Fiction Favorites: 43 Novels and Story Collections for the Reader on Your List

The Dutch House

The purchase of the Dutch House by Cyril Conroy as a gift to his wife unintentionally sets into motion the disintegration of his family. Danny, Cyril’s son, is the narrator of this story. Patchett reveals through his coming of age, how collective memories are distinctively shaped by their owners and can change the course of future events. I am a sucker for a book that starts in an eccentric, rambling old house, but this book delivers on so many more levels.

Christmas in Austin

When the Essinger clan reunites for the holidays, there’s bound to be drama with so many siblings, partners, children, and in-laws in such close proximity. Action takes a backseat to dialogue and internal monologues (complete with plenty of ellipses), which illuminate the nuances of family relationships rather well. I also enjoyed the solidity of place; Markovits really nails the feel of Austin and central Texas.

A Single Thread

England between the Wars, one of my favorite settings. This is the story of a “surplus woman” who finds a new life of friendship and love in an extremely unusual place

The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1)

OK, clearly I’m four years behind on my sci-fi reading list, but as readers of the genre know, time is relative. Thankfully it’ll never be too late to pick up the Three-Body Problem, a masterful concoction made from one part mind-bending speculative physics, two parts geopolitical thriller. I gulped down the trilogy in two weeks.

The Guardians

Give the gift any legal-thriller lover will cherish: a signed John Grisham novel!

Toni Morrison Box Set: The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Beloved

The great Toni Morrison left us this year, but what a legacy she left us with. Three of her indelible novels — The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved — come boxed together. A great gift for readers new to Morrison or those in need of fresh copies to revisit.

Disappearing Earth

For anyone who wants an immersive, fully transportive novel with a cast of fascinating characters and the mystery of two missing sisters tying them all together, this is the book for you. Let Phillips whisk you away to the remote Russian peninsula of Kamchatka and in an out of the lives of the characters she bring to life.

The Family Upstairs

I hope there’s a sequel to this story. While the tale is told from several points of view, my favorite narrator is the brother. I guarantee you’ll be surprised and want more!

The Revisioners

Using a history that spans generations and a narrative that travels back and forth in time, The Revisioners explores the relationships between mothers in the same family. It’s a powerful statement on race, wealth, and power dynamics.

Under Occupation

A new one from one of my favorites, set within the French Resistance in occupied Paris.

The Flight Girls

For the person looking for their next WWII novel, this novel about the Women Airforce Service Pilots program shines a light on this little-known piece of American history.

The Accomplice

In spy master Kanon’s latest, a CIA agent is on the trail of a Nazi war criminal long thought dead.

The Shadow King

A gorgeously crafted and unputdownable exploration of female power. In incandescent, lyrical prose, Maaza Mengiste breathes life into complicated characters on both sides of the battle line, shaping a heartrending, indelible exploration of what it means to be a woman at war.

The Weight of a Piano

This is a mesmerizing story of a piano’s journey — from 1962 Soviet Union to modern-day California — and the two families it connects. Out now in paperback. I loved it!

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

This extra-twisty Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day mystery will stump even the smartest sleuth on your gift list (and now it’s in paperback).

• City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (First Editions Club selection)
• Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson (First Editions Club selection)
• The Parade by Dave Eggers (First Editions Club selection)
• Lost and Wanted by Nell Freudenberger (First Editions Club selection)
• The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
• On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
• Trust Exercise, by Susan Choi
• Women Talking by Miriam Toews
• Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
• Light From Other Stars by Erika Swyler
• Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer
• This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
• Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
• The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
• The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
• The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
• Exhalation by Ted Chiang
• The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
• The Guest Book by Sarah Blake
• The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
• McGlue by Otessa Moshfegh
• A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror by John Hornor Jacobs
• Twelve Nights at Rotter House by J. W. Ocker
• The Handmaid’s Tale (Graphic Novel) by Margaret Atwood, illustrated by Renee Nault