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Best Sellers in Books for 2021

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Booklist Queen

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The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers 2021

The New York Times Fiction Bestseller List 2021

Go beyond just the current list of New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2021 to discover every bestselling book listed on the NYT Bestseller List in 2021.

Since 1931, The New York Times has been publishing a weekly list of bestselling books. Since then, becoming a New York Times bestseller has become a dream for virtually every writer.

When I first started reading adult fiction, one of the first places I went for book recommendations was the New York Times Fiction Best Sellers. I wanted to know what books were the most widely read, and start with those.

However, scrolling through the list week by week on The New York Times website is rather annoying. I just wanted all the bestselling fiction books gathered together in one place.

When I couldn’t find it, I decided to create it.

Here are all the New York Times fiction bestsellers from 2021. Instead of just the current best seller list , which you can find all over the place, I’ve compiled a list of every book that has appeared on the New York Times Fiction Best Sellers list in 2021 for Hardcover Fiction. 

Note: The week count in this list stops on the last week of 2021. Visit the 2022 Bestseller List if you want to find out which books kept ranking into the next year.

Since this is a bit of a sprawling post, feel free to jump to the section that most interests you or take your time scrolling through the complete list of New York Times fiction best sellers.

Quick Links

  • #1 Fiction Best Sellers of 2021
  • Heavyweights (10+ Weeks)
  • Fan Favorites (5+ Weeks)
  • Honorable Mention (2+ Weeks)
  • One Hit Wonders

Don’t Miss a Thing

#1 New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2021

book cover Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing

Delia owens.

(133 Weeks) For years, Kya Clark has survived alone in the marshes of the North Carolina coast. Dubbed “The Marsh Girl” by the locals, she was abandoned by her family and has been raised by nature itself. Now, as she comes of age, she begins to yearn for something more than her loneliness – maybe even a connection with the locals.

Publication Date: 14 August 2018 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half

Brit bennett.

(50 Weeks) Growing up in a small black community in the Deep South, the Vignes sisters run away at age sixteen. Though identical twins, their lives end in completely different paths. One returns to live in their hometown while the other secretly passes as white. Bennett explores more than race, as she contemplates how the past affects future generations when their daughters’ lives intersect.

Publication Date: 2 June 2020 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

American Dirt

Jeanine cummins.

(35 Weeks) In Mexico, bookstore owner Lydia is charmed to meet Javier, a man who shares her taste in books, only to find he is the local drug lord. When her husband exposes Javier’s secrets, the wrath of the cartel falls upon her family. Lydia and her son Luca must flee from his wrath – all the way to American soil.

Publication Date: 21 January 2020 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

The Last Thing He Told Me

(30 Weeks) Before Owen Michaels disappeared, he smuggled a note to his new wife Hannah: Protect her . Hannah knows he’s referring to his sixteen-year-old daughter Bailey, but Bailey doesn’t want anything to do with Hannah. As Owen’s boss gets arrested and the FBI come knocking, Hannah and Bailey must come together to discover Owen’s secrets.

Publication Date: 4 May 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

The Four Winds

Kristin hannah.

(27 Weeks) In the Texas panhandle in 1934, severe drought plagues the land. With crops failing, dust storms whip up, leaving the farmers fighting for survival. In the perilous times of the Great Depression, Elsa Martinelli must decide whether to stay and fight for her land or head west to California which offers her family a better life.

Publication Date: 2 February 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The Guest list

(25 Weeks) On a remote Irish island, the perfect wedding turns deadly in this thrilling mystery. The high profile wedding between a television star and a magazine publisher is supposed to be the perfect event. Yet once the guests arrive, past conflicts come into play and someone turns up dead. Was it the bride? The best man? The wedding planner?

book cover Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Anxious People

Fredrik backman.

(24 Weeks) After a failed bank robbery, a banker robber on the run accidentally ends up with a room full of hostages at an open house. After letting all of the hostages go, the police storm the apartment, only to find it empty. Now the police must interview the dysfunctional group to figure out what exactly happened. Backman purposely plays on your assumptions and uses an unusual narration style that gives the story an allegorical feel.

Publication Date: 8 September 2020 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Return by Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks

(22 Weeks) After being injured in a bombing in Afghanistan, a Navy doctor settles at his late grandfather’s cabin in North Carolina. While recuperating from his wounds, Trevor Benson never expects to find love, but he can’t fight the attraction he feels to deputy sheriff Natalie Masterson. However, Natalie remains distant, and a sullen teenage girl might be more connected to Trevor’s grandfather’s death than any suspected.

Publication Date: 29 September 2020 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover If It Bleeds by Stephen King

If It Bleeds

Stephen king.

(20 Weeks ) A collection of four novellas. In “If It Bleeds,” a standalone sequel to The Outsider , a bomb at a middle school prompts an investigation into the lead reporter by Holly Gibney. Other stories include “Mr. Harriagan’s Phone,” “The Life of Chuck,” and “Rat.”

Publication Date: 21 April 2020 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover A Time for Mercy by John Grisham

A Time for Mercy

John grisham.

(19 Weeks) John Grisham returns you to Clanton, Mississipi, the setting of his debut novel A Time to Kill . After appearing in the novel Sycamore Row , lawyer Jake Brigance is back, this time defending a teenager accused of killing a local deputy. With demand rising for a swift guilty verdict and the death penalty, Brigance realizes the town is against him as he pleads for mercy along with justice.

Publication Date: 13 October 2020 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Billy Summers by Stephen King

Billy Summers

(18 Weeks) From the master of fiction comes a new novel about a good guy in a bad job. Sniper for hire Billy Summers is picky about his jobs. The decorated Iraq war veteran only accepts hits on men who are truly evil. Before getting out of the game, Billy decides to accept one last job when everything goes wrong.

Publication Date: 3 August 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The President's Daughter by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

The President’s Daughter

Bill clinton and james patterson.

(13 Weeks) Former President Bill Clinton and master storyteller James Patterson collaborate for a second time on a summer political thriller. When Former US President Matthew Keating’s daughter is abducted by a madman, he uses the skills he learned as a Navy SEAL to set out on a one-man mission to get her back, while the entire world watches in real time.

Publication Date: 7 June 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

The Evening and the Morning

Ken follett.

(12 Weeks) Thirty years after publishing The Pillars of the Earth , Ken Follett has written a prequel revealing the events that led up to his epic work. At the end of the Dark Ages in England, one man’s determination to make his abbey the center of learning changes the lives of a boatbuilder, a noblewoman, and the monk in unexpected ways.

Publication Date: 15 September 2020 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

Ready Player Two

Ernest cline.

(12 Weeks) Ernest Cline returns with a sequel to his science fiction bestseller, Ready Player One . After winning James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts finds another easter egg hidden in Halliday’s vaults – a technological advance leagues ahead of the OASIS. Wade and his friends must solve this new riddle in a plot eerily reminiscent of the first book. And, yes, Wil Wheaton is narrating the audiobook.

Publication Date: 24 November 2020 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman

The Hill We Climb

Amanda gorman.

(12 Weeks) In 2021, Amanda Gorman became the youngest presidential inaugural poet in US history when she read her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” at President Biden’s inauguration. A special edition hardcover copy of her inaugural poem with a foreword by Oprah Winfrey.

Publication Date: 30 March 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Sooley by John Grisham

(12 Weeks) At 17, Samuel Sooleyman gets the chance of a lifetime: a trip to America with his South Sudanese teammates to play basketball in front of college scouts. While there, war breaks out across South Sudan, ransacking his village and killing his father. When he is offered a scholarship to play at North Carolina Central, Samuel uses his raw talent and determination to succeed, desperately hoping to bring his family to America.

Publication Date: 27 April 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

The Paper Palace

Miranda cowley heller.

(12 Weeks) On a July morning, Elle wakes up at The Paper Palace, her family’s summer home, with an enormous choice facing her. The previous night, she had sex with her childhood best friend Jonas while their spouses chatted in the kitchen. Now Elle must decide between the perfectly happy married life she has made with Peter or the life that could have been with Jonas if tragedy hadn’t struck.

Publication Date: 6 July 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Wish by Nicholas Sparks

(11 Weeks) As a troubled teenager, Maggie Dawes was sent to live with her aunt in a remote North Carolina beach town. Her life is changed forever when she met Bryce Trickett, a handsome local teen who taught her to love the island and introduced her to photography before he heads off to West Point. Now a renowned travel photographer, Maggie recounts the story of her first love to her young assistant after Maggie is diagnosed with a crippling illness.

Publication Date: 28 September 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child

The Sentinel

Lee child and andrew child.

(10 Weeks) In the 25th Jack Reacher novel, Lee Child teams up with his younger brother Andrew. When Jack Reacher intervenes in an ambush in Tennessee, he meets an unassuming IT manager. Recently fired from his job after a cyberattack, Rusty Rutherford just wants to clear his name. Instead, they stumble upon a much larger conspiracy.

Publication Date: 27 October 2020 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand

Golden Girl

Elin hilderbrand.

(10 Weeks) On a brilliant June day, author Vivian Howe is killed in a hit-and-run car accident. She finds herself in the Beyond, where she is allowed to view one last summer and is granted three “nudges” to those she left behind. The mother of three must choose how she will help her three children, as they struggle with adulthood and discover secrets she had kept buried. Elin Hilderbrand is known for writing some of the best beach reads, so you won’t want to miss her latest book.

Publication Date: 1 June 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

The Lincoln Highway

Amor towles.

(10 Weeks) After spending a year at a prison work farm for involuntary manslaughter, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson returns to his Nebraska hometown. With his mother gone and his father recently deceased, Emmett plans to pick up his eight-year-old brother and head West. But his plans are derailed when two friends from the work farm suddenly appear with a scheme of their own.

Publication Date: 5 October 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

Apples Never Fall

Liane moriarty.

(9 Weeks) It should be the golden years for Stan and Joy Delaney now that they’ve sold their tennis academy and settled into retirement, so why aren’t they happy? When they welcome a bleeding stranger into their home, her arrival begins a cascade of events. Now Joy is missing, and the four grown Delaney children wonder if their father might have done it. Liane Moriarty’s books always make for exciting reads, so you’ll want to keep your eye out for her latest novel this fall.

