Capping off the year with the 10 best books of December
The selections this month bring readers to armchair destinations and deeper insights. From sweeping historical novels to close-ups of colorful and sometimes prickly personalities, these are the books to keep you company this season.听听
1. Beasts of a Little Land听by Juhea Kim
Courtesans, opportunists, and occupiers cross paths in Juhea Kim鈥檚 rich sweep of a story. Set during the decades of Japan鈥檚 brutal takeover of Korea, the tale centers on best friends Jade and Lotus, as they grow up, apart, and into themselves amid dire circumstances. 鈥淧eople are brave in different ways,鈥� affirms Jade鈥檚 lifelong admirer JungHo, a sentiment that infuses the book.
2. Where You Come From听by Sa拧a Stani拧ic
鈥淒igression is my mode of writing,鈥� declares the narrator of Sa拧a Stani拧ic鈥檚 confident, careening novel. Bouncing between the present in the narrator鈥檚 adopted Germany and his recollections of childhood in pre-war Yugoslavia, the book packs in history, legend, and current events, plus a poignant choose-your-own-adventure ending.
Why We Wrote This
Our 10 picks for this month include books that convey bravery in the midst of hardship, wonder at the beauty and fragility of nature, and curiosity over two enigmatic figures: screen star Greta Garbo and street photographer Vivian Maier.
3. The Cat Who Saved Books听by Sosuke Natsukawa
This charming Japanese tale celebrates life and books through the transformation of a reclusive teenage boy named Rintaro. He鈥檚 been tasked with closing his grandfather鈥檚 bookshop, which has provided a refuge. When a talking tabby cat enlists Rintaro to help save books for humankind, the story highlights how courage, compassion, and connection to others brings rewards.
4. The Spanish Daughter听by Lorena Hughes
Betrayal, secrets, and chocolate fuel this transporting page turner from Lorena Hughes. Puri, sporting a fake beard and her late husband鈥檚 suits, disembarks in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with sweaty palms and sundry purposes 鈥� disentangling an inheritance, tracking a murderer, and confronting siblings she鈥檚 never met. Set amid the early 20th-century cacao boom, the novel gently comments on the confines of gender, while asking if goodness is innate or learned.
5. Just Haven鈥檛 Met You Yet听by听Sophie Cousens
Sophie Cousens鈥� refreshingly kooky rom-com pokes mild fun at romantic daydreams. Laura, a lifestyle journalist in London, thinks she may have found The One in a handsome stranger who disappears with her suitcase on Jersey Island, where she鈥檚 researching her parents鈥� love story.听
6. The Sea Trilogy听by Rachel Carson
This gorgeous Library of America volume collects 鈥淯nder the Sea-Wind,鈥� 鈥淭he Sea Around Us,鈥� and 鈥淭he Edge of the Sea,鈥� in which the firebrand ecological whistleblower听Rachel Carson shifts her narrative tone from warning to wonder, writing some of her most luminous prose about the strange, liminal space between the sea and the land 鈥� and the fragility of both.听
7. Vivian Maier Developed听by Ann Marks
Vivian Maier was posthumously hailed as one of the great 20th-century street photographers after her massive portfolio was discovered in an abandoned storage locker in Chicago. Ann Marks鈥� fascinating biography features Maier鈥檚 work and also explores why the enigmatic artist, who worked as a nanny for decades, never sought to share her photographs.听
8. Garbo听by Robert Gottlieb
In this entertaining biography, Robert Gottlieb assesses screen legend Greta Garbo鈥檚 film career with insight and wit while also exploring the enduring enigma of her early retirement and retreat from the public eye.
9. Disruption听by Aki J. Peritz
During the summer of 2006, British security services, with the assistance of the CIA, foiled what would have been the most devastating terrorist attack since 9/11: an Al Qaeda plot to detonate bombs on seven commercial transatlantic flights. 鈥淒isruption鈥� is Aki J. Peritz鈥檚 meticulous, riveting history of this plot, from the radicalization of the perpetrators to their sentencing in a British courtroom.
10. Making Darkness Light听by Joe Moshenska
Oxford University professor Joe Moshenska traces the 17th-century English poet鈥檚 life but also reflects on the profound effect of Milton鈥檚 work on Moshenska鈥檚 own life as a reader and a scholar. This revelatory biography is inventive, erudite, and personal.
