We Asked Our Employees For Their Favorite Books of 2016
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The Nix
“Nathan Hill artfully constructs his sentences, which makes him a great writer; but more than that he is a great novel writer. You get to know every character in his book as well as we can know anybody, including ourselves, which is to say a lot and not much at all.”
—Eric, Viking Managing Editorial
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Born a Crime
“I found myself telling stories from this book for months after reading it. Trevor Noah takes us inside a world that I knew very little about, and I walked away inspired by Trevor’s journey from apartheid South Africa to the rising new star in comedy and completely awed by the fortitude of his fierce single mother. The stories are so funny, so outrageous, and so poignant–you won’t be able to stop talking about it either.”
—Andrea, Marketing
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Dark Matter
“Dark Matter is the kind of story that I cannot wait to pick up again; suspenseful, inquisitive, and gripping, you can’t help but fall completely in love with it.”
—Natasha, Digital Marketing
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The Mothers
“Brit Bennett’s gorgeous debut explores the choices we make and how they transform us. I loved the narration style, and the well-crafted plot, but it was the characters — and, specifcally, how they struggled with loss — that gave me strength and both broke and mended my heart. This is the book that changed me the most this year.”
—Brandi, PPG Corporate
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A Little Life
“This book absolutely tore me apart. I fell so deeply in love with the characters, and as someone who devours several books a week, this one really stuck with me. I found myself unable to fill the void left after I read it. It’s a beautifully written, absolutely heartbreaking story.”
—Natalie, Berkley Art
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The Rocks
“Quite possibly the most satisfying vacation read, The Rocks spans 60 years to tell the story of two families and four couples in Majorca, with one big secret. It’s incredibly romantic, and you won’t be able to help yearning for these flawed and winning characters to find happiness.”
—Kayleigh, Marketing, Blue Rider Press
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Ghostland
“This darkly quirky social history of the United States had me hooked from first page. Without passing judgment on skepticism or belief, Dickey peels back the shrouds of famous American ghost stories, revealing a lot about what we as people choose to remember—or can’t seem to let go.”
—Jessica, Viking & Riverhead Marketing
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The Hopefuls
“Jennifer Close’s The Hopefuls is a must-read from the election year—it’s a witty, invigorating, and very pertinent journey into the status mecca of D.C. culture.”
—Lindsay, Digital Marketing
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Half of a Yellow Sun
“Adichie is one of the most eloquent, thoughtful, and moving writers I have ever read. Although she may be known best for Americanah, it’s Half of a Yellow Sun that had my hands gripping the pages, unwilling to let a silly thing like ‘sleep’ or ‘getting off at the right subway stop’ interrupt my reading.”
—Ally, Publicity
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White Trash
“Great explanation of the existence of a vast group of marginalized Americans throughout American history both pre and post British. I read this book twice, once way before and once just before the election. I wonder if the author will write a sequel or at least a new chapter about the very folks she talks about and the election. For someone interested in sociology, specifically American society and its classes, this is a very timely read.”
—Rashid, Information Technology
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The Dollhouse
“Fiona Davis’s debut is a gem, but Tavia Gilbert’s narration is mind-blowingly good. Once you press play, you won’t be able to stop.”
—Winnie, Audio
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Big Little Lies
“Big Little Lies is an exciting page-turner—perfect for vacation. Liane Moriarty displays her skills at exposing the lives we live underneath the surface.”
—Abigail, Digital Operations
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The Secret Life of Violet Grant
“This book is a smart story with a lot of heart and intrigue, and it starts and ends with a suitcase and a secret family history. Williams weaves together two stories of two women trying to make their way in the world.”
—Sarah, Designer
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Flight Patterns
“A book about beekeeping and a woman who is a china appraiser? This book is gorgeously written with a sensibility about family and what family utilmately means. I loved how the book, although contains a romance, isn’t the center of story: the story truly is about finding and coming home again.”
—Jin, Marketing
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Sweetbitter
“Sweetbitter is set behind-the-scenes at a fancy restaurant in New York City. The descriptions of food are electric and the relationships (friendships, romances, and rivalries) are complex and mysterious. A fast and furious read that kept me flipping the pages.”
