Episode 34: Our Favorite Books of 2020!

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A Marvellous Light (The Last Binding #1) By Freya Marske Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781250788870
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Tordotcom - November 2nd, 2021

An International Bestseller!
Winner of the 2022 Romantic Novel Award in Fantasy!
Locus Award Finalist!

An Indie Next pick and LibraryReads pick—with four starred reviews!
A Best of 2021 Pick for NPR | Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble


Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre By Max Brooks Cover Image
$28.00
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9781984826787
Published: Del Rey - June 16th, 2020

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The #1 New York Times bestselling author of World War Z is back with “the Bigfoot thriller you didn’t know you needed in your life, and one of the greatest horror novels I’ve ever read” (Blake Crouch, author of Dark Matter and Recursion).
 


Parable of the Sower By Octavia E. Butler Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781538732182
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Grand Central Publishing - April 30th, 2019

This acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author "pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale" and includes a foreword by N. K. Jemisin (John Green, New York Times).


Kindred By Octavia E. Butler Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780807083697
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Beacon Press - February 1st, 2004

From the New York Times bestselling author of Parable of the Sower and MacArthur “Genius” Grant, Nebula, and Hugo award winner

The visionary time-travel classic whose Black female hero is pulled through time to face the horrors of American slavery and explores the impacts of racism, sexism, and white supremacy then and now.


One Last Stop By Casey McQuiston Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781250244499
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: St. Martin's Griffin - June 1st, 2021

*INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*
*INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER*
*INSTANT #1 INDIE BESTSELLER*


From the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue comes a new romantic comedy that will stop readers in their tracks...


A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life By George Saunders Cover Image
$28.00
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9781984856029
Published: Random House - January 12th, 2021

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Booker Prize–winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo and Tenth of December comes a literary master class on what makes great stories work and what they can tell us about ourselves—and our world today.


Lincoln in the Bardo: A Novel By George Saunders Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780812985405
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Random House Trade Paperbacks - February 6th, 2018

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE

The “devastatingly moving” (Peoplefirst novel from the author of Tenth of December: a moving and original father-son story featuring none other than Abraham Lincoln, as well as an unforgettable cast of supporting characters, living and dead, historical and invented


The Postscript Murders By Elly Griffiths Cover Image
$25.00
ISBN: 9780358418610
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Mariner Books - March 2nd, 2021

"This droll romp is a latter-day Miss Marple.” Washington Post

Murder leaps off the page when crime novelists begin to turn up dead in this intricate new novel by internationally best-selling author Elly Griffiths, a literary mystery perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie.


The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women's Rights By Dorothy Wickenden Cover Image
$30.00
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9781476760735
Published: Scribner - March 30th, 2021

An LA Times Best Book of the Year

“Engrossing...


Real Life: A Novel By Brandon Taylor Cover Image
$26.00
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9780525538882
Published: Riverhead Books - February 18th, 2020

A FINALIST for the Booker Prize, the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, the VCU/Cabell First Novelist Prize, the Lambda Literary Award, the NYPL Young Lions Award, and the Edmund White Debut Fiction Award 
 
“A blistering coming of age story” —O: The Oprah Magazine


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The House in the Cerulean Sea By TJ Klune Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781250217318
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books - December 29th, 2020

A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER!
A 2021 Alex Award winner!
The 2021 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner!
An Indie Next Pick!
One of Publishers Weekly's "Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2020"
One of Book Riot’s “20 Must-Read Feel-Good Fantasies”


Such a Fun Age By Kiley Reid Cover Image
$26.00
ISBN: 9780525541905
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: G.P. Putnam's Sons - December 31st, 2019

A Best Book of the Year:


The Unwilling By Kelly Braffet Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780778388241
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Mira Books - May 25th, 2021

Suspenseful, magical, wonderfully written... An essential addition to all epic-fantasy collections. --Booklist, starred review

An epic tale of greed and ambition, cruelty and love, this deeply immersive novel is about bowing to traditions and burning them down.


Sword in the Stars: A Once & Future Novel By Cory McCarthy, A. R. Capetta Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780316449298
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Jimmy Patterson - April 7th, 2020

In this epic sequel to Once & Future, Ari and her Rainbow knights must pull off a Holy Grail heist thousands of years in the past -- without destroying their own destinies.


