The Best, Most Talked-About Books of 2024 (So Far)

In his celebrated poems, Iranian-American writer Kaveh Akbar examines deeply personal topics—addiction, the feeling of displacement, and identity. With his touching debut novel, Martyr!, Akbar explores these themes further through his protagonist Cyrus—a newly sober, orphaned Iranian immigrant. Obsessed with the concept of martyrdom, Cyrus searches for a family secret that leads him to unexpected places physically, spiritually, and regarding his complicated lineage.

In Kiley Reid’s 2019 bestselling debut, Such a Fun Age, the author explored the uncomfortable relationship between a young Black babysitter and her privileged white employer. With Come and Get It, Reid turns her focus to a modern college campus in Arkansas, where discussions of money, race, class, and gender happen organically given the melting pot nature of academia. Told through the three perspectives of a visiting professor recovering from a breakup, a young resident advisor laser-focused on saving for a down payment on a home, and a clueless transfer student running from an embarrassing incident at her last school, Come and Get It is filled with incisive observations on the different versions of the American dream that drive us, and how we each choose to get there.

Tommy Orange, a Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe member from Oakland, burst onto the literary scene with his 2018 debut novel There, There, which became a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize. Its follow-up, Wandering Stars, is part prequel, part sequel to the story, revisiting several of its characters. The tale takes place over a century, chronicling the events of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre and the devastating impact of the forced assimilation of Native children wrought by institutions like the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. It continues into the 21st century, where a new generation of young Native Americans grapples with the legacy of generational trauma and addiction. With Wandering Stars, Orange again delivers a powerful narrative steeped in historical context and cultural commentary.

This heartfelt debut from New Zealand author Rebecca K Reilly captures the messy, complicated realities and anxieties of 21st-century young adulthood. Narrated alternately by Auckland-based queer sister and brother (Greta and Valdin), the two protagonists face their share of modern foibles—from dipping into the dating pool after a breakup to unexpected run-ins with exes and the relentless self-consciousness of being on dating apps. They also come from a sprawling, Maori-Russian-Catalonian family—many of whom also happen to be queer. Like its characters, Greta & Valdin defies categorization, inviting readers to relish in endearingly chaotic family connections and the lifelong search for purpose and love.

The award-winning, bestselling author of books like Mr. Fox and Peaces, returns with her eighth novel, Parasol Against the Axe. Born in Nigeria and raised in South London, Oyeyemi has called Prague home since 2013, and Parasol marks the first time she’s set one of her stories in the Czech capital. While many of Oyeyemi’s past works have played on the concept of fairy tales—with 2014’s Boy, Snow, Bird reworking “Snow White” and 2019’s Gingerbread a modern take on “Hansel and Gretel”—Parasol questions the boundaries between fact and fiction, and how the truth itself can change depending on who is telling or it, or where it’s being told.

A story told from three different points of view, Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a masterfully complex exploration of the intersection of art, commerce, gender, and race. Third-year art history student Raquel is navigating the delicate social hierarchies of an Ivy League School (where Raquel is first-generation), when she discovers the work of Cuban-American conceptual artist Anita de Monte for her thesis project. A New York City art star of her time, Anita died mysteriously in 1985, her legacy quickly forgotten. Like Raquel, she was in a relationship with a powerful older white man in the art world, for which she faced backlash, criticism, and suspicion from his privileged friends. The novel is told from Raquel, Anita, and her (potentially murderous, definitely narcissistic) husband Jack’s perspectives, seamlessly jumping between timelines, social commentary, and thriller-level intrigue. As Raquel learns more about Anita, she finds undeniable parallels between herself and the deceased artist, and despite the decades between them, sees that some things never change.

The Nobel Prize-winning Gabriel García Marquez changed the world forever with novels like One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. Now, ten years after the celebrated Colombian author’s death, a posthumous printing of his last novel offers one final story of love and regret. In Until August, Ana Magdalena Bach makes a yearly pilgrimage to the island where her mother is buried. Though happily married, her annual tradition includes taking a new lover for the night. Until August is a sensual contemplation on time, freedom, and self-transformation from one of the world’s greatest writers.

After the wild success of 2023’s Oscar-winning American Fiction (based on Percival Everett’s 2015 novel Erasure), you won't want to miss the cult favorite author’s electric new work. A reimagining of Mark Twain’s 1884 masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Everett’s James flips the classic narrative. Told from the perspective of Jim, the novel’s enslaved runaway, rather than the young Huck, James completely reimagines one-half of Finn’s famous duo, elevating him from unwitting sidekick to reluctant hero. Everett is a master in working with historical figures, including 2009’s I Am Not Sydney Poitier and 2004’s A History of the African-American People (Proposed) by Strom Thurmond, as Told to Percival Everett and James Kincaid. Everett brings that laser-sharp wit to James, creating a radical new American adventure.

Inventive Gen Z writer Honor Levy has been making waves in the literary world since 2020 when both The New Yorker and cult indie press Tyrant Books published her kaleidoscopic flash fiction (she was just 21 at the time). Now, Levy is releasing her aptly-titled debut, My First Book, a collection of surreal short stories about characters grappling with the existential questions and formative romantic experiences of youth, against the chaotic background of the digital age.

