To see the 2019 list, click here; the 2020 list, click here; the 2021 list, click here.
Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall
When Chris McDougall agreed to take in a donkey from an animal hoarder, he thought it would be no harder than the rest of the adjustments he and his family had made after moving from Philadelphia to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. But when he arrived, Sherman was in such bad shape he could barely move and his hair was coming out in clumps. Chris decided to undertake a radical rehabilitation program designed not only to heal Sherman’s body, but to heal his mind as well. (2019, 333pgs; Nonfiction)
Hell of a Book by Jason Mott
An African-American author sets out on a cross-country book tour to promote his best-selling novel. Who has been killed? Who is The Kid? Will the author finish his book tour? What kind of world will he leave behind? Unforgettably told, with characters who burn in your mind, and an electrifying plot, this is the novel Mott has been writing in his head for the last ten years. (2021, 319pgs; Fiction)
A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam
A young man journeys into Sri Lanka’s formerly war-torn north, and into a country’s soul, in this searing novel of love and the legacy of war from the award-winning author of The Story of a Brief Marriage. (2021, 290pgs; Fiction)
The Promise by Damon Galgut
Haunted by an unmet promise, the Swart family loses touch after the death of their matriarch. Adrift, the lives of the three siblings move separately through the uncharted waters of South Africa; Anton, the golden boy who bitterly resents his life’s unfulfilled promises; Astrid, whose beauty is her power; and the youngest, Amor, whose life is shaped by a nebulous feeling of guilt. Reunited by four funerals over three decades, the dwindling family reflects the atmosphere of its country – an atmosphere of resentment, renewal, and – ultimately – hope. (2021, 269pgs; Fiction)
Tomorrow’s Bread by Anna Jean Mayhew
From the author of the acclaimed The Dry Grass of August comes a richly researched yet lyrical Southern-set novel that explores the conflicts of gentrification–a moving story of loss, love, and resilience. (2019, 284pgs; Fiction)
Me by Elton John
In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, from his rollercoaster lifestyle as shown in the film Rocketman, to becoming a living legend. (2019, 374pgs; Nonfiction)
Oh, William by Elizabeth Strout
Strout’s iconic heroine Lucy Barton recounts her complex, tender relationship with William, her first husband — and longtime, on-again-off-again friend and confidante. (2021, 240pgs; Fiction)
Stakes Is High by Mychal Denzel Smith
Smith exposes the contradictions at the heart of American life – between patriotism and justice, between freedom and inequality, incarceration, and police violence. In a series of incisive essays, Smith holds us to account individually and as a nation. He examines his own shortcomings, grapples with the anxiety of feeling stuck, and looks in new directions for the tools to build a just America. (2020, 193pgs; Nonfiction)
The Force by Don Winslow
All Denny Malone wants to be is a good cop. He’s the king of Manhattan North, a highly decorated NYPD detective sergeant, and the real leader of “Da Force.” But what only a few know is that Denny Malone and his partners have stolen millions of dollars in drugs and cash in the wake of the biggest heroin bust in the city’s history. Now Malone is caught in a trap and must walk the thin line between betraying his brother and partners, the Job, his family, and the woman he loves, while the city teeters on the brink of a racial conflagration that could destroy them all. (2017, 482pgs; Fiction)
Anthem by Noah Hawley
The wheels are coming off in America. Opioid addictions accelerate unstoppably. Environmental collapse can be read in every weather report. Vigilante bands take over streets at night, wearing clown face makeup. The very idea of government, of citizenship, is challenged daily. And something is happening to teenagers across the country, spreading through memes only they understand. Unforgettably vivid characters and a plot as fast and bright as pop cinema blend in a Vonnegutian story that is as timeless as a Grimm’s fairy tale. (2022, 429pgs; Fiction)
Girl in Ice by Erica Ferencik
From the author of The River at Night and Into the Jungle comes a harrowing new thriller in which a linguist, broken-hearted after the apparent suicide of her glaciologist brother, ventures hundreds of miles north of the Arctic Circle to try to communicate with a young girl who has thawed from the ice alive. (2022, 294pgs; Fiction)
–Tidelines Editors
Tidelines 