海角大神

1听King: A Life,听by Jonathan Eig

This major new biography of Martin Luther King Jr. benefits from a trove of newly available sources, from declassified FBI files to recently discovered audiotapes recorded by King鈥檚 widow, Coretta Scott King. In elegant prose, Eig presents King in full, capturing both the heroism and the frailties of the civil rights icon.

2听You Have To Be Prepared To Die Before You Can Begin To Live,听by Paul Kix

Journalist Paul Kix has written a riveting account of the Southern 海角大神 Leadership Conference鈥檚 daring 1963 campaign to dismantle segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. He describes the courage not only of celebrated movement leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. but also of everyday men, women, and children fighting for racial equality.

3听Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire,听by Clare Frank

The path to becoming a firefighter is arduous, especially for a young woman who must contend with gear scaled to fit men, as well as colleagues who believe women should not do this work watching for any misstep. None of this stopped Clare Frank, who recounts her climb from underage rookie to one of California鈥檚 highest-ranking fire chiefs.听

4听The Perfumist of Paris,听by Alka Joshi

The glorious finale to the Jaipur Trilogy (鈥淭he Henna Artist鈥�) finds Rhada living in 1976 Paris, wife to an architect, mother to two daughters and a secret son she left in India. Rhada鈥檚 emotionally charged past upends her world. Rich in evocative French and Indian cultures, 鈥淭he Perfumist of Paris鈥� celebrates artistic spirit and familial reconciliation.

5 You Are Here,听by Karin Lin-Greenberg

At a moribund mall in Albany, a restless hairdresser, her magic-loving son, a cranky bigot, and a shlumpy young father work, shop, ... and judge. Then a shooting pierces the listless routine. Well-drawn characters, spot-on dialogue, and an emphasis on the sustaining power of community make this kindhearted debut a winner.

6听Honeybees and Distant Thunder,听by Riku Onda, translated by Philip Gabriel

In Yoshigae, Japan, musicians gather for a high-stakes piano competition. Cosmopolitan Masaru, former prodigy Aya, modest Akashi, and unsettling Jin all vie for prizes. As points of view shift, the event鈥檚 intense emotions and rivalries come alive. Onda鈥檚 lilting, lovely tale celebrates the classical canon and friendships that flower among competitors.

7听Hula,听by Jasmin 鈥業olani Hakes

It鈥檚 1968, and Laka, a hula dancing legend, has returned to the Big Island after two years, a pale baby in her arms. Hakes鈥� vigorous saga, filled with the stories of hula and the hurts of history, astonishes. 鈥淲e are not landscape, shadows in a postcard,鈥� the narrator insists, a truth the novel makes clear.

8听The Paper Man,听by Billy O鈥機allaghan

Irishman Jack Shine, orphaned at 11, excavates the history of his parents鈥� romance in 1938 Vienna. As clues emerge about his father Matthias, a genius footballer, and his mother Rebekah, a Jewish woman, Jack鈥檚 world upends. O鈥機allaghan writes beautifully, whether enraptured by Matthias鈥� gameplay or urging forgiveness for one鈥檚 ancestors.听

9听The Late Mrs. Willoughby,听by Claudia Gray

Two scions of Jane Austen鈥檚 romances, Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney, team up to clear Marianne Brandon鈥檚 name in Claudia Gray鈥檚 elegantly appointed sequel to 鈥淭he Murder of Mr. Wickham.鈥� Witty observations abound, as do suspects. The romance between our very proper sleuths is not quite a slow burn 鈥� more a sedate simmer. The solution lies in past hurts. As Jonathan says, 鈥淩esentment is, I believe, an even more insidious poison than arsenic.鈥�

10听The Secret Book of Flora Lea,听by Patti Callahan Henry

Evacuated from London during the Blitz, sisters Hazel and Flora create Whisperwood, an enchanting land that brings them strength, until Flora disappears. Twenty years later, Hazel discovers a fairytale book that might hold the key to finding Flora. The novel is a fascinating ode to storytelling, family, first love, and resilient hearts.