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The City We Became: A Novel (The Great Cities #1) By N. K. Jemisin Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780316509848
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Orbit - March 24th, 2020

An instant NYT Bestseller!

Four-time Hugo Award-winning author N.K.


A Song Below Water: A Novel By Bethany C. Morrow Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250315328
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Tor Teen - June 2nd, 2020

Bethany C. Morrow's A Song Below Water is the story for today’s readers — a captivating modern fantasy about Black sirens, friendship, and self-discovery set against the challenges of today's racism and sexism.

In a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers.


A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor: A Novel (The Carls #2) By Hank Green Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9781524743475
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Dutton - July 7th, 2020

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Who has the right to change the world forever? 

How will we live online? 
How do we find comfort in an increasingly isolated world?
 


You Should See Me in a Crown By Leah Johnson Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781338503265
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Scholastic Press - June 2nd, 2020

A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time

A Stonewall Honor Book

A Reese's Book Club YA Pick

Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town.


Wonderland: A Novel By Zoje Stage Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780316458528
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Mulholland Books - July 20th, 2021

Shirley Jackson meets The Shining in this richly atmospheric and thrillingly tense novel from the acclaimed author of the "deliciously creepy" Baby Teeth (New York Post).

One mother's love may be all that stands between her family, an enigmatic presence—and madness.

After years of city life, Orla and Shaw Bennett are read


Plain Bad Heroines: A Novel By Emily M. Danforth, Sara Lautman (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Emily M. Danforth, Sara Lautman (Illustrator)
$27.99
ISBN: 9780062942852
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: William Morrow - October 20th, 2020

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“A delectable brew of gothic horror and Hollywood satire . . . [and] what makes all this so much fun is Danforth’s deliciously ghoulish voice . . . exquisite." —Ron Charles, THE WASHINGTON POST


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Hench: A Novel By Natalie Zina Walschots Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9780062978578
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: William Morrow - September 22nd, 2020

“This book is fast, furious, compelling, and angry as hell." -- Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author


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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue By V. E. Schwab Cover Image
$26.99
ISBN: 9780765387561
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books - October 6th, 2020

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
USA TODAY BESTSELLER
NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER
THE WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER

Recommended by Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, NPR, Slate, and Oprah Magazine
#1 Library Reads PickOctober 2020


Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration By David Wojnarowicz Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780679732273
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Vintage - May 7th, 1991

In Close to the Knives, David Wojnarowicz gives us an important and timely document: a collection of creative essays -- a scathing, sexy, sublimely humorous and honest personal testimony to the "Fear of Diversity in America." From the author's violent childhood in suburbia to eventual homelessness on the streets and piers of New York City, to recognition as one of the most provocative artis


Pizza Girl: A Novel By Jean Kyoung Frazier Cover Image
$24.95
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9780385545723
Published: Doubleday - June 9th, 2020

LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST • An audacious and wryly funny coming-of-age story about a pregnant pizza delivery girl who becomes obsessed with one of her customers.


These Women: A Novel By Ivy Pochoda Cover Image
$27.99
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9780062656384
Published: Ecco - May 19th, 2020

SHORTLISTED FOR THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL

AN LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE, MYSTERY & THRILLER FINALIST * AN INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS FINALIST, BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL * A MACAVITY BEST MYSTERY NOVEL FINALIST

A Recommended Book From


Axiom's End: A Novel (Noumena #1) By Lindsay Ellis Cover Image
$27.99
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9781250256737
Published: St. Martin's Press - July 21st, 2020

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The alternate history first contact adventure Axiom's End is an extraordinary debut from Hugo finalist and video essayist Lindsay Ellis.


Truth is a human right.


True Grit: 50th Anniversary Edition By Charles Portis, Roy Blount (Introduction by), Jay Jennings (Contributions by) Cover Image
By Charles Portis, Roy Blount (Introduction by), Jay Jennings (Contributions by)
$16.95
ISBN: 9781468316407
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: The Overlook Press - June 12th, 2018

The landmark anniversary edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling classic novel, “an epic and a legend” (The Washington Post)
    
Charles Portis has long been acclaimed as one of America’s most enduring and incomparable literary voices, and his novels have left an indelible mark on the American canon.


