One trend Gelman noticed in publishing this year, especially in their top ten, is books that focus on friendship — as opposed to ones about romantic relationships — especially books that feature messy, complicated relationships with friends and family. In Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, the main character points out that “Lovers are common,” but “True collaborators in this life are rare.” Our Missing Hearts and Carrie Soto Is Back are two other books on the list that focus on friendships as well as relationships between a parent and child. Gelman added that Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson, a favorite of hers that didn’t make the list, is another book that explores a deep friendship between a man and woman. While this list is a combination of all the editors’ top picks, Gelman loves each of the top five, and especially recommends pairing Solito, a memoir about a child making a 3,000 mile journey by himself from El Salvador to the U.S., with Our Missing Hearts, a novel about a son searching the U.S. for his missing mother. On Solito, Gelman said, “To call something ‘required reading’ sounds boring, but this is a book human beings need to read.”
#10 Best Book of the Year:
You might also be interested in Barnes and Noble’s Best Books of the Year as well as The Best Book of the Year, According to Barnes & Noble Booksellers. And watch this space for Book Riot’s Best Books of the Year, coming soon!
