Dwight Garner, Jennifer Szalai and Alexandra Jacobs — staff critics for The New York Times Book Review — join host Gilbert Cruz to look back on highlights from their year in books.Books discussed:"Intermezzo," by Sally Rooney"All Fours," by Miranda July"You Dreamed of Empires," by Álvaro Enrigue"When the Clock Broke," by John Ganz"Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring," by Brad Gooch"Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood's Hidden Genius," by Carrie Courogen"My Beloved Monster," by Caleb Carr"Rejection," by Tony Tulathimutte"Beautyland," by Marie-Helene Bertino"Free and Equal: A Manifesto for a Just Society," by Daniel Chandler"Seeing Through: A Chronicle of Sex, Drugs and Opera," by Ricky Ian Gordon
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at <a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Dwight Garner, Jennifer Szalai and Alexandra Jacobs — staff critics for The New York Times Book Review — join host Gilbert Cruz to look back on highlights from their year in books.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Books discussed:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Intermezzo," by Sally Rooney&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"All Fours," by Miranda July&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"You Dreamed of Empires," by Álvaro Enrigue&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"When the Clock Broke," by John Ganz&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring," by Brad Gooch&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood's Hidden Genius," by Carrie Courogen&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"My Beloved Monster," by Caleb Carr&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Rejection," by Tony Tulathimutte&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Beautyland," by Marie-Helene Bertino&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Free and Equal: A Manifesto for a Just Society," by Daniel Chandler&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Seeing Through: A Chronicle of Sex, Drugs and Opera," by Ricky Ian Gordon&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at &lt;a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts"&gt;nytimes.com/podcasts&lt;/a&gt; or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Dwight Garner, Jennifer Szalai and Alexandra Jacobs — staff critics for The New York Times Book Review — join host Gilbert Cruz to look back on highlights from their year in books.

Our Book Critics On Their Year in Reading

Following our Top 10 Books of 2024 episode, we are re-running our book club discussion about one of the novels on our year-end list: "Good Material."How to explain the British writer Dolly Alderton to an American audience? It might be best to let her work speak for itself — it certainly does! — but Alderton is such a cultural phenomenon in her native England that some context is probably helpful: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/27/books/review/good-material-dolly-alderton.html" target="_blank">“Like Nora Ephron, With a British Twist”</a> is the way The New York Times Book Review put it when we reviewed her latest novel, “Good Material,” earlier this year.“Good Material” tells the story of a down-on-his-luck stand-up comic dealing with a broken heart, and it has won Alderton enthusiastic fans in America. In this episode, the Book Review’s MJ Franklin discusses the book with his colleagues Emily Eakin and Leah Greenblatt. 
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at <a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Following our Top 10 Books of 2024 episode, we are re-running our book club discussion about one of the novels on our year-end list: "Good Material."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;How to explain the British writer Dolly Alderton to an American audience? It might be best to let her work speak for itself — it certainly does! — but Alderton is such a cultural phenomenon in her native England that some context is probably helpful: &lt;a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/27/books/review/good-material-dolly-alderton.html" target="_blank"&gt;“Like Nora Ephron, With a British Twist”&lt;/a&gt; is the way The New York Times Book Review put it when we reviewed her latest novel, “Good Material,” earlier this year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;“Good Material” tells the story of a down-on-his-luck stand-up comic dealing with a broken heart, and it has won Alderton enthusiastic fans in America. In this episode, the Book Review’s MJ Franklin discusses the book with his colleagues Emily Eakin and Leah Greenblatt. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at &lt;a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts"&gt;nytimes.com/podcasts&lt;/a&gt; or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Following our Top 10 Books of 2024 episode, we are re-running our book club discussion about one of the novels on our year-end list: Dolly Alderton's "Good Material."

