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!

Dark Places

by Gillian Flynn

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Truth & Lies, Family, Hate & Anger, Fear, Masculinity

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Crime & Law, Modern Classic Fiction

Dark Places is a 2009 mystery thriller novel by American author Gillian Flynn. The narrative moves between two time periods, 1985 and 2009, as the protagonist, Libby Day, tries to solve her family’s brutal murder. The novel deals with the consequences of the 1980s Satanic Panic and the fallout from the 1970s Farm Boom for a community in the rural Midwest. Flynn is also the author of Sharp Objects (2006) and Gone Girl (2012).Dark Places... Read Dark Places Summary

Dead Mountain

by Donnie Eichar

Publication year 2013

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Memory, Language, Death, The Past, Climate, Environment, Place, Teamwork, Nation, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Russian Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Biography, European History, Crime & Law, Action & Adventure, Travel Literature

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Dear Edward

by Ann Napolitano

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Birth, Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano was published in 2020. It is the story of a 12-year-old boy who is the lone survivor of a plane crash that kills 191 others, including his family. As Edward struggles to cope with the tragedy, letters from others affected by the crash spark a journey of healing and self-discovery. Although the novel is fiction, it was inspired by true events. Ann Napolitano is a resident of New York City... Read Dear Edward Summary

Delirium

by Lauren Oliver

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Truth & Lies, Politics & Government, Self Discovery, Coming of Age

Tags Science Fiction, Romance, Love & Sexuality, Fantasy

Written by Lauren Oliver in 2011, Delirium is a young adult, dystopian novel that takes place in a world where love is considered a disease and is thus surgically removed from a person’s brain when they turn 18. The protagonist, Lena Haloway, falls in love with a boy named Alex Warren and must navigate a world in which their love is forbidden. The novel explores the power of love in opposition to an unfair totalitarian... Read Delirium Summary

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

by Jeff Kinney

Publication year 2007

Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Family, Loyalty & Betrayal, Siblings, Childhood & Youth, Guilt, Shame & Pride, Truth & Lies

Tags Realistic Fiction, Humor, Relationships, Bullying, Children`s Literature

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the first graphic novel in the titular series by Jeff Kinney. Since its initial publication in 2007, Diary of a Wimpy Kid has become a New York Times bestseller and 16 sequels have followed in the series, including Rodrick Rules (2008) and The Last Straw (2009). Diary of a Wimpy Kid is written in a diary format and documents the misadventures of middle school student Greg Heffley, who longs... Read Diary of a Wimpy Kid Summary

Dolores Claiborne

by Stephen King

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Social Class, Gender Identity, Guilt

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Dramatic Literature

Dolores Claiborne (1992) is a psychological thriller by the American novelist Stephen King. The novel, narrated from Dolores’s first-person point of view, tells the story of her work as a housekeeper for the wealthy Vera Donovan and Dolores’s eventual murder of her abusive husband. Unique among King’s work for its unconventional narrative style, including a lack of chapter designations and section breaks, the novel deals with themes of revenge, family, physical and sexual abuse, and... Read Dolores Claiborne Summary

Dopamine Nation

by Anna Lembke

Publication year 2021

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Mental Health, Self Discovery, Guilt, Forgiveness, Shame & Pride, Gratitude, Family, Community, Apathy, Nation, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Health, Psychology, Science & Nature, Self-Improvement, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Depression & Suicide, Mental Illness, Leadership, Psychology

... Read Dopamine Nation Summary

Dorothy Must Die

by Danielle Paige

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Self Discovery, Science & Technology, Power & Greed, Loneliness

Tags Fantasy, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (Harper Collins, 2014) is the first installment in the 4-book Dorothy Must Die series, followed by The Wicked Will Rise. The story follows a girl from Kansas through a dystopian land of Oz in which Dorothy rules with an iron will and unforgiving hand. Dorothy Must Die is set in the world of the Oz books by L. Frank Baum and was a New York Times bestseller. Danielle Paige... Read Dorothy Must Die Summary

Dragon Rider

by Cornelia Funke

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Loneliness, Environment, Friendship

Tags Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Action & Adventure, German Literature

Dragon Rider is the first installment in a middle grade fantasy trilogy by popular German children’s author Cornelia Funke. Funke is best known for her Inkheart fantasy series, which inspired the 2009 Inkheart film. Dragon Rider, first published in Germany in 1997, was published in the US by Chicken House, an imprint of Scholastic in 2004, with a translation by Anthea Bell.Dragon Rider follows the quest of a silver dragon named Firedrake, a household fairy—or... Read Dragon Rider Summary

Drive

by Daniel H. Pink

Publication year 2009

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Community, Education, Science & Technology

Tags Psychology, Self-Improvement, Business & Economics

... Read Drive Summary

Drowning

by T. J. Newman

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Family

Tags Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Action & Adventure

... Read Drowning Summary

Duma Key

by Stephen King

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Memory, Revenge, Disability, Language, Race, Death, Environment, Place, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Teamwork, Social Class, Art, Beauty, Good & Evil, Power & Greed

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Psychological Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Duma Key by Stephen King is a novel in the literary-horror genre, praised for its eerie, spooky atmosphere and suspenseful build-up. Published in 2008, Duma Key is the first novel by King to be set in Florida. The book follows Edgar Freemantle as he moves from Minnesota to the island of Duma (one of the Florida Keys, or small islands) after a life-changing accident. Tormented by phantom-limb pain from his amputation and unable to remember... Read Duma Key Summary

Dune

by Frank Herbert

Publication year 1965

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Religion & Spirituality, Environment, Politics & Government, Space

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Classic Fiction

Dune is a 1965 science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert. As the first in a series of novels, Dune introduces Paul Atreides and his gradual emergence as a unifying, powerful figure in a galaxy filled with political intrigue and the threat of religious war. Now considered one of the foremost examples of American science fiction, Dune won numerous prestigious awards and has been adapted several times in films and television series, most recently... Read Dune Summary

Either/Or

by Elif Batuman

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Literature, Language, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age

Tags Coming of Age, Love & Sexuality, Women`s Studies, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction

... Read Either/Or Summary