Publication Date: 14 September 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Judge's List by John Grisham

The Judge’s List

(8 Weeks) After taking on a criminal syndicate that was paying off a federal judge in The Whistler , Florida Board of Judicial Conduct investigator Lacy Stoltz returns in Grisham’s latest thriller. In her latest case, the crimes are even worse than before. Instead of taking bribes, a corrupt judge is taking lives with his own hit list.

Publication Date: 19 October 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich

Fortune and Glory

Janet evanovich.

(8 Weeks) The 27th Stephanie Plum novel. After Grandma Mazur’s new husband dies, he leaves her the key to his massive fortune. As Stephanie and her grandma search for the treasure, they realize they aren’t the only ones looking. Stephanie’s old nemesis from Little Havana is hot on the trail. Can Stephanie outwit her? And will she finally decide between Joe Morelli and Ranger?

Publication Date: 10 November 2020 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny

State of Terror

Hillary rodham clinton and louise penny.

(7 Weeks) Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton teams up with acclaimed mystery novelist Louise Penny in one of the most-anticipated best new thriller books of Fall 2021. Years of American withdrawal from the world stage have left a power vacuum that its enemies have been more than happy to fill. After a series of terrorist attacks, novice Secretary of State Ellen Adams, under the administration of her rival, must unravel a deadly global conspiracy.

Publication Date: 12 October 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover A Gambling Man by David Baldacci

A Gambling Man

David baldacci.

(7 Weeks) Fresh out of prison, WWII veteran Aloysius Archer heads to California for a head start in the 1950s. On the way, he stops in Reno and picks up a fire-red convertible and an aspiring actress. When they arrive in Bay Town, Archer joins a well-known PI to investigate a blackmail case of an up-and-coming politician.

Publication Date: 20 April 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly

The Law of Innocence

Michael connelly.

(7 Weeks) After a big courtroom win, Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller is pulled over by the police who find the body of a former client in his trunk. Unable to post bail, Haller must defend himself against murder charges from his jail cell while fending off enemies from the inside and out. Haller knows that it’s not enough to get a not guilty verdict. To be free of the charges, he must find out who really did it.

book cover Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Beautiful World, Where Are You

Sally rooney.

(6 Weeks) Hitting the upper end of the new adult genre, Sally Rooney’s latest novel follows the lives of four single 30ish Irish protagonists as they try to find their way in life. On a whim, Alice, a novelist, invites Felix, a warehouse worker she just met, to travel to Rome with her. Meanwhile, while recovering from a breakup, Alice’s best friend Eileen begins flirting with Simon, a childhood friend.

Publication Date: 7 September 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Life After Death by Sister Souljah

Life After Death

Sister souljah.

(6 Weeks) In the sequel to The Coldest Winter Ever , Winter Santiago is out of prison and ready to take her to get her revenge, reclaim her father’s status, and reunite with Midnight. But Winter’s business partner Simone is also out for revenge, and Winter is her main target.

Publication Date: 2 March 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Silver Flames

Sarah j. maas.

(6 Weeks) The fifth book in Maas’s bestselling fantasy series, A Court of Thorns and Roses . Haunted by the horrors of the previous war, Nesta’s temper is constantly on edge, and no one seems to bother her more than Cassian. When the human queens threaten the fragile peace, she must work with Cassian to save the kingdom.

Publication Date: 16 February 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Win by Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben

(6 Weeks) Twenty years ago, a rich heiress was abducted. Although she escaped, her captors were never found or the family’s items recovered. When his suitcase is found at a murder scene, Windsor Horne Lockwood III, “Win” to his friends, becomes entangled in an investigation into two cold cases where the suspect may have also been involved in domestic terrorism.

Publication Date: 16 March 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Cellist by Daniel Silva

The Cellist

Daniel silva.

(6 Weeks) In his twenty-third novel, Gabriel Allon investigates the death of Viktor Orlov, his friend who was once the richest man in Russia. A crusader against the Russian regime, Orlov was killed by a nerve agent in his heavily-guarded London apartment. MI6 believes an investigative reporter is a Russian assassin, but Allon finds the truth is much darker than anyone knows.

Publication Date: 13 July 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom

The Stranger in the Lifeboat

Mitch albom.

(6 Weeks) How would you react if you called for help from God and He answered? In Albom’s new Christian novel, a group of shipwrecked strangers pulls a man from the sea. He claims to be “The Lord” and can save them, but only if they all believe in him.

Publication Date: 2 November 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

A Slow Fire Burning

Paula hawkins.

(5 Weeks) When a young man is murdered on a London houseboat, police investigate three women: his one-night stand Laura, his grieving aunt Carla, and his nosy neighbor Miriam. Even though Miriam spotted Laura leaving the houseboat that night covered in blood, she is loath to say anything. For Miriam knows exactly what it’s like to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Publication Date: 31 August 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

The Madness of Crowds

Louise penny.

(5 Weeks) As New Year’s Eve approaches, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is surprised when he is requested to serve as security for a lecture by a visiting statistics professor. When he looks into Professor Abigail Robinson, Gamache is shocked by her views and begs for the lecture to be canceled. Accusing him of academic censorship, the university refuses, and as the professor’s ideas start to seep across Three Pines, Gamache must deal with a murder and the spreading madness.

Publication Date: 24 August 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

While Justice Sleeps

Stacey abrams.

(5 Weeks) Young law clerk Avery Keene is trying to balance her work with legendary Justice Howard Wynn with her troubled family life. When Justice Wynn falls into a coma, Avery is surprised to learn she is named his legal guardian and power of attorney. As politicians vie to replace the ailing judge, Avery learns that Justice Wynn was researching a dangerous merger that involves a conspiracy at the highest levels of government.

Publication Date: 11 May 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover The Russian by James Patterson and James O. Born

The Russian

James patterson and james o. born.

(5 Weeks) In the thirteenth book in the series, Detective Michael Bennett connects a series of murders of young women in New York City to similar cases in San Francisco and Atlanta. Detective Bennett must do his best to solve the case without falling into the killer’s trap – all while preparing for his wedding to Mary Catherine.

Publication Date: 25 January 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Stars Wars The High Republic: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule

Star Wars: Light of the Jedi

Charles soule.

(4 Weeks) Two hundred years before the events of The Phantom Menace, the High Republic is at its peak. Peace flourishes under the rule of the Senate and the watchful eye of the Jedi. When a hyperspace catastrophe with sinister roots tears a ship apart, the shrapnel threatens an entire system and the Jedi are pushed to their limits.

Publication Date: 5 January 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Ocean Prey by John Sandford

John Sandford

(4 Weeks) In the 31st book of his popular Prey series, Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers join forces to solve a maritime mystery. While off-duty, a Coast Guardsman notices a suspicious boat pick up a diver in the middle of the ocean, he knows something fishy is happening. When the Coast Guard responds, three men are killed and the FBI is called in to investigate their murders.

Publication Date: 13 April 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Legacy by Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts

(4 Weeks) Following in the footsteps of her mother’s celebrity fitness brand, Adrian has established her own line of successful yoga and workout videos. When threatening notes in rhyme start to appear, Adrian can dismiss it as easily as her mother. Moving back to Maryland, Adrian reconnects with her childhood crush at the same time a series of murders rocks her world.

Publication Date: 25 May 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Black Ice by Brad Thor

(4 Weeks) Scott Horvath, America’s top spy, has a decision before him. Retire with his beautiful girlfriend in Norway or return. When he sees a man step out of a taxi in Oslo, a man he killed years ago, Horvath’s past comes back to haunt him and sends him on a path all the way to the Artic Circle.

Publication Date: 20 July 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon

Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone

Diana gabaldon.

(3 Weeks) In the 9th Outlander book, a reunited Claire and Jamie face being torn asunder again as the American Revolution approaches their North Carolina home. After finally being reunited with their daughter Brianna and her family, the family is worried as the tensions of the colonists grow and the perils of the 1700s seem less safe than they thought.

Publication Date: 23 November 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

Call Us What We Carry

In 2021, Amanda Gorman became the youngest presidential inaugural poet in US history when she read her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” at President Biden’s inauguration. In her expanded collection, Amanda Gorman becomes a new voice in American poetry.

Publication Date: 7 December 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

Save for Later

The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers 2021

Heavyweights (10+ Weeks on the NYT Bestseller List)

book cover The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Midnight Library

(53 Weeks) In the Midnight Library, there are two books – one book for the life you’ve lived and one for the one you could have lived. Nora Seed must decide which book to choose from. What if she had made different choices? Would her life truly have been better?

Publication Date: 29 September 2020 Amazon | Goodreads |  More Info

book cover The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

V. e. schwab.

(43 Weeks) To escape a forced marriage, Addie LaRue makes a bargain with the devil in 1714. She gets to live forever, but the catch is she will be forgotten by everyone she meets. After 300 years, Addie has become resigned to her fate until she meets a young man who remembers her name.

Publication Date: 6 October 2020 Amazon | Goodreads |  More Info

book cover Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary

(16 Weeks) In a last-ditch effort to save Earth from an extinction-level event, a group of astronauts is sent on a desperate mission in a cobbled-together spacecraft. But when Ryland Grace wakes up, he has no memory of his mission or why the rest of the crew is dead. The sole survivor, he must take on an impossible task with no margin for failure.

book cover Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Malibu Rising

Taylor jenkins reid.

(16 Weeks) In 1983, four famous siblings throw an epic summer party at their Malibu mansion. Secrets come out, the party gets out of control, and a fire will burn it all down by dawn. Malibu Rising is a gorgeous family drama that surpasses a simple beach read. The story of the Riva children abandoned by their famous rockstar father is heartbreakingly sad and yet still hopeful. The characters come alive as each sibling ponders if they can escape their parents’ fates.

Publication Date: 01 June 2021 Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

book cover Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Cloud Cuckoo Land

Anthony doerr.

(11 Weeks) From the author of All the Light We Cannot See comes an ambitious work of literary fiction. Doerr’s novel toggles between three timelines – the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, present-day Idaho, and interstellar ship far in the future. Each piece explores the power of stories as a fictional ancient Greek comedy weaves throughout the entire book. The awe-inspiring power of the written word that Doerr evokes in every sentence will be appreciated by literary fiction lovers.