After nearly a decade, bestselling author, director, screenwriter, and actor Miranda July returns with the novel All Fours. The sharply funny book tells the story of a 45-year-old woman who in a bit of midlife mania embarks on a solo road trip from LA to NYC, leaving her husband and young daughter behind. Just thirty minutes into her journey, she pulls into a motel and finds herself drawn to the young man working at a nearby rental car counter and his girlfriend, too. In typical July form, All Fours focuses on the boundary lines of human connection and sexuality, in this case, while exploring the desires and creative instincts of a woman in the transitional time of middle age. July enters this territory with humor and heart, leaving readers with plenty to chew on.

Following the success of her bestselling debut Bad Summer People—a wild tale about a group of close-knit but possibly murderous friends vacationing on Fire Island—Emma Rosenblum is back with Very Bad Company. This time, Rosenblum (who is the chief content officer of BDG) presents a cast of tech executives misbehaving on an exclusive company retreat in Miami. When a top employee dies on the first night, the week of brainstorming and team building leads to a journey into the company’s (and its employees’) dark secrets. With its comedic send-up of corporate dynamics and culture, Very Bad Company is another irresistible summer read.

In this satirical novel, Anna Dorn (author of 2022’s Exalted) tells the story of Astrid Dahl, a Los Angeles-based writer attempting to both resuscitate her flailing career and find true love—two tasks made harder by the fact that she’s been sort of canceled among her community and is highly self-destructive. Still, Astrid throws herself into distraction, befriending and dating several women simultaneously, and trying her best not to sabotage a major moment of professional redemption. Dorn’s writing is a nod to 1950s lesbian pulp fiction, heavy in melodrama, humor, and self-deprecation.

From the acclaimed author of Brown Album and Sick comes Tehrangeles, a Kardashian-coded story about a successful Iranian-American family living in the Hollywood Hills on the verge of landing a reality show. Parents Ali and Homa Milani run a microwavable snack empire, and their four daughters fit into familiar archetypes of the times: model, influencer, health fanatic, and chronically online overachiever. As the prospect of reality TV fame looms over their McMansion like a promising storm cloud, the family must face their deepest secrets and reevaluate what it means to be a family.

Liz Riggs’s debut novel, Lo Fi, is a tribute to those early, unvarnished days in a young creative’s life before the big break comes and the dream of success is still a distant mirage. Set in Riggs’s home of Nashville, Lo Fi’s protagonist Alison Hunter is a young, aspiring artist working nights in a sweaty nightclub where everyone is somehow involved in the music industry. Like a sultry country song itself, Lo Fi sees Hunter navigate her way through dating, heartbreak, and difficult but transformational decisions.

This vibrant anthology edited by New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander brings together the works of some of the most groundbreaking contemporary Black poets writing today—like Jericho Brown, Warsan Shire, Rita Dove, and Ross Gay—to celebrate diverse perspectives and poetic expression.

In a moment where many are reevaluating their relationship with the natural world, this collection of poems by 50 celebrated contemporary writers reflects on just that topic. Published in association with the Library of Congress, and edited by Ada Límon, the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, You Are Here challenges readers to rethink what they know about “nature poetry,” as both the poetic landscape and the literal landscape of the world are currently changing before our very eyes.

The second collection from acclaimed Indigenous New Zealand writer Tayi Tibbl, Rangikura encourages readers to question their relationship to desire and exploitation. Written with Māori moteatea, purakau, and karakia (chants, legends, and prayers) in mind, Rangikura explores how the past haunts us, even when we try to escape it.

Celebrity manager Ashleah Gonzales first became known for her great taste in books; as Kendall Jenner’s agent, Gonzales’s reading recommendations went viral after the top model was photographed around the world, toting alt-lit finds stamped with Gonzales’s trademark turquoise sticky notes. Now, Gonzales has her first collection of poems on the way, via Chelsea Hodson’s small but trendy press, Rose Books.

After the success of 2017’s Since I Laid My Burden Down and 2022’s prize-winning 100 Boyfriends, musician, dancer, and writer Brontez Purnell is back with Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt, a collection of 38 pieces exploring themes like sexuality, generational trauma, and the ethics of art. A queer artist from Oakland by way of Alabama, Purnell infuses his avant-garde, punk rock ethos into the medium of memoir, playing on the genre with a mixture of poetic humor, brilliant cultural criticism, and empathetic clarity.

In her eighth book (and first memoir), Sloane Crosley brings her talent for keen observation to the thorny topic of grief. In 2019, a month after her apartment was burglarized, resulting in the loss of a precious family heirloom, Crosley’s dear friend and publishing mentor died by suicide. This chain of events inspired Grief Is For People, a meditation on loss organized by the five famous stages of grief: denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and afterward (in place of acceptance). As Crosley investigates what happened to her stolen things, she also retreads her relationship with her friend, combing through text messages and replaying exchanges in her head, searching for clues she might’ve missed. With biting wit, Crosley ties in the societal effects of the pandemic, making the project of understanding grief both universal and deeply personal.