Under the Rainbow: A Novel By Celia Laskey Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780525536178
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Riverhead Books - March 2nd, 2021

When a group of social activists arrives in a small town, the lives and beliefs of residents and outsiders alike are upended, in this wry, embracing novel.


The Scapegracers By H. A. Clarke Cover Image
$17.95
ISBN: 9781645660002
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Erewhon Books - September 15th, 2020

“As tender and intimate as it is ferocious and volatile, Scapegracers deserves to be this generation’s go-to grimoire. May it launch a thousand covens of angry, loving, brilliant girls.” —Amal El-Mohtar in The New York Times Book Review Holiday Books Guide


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The Bright Lands By John Fram Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9781335836625
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Hanover Square Press - July 7th, 2020

A Best Book of 2020 from Library Journal, CrimeReads, and BookPage

"Marks the debut of an already accomplished novelist." --John Banville


The town of Bentley holds two things dear: its football, and its secrets. But when star quarterback Dylan Whitley goes missing, an unremitting fear grips this remote corner of Texas.


Dune By Frank Herbert Cover Image
$10.99
ISBN: 9780441172719
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ace - September 1st, 1990

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, David Dastmalchian, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem.


The Way Back By Gavriel Savit Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9781984894625
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Knopf Books for Young Readers - November 17th, 2020

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • A SYDNEY TAYLOR NOTABLE BOOK

Perfect for readers of Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman, a sweeping historical fantasy that follows two teens on a journey through the Far Country, a Jewish land of spirits and demons.


True Story: A Novel By Kate Reed Petty Cover Image
$26.00
ISBN: 9781984877680
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Viking - August 4th, 2020

“A gripping, ripped-from-headlines tale.” —People 

“Spellbinding.” —Megan Abbott, The New York Times Book Review 

Tracing the fifteen-year fallout of a toxic high school rumor, a riveting, astonishingly original debut novel about the power of stories—and who gets to tell them


The Cold Millions: A Novel By Jess Walter Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9780062868084
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Harper - October 27th, 2020

“One of the most captivating novels of the year.” – Washington Post 

NATIONAL BESTSELLER A Library Reads Pick An Indie Next Pick


Deacon King Kong: A Novel By James McBride Cover Image
$30.00
ISBN: 9780593171837
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Random House Large Print - March 3rd, 2020

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Piranesi By Susanna Clarke Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9781635575637
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Bloomsbury Publishing - September 15th, 2020

New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction
World Fantasy Awards Finalist

From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality.


The Vanishing Half: A Novel By Brit Bennett Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9780525536291
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Riverhead Books - June 2nd, 2020

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE WASHINGTON POST * NPR * PEOPLE * TIME MAGAZINE* VANITY FAIR * GLAMOUR 


2021 WOMEN'S PRIZE FINALIST


Afterland By Lauren Beukes Cover Image
$28.00
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9780316267830
Published: Mulholland Books - July 28th, 2020

Children of Men meets The Handmaid's Tale in this "smartly written" and "splendid" thriller about how far a mother will go to protect her son from a hostile world transformed by the absence of men (Stephen King).

Most of the men are dead.


The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz By Erik Larson Cover Image
$35.00
ISBN: 9780385348713
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Crown - February 25th, 2020

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake delivers an intimate chronicle of Winston Churchill and London during the Blitz—an inspiring portrait of courage and leadership in a time of unprecedented crisis
 


Enter the Aardvark By Jessica Anthony Cover Image
$15.99
ISBN: 9780316496131
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Back Bay Books - January 5th, 2021

In this “blisteringly innovative and outrageous” (The Observer) novel that the Los Angeles Times describes as "somewhere between Nabokov's Pnin and Veep,” a young politician discovers a mysterious stuffed aardvark on his doorstep and sets out on a journey to find out what it means.

Ea


You Let Me In By Camilla Bruce Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781250302069
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Tor Books - May 11th, 2021

You Let Me In delivers a stunning tale from debut author Camilla Bruce, combining the sinister domestic atmosphere of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects with the otherworldly thrills of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Cassandra Tipp is dead...or is she?