great year for nonfiction so far, with work that’s encompassed everything from memorable and harrowing true-life stories to formally bold takes on everyday topics. What follows is a look at some of the nonfiction books that have gotten our attention in the first half of this year.
A Year of Favorites: Gabino Iglesias
Best Book Stuff of 2015: Best books of the year: 10. The Up-Down by Barry Gifford 9. Jigsaw Youth by Tiffany Scandal 8. Get It While You Can by Nick Jaina 7. Witchita Stories by Troy James Weaver
A Year of Favorites: Tobias Carroll
I read some books this year.
A Year of Favorites: Duncan B. Barlow
Year end lists are always problematic for me. Sometimes the things that have the most impact on me, things that are new to me, can be a year or a century old. So, I find myself, pulling things off of my shelves and checking publication dates, cursing that they hadn’t been published within the year. I’ve attempted to force myself into the box of a year. Here is a brief list since I am presented continually with things that inspire […]
A Year of Favorites: Nick Curley
I. THE RACCOON When I read lists of Bests and Favorites and What Assertively Was, I think of a line from William Blake, who did not release any new work in 2015. Of Jesus Christ, Blake proclaimed: “He is the only God. And so am I. And so are you.” Books don’t survive in the petri dish. They live in the context of where we are spatially and consciously. To read is to search: it seems an inherently hopeful act. […]
A Year of Favorites: Margaret Eby
It was T.S. Eliot or maybe those dudes in Rent who brought up the idea of how you measure a year, and the question remains an open one. Sure, sure, measured out with coffee spoons, sure, sure, sunsets and laughter and strife, but the truth is that what you remember from a year isn’t the connective tissue of every day life. It’s those things that stick in your brain. It’s when you look at a photo of yourself a couple […]
A Year of Favorites: Jason Diamond
I’d like to stop saying we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. At the very least, we should be able to admit if the cover is striking enough then it is totally fine to give the book a little more consideration. Pretty things are nice! We should want more of them in our world and in our lives.