Drag icon and TV mogul RuPaul takes readers behind the makeup, wigs, and six-inch heels with his first memoir, recounting his life story from growing up as a queer Black kid in San Diego to finding his identity as an artist in the punk and drag scenes of Atlanta and New York. Filled with witty Ruisms and reflections on life—including his hard-earned journey to sobriety and self-love (If you don’t love yourself, how the hell are you gonna love somebody else? as his famous tagline goes)—The House of Hidden Meanings is a moving memoir and a peek inside the entertainment industry over several decades of profound change.

Judith Butler is no stranger to publishing groundbreaking works. The American philosopher’s iconic 1990 book, Gender Trouble, became a mainstay on university syllabuses, radically shifting how many think about traditional gender roles and sexuality, after all. Now, Butler’s latest work explores how fear and discomfort around these very topics is fueling a global rise in reactionary politics—and offers solutions to combat the growing intolerance of individual differences.

From acclaimed biographer Cynthia Carr comes the first full look at queer icon and Andy Warhol collaborator, Candy Darling. The biography celebrates Darling’s life, legacy, and contributions to art and counterculture before her untimely death at 29 from leukemia in 1974. Known for her boundary-pushing, fearless spirit, Darling had a wild list of achievements, like inspiring songs by Lou Reed and the Rolling Stones and performing alongside Tennessee Williams in his play, Small Craft Warnings. (It’s a big year for Candy fans, as a biopic starring Hari Nef is also in the works).

Morgan Parker’s poetic sensibility is at the forefront in You Get What You Pay For, her debut collection of essays. The award-winning author of poetry collections like 2017’s There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé and 2019’s Magical Negro, Parker draws on both her personal experiences—with writing, therapy, beauty culture, and relationships, for instance—as well as bigger cultural phenomena, like the complex legacy of Serena Williams and Bill Cosby’s fall from grace, to reflect on Black women’s experiences throughout American history.

Fashion writer, editor, and consultant Kristen Bateman and designer Jeremy Scott teamed up for Fashion’s Big Night Out, a detailed look at the history of the Met Gala from its relatively tame inception in 1984 to becoming the splashiest most-talked about sartorial event each year. Behind-the-scenes images give a peek into what goes into making the glittering extravaganza come together while highlighting the gala’s most iconic fashion moments.

Bikini Kill and Le Tigre frontwoman Kathleen Hanna delivers a searing memoir in which the pioneering punk icon recalls her journey through music and activism as a founding member of the riot grrrl movement. Hanna recounts her rocky childhood through her early years in the music scene, making clear that playing in a punk girl band came with its fair share of challenges, like being at the receiving end of brutal criticism and actual violence. Still, she makes the case for hope and resilience in the face of hardship—illustrated by her meaningful relationships with her bandmates and friends, like Kurt Cobain and Kim Gordon, and the lasting positive impact of her work.

When you go viral for a scathing 5,000-word review of a writer in your milieu (in this case, Lauren Oyler crashing the London Review of Books website with her 2020 takedown of fellow millennial essayist Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror), your work is bound to draw its own level of scrutiny. With her new collection of essays, No Judgment, Oyler is self-aware in her observations, covering at length, for instance, the dominance of autofiction over the last decade, a genre that Oyler explored with her 2021 debut novel, Fake Accounts. It’s rare that young writers get the chance to go this granular on topics of their choosing; with, No Judgment Oyler takes this advantage and runs with it, diving into subjects like the utility of gossip, anxiety, life in her now-home city of Berlin, and the rise of the star rating system for books—or, the act of reviewing itself.

Halfway through the pandemic, Glynnis MacNicol, aged 46, found herself exhausted from the isolation of living alone during lockdown. When travel opened up and she was able to return to a Parisian apartment she’d sublet in the past, MacNicol, unmarried and childfree fled to France and embarked upon a journey of radical pleasure filled with good friends, good food, good wine, and good sex. I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself is an intimate account of that time as MacNicol finds purposeful, decadent joy beyond the confines of society’s expectations.

Just as soon as the body positivity and body neutrality movements of the late 2010s seemed here to stay, trends like the surge in celebrity use of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, the Y2K fashion revival, and “pro-ana” (pro-eating disorder) Tumblr culture migrating to TikTok indicate the pop culture pendulum may be swinging back towards the skinny glorification of recent past decades. With More Please, writer Emma Specter takes a clear-eyed look at this fraught relationship with body image and food, blending memoir with cultural commentary and reported interviews to dive into topics like wellness culture, dangerous dieting practices, and the ongoing American obsession with thinness.

Artist and writer Anna Marie Tendler unwittingly found her life splashed across the headlines in 2022 following her highly publicized divorce from comedian John Mulaney. Now, Tendler is releasing a powerful memoir recounting her experiences in her own words, from unrequited high school love to being hospitalized for depression, anxiety, and self-harm, to dating and family planning in her 30s. By reclaiming her story, Tendler questions the unreasonable expectations placed on all women in the modern era.