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NPR's Favorite Books Of 2020: The Book Concierge Is Back With 380+ Great Reads

December 1, 2020 • Find eight years of recommendations all in one place: Here are nearly 2,500 titles, hand-picked by NPR staff and trusted critics — with handy filters to help you find the perfect book!

In 'Beeswing,' Richard Thompson Revisits A Big Life Just Shy Of The Mainstream

In Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice, 1967-1975, Thompson looks back on difficult memories that turned into familiar songs. Paul Morigi/Getty Images hide caption

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Paul Morigi/Getty Images

In 'Beeswing,' Richard Thompson Revisits A Big Life Just Shy Of The Mainstream

April 11, 2021 • Richard Thompson, a British musician who somehow avoided pop stardom throughout his career, has just written about his early days in a new memoir called Beeswing: Losing My Way and Finding My Voice.

In 'Beeswing,' Richard Thompson Revisits A Big Life Just Shy Of The Mainstream

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For April, 3 Tales Of Love, Luck, And Happy Ever After

William Morrow

Review

For April, 3 Tales Of Love, Luck, And Happy Ever After

April 11, 2021 • This month, our romance columnist Maya Rodale has three down-on-their-luck heroines whose fortunes change dramatically, via a dreamy bad boy, a surprise inheritance, and a revelation about the past.

Former Speaker John Boehner's Memoir Serves As A Reflection On Life In 'Crazytown'

On the House: A Washington Memoir, John Boehner St. Martin's Press hide caption

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St. Martin's Press

Review

Former Speaker John Boehner's Memoir Serves As A Reflection On Life In 'Crazytown'

April 9, 2021 • On the House chronicles Boehner's humble rise in national politics and his front-row seat to the revolution within his Republican party that ultimately forced him out of Congress.

In The Rise And Fall Of The Sacklers' Opioid Empire, An American Dream Turns Toxic

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe Doubleday hide caption

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Doubleday

Review

In The Rise And Fall Of The Sacklers' Opioid Empire, An American Dream Turns Toxic

April 8, 2021 • Patrick Radden Keefe helped expose the Sackler family's role in the deadly opioid epidemic. His new book deepens the narrative, raising questions about the blurring of medicine and capitalism.

Ambition, Alchemy And Searching For Way To Fit In 'Gold Diggers'

Penguin Press

Review

Ambition, Alchemy And Searching For Way To Fit In 'Gold Diggers'

April 8, 2021 • Sanjena Sathian's novel follows a Georgia teenager, son of Indian immigrants, as he struggles with balancing his own ambitions and those of his parents, and finding his own way to be brown in America.

For This Palestinian Cook, The Kitchen Is A 'Powerful Place' — Not A 'Life Sentence'

Cookbook author Reem Kassis says that many foods that are considered Middle Eastern or Israeli actually originated as Palestinian dishes. Dan Perez/Phaidon Press hide caption

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Dan Perez/Phaidon Press

For This Palestinian Cook, The Kitchen Is A 'Powerful Place' — Not A 'Life Sentence'

Fresh Air

April 7, 2021 • Reem Kassis began gathering family recipes after the birth of her first child. The recipes, she says, "could be the story of any and every Palestinian family." Her new book is The Arabesque Table.

For This Palestinian Cook, The Kitchen Is A 'Powerful Place' — Not A 'Life Sentence'

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Too Many 'Peaces' Overload An Otherwise Entertaining Story

Riverhead Books

Review

Too Many 'Peaces' Overload An Otherwise Entertaining Story

April 7, 2021 • Helen Oyeyemi's new novel is a no-holds-barred mashup of Agatha Christie-style mystery oddities like mongoose genealogy, kidnapped gaming champions and a woman who chokes on emeralds in her sleep.

'Farewell For Now:' Leigh Bardugo On 'Rule Of Wolves'

Leigh Bardugo Christina Guerrero hide caption

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Christina Guerrero

'Farewell For Now:' Leigh Bardugo On 'Rule Of Wolves'

April 7, 2021 • Leigh Bardugo is winding up her Russian-inflected Grishaverse series (at least for now) with Rule of Wolves, which continues the story of the dashing King Nikolai of Ravka and his demonic interloper.

