Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Animals, Social Class, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed
Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Humor, Animals
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!
Starter Villain
Steal Like an Artist
Stella Maris
Stolen Focus
Stone Mattress
Stormbreaker
Stranded
Strangers in Their Own Land
Such a Fun Age
Superforecasting
Swamplandia
Sweetbitter
Sycamore Row
Talking As Fast As I Can
Taste
Tell the Wolves I'm Home
Tender at the Bone
Tenth of December
Thank You For Arguing
That Summer
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Animals, Social Class, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed
Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Humor, Animals
Publication year 2012
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Language, Art, Science & Technology, Self Discovery
Tags Leadership, Business & Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Arts & Culture, Self-Improvement
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Grief, Music, Space, Loneliness, Death
Tags Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Mental Illness, Philosophy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, American Literature, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy
Publication year 2022
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Science & Technology, Literature, Education, Mental Health
Tags Psychology, Self-Improvement, Health, Science & Nature, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Leadership, Psychology, Mental Illness
Publication year 2014
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Revenge, Aging
Tags Victorian Period, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy
Stone Mattress: Nine Wicked Tales is a 2014 collection of nine short stories from Canadian author Margaret Atwood. While Atwood has published fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, she is probably best known for her dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale. Other works by this author include Cat’s Eye, The Testaments, and Oryx and Crake. Atwood often tackles the power of the written word in her work. Many of the characters in Stone Mattress: Nine Wicked Tales are... Read Stone Mattress Summary
Publication year 2000
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Truth & Lies, Science & Technology, Coming of Age
Tags Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure, Horror & Suspense
Stormbreaker, published in 2000, is the first novel in the Alex Rider series by British author Anthony Horowitz. It is a YA action-adventure novel that follows 14-year-old Alex Rider as he is recruited as a spy by MI6. The novel explores The Moral Complexities of Espionage, Perseverance in the Face of Difficulty, and The Interplay of Technology and Espionage. The book was adapted into the 2006 film Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker, although the movie made... Read Stormbreaker Summary
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Childhood & Youth, Appearance & Reality, Objects & Materials, Place, Family, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Fate, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt
Tags Action & Adventure, Survival Fiction, Realistic Fiction
Publication year 2016
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Shame & Pride, Death, Climate, Environment, Place, Social Class, Community, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality
Tags Sociology, Politics & Government, US History, American Literature, Social Science, Business & Economics, World History, Social Justice
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right (2016) is an in-depth exploration of the rise of the Tea Party movement in Louisiana by sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild. In an effort to understand the Tea Party and bolster her empathy for political opinions oppositional to her own, Hochschild spent five years getting to know residents and conducting interviews in and around Lake Charles, Louisiana. Hochschild argues that by understanding one another’s... Read Strangers in Their Own Land Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Mothers
Tags Race & Racism, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Such a Fun Age (2019) is a debut novel from Kiley Reid, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons (an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC). The novel quickly garnered critical acclaim, including a NY Times Bestseller spot, and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award in 2020. Another novel by Reid is Come and Get It. Plot Summary Though it starts with Emira’s perspective, Such a Fun Age alternates almost evenly between Emira Tucker and Alix Chamberlain... Read Such a Fun Age Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Science & Technology, Teamwork, Perseverance
Tags Business & Economics, Politics & Government, Science & Nature, Psychology, Psychology, Self-Improvement
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Grief, Coming of Age, Environment
Tags Magical Realism, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Southern Gothic, Modern Classic Fiction
Swamplandia! is a 2011 novel by the American author Karen Russell. It is an adaptation of her short story “Ava Wrestles the Alligator,” first published in the Summer 2006 issue of the literary magazine Zoetrope: All-Story and later collected in her 2006 book of short stories, St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. It was longlisted for the Orange Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.A Miami native, Russell uses magical realism... Read Swamplandia Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Mental Health
Tags Food, Romance, Coming of Age, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Forgiveness, Race, Family, Community, Guilt
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Crime & Law, Race & Racism
Sycamore Row (2013) by John Grisham is the sequel to his debut novel and best-selling legal thriller, A Time to Kill (1989). Grisham, a practicing lawyer prior to his career as a novelist, popularized the legal thriller with his prolific work in the genre, frequently highlighting social justice and legal ethics issues. Though marketed as a legal thriller, Grisham himself makes a clear distinction between his legal thrillers and his Ford County novels—aka the Jake... Read Sycamore Row Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Femininity, Love, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Memory, Nostalgia, Coming of Age, Midlife, Self Discovery, Art
Tags Humor
Publication year 2021
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Family, Fame, Beauty, Memory, Love
Tags Food, European History, Arts & Culture
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Grief, Friendship, Conflict, Forgiveness, Family, Siblings, Art, Truth & Lies
Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, LGBTQ+
Tell the Wolves I’m Home is the 2012 debut novel of author Carol Rifka Brunt. In it, 14-year-old narrator June Elbus wrestles with her grief over the death of her uncle Finn Weiss, who died of AIDS. Set in 1987 New York at the height of the AIDS crisis, the novel confronts the stigmas surrounding the disease through June’s parents and sister, who blame Finn’s long-term partner, Toby Aldshaw, for transmitting AIDS to Finn. As... Read Tell the Wolves I'm Home Summary
Publication year 1998
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Memory, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Race, Coming of Age, Food, Marriage, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Fame
Tags Food, Relationships
Prominent chef, food writer, and editor Ruth Reichl’s 1998 memoir Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table incorporates recipes with narrative and commentary to create a portrait of Reichl’s coming of age. Reichl’s sometimes-chaotic childhood with a mother who had untreated bipolar disorder made her into an independent and rebellious young person determined to distance herself from her parents’ world. Her adolescence and young adulthood in New York; Montreal; Berkeley, California; and Ann... Read Tender at the Bone Summary
Publication year 2013
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Social Class, Science & Technology, Justice, Good & Evil, Community, Family, Death, Masculinity, Power & Greed
Tags Satirical Literature, Science Fiction, Relationships, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History
Tenth of December: Stories (2013) is American author George Saunders’s fourth short story collection. Saunders is widely regarded as one of the modern masters of the short story form, and this collection features stories written between 1995 and 2012, some of which were previously published in various literary outlets. The book was a bestseller and was widely praised on release, winning both the Story Prize and the Folio Prize. This guide refers to the 2013... Read Tenth of December Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Language, Truth & Lies, Power & Greed, Conflict, Wins & Losses
Tags Philosophy, Education, Education, Business & Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Self-Improvement
Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion (2020) is a New York Times bestseller on rhetoric by Jay Heinrichs, a journalist, writer, and publisher who specializes in argumentation methods. The book was published in 14 languages and 4 editions, selling over 500,000 copies. Structured like a manual, it boasts over 100 tools of persuasion and references notable figures such as Cicero, Barack Obama, and... Read Thank You For Arguing Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Revenge, Justice, Marriage
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Gender & Feminism, Social Justice, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction