A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet Deacon King Kong by James McBride Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker A Promised Land by Barack Obama Shakespeare in a Divided America by James Shapiro Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener War by Margaret MacMillan
The first five titles on the list showcase the best in fiction — all which might be categorized under the broad label “literary” (though arguably, Deacon King Kong lies closely within mystery and crime fiction) — while the second five titles are all nonfiction, including a memoir, an Oprah’s Book Club selection, an insider’s story of life inside Silicon Valley, and two histories. Forty percent of the choices are by authors of color. To read more about why these were the New York Times selections for 2020, dig into the editors’ commentary on their site. Readers who have access can also enjoy the New York Times’s 100 Notable Books of 2020.