HarperCollins

In 'Caul Baby,' A Rare Gift Becomes A Double-Edged Sword

April 6, 2021 • In Morgan Jerkins' novel, a family of Black women has a gift; they're born with a caul, a layer over their skin that protects them from harm. They can share and sell the caul — which brings trouble.

In 'Caul Baby,' A Rare Gift Becomes A Double-Edged Sword

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A Daughter Struggles To Escape Her Mother's Shadow In 'Libertie'

Workman

Review

A Daughter Struggles To Escape Her Mother's Shadow In 'Libertie'

Fresh Air

April 6, 2021 • What if a child doesn't share a parent's ambition? Kaitlyn Greenidge's novel is inspired by the life of Dr. Susan Smith McKinney-Steward, the third Black woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S.

A Daughter Struggles To Escape Her Mother's Shadow In 'Libertie'

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Haruki Murakami: 'I've Had All Sorts Of Strange Experiences In My Life'

Haruki Murakami's new story collection is First Person Singular. Elena Seibert hide caption

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Elena Seibert

Haruki Murakami: 'I've Had All Sorts Of Strange Experiences In My Life'

April 6, 2021 • Murakami's new story collection, First Person Singular, touches some of his favorite subjects — jazz, baseball, classical music — but also highlights some of the unexplained oddities of life.

Stranger Danger: An Economist's Guide To Overcoming Distrust

Pixabay

Review

Stranger Danger: An Economist's Guide To Overcoming Distrust

April 6, 2021 • A new book delves into humanity's long march to overcoming distrust.

Memoir Offers Advice On 'How To Raise A Feminist Son'

Sonora Jha, author of How to Raise a Feminist Son. Sonora Jha hide caption

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Sonora Jha

Memoir Offers Advice On 'How To Raise A Feminist Son'

April 6, 2021 • A feminist son, says author Sonora Jha, means "a boy who believes in the full humanity of women and girls around him." It also means recognizing that as they grow older, they can be led by women.

Memoir Offers Advice On 'How To Raise A Feminist Son'

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Singer Brandi Carlile Talks Ambition, Avoidance And Finally Finding Her Place

"Queer people love country music," singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile says. "... We just don't think that it's going to open its doors to us. And when it does, it's wildly satisfying." Austin Hargrave/AUGUST hide caption

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Austin Hargrave/AUGUST

Editors' Picks

Singer Brandi Carlile Talks Ambition, Avoidance And Finally Finding Her Place

Fresh Air

April 5, 2021 • The six-time Grammy winner got her start as a kid, singing backup for an Elvis impersonator. Her new memoir, Broken Horses, is about her early life and the family she's built.

Singer Brandi Carlile Talks Ambition, Avoidance And Finally Finding Her Place

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Through Decades Of Addiction, Hunter Biden Says His Family Never Gave Up On Him

Hunter Biden, at the time serving as board chairman of World Food Program USA, with then-Vice President Joe Biden in 2016. Hunter Biden says his addictions worsened after his brother Beau's death in 2015. Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images hide caption

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Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images

Author Interviews

Through Decades Of Addiction, Hunter Biden Says His Family Never Gave Up On Him

April 5, 2021 • Hunter Biden's new memoir is a story of his years of alcohol and drug addiction. He tells NPR that the one constant was the love of his family: "Their light was never not seeking me out."

Through Decades Of Addiction, Hunter Biden Says His Family Never Gave Up On Him

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Old Ways Cradle A New Life In 'I Sang You Down From The Stars'

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Author Interviews

Old Ways Cradle A New Life In 'I Sang You Down From The Stars'

April 4, 2021 • Caldecott Medal-winning artist Michaela Goade's Tlingit heritage her illustrations for I Sang You Down From the Stars, about a woman following Indigenous customs as she prepares for motherhood.

Old Ways Cradle A New Life In 'I Sang You Down From The Stars'

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