Book Club: Dolly Alderton's 'Good Material' (Rerun)

Don't let anyone tell you differently — end of year list time is a wonderful time, indeed. And, as we do every December, we are ready to discuss the 10 best books of the year. Host Gilbert Cruz gathers the editors of the New York Times Book Review to discuss the most exciting fiction and nonfiction of the year.The New York Times Book Review's Top 10 Books of 2024"James," by Percival Everett"You Dreamed of Empires," by Álvaro Enrigue; translated by Natasha Wimmer"Good Material," by Dolly Alderton"All Fours," by Miranda July"Martyr!," by Kaveh Akbar"The Wide Wide Sea," by Hampton Sides"Everyone Who is Gone is Here," by Jonathan Blitzer"Reagan," by Max Boot"I Heard Her Call My Name," by Lucy Sante"Cold Creamatorium," by József Debreczeni; translated by Paul Olchváry
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at <a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Don't let anyone tell you differently — end of year list time is a wonderful time, indeed. And, as we do every December, we are ready to discuss the 10 best books of the year. Host Gilbert Cruz gathers the editors of the New York Times Book Review to discuss the most exciting fiction and nonfiction of the year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The New York Times Book Review's Top 10 Books of 2024&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"James," by Percival Everett&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"You Dreamed of Empires," by Álvaro Enrigue; translated by Natasha Wimmer&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Good Material," by Dolly Alderton&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"All Fours," by Miranda July&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Martyr!," by Kaveh Akbar&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"The Wide Wide Sea," by Hampton Sides&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Everyone Who is Gone is Here," by Jonathan Blitzer&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Reagan," by Max Boot&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"I Heard Her Call My Name," by Lucy Sante&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;"Cold Creamatorium," by József Debreczeni; translated by Paul Olchváry&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at &lt;a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts"&gt;nytimes.com/podcasts&lt;/a&gt; or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Don't let anyone tell you differently — end-of-year list time is a wonderful time, indeed. And, as we do every December, we are ready to discuss the 10 best books of the year. Host Gilbert Cruz gathers the editors of the New York Times Book Review to discuss the most exciting fiction and nonfiction of the year.

The 10 Best Books of 2024

The broad outlines of "James" will be immediately familiar to anyone with even a basic knowledge of American literature: A boy named Huckleberry Finn and an enslaved man named Jim are fleeing down the Mississippi River together, each in search of his own kind of freedom.But where Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” treated Jim as a secondary character, a figure of pity and a target of fun, Percival Everett makes him the star of the show: a dignified, complicated, fully formed man capable of love and wit and rage in equal measure.In this episode from May, the Book Review’s MJ Franklin discusses the book, which was recently awarded the National Book Award, with his colleagues Joumana Khatib and Gregory Cowles.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at <a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

<description>&lt;p&gt;The broad outlines of "James" will be immediately familiar to anyone with even a basic knowledge of American literature: A boy named Huckleberry Finn and an enslaved man named Jim are fleeing down the Mississippi River together, each in search of his own kind of freedom.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But where Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” treated Jim as a secondary character, a figure of pity and a target of fun, Percival Everett makes him the star of the show: a dignified, complicated, fully formed man capable of love and wit and rage in equal measure.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this episode from May, the Book Review’s MJ Franklin discusses the book, which was recently awarded the National Book Award, with his colleagues Joumana Khatib and Gregory Cowles.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at &lt;a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts"&gt;nytimes.com/podcasts&lt;/a&gt; or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

This Thanksgiving weekend, we are re-running our roundtable conversation about Percival Everett's recent National Book Award winner for fiction.

Book Club: 'James,' by Percival Everett (Rerun)

It begins with one of the most iconic lines in literature: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”“One Hundred Years of Solitude,” Gabriel García Márquez’s magical realist parable of imperialism in Latin America, is a tale of family, community, prophesy and disaster. In this week’s episode, the Book Review’s MJ Franklin discusses the book with his colleagues Gregory Cowles and Miguel Salazar.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at <a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

<description>&lt;p&gt;It begins with one of the most iconic lines in literature: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;“One Hundred Years of Solitude,” Gabriel García Márquez’s magical realist parable of imperialism in Latin America, is a tale of family, community, prophesy and disaster. In this week’s episode, the Book Review’s MJ Franklin discusses the book with his colleagues Gregory Cowles and Miguel Salazar.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at &lt;a href="https://nytimes.com/podcasts"&gt;nytimes.com/podcasts&lt;/a&gt; or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

“One Hundred Years of Solitude,” Gabriel García Márquez’s magical realist parable of imperialism in Latin America, is a tale of family, community, prophesy and disaster. In this week’s episode, the Book Review’s MJ Franklin discusses the book with his colleagues Gregory Cowles and Miguel Salazar. 

Book Club: Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

The world's top authors and critics join host Gilbert Cruz and editors at The New York Times Book Review to talk about the week's top books, what we're reading and what's going on in the literary world.

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 

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