5 recommendations for stocking stuffers

'A Children's Bible' by Lydia Millet

'Overground Railroad' by Candacy Taylor

'A Beautiful Crime' by Christopher Bollen

This is the time of year when the rubber meets the road for me. How many of the books that The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal and Oprah deem the best books of the year have I read?

Dear Reader, the count is always underwhelming. But this year, with so many shows about politics and the pandemic, I fear I’ve fallen ever further behind.

So, I’m going to share a handful of books — 5 in all — that are at the top of my To-Be-Read list. And I hope you’ll share yours. More on that in a moment.
The NYT’s 100 Notable Books is full of terrific novels and non-fiction, but here are two from the list for me: I’m a huge fan of Lydia Millet’s writing so I’ll be plunging into “A Children’s Bible” over the holidays.

And I’ll be on the road — virtually — with Candacy Taylor’s cultural history, “Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America.”

Turns out, I’m pleased to say, that Oprah and I read many of the same books this year but here are two I missed: “A Beautiful Crime” by Christopher Bollen, the story of a con that unfolds in a Patricia Highsmith-inspired way, and Ayad Ahktar’s “Homeland Elegies,” a novel that explores immigration, politics and the character’s father’s allegiance to Donald Trump.

My last novel made many lists, and although I’d sworn to read it the moment it published, I’m only getting to it now. Hilary Mantel’s remarkable Cromwell series is culminating with “The Mirror and the Light” and I can’t wait to plunge in!

Here’s to more adventurous reading in 2021!