Catherine Lacey’s novella-memoir hybrid invites readers to consider life as a Mobius strip, in which fiction and autobiography echo each other across pages and time. ... Read full Story
Edgar Award-winner Gillian French’s adult debut is a riveting, thrilling and wild mystery starring a hard-edged yet nurturing fingerprint analyst. ... Read full Story
The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog explores how duck penises explain evolution, rats in vests save lives and cockroaches are (basically) engineers—and why these scientific discoveries matter. ... Read full Story
Erica Peplin brings a knack for character and an incisive wit to this slice-of-life story about a jaded New York City queer woman and an unexpected love triangle. ... Read full Story
These Heathens is a whirlwind exploration of the myriad changes that characterized the early 1960s, told through the humorous and deeply personal voice of a small-town teenager. ... Read full Story
Heather Clark’s phenomenal debut novel, The Scrapbook, is worthy of reading and rereading, serving up romance, history and political philosophy in ways that could hardly be more relevant. ... Read full Story
The Salmon Cannon and the Levitating Frog playfully and pointedly advocates for increased understanding of “silly science”—and the ways curiosity-driven discoveries have immeasurably improved our lives. ... Read full Story
Michelle Huneven’s engaging and supremely satisfying fifth novel, Bug Hollow, explores a family’s attempts to rebuild their shattered world after a shocking loss. ... Read full Story
Readers of nonfiction know that histories and biographies provide plenty of thrills. Reading them can feel like excavating a lost civilization. This year, outstanding books by Imani Perry, Ron Chernow, Barbara Demick and more changed the way we see the world. ... Read full Story
With the irresistible pacing of a thriller, Rich Cohen’s Murder in the Dollhouse chronicles the relationship of Connecticut mother Jennifer Dulos and her estranged husband—who was accused of her murder. ... Read full Story
Tiffany Francis-Baker’s delightful Microseasons invites readers to slow down and appreciate nature by observing the traditional 72 Japanese microseasons. ... Read full Story
The spare prose and lush illustrations of What If We . . . pull readers into the siblings’ story, while visual and lexical echoes are satisfying to see and read. ... Read full Story
Claire Lebourg’s signature blend of wryly humorous text and finely rendered, offbeat illustrations make Have a Good Trip, Mousse! an adventure to treasure and remember. ... Read full Story
Fireworks is a wonderful book to read aloud and pore over, thanks to its energizing wordplay and immersive art—and an excellent way to pass the time until fireworks beckon our gazes skyward once again. ... Read full Story
Gus and Glory are two funny, poignant, memorable characters in a moving and hopeful tale about a transformative time in a girl’s life, and the ways in which she and her dog leave those around them forever changed as well. ... Read full Story
"The Air Medal is awarded to anyone who distinguishes themselves through meritorious achievement while flying." — Rick Mauch, The Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram, 6 Mar. 2025
Did you know?
People who demonstrate meritorious behavior certainly earn our respect, and you can use that fact to remember that meritorious has its roots in the Latin verb merēre, which means "to earn." (Merēre is also the source of the English noun and verb merit.) Nowadays, the rewards earned for meritorious acts are likely to be of an immaterial nature—gratitude, admiration, praise, etc.—but that wasn't always so. The history of meritorious recalls a reward more concrete in nature: cold, hard cash. In Latin, meritorious literally means "bringing in money."