New York Times Best Sellers

Since 1931, the country's best-selling books have appeared on an authoritative weekly list in the New York Times, a list that has transformed into a resource for readers and booksellers alike. Read on to discover both past and present best sellers—you just might find your next book club pick!

Normal People

by Sally Rooney

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Irish Literature

Normal People is a novel by Sally Rooney, published by Faber & Faber in 2018. Rooney is also the author of the novel Conversations With Friends, and the winner of the 2017 Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. Normal People is set in the author’s native Ireland. The two main characters are Connell Waldron, a boy from a lower-middle-class background, and Marianne Sheridan, who comes from a wealthy family. As disparate as their socioeconomic... Read Normal People Summary

November 9

by Colleen Hoover

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Forgiveness, Grief, Guilt, Love, Family, Truth & Lies

Tags Romance, Grief & Death, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature

... Read November 9 Summary

Nudge

by Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein

Publication year 2008

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Trust & Doubt, Politics & Government

Tags Self-Improvement, Psychology, Business & Economics, Science & Nature, Sociology, Psychology, Politics & Government

In 2021 the behavioral economists Richard H. Thaler and the legal scholar Cass R. Sunstein released an updated, “final” version of their 2008 book Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Drawing on research from psychology, economics, sociology, and elsewhere, Thaler and Sunstein make the case for the importance of “nudges.” Nudges, according to these authors, are “aspects of choice architecture” that predictably alter behavior without forbidding or commanding anything (8). Choice architecture refers... Read Nudge Summary

Oathbringer

by Brandon Sanderson

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Mental Health, Appearance & Reality, Teamwork, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags Fantasy, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Narrative Poem

... Read Oathbringer Summary

Odder

by Katherine Applegate

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Conflict, Animals, Environment, Appearance & Reality, Place, Beauty, Safety & Danger

Tags Animals, Science & Nature, Realistic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature

... Read Odder Summary

Olga Dies Dreaming

by Xóchitl González

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Politics & Government, Family, Mothers, Sexual Identity, Race, Power & Greed, Colonialism, Economics

Tags Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ+, Social Class, Finance, US History, Natural Disaster, Parenting, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

... Read Olga Dies Dreaming Summary

One Day in December

by Josie Silver

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fate, Truth & Lies

Tags Special Occasions, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

One Day in December is a romance novel by Josie Silver, told through the first-person point of view of two characters: Jack O’Mara and Laurie James. The story focuses on specific months in the characters’ lives, providing a circular narrative that encourages the reader to notice how people develop but do not necessarily change over time. A #1 New York Times bestseller, the novel was published in 2018 by Broadway Books of Crown Publishing Group... Read One Day in December Summary

One Writer's Beginnings

by Eudora Welty

Publication year 1983

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Literature, The Past, Childhood & Youth, Self Discovery, Art

Tags Southern Literature, Relationships

Eudora Welty’s One Writer’s Beginnings is a memoir comprised of three essays, each exploring a different aspect of what makes a writer. Adapted from a series of lectures Welty delivered at Harvard University, the book explores “Listening,” “Learning to See,” and “Finding a Voice.” Each section presents both the author’s personal memories and philosophy of writing: Art is rooted in attention to the world, in an openness to memory, and in a voice shaped by... Read One Writer's Beginnings Summary

On Juneteenth

by Annette Gordon-Reed

Publication year 2021

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Justice, Power & Greed, Fear, Memory, Perseverance, Nostalgia, Conflict

Tags US History, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Black Lives Matter, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Education, Politics & Government, World History

... Read On Juneteenth Summary

Origin

by Dan Brown

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Apathy, Conflict, Revenge, Future, Politics & Government, War, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

Origin, by mystery/thriller author Dan Brown, is the fifth novel in the Robert Langdon series. Published in 2017, the novel extends the style, content, and subject matter established in prior books in the series. Origin deals heavily with the conflict between science and religion, as well as conservatism and liberalism in modern Spain. The novel also explores the role of technology in the evolution of humanity and what technology lends to the future. Brown is... Read Origin Summary

Other Birds

by Sarah Addison Allen

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Literature, Daughters & Sons, Family, Mothers, Animals, Place, Grief, Memory

Tags Magical Realism, Coming of Age, Grief & Death, Relationships, Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

... Read Other Birds Summary