Fan Favorites (5+ Weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List)

book cover Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Amazon | Goodreads | More Info

(9 Weeks) An “Artificial Friend” named Klara is purchased to serve as a companion to an ailing 14-year-old girl.

book cover Deadly Cross by James Patterson

Deadly Cross by James Patterson

Amazon | Goodreads

(8 Weeks) The 28th book in the Alex Cross series. An investigation of a double homicide of the ex-wife of the Vice President and sends Alex Cross to Alabama to investigate.

book cover The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

(7 Weeks) An aspiring historian in London finds a clue that might put to rest unsolved apothecary murders from 200 years ago.

book cover Daylight by David Baldacci

Daylight by David Baldacci

(7 Weeks) The F.B.I. agent Atlee Pine’s search for her kidnapped twin sister overlaps with a military investigator’s hunt for someone involved in a global conspiracy.  

book cover Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

(7 Weeks) Ray Carney, a family man who sells furniture on 125th Street, gets a new clientele made up of vicious and unsavory characters.

book cover That Summer by Jennifer Weiner

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner

(6 Weeks) Daisy Shoemaker receives emails intended for a woman leading a more glamorous life and finds there was more to this accident.

book cover The Awakening by Nora Roberts

The Awakening by Nora Roberts

(6 Weeks) The first book in the Dragon Heart Legacy series. Breen Kelly travels through a portal in Ireland to a land of faeries and mermaids.

book cover The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

(6 Weeks) Elin Warner must find her estranged brother’s fiancée, who goes missing as a storm approaches a hotel that was once a sanatorium in the Swiss Alps.

book cover Neighbors by Danielle Steel

Neighbors by Danielle Steel

(5 Weeks) A Hollywood recluse’s perspective changes when she invites her neighbors into her mansion after an earthquake.

book cover We Begin At the End by Chris Whitaker

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

(5 Weeks) Trouble might start for the chief of police and a self-proclaimed outlaw teen when a man is released from prison.

book cover 21st Birthday by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

21st Birthday by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

(5 Weeks) The 21st book in the Women’s Murder Club series. New evidence changes the investigation of a missing mother.

book cover The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

(5 Weeks) Tension unfurls when two young Black women meet against the starkly white backdrop of New York City book publishing.

book cover The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

(5 Weeks) A Black woman who becomes one of the most powerful people in the art and book world is forced to hide her true identity.

book cover We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz

We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz

(5 Weeks) Will the secrets Emily shares with Kristen about violent incidents in the past ruin her life?

book cover The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly

(5 Weeks) A death on New Year’s Eve, an unsolved murder and a hunt for serial rapists bring Bosch and Ballard back together.

The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers 2021

Honorable Mention (2-4 Weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List)

book cover The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

One Hit Wonders (1 Week on the New York Times Best Seller List)

book cover Leviathan Falls by James S. A. Corey

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The year-end 2021 bestseller list.

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Here is the Year-End 2021 Bestseller List, based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide from January 1, 2021, to December 1, 2021.

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. The Hill We Climb Amanda Gorman, Viking, $15.99, 9780593465271

2. The Midnight Library Matt Haig, Viking, $26, 9780525559474

3. Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro, Knopf, $28, 9780593318171

4. The Vanishing Half Brit Bennett, Riverhead Books, $27, 9780525536291

5. The Four Winds Kristin Hannah, St. Martin's, $28.99, 9781250178602

6. Cloud Cuckoo Land Anthony Doerr, Scribner, $30, 9781982168438

7. Project Hail Mary Andy Weir, Ballantine, $28.99, 9780593135204

8. The Lincoln Highway Amor Towles, Viking, $30, 9780735222359

9. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue V.E. Schwab, Tor, $26.99, 9780765387561

10. Beautiful World, Where Are You Sally Rooney, FSG, $28, 9780374602604

11. Malibu Rising Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ballantine, $28, 9781524798659

12. The Last Thing He Told Me Laura Dave, Simon & Schuster, $27, 9781501171345

13. Hamnet Maggie O'Farrell, Knopf, $26.95, 9780525657606

14. Harlem Shuffle Colson Whitehead, Doubleday, $28.95, 9780385545136

15. The Madness of Crowds Louise Penny, Minotaur, $28.99, 9781250145260

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Charlie Mackesy, HarperOne, $22.99, 9780062976581

2. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents Isabel Wilkerson, Random House, $32, 9780593230251

3. Untamed Glennon Doyle, The Dial Press, $28, 9781984801258

4. Crying in H Mart: A Memoir Michelle Zauner, Knopf, $26.95, 9780525657743

5. A Promised Land Barack Obama, Crown, $45, 9781524763169

6. The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet John Green, Dutton, $28, 9780525555216

7. World Travel: An Irreverent Guide Anthony Bourdain, Laurie Woolever, Ecco, $35, 9780062802798

8. Peril Bob Woodward, Robert Costa, Simon & Schuster, $30, 9781982182915

9. Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest Suzanne Simard, Knopf, $28.95, 9780525656098

10. Greenlights Matthew McConaughey, Crown, $30, 9780593139134

11. The Premonition: A Pandemic Story Michael Lewis, Norton, $30, 9780393881554

12. The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race Walter Isaacson, Simon & Schuster, $35, 9781982115852

13. The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Magazine, One World, $38, 9780593230572

14. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life George Saunders, Random House, $28, 9781984856029

15. The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music Dave Grohl, Dey Street Books, $29.99, 9780063076099

TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION

1. The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller, Ecco, $16.99, 9780062060624

2. Circe Madeline Miller, Back Bay, $16.99, 9780316556323

3. People We Meet on Vacation Emily Henry, Berkley, $16, 9781984806758

4. Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens, Putnam, $18, 9780735219106

5. The House in the Cerulean Sea TJ Klune, Tor, $18.99, 9781250217318

6. The Overstory Richard Powers, Norton, $18.95, 9780393356687

7. Hamnet Maggie O'Farrell, Vintage, $16.95, 9781984898876

8. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Taylor Jenkins Reid, Washington Square Press, $17, 9781501161933

9. Dune Frank Herbert, Ace, $18, 9780593438374

10. The Night Watchman Louise Erdrich, Harper Perennial, $18, 9780062671196

11. The Dutch House Ann Patchett, Harper Perennial, $17, 9780062963680

12. Anxious People Fredrik Backman, Washington Square Press, $17, 9781501160844

13. The Silent Patient Alex Michaelides, Celadon Books, $17.99, 9781250301703

14. One Last Stop Casey McQuiston, St. Martin's Griffin, $16.99, 9781250244499

15. The Rose Code Kate Quinn, Morrow, $17.99, 9780062943477

TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION

1. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $18, 9781571313560

2. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., Penguin, $19, 9780143127741

3. The Body: A Guide for Occupants Bill Bryson, Anchor, $17, 9780804172721

4. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Yuval Noah Harari, Harper Perennial, $24.99, 9780062316110

5. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures Merlin Sheldrake, Random House, $18, 9780525510321

6. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood Trevor Noah, One World, $18, 9780399588198

7. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom Don Miguel Ruiz, Amber-Allen, $12.95, 9781878424310

8. White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism Robin DiAngelo, Beacon Press, $16, 9780807047415

9. Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot Mikki Kendall, Penguin, $16, 9780525560562

10. Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century Jessica Bruder, Norton, $16.95, 9780393356311

11. Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning Cathy Park Hong, One World, $18, 9781984820389

12. The Warmth of Other Suns Isabel Wilkerson, Vintage, $17.95, 9780679763888

13. My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies Resmaa Menakem, Central Recovery Press, $17.95, 9781942094470

14. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century Timothy Snyder, Crown, $9.99, 9780804190114

15. The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Richard Rothstein, Liveright, $17.95, 9781631494536

EARLY & MIDDLE GRADE READERS

1. Cat Kid Comic Club Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $12.99, 9781338712766

2. Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories Jeff Kinney, Abrams, $14.99, 9781419756979

3. A Wolf Called Wander Rosanne Parry, Greenwillow Books, $7.99, 9780062895943

4. New Kid Jerry Craft, Quill Tree Books, $12.99, 9780062691194

5. When Stars Are Scattered Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed, Dial Books, $12.99, 9780525553908

6. Pax Sara Pennypacker, Jon Klassen (Illus.), Balzer + Bray, $8.99, 9780062377029

7. Guts: A Graphic Novel Raina Telgemeier, Graphix, $12.99, 9780545852500

8. Rowley Jefferson's Awesome Friendly Adventure Jeff Kinney, Amulet, $14.99, 9781419749094

9. Allergic Megan Wagner Lloyd, Michelle Mee Nutter (Illus.), Graphix, $12.99, 9781338568905

10. The One and Only Bob Katherine Applegate, Patricia Castelao (Illus.), Harper, $18.99, 9780062991317

11. Friends Forever Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illus.), First Second, $12.99, 9781250317568

12. The Christmas Pig J.K. Rowling, Jim Field (Illus.), Scholastic, $24.99, 9781338790238

13. The Beatryce Prophecy Kate DiCamillo, Sophie Blackall (Illus.), Candlewick, $19.99, 9781536213614

14. The One and Only Ivan Katherine Applegate, Patricia Castelao (Illus.), Harper, $8.99, 9780061992278

15. Ground Zero Alan Gratz, Scholastic, $17.99, 9781338245752

YOUNG ADULT

1. They Both Die at the End Adam Silvera, Quill Tree Books, $12.99, 9780062457806

2. We Were Liars E. Lockhart, Ember, $10.99, 9780385741279

3. Firekeeper's Daughter Angeline Boulley, Henry Holt and Co. BYR, $18.99, 9781250766564

4. One of Us Is Lying Karen M. McManus, Delacorte Press, $17.99, 9781524714680

5. Concrete Rose Angie Thomas, Balzer + Bray, $19.99, 9780062846716

6. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780316453691

7. The Hate U Give Angie Thomas, Balzer + Bray, $18.99, 9780062871350

8. Hatchet Gary Paulsen, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $9.99, 9781481486293

9. The Girl from the Sea: A Graphic Novel Molly Knox Ostertag, Graphix, $14.99, 9781338540574

10. Legendborn (An Indies Introduce Title) Tracy Deonn, Margaret K. McElderry Books, $19.99, 9781534441606

11. The Book Thief Markus Zusak, Knopf Books for Young Readers, $14.99, 9780385754729

12. Cemetery Boys (An Indies Introduce Title) Aiden Thomas, Swoon Reads, $17.99, 9781250250469

13. Iron Widow Xiran Jay Zhao, Penguin Teen, $17.99, 9780735269934

14. The Giver Lois Lowry, HMH Books for Young Readers, $9.99, 9780544340688

15. These Violent Delights Chloe Gong, Margaret K. McElderry Books, $19.99, 9781534457690

CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED

1. Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper, $8.99, 9780694003617

2. Change Sings: A Children's Anthem Amanda Gorman, Loren Long (Illus.), Viking Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780593203224

3. We Are Water Protectors Carole Lindstrom, Michaela Goade (Illus.), Roaring Brook Press, $17.99, 9781250203557

4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle, World of Eric Carle, $10.99, 9780399226908

5. Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak, Harper, $19.95, 9780060254926

6. Room on the Broom Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (Illus.), Dial Books, $8.99, 9780593110409

7. The Snowy Day Ezra Jack Keats, Viking Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780670012701

8. Dragons Love Tacos Adam Rubin, Daniel Salmieri (Illus.), Dial, $18.99, 9780803736801

9. Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn Shannon Hale, LeUyen Pham (Illus.), Abrams, $18.99, 9781419750915

10. Antiracist Baby Ibram X. Kendi, Ashley Lukashevsky (Illus.), Kokila, $8.99, 9780593110508

11. Oh, the Places You'll Go! Dr. Seuss, Random House, $18.99, 9780679805274

12. Little Blue Truck Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry (Illus.), Clarion Books, $8.99, 9780358451228

13. Woodland Dance! Sandra Boynton, Workman, $7.95, 9781523514687

14. Jungle Night Sandra Boynton, Workman, $7.95, 9781523513604

15. Eyes That Kiss in the Corners Joanna Ho, Dung Ho (Illus.), Harper, $17.99, 9780062915627

CHILDREN'S SERIES

1. Dog Man Dav Pilkey, Graphix

2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney, Amulet

3. Wings of Fire Tui T. Sutherland, Scholastic

4. Magic Tree House Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (Illus.), Random House Books for Young Readers

5. Harry Potter J.K. Rowling, Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books

6. Elephant and Piggie Mo Willems, Hyperion

7. I Survived Lauren Tarshis, Scholastic

8. Shadow and Bone Leigh Bardugo, Henry Holt and Co. BYR

9. Six of Crows Leigh Bardugo, Henry Holt and Co. BYR

10. The Bad Guys Aaron Blabey, Scholastic

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Our 20 Favorite Books of 2021

Playful, majestic, dazzling. These titles stole our hearts.

best books 2021

Our editors handpick the products that we feature. We may earn commission from the links on this page.

2021 marked the release of new books by some of our most prominent authors—among them Richard Powers, Jonathan Franzen, Louise Erdrich, Amor Towles, Ann Patchett, Anthony Doerr, Colson Whitehead, and Maggie Shipstead, whose latest works made it onto our Top 20 List. Some of them, like Shipstead’s Great Circle, are epics in which the heroes and heroines’ adventures light up the reader’s imagination, while others go a bit more micro. For example, Whitehead’s Harlem Shuffle is a 1960s period piece in which a furniture dealer gets suckered into a caper; Erdrich’s The Sentence is a contemporary novel set in a Minneapolis bookstore exactly like the one the author owns.

Two of the debut novels on our list—the breathtaking The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois , by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, and Nathan Harris’s The Sweetness of Water —were also selected for Oprah’s Book Club. Fiction from rising stars Patricia Engel, Mariana Enriquez, and Virgina Feito also wowed us.

Maggie Nelson is one of America’s leading intellectuals, and her brilliant collection, On Freedom , is a must-read for anyone who wants to deconstruct the most urgent social debates of the day. And the The Man Who Lived Underground , which Richard Wright wrote in the 1940s but was unable to get published at the time, underscores that great literature never loses its relevance: His tale of police brutality and racial inequality reads like it happened today. And then there’s Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Annette Gordon Reed’s On Juneteenth, her stirring personal ode to a holiday that is only now finally getting its due.

And for fun, New York, My Village , by Uwem Akpan, satirizes the self-serious book publishing business, while James LaPine’s sublime Putting It Together is a reminder, amid all our world’s uncertainty, that making art and sharing it with audiences is one of those life-affirming acts we were put on this planet for.

Drumroll, please...

Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr

The man who lived underground, by richard wright.

This previously unpublished novel, written in the 40s by the iconic author of Native Son , indicts police brutality and white supremacy through the terrifying saga of Fred Daniels, a Black man framed for double murder. Wright’s publisher refused to release the book at the time, deeming it incendiary. But this powerful, eerily prescient allegory finally saw the light of day earlier this year, at last getting the platform it has long deserved.

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Harper The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

This sweeping kitchen-table epic is the Great American Novel told through the family and ancestors of its protagonist, Ailey Pearl Garfield. Their narratives are anchored in centuries of oppression, sexual violations, and wounds made bearable by the humor, love, and resilience of Black matriarchs, then and now.

On Freedom: Four Songs of Care and Constraint, by Maggie Nelson

The acclaimed author of The Argonauts challenges, excites, and ignites with this cerebral mélange of reporting, memoir, and scholarship on topics ranging from cultural appropriation to climate change, to the distinction between obligation and responsibility. Settle in and observe Nelson’s mind at work and on fire.

Great Circle, by Maggie Shipstead

Shipstead’s exhilarating feminist epic is an ode to independence, persistence, and aviation. Marian Graves is the unforgettable protagonist at the heart of this Booker-nominated novel, who from an early age wants only to learn to fly. How she manages to make this dream come true as an orphan growing up in early-20th-century Montana is a study in courage, a thrilling ascent into a writer’s untethered imagination.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Putting It Together, by James Lapine

The three-time Tony winner and Theater Hall of Fame inductee recounts the making of storied musical Sunday in the Park with  George , which he created with Stephen Sondheim. This illustrated book includes scintillating behind-the-scenes conversations with cast and crew. Anyone interested in how art is made will love Lapine’s tale of legends in collaboration.

The Sweetness of Water, by Nathan Harris

Newly freed in Old Ox, Georgia, two brothers, Prentiss and Landry, work on the homestead of George and Isabelle Walker—a couple mourning their son presumed lost to the Civil War—while also exploring the boundaries of their independence. A forbidden romance between Confederate soldiers underscores the tension between intimacy and duplicity in this singular debut, which also demonstrates how simple acts—of valor or violence—can ripple through time and space.

The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles

Towles’s picaresque tale is a paean to American mythology and the innocence of youth. In June 1954, four boys—Emmett, a Nebraska teenager just released from juvie; his little brother, Billy, a savant; Duchess, a streetwise hustler; and Woolly, heir to a Manhattan fortune—hit the road, staking out their dreams on opposite coasts but each drawn inevitably to New York. The author of A Gentleman i n Moscow has delivered a novel at once magical and melancholy.

New York, My Village, by Uwem Akpan

When Ekong Udousoro ventures from Nigeria to Manhattan to work as a book publishing fellow, he’s at first entranced and then gradually disillusioned by the patronizing, cultural superiority of his American colleagues. This satiric first novel, by the author of the memoir Say You’re One of Them , is both hilarious and spot-on.

Infinite Country, by Patricia Engel

Fifteen-year-old Talia escapes an all-girls correctional facility in the Colombian mountains on a mission to get back to Bogotá, where her father is waiting with her plane ticket to the U.S. It’s her one chance to unite with her mother and the siblings she has never met. Alternating between Talia’s journey and her parents’ struggles as undocumented immigrants separated by deportation, Engel’s astounding novel is an ode to family and heritage.

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Crossroads, by Jonathan Franzen

His strongest work since The  Corrections , Franzen’s sumptuous new novel maps the interior lives of the Hildebrandts, a suburban family mired in the quicksand of desire and deceit. It’s Christmas 1971, and a disingenuous pastor, his depressed wife, and their four children are torn between religious beliefs and roiling cultural change. Franzen embroiders his narrative with piercing social observation, an American Balzac.

Bewilderment, by Richard Powers

A grieving astrophysicist, his neuroatypical 9-year-old son, and the fern-fringed trails and waterfalls of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains: From these elements the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The  Overstory weaves a gorgeous, generous heartbreak of a novel that mourns our ailing planet, as well as our ailing souls.

Harlem Shuffle, by Colson Whitehead

The two-time Pulitzer winner tilts genre on its head with an immersive, witty tale about a heist run amok. As the 1960s commence, Ray Carney, a Harlem furniture dealer, gets sucked into a hotel robbery. Afterward he dodges dangers real and imagined, glomming onto an American Dream that shrugs off his aspirations.

Hogarth The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, by Mariana Enriquez

An emerging Argentine star goes for Gothic gold, gleefully poking the scars of friendships and attraction in this spine-tingling, luminous collection whose enthralling characters all dance across the spectral line between our world and the beyond.

Mrs. March, by Virginia Feito

Feito’s electrifying debut novel opens a scary window into a husband’s gaslighting and its effects on his increasingly unhinged wife, Mrs. March... or is the gaslighting just in her head? Our heroine is beginning to fear that the walls of the Marches’ sumptuous Manhattan apartment have ears. Elisabeth Moss is set to star in the film version.

Intimacies, by Katie Kitamura

In the aftermath of her father’s death, the narrator of Kitamura’s crystalline novel trades New York for The Hague, translating in the World Court for a West African dictator accused of ethnic cleansing while fumbling through a tortuous romance. Kitamura is drawn to seductions, sexual and otherwise, and her slim, graceful novel punches above its weight, reckoning with the ways we deceive each other and ourselves.

These Precious Days: Essays, by Ann Patchett

To read this collection is to be invited into that sacred space where a writer steps out from behind the page to say  Hello; let’s really get to know each other.  Stoic, kindhearted, fierce, funny, brainy, Patchett’s essays honor what matters most “in this precarious and precious life.”

The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich

The 2021 Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist for The Night Watchman returns with a beguiling ode to bibliophiles set in an unnamed bookstore in Minneapolis that very closely resembles BirchBark, the shop Erdrich owns in real life. Her quirky, captivating characters—ex-con Tookie chief among them—care deeply about each other and our troubled world, but perhaps their deepest passion is for...books.

Major Labels, by Kelefa Sanneh

From Beyoncé to Kurt Cobain to De La Soul, the stars align in this virtuosic survey of popular music’s seven pillars: rock, R&B, country, punk, hip-hop, dance, and pop. Sanneh brings a contagious zeal for genres and cross-fertilizations to artists and records that are now playlists for an increasingly diverse America. “Over the past half-century, many musicians and listeners have belonged to tribes,” he writes. “What’s wrong with that?”

On Juneteenth, by Annette Gordon-Reed

A Harvard law professor and author of  The Hemingses of Monticello,  which won both the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize, Gordon-Reed is the textbook definition of public intellectual; and yet she gets personal in this slender, evocative memoir, blending textures from her small-town Texas girlhood with the unofficial celebration of slavery’s demise and the broader canvas of race in America, as when she integrated her public school: “My great-great-aunt…the one who lived in Houston and was also quite extravagant—bought boxes and boxes of dresses, tights, blouses, skirts, and hats from the most upscale department store in the city at the time, Sakowitz… Making sure I was dressed to the nines was her contribution to the civil rights movement.”

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Leigh Haber is Vice President, Books, Oprah Daily and O Quarterly. She is also Director of Oprah's Book Club. 

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A former book editor and the author of a memoir, This Boy's Faith, Hamilton Cain is Contributing Books Editor at Oprah Daily. As a freelance journalist, he has written for O, The Oprah Magazine, Men’s Health, The Good Men Project, and The List (Edinburgh, U.K.) and was a finalist for a National Magazine Award. He is currently a member of the National Book Critics Circle and lives with his family in Brooklyn.  

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  • Entertainment

The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2021

new best sellers books 2021

T he year 2021 was poised to be a great one for established, fan-favorite authors. We were blessed with new work from a buzzy roster of titans, from Colson Whitehead to Lauren Groff to Kazuo Ishiguro . But while they, along with several others, did not disappoint (see TIME’s list of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2021 ), it was debut authors who truly shined. In an industry that has long been criticized for exclusion—and where it’s increasingly difficult to break out from the crowd—a crop of bright new voices rose to the top. From Anthony Veasna So to Torrey Peters to Jocelyn Nicole Johnson and more, these writers introduced themselves to the world with fiction that surprised us, challenged our perspectives and kept us fulfilled. Here, the top 10 fiction books of 2021.

10. Klara and the Sun , Kazuo Ishiguro

new best sellers books 2021

The eighth novel from Nobel Prize–winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, longlisted for the Booker Prize, follows a robot-like “Artificial Friend” named Klara, who sits in a store and waits to be purchased. When she becomes the companion of an ailing 14-year-old girl, Klara puts her observations of the world to the test. In exploring the dynamic between the AI and the teen, Ishiguro crafts a narrative that asks unsettling questions about humanity, technology and purpose , offering a vivid view into a future that may not be so far away.

Buy Now: Klara and the Sun on Bookshop | Amazon

9. Open Water , Caleb Azumah Nelson

new best sellers books 2021

In his incisive debut novel, Caleb Azumah Nelson tells a bruising love story about young Black artists in London. His protagonist is a photographer who has fallen for a dancer, and Nelson proves masterly at writing young love, clocking the small and seemingly meaningless moments that encompass longing. In just over 150 intimate pages, Nelson celebrates the art that has shaped his characters’ lives while interrogating the unjust world that surrounds them.

Buy Now: Open Water on Bookshop | Amazon

Read more about the best entertainment of the year: TV shows | Movies | Songs | Albums | Podcasts | Nonfiction books | YA and children’s books | Movie performances | Video games | Theater

8. Afterparties , Anthony Veasna So

new best sellers books 2021

The nine stories that constitute Anthony Veasna So’s stirring debut collection, published after his death at 28, reveal a portrait of a Cambodian American community in California. One follows two sisters at their family’s 24-hour donut shop as they reflect on the father who left them. Another focuses on a high school badminton coach who is stuck in the past and desperate to win a match against the local star, a teenager. There’s also a mother with a secret, a love story with a major age gap and a wedding afterparty gone very wrong. Together, So’s narratives offer a thoughtful view into the community that shaped him, and while he describes the tensions his characters navigate with humor and care, he also offers penetrating insights on immigration, queerness and identity.

Buy Now: Afterparties on Bookshop | Amazon

7. Cloud Cuckoo Land , Anthony Doerr

new best sellers books 2021

The five protagonists of Anthony Doerr’s kaleidoscopic and remarkably constructed third novel, all living on the margins of society, are connected by an ancient Greek story. In Cloud Cuckoo Land, a National Book Award finalist, a present-day storyline anchors a sweeping narrative: in a library, an ex-prisoner of war is rehearsing a theatrical adaptation of the Greek story with five middle schoolers—and a lonely teenager has just hidden a bomb. Doerr catapults Cloud Cuckoo Land forward and back from this moment, from 15th-century Constantinople to an interstellar ship and back to this dusty library in Idaho where the impending crisis looms. His immersive world-building and dazzling prose tie together seemingly disparate threads as he underlines the value of storytelling and the power of imagination.

Buy Now: Cloud Cuckoo Land on Bookshop | Amazon

6. The Life of the Mind , Christine Smallwood

new best sellers books 2021

The contemporary fiction landscape is full of protagonists like Christine Smallwood’s Dorothy: white millennial women who are grappling with their privilege and existence in a world that constantly feels like it’s on the verge of collapse. Plot is secondary to whatever is going on inside their heads. But Dorothy, an adjunct English professor enduring the sixth day of her miscarriage, stands apart. In Smallwood’s taut debut, this charming yet profound narrator relays amusing observations on her ever-collapsing universe. Languishing in academia, Dorothy wonders how her once-attainable goals came to feel impossible, and her ramblings—which are never irritating or tiring, but instead satirical and strange—give way to a gratifying examination of ambition, freedom and power.

Buy Now : The Life of the Mind on Bookshop | Amazon

5. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois , Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

new best sellers books 2021

The debut novel from poet Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, longlisted for a National Book Award, is a piercing epic that follows the story of one American family from the colonial slave trade to present day. At its core is the mission of Ailey Pearl Garfield, a Black woman coming of age in the 1980s and ’90s, determined to learn more about her family history. What Ailey discovers leads her to grapple with her identity, particularly as she discovers secrets about her ancestors. In 800 rewarding pages, Jeffers offers a comprehensive account of class, colorism and intergenerational trauma. It’s an aching tale told with nuance and compassion—one that illuminates the cost of survival.

Buy Now: The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois on Bookshop | Amazon

4. Detransition, Baby , Torrey Peters

new best sellers books 2021

Reese is a 30-something trans woman who desperately wants a child. Her ex Ames, who recently detransitioned, just learned his new lover is pregnant with his baby. Ames presents Reese with the opportunity she’s been waiting for: perhaps the three of them can raise the baby together. In her delectable debut novel, Torrey Peters follows these characters as they become entangled in a messy, emotional web while considering this potentially catastrophic proposition—and simultaneously spins thought-provoking commentary on gender, sex and desire.

Buy Now: Detransition, Baby on Bookshop | Amazon

3. My Monticello , Jocelyn Nicole Johnson

new best sellers books 2021

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson’s searing short-story collection is one to read in order. Its narratives dissect an American present that doesn’t feel at all removed from the country’s violent past, and they build to a brutal finish. The unnerving standout piece—the titular novella—follows a group of neighbors who seek refuge on Thomas Jefferson’s plantation while on the run from white supremacists. Johnson’s narrator is college student Da’Naisha, a Black descendant of Jefferson who is questioning her relationship to the land and the people with whom she’s found herself occupying it. The story is as apocalyptic as it is realistic, a haunting portrait of a community trying to survive in a nation that constantly undermines its very existence.

Buy Now: My Monticello on Bookshop | Amazon

2. The Prophets , Robert Jones, Jr.

new best sellers books 2021

At a plantation in the antebellum South, enslaved teenagers Isaiah and Samuel work in a barn and seek refuge in each other until one of their own, after adopting their master’s religious beliefs, betrays their trust. In The Prophets, a National Book Award finalist, Robert Jones, Jr. traces the teens’ relationship, as well as the lives of the women who raised them, surround them and have been the backbone of the plantation for generations. In moving between their stories, Jones unveils a complex social hierarchy thrown off balance by the rejection of the young mens’ romance. The result is a crushing exploration of the legacy of slavery and a delicate story of Black queer love.

Buy Now: The Prophets on Bookshop | Amazon

1. Great Circle , Maggie Shipstead

new best sellers books 2021

The beginning of Maggie Shipstead’s astounding novel , a Booker finalist, includes a series of endings: two plane crashes, a sunken ship and several people dead. The bad luck continues when one of the ship’s young survivors, Marian, grows up to become a pilot—only to disappear on the job. Shipstead unravels parallel narratives, Marian’s and that of another woman whose life is changed by Marian’s story, in glorious detail. Every character, whether mentioned once or 50 times, has a specific, necessary presence. It’s a narrative made to be devoured, one that is both timeless and satisfying.

Buy Now: Great Circle on Bookshop | Amazon

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Best fiction of 2021

Best fiction of 2021

Dazzling debuts, a word-of-mouth hit, plus this year’s bestsellers from Sally Rooney, Jonathan Franzen, Kazuo Ishiguro and more

T he most anticipated, discussed and accessorised novel of the year was Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You (Faber), launched on a tide of tote bags and bucket hats. It’s a book about the accommodations of adulthood, which plays with interiority and narrative distance as Rooney’s characters consider the purpose of friendship, sex and politics – plus the difficulties of fame and novel-writing – in a world on fire.

Klara and the Sun

Rooney’s wasn’t the only eagerly awaited new chapter. Polish Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk ’s magnum opus The Books of Jacob (Fitzcarraldo) reached English-language readers at last, in a mighty feat of translation by Jennifer Croft: a dazzling historical panorama about enlightenment both spiritual and scientific. In 2021 we also saw the returns of Jonathan Franzen , beginning a fine and involving 70s family trilogy with Crossroads (4th Estate); Kazuo Ishiguro, whose Klara and the Sun (Faber) probes the limits of emotion in the story of a sickly girl and her “artificial friend”; and acclaimed US author Gayl Jones, whose epic of liberated slaves in 17th-century Brazil, Palmares (Virago), has been decades in the making.

Whitehead, Harlem Shuffle

Pat Barker’s The Women of Troy (Hamish Hamilton) continued her series reclaiming women’s voices in ancient conflict, while Elizabeth Strout revisited her heroine Lucy Barton in the gently comedic, emotionally acute Oh William! (Viking). Ruth Ozeki’s The Book of Form and Emptiness (Canongate), her first novel since the 2013 Booker-shortlisted A Tale for the Time Being , is a wry, metafictional take on grief, attachment and growing up. Having journeyed into the mind of Henry James in 2004’s The Master, Colm Tóibín created a sweeping overview of Thomas Mann’s life and times in The Magician (Viking). There was a change of tone for Colson Whitehead, with a fizzy heist novel set amid the civil rights movement, Harlem Shuffle (Fleet), while French author Maylis de Kerangal considered art and trompe l’oeil with characteristic style in Painting Time (MacLehose, translated by Jessica Moore).

Treacle Walker (4th Estate), a flinty late-career fable from national treasure Alan Garner, is a marvellous distillation of his visionary work. At the other end of the literary spectrum, Anthony Doerr, best known for his Pulitzer-winning bestseller All the Light We Cannot See , returned with a sweeping page-turner about individual lives caught up in war and conflict, from 15th-century Constantinople to a future spaceship in flight from the dying earth. Cloud Cuckoo Land (4th Estate) is a love letter to books and reading, as well as a chronicle of what has been lost down the centuries, and what is at stake in the climate crisis today: sorrowful, hopeful and utterly transporting. And it was a pleasure to see the return to fiction of Irish author Keith Ridgway, nearly a decade after Hawthorn & Child, with A Shock (Picador), his subtly odd stories of interconnected London lives.

Galgut, The Promise

Damon Galgut’s first novel in seven years won him the Booker. A fertile mix of family saga and satire, The Promise (Chatto) explores broken vows and poisonous inheritances in a changing South Africa. Some excellent British novels were also listed: Nadifa Mohamed’s expert illumination of real-life racial injustice in the cultural melting pot of 1950s Cardiff, The Fortune Men (Viking); Francis Spufford’s profound tracing of lives in flux in postwar London, Light Perpetual (Faber); Sunjeev Sahota’s delicate story of family consequences, China Room (Harvill Secker); and Rachel Cusk’s fearlessly discomfiting investigation into gender politics and creativity, Second Place (Faber).

Lockwood, No One is Talking About This

Also on the Booker shortlist was a blazing tragicomic debut from US author Patricia Lockwood, whose No One Is Talking About This (Bloomsbury) brings her quizzical sensibility and unique style to bear on wildly disparate subjects: the black hole of social media, and the painful wonder of a beloved disabled child. Raven Leilani ’s Luster (Picador) introduced a similarly gifted stylist: her story of precarious New York living is full of sentences to savour. Other standout debuts included Natasha Brown’s Assembly (Hamish Hamilton), a brilliantly compressed, existentially daring study of a high-flying Black woman negotiating the British establishment; AK Blakemore’s earthy and exuberant account of 17th-century puritanism, The Manningtree Witches (Granta); and Tice Cin’s fresh, buzzy saga of drug smuggling and female resilience in London’s Turkish Cypriot community, Keeping the House (And Other Stories).

Caleb Azumah Nelson’s Open Water (Viking) is a lyrical love story celebrating Black artistry, while the first novel from poet Salena Godden, Mrs Death Misses Death (Canongate), is a very contemporary allegory about creativity, injustice, and keeping afloat in modern Britain. Further afield, two state-of-the-nation Indian debuts anatomised class, corruption and power: Megha Majumdar’s A Burning (Scribner) in a propulsive thriller, and Rahul Raina’s How to Kidnap the Rich (Little, Brown) in a blackly comic caper. Meanwhile, Robin McLean’s Pity the Beast (And Other Stories), a revenge western with a freewheeling spirit, is a gothic treat.

sorrow and bliss meg mason

When is love not enough? The summer’s word-of-mouth hit was Meg Mason’s Sorrow and Bliss (W&N), a wisecracking black comedy of mental anguish and eccentric family life focused on a woman who should have everything to live for. Another deeply pleasurable read, The Hummingbird by Sandro Veronesi (W&N, translated by Elena Pala), charts one man’s life through his family relationships. An expansive novel that finds the entire world in an individual, its playful structure makes the telling a constantly unfolding surprise.

my phantoms gwendoline riley

There was a colder take on family life in Gwendoline Riley’s My Phantoms (Granta): this honed, painfully witty account of a toxic mother-daughter relationship is her best novel yet.

Two debut story collections pushed formal and linguistic boundaries. Dark Neighbourhood by Vanessa Onwuemezi (Fitzcarraldo) announced a surreal and inventive new voice, while in English Magic (Galley Beggar) Uschi Gatward proved a master of leaving things unsaid. Also breaking boundaries was Isabel Waidner, whose Sterling Karat Gold (Peninsula), a carnivalesque shout against repression, won the Goldsmiths prize for innovative fiction.

It will take time for Covid-19 to bleed through into fiction, but the first responses are already beginning to appear. Sarah Hall’s Burntcoat (Faber) is a bravura exploration of art, love, sex and ego pressed up against the threat of contagion. In Hall’s version of the pandemic, a loner sculptor who usually expresses herself through monumental works is forced into high-stakes intimacy with a new lover, while pitting her sense of her own creativity against the power of the virus.

A fascinating historical rediscovery shed light on the closing borders and rising prejudices of current times. In The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz (Pushkin, translated by Philip Boehm), written in 1938, a Jewish businessman tries to flee the Nazi regime. The J stamped on his passport ensures that he is met with impassive bureaucratic refusal and chilly indifference from fellow passengers in a tense, rising nightmare that’s timelessly relevant.

Finally, a novel to transport the reader out of the present. Inspired by the life of Marie de France, Matrix by Lauren Groff (Hutchinson Heinemann) is set in a 12th-century English abbey and tells the story of an awkward, passionate teenager, the gifted leader she grows into, and the community of women she builds around herself. Full of sharp sensory detail, with an emotional reach that leaps across the centuries, it’s balm and nourishment for brain, heart and soul.

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  • Damon Galgut
  • Booker prize 2021
  • Jonathan Franzen
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60+ Books You Need to Read in 2021

How many of these new releases are in your reading list?

best books 2021

Every product on this page was chosen by a Harper's BAZAAR editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

For readers, 2021 has been poised to be all the more exciting, with new releases from the likes of Kazuo Ishiguro and Lauren Groff—not to mention many can’t-miss debuts—on the horizon. If you’re still putting together your Goodreads wish list for the year, make sure to consider some of these anticipated titles.

Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

Some people say that all stories are about either love or war. Set against the backdrop of early 20th-century Korea, Kim’s epic debut novel is about both. As children, an orphan boy and a girl sold by her family to a courtesan school form a deep friendship—but as they grow older and get swept up in the fight for Korean independence, the two must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice for one another.

Monster in the Middle by Tiphanie Yanique

Monster in the Middle by Tiphanie Yanique

7 years after releasing her debut novel, Land of Love and Drowning , Yanique is back with a sweeping new novel for the ages—a multigenerational love story spanning New York City, Ghana, and the Virgin Islands across decades.

Harper The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

When a National Book Award-nominated poet decides to venture into fiction, it’s an understatement to say that the bar is set pretty high. Even so, it seems Jeffers has cleared that bar with ease: the acclaimed writer’s debut novel follows the story of one American family from early white settlers’ appropriation of Native lands, through the African slave trade and Civil War, all the way into today’s tumultuous times.

G.P. Putnam's Sons The Turnout by Megan Abbott

The Turnout by Megan Abbott

From gymnastics to cheerleading, Abbott is a master at exploring the sinister underbelly of stereotypically feminine pursuits, and her latest—a psycho-thriller about a family-run ballet school whose ecosystem is upended by the arrival of a stranger—is no exception.

Berkley The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

Hoang’s latest romance puts readers through the wringer, but the happy ending is well worth it. After accidentally going viral, violinist Anna Sun should be celebrating her success; instead, she’s wrestling with burnout. When her boyfriend suggests they see other people, Anna sees it as a chance to figure out who she is apart from others’ expectations of her—but at what cost?

I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness by Claire Vaye Watkins

I Love You but I've Chosen Darkness by Claire Vaye Watkins

In Watkins’ hotly anticipated new novel, a writer struggling from postpartum depression boards a flight to a professional engagement in Reno that turns into a rambling journey of reckoning. A mother separated from the demands of motherhood, she plumbs the depths of her past and traverses the Mojave in search of an ever-elusive sense of closure.

Palmares by Gayle Jones

Palmares by Gayle Jones

After 20 years of silence, Toni Morrison’s protégée returns this fall with the story of Almeyda, an enslaved Black girl who flees the plantations of Brazil and escapes to a fugitive settlement called Palmares – a safe haven for Black Brazilians fleeing captivity. Of course, reaching Palmares marks only the beginning of Almeyda’s journey. Soon after, she sets off across colonial Brazil in search of her lost husband.

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno

Let’s face it: there’s something kind of sinister about the Alexas and Siris and Google Home Maxes of the world. We’ve entrusted them with our homes, our families, and our most private information, all in hopes that they’ll make our lives a bit easier—but at what cost? Moreno explores the answer to that question in this gripping thriller, which follows a widower tormented by the smart speaker his late wife left behind.

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

Card-carrying members of Bachelor Nation, look alive! Cochrun’s swoon-worthy debut follows a producer on a Bachelor -esque reality show whose idealistic view of romance gets upended when he starts to develop feelings for the show’s lead, a handsome—and very awkward—tech genius who’s taken the job to rehabilitate his image.

Misfits: A Personal Manifesto by Michaela Coel

Misfits: A Personal Manifesto by Michaela Coel

When it premiered on HBO last year at the height of the pandemic, Coel’s groundbreaking series I May Destroy You may indeed have destroyed more than a few viewers—but it saved a lot of them, too. This fall, the writer embraces that legacy with her new book, which serves as an impassioned ode to never fitting in.

Flatiron Books Tell Me How to Be by Neel Patel

Tell Me How to Be by Neel Patel

If you like stories about families coming to terms with long-held secrets, Patel’s self-assured debut should be on your radar. As the one-year anniversary of her husband’s death approaches, seemingly perfect Renu questions whether she chose the wrong life; in Los Angeles, her commitment-phobic son Akash is still waiting for his to begin. When Akash returns to Illinois to help Renu sell the family house, both mother and son come face to face with their past regrets.

What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J.A. Chancy

What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J.A. Chancy

An ensemble cast of Haitians must contend with the aftermath of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Clancy’s unmissable first novel, which has already earned praise from writers such as Edwidge Danticat and Zinzi Clemmons. Across Port-au-Prince—Haiti’s capital—produce sellers, NGO architects, and wealthy expats alike navigate the fallout from the disaster.

Fight Night by Miriam Toews

Fight Night by Miriam Toews

Fight Club for girls, this isn’t. The bestselling Women Talking author’s new book follows three generations of women—irrepressible Grandma, her nine-year-old granddaughter Swiv, and Swiv’s pregnant mother—as they fight to survive in Toronto.

Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed edited by Saraciea J. Fennell

Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed edited by Saraciea J. Fennell

With a standout roster of authors that includes Naima Coster, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed is the kind of anthology we’d gladly wait all year for. In fifteen works of poetry and essays—from tales of the supernatural to takedowns of anti-Blackness—this collection offers something for just about every kind of reader.

Win Me Something by Kyle Lucia Wu

Win Me Something by Kyle Lucia Wu

Growing up biracial between New Jersey and Upstate New York, Willa Chen got used to never fitting in. But when she begins nannying for the Adriens, a wealthy white family living in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood, Willa suddenly becomes acutely aware of all the things she never had as a girl. Winsome and tender, Wu’s debut novel is about a girl who must confront her out-of-place childhood in her search for a solid sense of self.

God of Mercy by Okezie Nwoka

God of Mercy by Okezie Nwoka

Forget what you think you know about the divine and let Nwoka’s bewitching novel introduce you to the Igbo village of Ichulu—home to Ijeoma, a girl who can fly. As the people of Ichulu and the surrounding villages wrestle with their gods, Ijeoma is forced into exile, where she must reckon with her growing powers while navigating a hostile world.

Grand Central Publishing Seeing Ghosts: A Memoir by Kat Chow

Seeing Ghosts: A Memoir by Kat Chow

A veteran journalist and podcaster (she co-founded NPR’s Code Switch ), Chow turns her incisive gaze inward for her first book. Chronicling the aftereffects of her mother’s unexpected death from cancer, Chow’s memoir traces her extended family’s path across the globe to draw a startlingly intimate portrait of grief.

Atria Books The Shimmering State by Meredith Westgate

The Shimmering State by Meredith Westgate

What if you could access the memories of those around you? That’s the premise of Westgate’s dystopian first novel, which follows Lucien and Sophie to a Los Angeles rehab center dedicated to treating abusers of a powerful new drug called Memoroxin. The two have no memory of each other, but are inexplicably drawn to one another all the same, in this Eternal Sunshine

for a new era.

The President and the Frog by Carolina de Robertis

The President and the Frog by Carolina de Robertis

De Robertis has carved out a niche for herself as a writer of playful, inventive novels that challenge our understanding of society, and her latest is no exception. A journalist visits a former Latin-American president in the lush gardens of the president’s modest home to discuss his life and legacy. Once a revolutionary who was jailed for inciting insurrection, the former president claims to have survived solitary confinement with the help of an unexpected companion: a deeply philosophical frog.

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

Ever since they met as children, Black TV anchor Riley and her white best friend Jen have been closer than sisters. Even as adults, they can’t imagine anything ever coming between them—until Jen’s police officer husband shoots an unarmed Black teenager, and Riley is tasked with covering the story. Bestselling author Piazza and debut novelist Pride join forces for this deeply urgent novel about a heartbreakingly American phenomenon.

Headshot of Keely  Weiss

Keely Weiss is a writer and filmmaker. She has lived in Los Angeles, New York, and Virginia and has a cat named after Perry Mason.

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The week’s bestselling books, Feb. 25

Southern California Bestsellers

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Hardcover fiction

1. The Women by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin’s Press: $30) An intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

2. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Riverhead: $28) The discovery of a skeleton in Pottstown, Pa., opens out to a story of integration and community.

3. The Book of Love by Kelly Link (Random House: $31) Three teenagers become pawns in a supernatural power struggle in the author’s long-awaited debut novel.

4. North Woods by Daniel Mason (Random House: $28) A sweeping historical tale focused on a single house in the New England woods.

5. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Knopf: $28) Lifelong BFFs collaborate on a wildly successful video game.

6. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $30) A family comes apart, financially and otherwise, in post-crash Ireland.

7. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper: $32) The story of a boy born into poverty to a teenage single mother in Appalachia.

8. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Knopf: $28) An orphaned son of Iranian immigrants embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret.

9. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (Doubleday: $29) In the 1960s, a female chemist goes on to be a single parent, then a celebrity chef.

10. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (Harper: $30) At a Michigan orchard, a woman tells her three daughters about a long-ago romance.

Hardcover nonfiction

1. The Creative Act by Rick Rubin (Penguin: $32) The music producer’s guidance on how to be a creative person.

2. The Wager by David Grann (Doubleday: $30) The story of the shipwreck of an 18th century British warship and a mutiny among the survivors.

3. How to Know a Person by David Brooks (Random House: $30) The New York Times columnist explores the power of seeing and being seen.

4. Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions by Ed Zwick (Gallery Books: $29) The filmmaker’s dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

5. A Murder in Hollywood by Casey Sherman (Sourcebooks: $27.99) The story of Lana Turner and her daughter, who finally stood up to the abuse that plagued their family for years.

6. Atomic Habits by James Clear (Avery: $27) The self-help expert’s guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones via tiny changes in behavior.

7. Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27) A record of the author’s thoughts across 10 years, rearranged into sentences from A to Z.

8. Prequel by Rachel Maddow (Crown: $32) The MSNBC anchor chronicles the fight against a pro-Nazi American group during World War II.

9. Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson (Viking: $30) A people’s history of the rise of U.S. authoritarianism and its resisters.

10. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy (HarperOne: $23) A modern fable explores life’s universal lessons through four archetypes.

Paperback fiction

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (Bloomsbury: $19)

2. Trust by Hernan Diaz (Riverhead: $17)

3. Bride by Ali Hazelwood (Berkley: $19)

4. Horse by Geraldine Brooks (Viking: $28)

5. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (Anchor: $18)

6. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Penguin: $18)

7. Normal People by Sally Rooney (Crown: $17)

8. Love Poems by Pablo Neruda (New Directions: $12)

9. Big Swiss by Jen Beagin (Scribner: $17)

10. Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo (Grove Press: $17)

Paperback nonfiction

1. All About Love by bell hooks (Morrow: $17)

2. The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi (Picador: $20)

3. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (TarcherPerigee: $19)

4. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (Vintage: $18)

5. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson (Random House: $20)

6. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. (Penguin: $19)

7. How to Love by Thich Nhat Hanh, Jason DeAntonis (Illus.) (Parallax Press: $10)

8. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (Amber-Allen: $13)

9. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Modern Library: $11)

10. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Vintage: $17)

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The Los Angeles Times bestsellers list comes courtesy of the California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA). Established in 1981, CALIBA is a mutual benefit 501c(6) nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting, nurturing and promoting independent retail bookselling in California.

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THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah

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In 1965, a nursing student follows her brother to serve during the Vietnam War and returns to a divided America.

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HOUSE OF FLAME AND SHADOW

by Sarah J. Maas

The third book in the Crescent City series. Bryce wants to return home while Hunt is trapped in Asteri's dungeons.

BRIDE by Ali Hazelwood

by Ali Hazelwood

Issues of trust arise when an alliance is made between a Vampyre named Misery Lark and a Were named Lowe Moreland.

FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros

41 weeks on the list

FOURTH WING

by Rebecca Yarros

Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders.

  • Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON by David Grann

115 weeks on the list

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

by David Grann

The story of a murder spree in 1920s Oklahoma that targeted Osage Indians, whose lands contained oil.

THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE by Bessel van der Kolk

180 weeks on the list

THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE

by Bessel van der Kolk

How trauma affects the body and mind, and innovative treatments for recovery.

THE WAGER by David Grann

42 weeks on the list

The survivors of a shipwrecked British vessel on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain have different accounts of events.

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT by Daniel James Brown

131 weeks on the list

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT

by Daniel James Brown

The story of the American rowers who pursued gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games; the basis of the film.

MEDGAR & MYRLIE by Joy-Ann Reid

MEDGAR & MYRLIE

by Joy-Ann Reid

The MSNBC host details how the wife of the civil rights leader Medgar Evers carried forward their legacy after his assassination in 1963.

  • Hardcover Fiction

40 weeks on the list

IRON FLAME by Rebecca Yarros

14 weeks on the list

The second book in the Empyrean series. Violet Sorrengail’s next round of training might require her to betray the man she loves.

THE HEAVEN & EARTH GROCERY STORE by James McBride

25 weeks on the list

THE HEAVEN & EARTH GROCERY STORE

by James McBride

Secrets held by the residents of a dilapidated neighborhood come to life when a skeleton is found at the bottom of a well.

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  • Hardcover Nonfiction

OUTLIVE by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford

46 weeks on the list

by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford

A look at recent scientific research on aging and longevity.

OATH AND HONOR by Liz Cheney

10 weeks on the list

OATH AND HONOR

by Liz Cheney

The former congresswoman from Wyoming recounts how she helped lead the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6. Attack on the United States Capitol.

THE WOMAN IN ME by Britney Spears

16 weeks on the list

THE WOMAN IN ME

by Britney Spears

The Grammy Award-winning pop star details her personal and professional experiences, including the years she spent under a conservatorship overseen by her father.

  • Paperback Trade Fiction

THE HOUSEMAID by Freida McFadden

THE HOUSEMAID

Troubles surface when a woman looking to make a fresh start takes a job in the home of the Winchesters.

ICEBREAKER by Hannah Grace

52 weeks on the list

by Hannah Grace

Anastasia might need the help of the captain of a college hockey team to get on the Olympic figure skating team.

TWISTED LOVE by Ana Huang

35 weeks on the list

TWISTED LOVE

by Ana Huang

The first book in the Twisted series. Secrets emerge when Ava explores things with her brother’s best friend.

  • Paperback Nonfiction

277 weeks on the list

154 weeks on the list

The story of a murder spree in 1920s Oklahoma that targeted Osage Indians, whose lands contained oil. The fledgling F.B.I. intervened, ineffectively.

153 weeks on the list

CASTE by Isabel Wilkerson

by Isabel Wilkerson

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist examines aspects of caste systems across civilizations and reveals a rigid hierarchy in America today.

EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT LOVE by Dolly Alderton

34 weeks on the list

EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT LOVE

by Dolly Alderton

The British journalist shares stories and observations; the basis of the TV series.

  • Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous

ATOMIC HABITS by James Clear

220 weeks on the list

ATOMIC HABITS

by James Clear

THE CREATIVE ACT by Rick Rubin with Neil Strauss

56 weeks on the list

THE CREATIVE ACT

by Rick Rubin with Neil Strauss

HOW TO KNOW A PERSON by David Brooks

HOW TO KNOW A PERSON

by David Brooks

DEAR BLACK GIRLS by A'ja Wilson

DEAR BLACK GIRLS

by A'ja Wilson

THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK by Mark Manson

320 weeks on the list

THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK

by Mark Manson

  • Children’s Middle Grade Hardcover

HEROES by Alan Gratz

by Alan Gratz

The friends Frank and Stanley give a vivid account of the Pearl Harbor attack.

WONKA by Sibéal Pounder

8 weeks on the list

by Sibéal Pounder

The movie novelization and prequel to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," written by Roald Dahl.

WONDER by R.J. Palacio

430 weeks on the list

by R.J. Palacio

A boy with a facial deformity starts school.

REFUGEE by Alan Gratz

249 weeks on the list

Three children in three different conflicts look for safe haven.

THE SUN AND THE STAR by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

THE SUN AND THE STAR

by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

The demigods Will and Nico embark on a dangerous journey to the Underworld to rescue an old friend.

  • Children’s Picture Books

LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE by Alice Schertle. Illustrated by Jill McElmurry

27 weeks on the list

LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE

by Alice Schertle. Illustrated by Jill McElmurry

Little Blue Truck delivers Valentine's Day cards to all his farm animal friends.

LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR by Eric Carle

55 weeks on the list

LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle

A ravenous insect returns with its appetite intact.

LOVE FROM BLUEY by Suzy Brumm

7 weeks on the list

LOVE FROM BLUEY

by Suzy Brumm

The love between parents and their children.

HOW TO CATCH A LOVEOSAURUS by Alice Walstead. Illustrated by Andy Elkerton

12 weeks on the list

HOW TO CATCH A LOVEOSAURUS

by Alice Walstead. Illustrated by Andy Elkerton

The Catch Club Kids attempt to catch a dinosaur that wants to spread love and kindness.

LOVE FROM THE CRAYONS by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers

24 weeks on the list

LOVE FROM THE CRAYONS

by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers

The Crayons show the colors of love.

  • Children’s Series

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS by Rick Riordan

711 weeks on the list

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS

by Rick Riordan

A boy battles mythological monsters.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney

778 weeks on the list

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID

written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney

The travails and challenges of adolescence.

HARRY POTTER by J.K. Rowling

777 weeks on the list

HARRY POTTER

by J.K. Rowling

A wizard hones his conjuring skills in the service of fighting evil.

THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

314 weeks on the list

THE HUNGER GAMES

by Suzanne Collins

In a dystopia, a girl fights for survival on live TV.

A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER by Holly Jackson

124 weeks on the list

A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER

by Holly Jackson

Pippa Fitz-Amobi solves murderous crimes.

  • Young Adult Hardcover

DIVINE RIVALS by Rebecca Ross

DIVINE RIVALS

by Rebecca Ross

Two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection.

RUTHLESS VOWS by Rebecca Ross

RUTHLESS VOWS

In the sequel to "Divine Rivals," Roman and Iris will risk their hearts and futures to change the tides of the war.

POWERLESS by Lauren Roberts

by Lauren Roberts

Forbidden love is in the air when Paedyn, an Ordinary, and Kai, an Elite, become romantically involved.

MURTAGH by Christopher Paolini

by Christopher Paolini

Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn, must find and outwit a mysterious witch.

NIGHTBANE by Alex Aster

by Alex Aster

In this sequel to "Lightlark," Isla must chose between her two powerful lovers.

Weekly Best Sellers Lists

Monthly best sellers lists.

COMMENTS

  1. Best Sellers

    The New York Times Best Sellers are up-to-date and authoritative lists of the most popular books in the United States, based on sales in the past week, including fiction, non-fiction, paperbacks ...

  2. The Best Books of 2021

    When We Cease to Understand the World. By Benjamín Labatut. Translated by Adrian Nathan West. Labatut expertly stitches together the stories of the 20th century's greatest thinkers to explore ...

  3. Amazon.com Best Sellers of 2021 in Books

    Discover Amazon's Top 100 best-selling products in 2012, 2011, 2010 and beyond. View the Top 100 best sellers for each year, in Amazon Books, Kindle Books, Music, MP3 Songs and Video Games. Browse Amazon's "Best of 2012 (So Far)" list to find the most popular products throughout the year based on sales, updated hourly. Be informed about yearly trends for Amazon's most popular categories.

  4. Best Sellers

    The New York Times Best Sellers - August 01, 2021 Authoritatively ranked lists of books sold in the United States, sorted by format and genre. The New York Times Best Sellers - August 01, 2021.

  5. The New York Times Fiction Bestseller List 2021

    Here are all the New York Times fiction bestsellers from 2021. Instead of just the current best seller list, which you can find all over the place, I've compiled a list of every book that has appeared on the New York Times Fiction Best Sellers list in 2021 for Hardcover Fiction. Note: The week count in this list stops on the last week of 2021.

  6. The Year-End 2021 Bestseller List

    Here is the Year-End 2021 Bestseller List, based on sales at independent bookstores nationwide from January 1, 2021, to December 1, 2021. HARDCOVER FICTION. 1. The Hill We Climb. Amanda Gorman, Viking, $15.99, 9780593465271. 2. The Midnight Library. Matt Haig, Viking, $26, 9780525559474. 3.

  7. The 100 Must-Read Books of 2021

    The 100 Must-Read Books of 2021. The fiction, nonfiction and poetry that shifted our perspectives, uncovered essential truths and encouraged us forward. Annabel Gutterman, Cady Lang, Arianna ...

  8. The best books of 2021

    Best music books of 2021. Composite: PR Handout / Maïté Franchi. Alexis Petridis chooses the best books about music and musicians - including Sinéad O'Connor's striking memoir, Paul ...

  9. 20 Best Books of 2021- The Year's Top Book Releases

    2021 marked the release of new books by some of our most prominent authors—among them Richard Powers, Jonathan Franzen, Louise Erdrich, Amor Towles, Ann Patchett, Anthony Doerr, Colson Whitehead, and Maggie Shipstead, whose latest works made it onto our Top 20 List. Some of them, like Shipstead's Great Circle, are epics in which the heroes ...

  10. New York Times Best Books of 2021

    New York Times Best Books of 2021. Cloud Cuckoo Land (B&N…. Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir…. People Love Dead Jews: Reports…. Empire of Pain: The Secret…. How the Word Is Passed: A…. The Wisteria Society of Lady…. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du…. When We Cease to Understand….

  11. The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2021

    Here, the top 10 fiction books of 2021. 10. Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro. The eighth novel from Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, longlisted for the Booker Prize, follows a robot ...

  12. Best fiction of 2021

    Browse all the featured books and save up to 15% at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply. Explore more on these topics. Best books of the year. Best books of 2021. Damon Galgut. Booker ...

  13. 66 Best Books of 2021

    Monster in the Middle by Tiphanie Yanique. Now 34% Off. $18 at Amazon. 7 years after releasing her debut novel, Land of Love and Drowning, Yanique is back with a sweeping new novel for the ages ...

  14. List of The New York Times number-one books of 2021

    The New York Times. number-one books of 2021. The American daily newspaper The New York Times publishes multiple weekly lists ranking the best-selling books in the United States. The lists are split in three genres—fiction, nonfiction and children's books. Both the fiction and nonfiction lists are further split into multiple lists.

  15. Best Sellers

    The New York Times Best Sellers are up-to-date and authoritative lists of the most popular books in the United States, based on sales in the past week, including fiction, non-fiction, paperbacks ...

  16. Best Books of 2021 (1337 books)

    Rate this book. Clear rating. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. 4. A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #4) by. Sarah J. Maas (Goodreads Author) 4.47 avg rating — 971,870 ratings. score: 14,089 , and 143 people voted.

  17. Best Fiction 2021

    WINNER 69,770 votes. Beautiful World, Where Are You. by. Sally Rooney (Goodreads Author) Irish author Sally Rooney wins this year's Best Fiction award for her celebrated novel on the complexities of romance, sex, and friendship on our swiftly tilting planet. A kind of deep-focus love quadrangle story, the book clearly hit a nerve for readers.

  18. The best books of the year 2021

    Luster by Raven Leilani. The strange relationship between Edie, a struggling 23-year-old black artist, and a middle-aged white couple she moves in with is the focus of Luster, the striking debut ...

  19. Barnes & Noble's Best Books of 2021

    Kingdom of the Cursed (Kingdom…. by Kerri Maniscalco. #2 in Series. Paperback $10.99. Best Books of 2021. QUICK ADD. Crying in H Mart. by Michelle Zauner. Paperback $13.99 $17.00.

  20. New York Times 10 Best Books of 2021

    The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du…. by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. Paperback $17.99 $20.00. QUICK ADD. When We Cease to Understand…. by Benjamín Labatut, Adrian Nathan West (Translator) Paperback $17.95. Best Books of 2021. QUICK ADD.

  21. The New York Times ® Best Sellers

    Explore the New York Times Best Sellers list at Barnes & Noble® and be in the know about which books are currently most popular in America. Find out about the best new books each week, including fiction, non-fiction, advice & how-to, graphic novels, children's books, and more. Browse the selection by genre and format.

  22. 25 Best Fiction Books of 2023 (So Far)

    Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead whisks readers back to 1970s New York City in Crook Manifesto, the sequel to 2021's bestselling Harlem Shuffle. Between the seedy politicians ...

  23. New Books

    Discover the latest books including trending new book releases & best sellers in 2021. Browse the newest fiction books, nonfiction books, kids & YA books and more. ... kids books, and YA books. If you're looking for the best new releases, you've come to the right place. Our expert booksellers put together this curated collection of the top ...

  24. The week's bestselling books, Feb. 25

    The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction.

  25. Best Sellers

    The New York Times Best Sellers are up-to-date and authoritative lists of the most popular books in the United States, based on sales in the past week, including fiction, non-fiction, paperbacks ...

  26. The New York Times® Bestsellers 2022 Hardcover Fiction

    Be in the know of new bestselling fiction books with The New York Times Bestsellers in Hardcover Fiction. Shop B&N for 2021 hardcover fiction bestsellers.