17 Books You Need to Read in 2017

From the author of "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" we meet Eleanor Flood, who wakes up one day determined to be her best self, and then... life happens. With all the artistic madness, genius plotting, and bold social observation that made Bernadette such a hit, this is a laugh-out-loud funny and heart filled, day-in-the-life romp filtered through Maria Semple's brilliant, microscopic eye.

Spanning five decades, Commonwealth explores how a chance encounter reverberates through the lives of four parents and six children involved. A shared childhood becomes the basis for a wildly successful book, ultimately forcing them to come to terms with their losses, their guilt, and the deeply loyal connection they feel for one another.

Moonglow unfolds as the deathbed confession, made to his grandson, that spans from the Jewish slums of prewar South Philadelphia to the invasion of Germany, from a Florida retirement village to the penal utopia of New York’s Wallkill Prison, from the heyday of the space program to the twilight of “the American Century.” Moonglow collapses an era into a single life and a lifetime into a single week.

Ghostland takes readers on a road trip through some of the country's most infamously haunted places--and deep into the dark side of our history. Spellbinding, scary, and wickedly insightful, Ghostland discovers the past we're most afraid to speak of aloud in the bright light of day is the same past that tends to linger in the ghost stories we whisper in the dark.

Over the past seven years, Bruce Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life, bringing to these pages the same honesty, humor, and originality found in his songs. Born to Run will be revelatory for anyone who has ever enjoyed Bruce Springsteen, but this book is much more than a legendary rock star’s memoir.

A definitive cultural history of glam and glitter rock, celebrating its outlandish fashion and outrageous stars, including David Bowie and Alice Cooper, and tracking its vibrant legacy in contemporary pop. Simon Reynolds takes you on a wild cultural tour and shows how the original glam artists’ obsessions with fame, extreme fashion, and theatrical excess continue to reverberate through contemporary pop culture.

At the start of summer in Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s, a lonely and thoughtful teenager sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader.

At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.

Japanese organizational consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly declutter your home once, you'll never have to do it again. With detailed guidance for every type of item in the household, this quirky little manual will help readers clear their clutter and enjoy the unique magic of a tidy home--and the calm, motivated mindset it can inspire.

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity.

In this brilliant, hilarious, and at times shocking debut, Mona Awad simultaneously skewers the body image-obsessed culture that tells women they have no value outside their physical appearance, and delivers a tender and moving depiction of a lovably difficult young woman whose life is hijacked by her struggle to conform.

Natasha believes in science and facts, not fate, destiny or dreams. Daniel has always been the good son, the good student, living up to his parents’ high expectations - never the poet. But when Daniel sees Natasha, he forgets about all that.

Love Warrior is the story of one marriage, but it is also the story of the healing that is possible for any of us when we refuse to settle for good enough and begin to face pain and love head-on. This chronicle of a beautiful, brutal journey speaks to anyone who yearns for deeper, truer relationships and a more abundant, authentic life.

Based on years of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data, Evicted transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploitation, while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating, uniquely American problem.

With over 500,000 readers a month at her enormously popular blog, Luvvie Ajayi has become a go-to source for smart takes on pop culture. I'm Judging You is her debut book of humorous essays that dissects our cultural obsessions and calls out bad behavior in our increasingly digital, connected lives.

This special edition of Cravings by Chrissy Teigen features 7 all-new recipes for cocktails Chrissy loves to serve her friends, plus exclusive behind-the-scenes photography from the book's photoshoot.

Sarah Andersen confronts the head-on the horrors, anxiety, and awkwardness of modern adult life. Sarah's total frankness on extremely personal issues such as body image, self-consciousness, introversion, relationships, and bra-washing makes her comics highly relatable and consistently hilarious.