—Alaina, Digital Marketing
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Perfect Days
“Teo Avelar is a bit of a loner in spite of being an intelligent and meticulous medical student. His best friend is a cadaver until he meets the exotic and spontaneous Clarice. Thus, leading the reader on a downward path of The Talented Mr. Ripley, who meets Dexter with a side of Misery.”
—Danielle, National Sales
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Cooking for Jeffrey
“Ina’s personal stories about her 48-year marriage coupled with delicious, easy-to-make recipes is a must for cookbook-lovers.”
—Helena, Digital Operations
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Dark Money
“Mayer’s investigation into the secretive network of the Republican donor class spearheaded by the Koch brothers and how these groups have irreversibly reshaped American politics is an eye opener every citizen should read. I can’t stop thinking about this book.”
—Eric, Information Technology
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Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
“A small book with big ideas, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics awakens the inner science-nerd in all of us. This book goes beyond the informative, and leaves you with sense of meaning and wonder at the universe around us.”
—Jaimie, Digital Operations
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Between the World and Me
“Published in 2015, this National Book Award winner is incredibly powerful and timely. I agree whole-heartedly with Toni Morrison who hailed it as ‘required reading.’”
—Lindsey, Digital Marketing
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City of Thieves
“Read it on a spring ski trip out West, and while I love skiing I could hardly wait to get off the slopes to get back to this novel. Think of it as THE ROAD meets THE PAINTED BIRD as interpreted by the Coen brothers.”
—John, Doubleday Marketing
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Jane Steele
“This spirited, thrilling retelling of Jane Eyre imagines the titular heroine as an assertive killer (who didn’t want harm to come to Jane’s aunt in the book?).”
—Christine, Digital Marketing
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Lilac Girls
“We worked for two years to bring this gripping World War II novel to market, and its great success has brought a little-known story of the Holocaust to the wide audience that it deserves.”
—Kristin, Random House Publishing Group
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A Gentleman in Moscow
“This tale of a Russian count sentenced to house arrest at the Metropol Hotel is as intimate as you’d expect, but Amor Towles manages to create a vast world in a small space, filled with memorable characters that stuck with me long after I closed the cover. This is a book that I will read over and over again.”
—Farin, Marketing
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The Animators
“Kayla Rae Whitaker’s novel The Animators is so smart and funny that you’ll never believe it’s her first. Covering all of the bases from feminism to art to female friendship to romance, this book’s vacillation from humor to heartbreak and back again will give you whiplash in the best way. I cannot recommend it highly enough.”
—Alaina, Crown Marketing
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The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye
“I rarely read graphic novels, but Sonny Liew’s chronicle of Singapore’s last days of colonialism and rocky independence deserves to be on the same shelf as PERSEPOLIS, MAUS and FUN HOME. The book purports to be a collection of found materials from Singapore’s greatest cartoonist, a fictional conceit in 4-panel strips, full-color pages and propaganda broadsides that together comprise a smart, gorgeous and thoughtful history of the Lion City.”
—Ryan, Penguin Marketing
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White Trash
“Dense and detailed yet immensely readable, I started WHITE TRASH early in 2016 and finished it later in the Fall, post-election. I’m not going to say that history repeats itself, necessarily, but understanding the context of a divided America along both economic and racial lines provides a sobering look at how young and fragile our country is — and helps teach the importance of compassion for those with different viewpoints and backgrounds.”
—Daniel, Marketing, Ten Speed Press
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The Assistants
“Camille Perri’s The Assistants is the perfect mix of intelligence, humor, and fun. Though it might seem light and fluffy when you first pick it up, I loved how Perri managed to mix in real, poignant commentary on class in America and its impact on millenial women. Entertaining until the last page,The Assistantswas compulsively readable and incredibly relatable.”
—Becky, Marketing & Publicity
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The Book of Joy
“Because who wouldn’t want to eavesdrop on a candid conversation between his Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmund Tutu?”
—Maura, Corporate Communications
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The Devourers
“Indra Das creates a werewolf mythos unlike any I have read before. Set in Kolkata with shifting timelines, it’s one of those books that sucks your imagination into a fever dream for hours.”
—Julie Leung, Marketing
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The Girls
“It’s a retelling of the Manson murders, but what makes this different is the narrator – she’s just a girl who wants to fit in, and she has no idea who she’s gotten herself mixed up with. It’s suspenseful and forlorn, gritty and dreamy, and a really good coming-of-age story.”
—Elina, Marketing
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The Crow Girl
“A Scandinavian crime book of epic proportions, The Crow Girl was originally a trilogy and has been published in the US as one massive tome. Relentlessly dark, brutally violent, and deeply insightful, this shocking read will get under your skin and, against all odds, into your heart.”
—Abigail, Publicity
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The Underground Railroad (National Book Award Winner) (Oprah’s Book Club)
“Whitehead tells a story of slavery through what has been called a lens of magical realism, but to me felt more akin to something post-apocalyptic and dystopian. Even the imagined “real” railroad could not lead Cora away from inevitable loss and desolation, no matter which stop she descended. As current events began to feel like extensions of the narrative created by Whitehead, this book has stayed with me more than any other I read this year, and as time goes on its power only increases.”
—Linda, Legal
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American Heiress
“Toobin is the master: nobody does it quite like him. Masterfully weaving together the threads of Patty Hearst, her kidnappers, and the family trying to rescue her, he makes a strong and lucid case for why this story is still eerily relevant today. That, and it’s a damn good story.”
—Jon, Editorial
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Ghostland
“This book is equal parts American history, sociology, and ghost story – it’s an examination of how our culture talks about death and other taboo topics by way of telling stories of hauntings. Dickey is neutral on the subject of whether or not ghosts are real, but he treats each story in the book with sensitivity. And even though it’s non-fiction, the books till manages to be more than a little bit creepy.”
—Emily, Digital Marketing
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Soul Serenade
“This is a soul-baring, humbling experience for anyone who has ever felt ‘othered’.”
—Courtney, Customer Service
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Party of One
“Not only does this completely quench my (and everyone’s) thirst for ’90s MTV nostalgia, but PARTY OF ONE is the essential music lover’s memoir. No matter what genre you love, no matter what era you grew up in, Dave Holmes can make every single person appreciate the humanity and empathy in music, and how it relates to their lives.”
—Shannon, Customer Service
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Dark Matter
“This book had more twists and turns than I could count! It was an engaging, surprising read and I loved it. Definitely different from all the other books I’ve read this year.”
—Jennifer, Crown Production
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The Whole Town’s Talking
“This is a delicious, uplifting and thought provoking novel about truly living, leaving a legacy and what it means to build something from scratch- a relationship, a town, a life…. Perhaps it isn’t until after life, that we can truly understand. Flagg’s Sweedish gentleman, Lordor Nordstrom, his mail order bride, Katrina, their friends and the generations that follow give us a surprising glimpse into the truly extraordinary that is born from the absolutely ordinary.”
—Linda, Audio
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What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
“A seductively strange collection of magical realism—emphasis on the “magical.” The premises of the intertwining stories are nothing short of fantastical, while the book’s emotional core is unmistakably real.”
—Sarah, PPG
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Anna and the Swallow Man
“This book is tender, poetic, visionary, and highly literary. I gave copies to many friends last winter, and they are still telling me how much they love it.”
—Jenny, Random House Children’s Copyediting
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Little Nothing
“This is a completely immersive and gorgeous story about belonging and home and love–and just the right amount of magical realism. And with the decadent jacket, it’s truly a beautiful reading experience that defies explanation.”
—Jennifer, Knopf Editorial
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Spontaneous
“Wildly inventive, with a fresh teenage voice and a true-to-life female friendship at the center, SPONTANEOUS feels like an instant YA classic. Its exploration of how we react to tragedy hits the stages of grief in a poignant way filled with black humor and the exact appropriate amount of teenage angst.”
—Hannah, PRY Subrights
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City of Blades
“A brilliant sophomore novel that expands and redefines the mythology and world Bennett builds in his first novel, City of Stairs. It’s the best fantasy series I’ve read in years, a genuine mix of every element fantasy fans love and a good introduction to the genre for hesitant genre readers. I recommend it to everyone I know!”
—Amanda, Field Sales/Library Marketing
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Dark Money
“A detailed exploration (expose) of how corporate money has been, and is continuing to be, used to implement conservative and anti-regulation political agendas, changing the shape of all areas of the US political and social landscape. Important, scary, illuminating.”
—Naomi, RH Children’s Editorial
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The Girl Before
“Rena Olsen’s debut literally gave me goosebumps. The psychological twists in this novel are abundant, but what truly stands out is the fact that as the main character recounts her life, she begins to realize how fractured it all was. Olsen does a fantastic job of setting the scene and making the reader feel for Clara and the struggles she has to go through as a victim who in some ways becomes an offender.”
—Maggie, Ad/Promo
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First Comes Love
“A deep-dive look into the bond between two sisters, forever changed by a heartbreaking accident in their family’s past. I love Emily Giffin’s novels and flew through FIRST COMES LOVE in a weekend, but the emotional impact of this story stayed with me long after I put it down.”
—Emily, Random House Children’s Publicity
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Behold the Dreamers
“Such a sweet, heartbreaking book about the American dream and who can have it. Helped me understand the modern immigrant path.”
—Kris, Doubleday Editorial
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Valley of the Moon
“Brilliant writing! Engaging. Immersive. Had trouble putting it down.”
—Sharon, Accounts Payable
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Modern Romance
“A very funny read! It really hits on today’s world of romance and how technology and culture and more as changed our romantic lives. I could easily relate to what Aziz Ansari was saying which makes it all the more funny because what he is saying is very true! He provides a in-depth research and social experiments on today’s romance, a must read!”
—Courtney, Customer Service
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The Nix
“The Nix is a near perfect epic family saga spanning generations and continents with the depth of plot and character of a John Irving novel and loveably neurotic protagonists reminiscent of Philip Roth’s. I tore through this enormous book while at times laughing out loud, crying actual tears, audibly gasping, and marveling at Nathan Hill’s incredible writing ability.”
—Erica, Marketing
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The Assistants
“Hilarious and smart. This is a book that screams the rallying cry for the leagues of overeducated and underpaid women who are asking themselves, How is it that after all these years, we are still assistants?”
—Emily, Marketing
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The Handmaid’s Tale
“First published over thirty years ago, The Handmaid’s Tale could not be more timely today. Margaret Atwood has seamlessly created a world where women have no rights, and a totalitarian theocracy now rules what was once the United States. I’m sorry I waited so long to read it!”
—Michael, Field Sales
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Born a Crime
“Compelling and comically sublime story of Trevor’s coming-of-age, set during the apartheid and the days of freedom that followed.”
—Darlene, Audio
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White Tears
“Two ambitious young musicians are drawn into the dark underworld of blues record collecting, haunted by the ghosts of a repressive past.”
—Darlene, Audio
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A Gentleman in Moscow
“This timeless classic has gone to the top of my favorites list. Witty, beautiful, and heatfelt, this novel is perfect for this holiday season.”
—Jacqueline, International Sales
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Break in Case of Emergency
“A scathing, hysterically clever and ultimately fulfilling sendup of the eccentricities of modern workplace culture. I read it in one sitting and only wished there was more!”
—Erin, RHG Subrights
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The Wolf Road
“This is easily one of the most beautifully written novels I have ever read. Lewis expertly crafts an unimaginable and gruesome story told with gorgeous language—topped off with one of the most memorable character’s in recent times. Smart, inspiring, and powerful, this is a book I will read over and over again.”
—Maureen, Library Marketing
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The Reader
“Heartfelt and ambitious, THE READER is as much a gripping adventure as it is a love letter to the written word.”
—Sam, PYR subrights
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Behold the Dreamers
“A heartbreaking, yet timely look at the immigrant experience in this country.”
—Samia, Inventory
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The Association of Small Bombs
“This novel about the fictional aftermath of one of the myriad “small” bombs that go off around the world each year is not only beautifully written, it’s a compassionate and eye-opening look at terrorism from every perspective.”
—Jessica, Viking & Riverhead Marketing
