20 Best Books 2008 (2023 Update)

#1 new york times bestseller – over two million copies sold! it is phenomenal.”—elizabeth gilbert, author of city of girls and eat pray lovethis is how you find yourself.there is a voice of longing inside each woman. instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed. for many years, glennon doyle denied her own discontent. then, while speaking at a conference, she looked at a woman across the room and fell instantly in love. three words flooded her mind: there she is. at first, glennon assumed these words came to her from on high. but she soon realized they had come to her from within. this was her own voice—the one she had buried beneath decades of numbing addictions, cultural conditioning, and institutional allegiances. this was the voice of the girl she had been before the world told her who to be. glennon decided to quit abandoning herself and to instead abandon the world’s expectations of her. she quit being good so she could be free. she quit pleasing and started living. soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, untamed is both an intimate memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. it is the story of how one woman learned that a responsible mother is not one who slowly dies for her children, but one who shows them how to fully live. it is the story of navigating divorce, forming a new blended family, and discovering that the brokenness or wholeness of a family depends not on its structure but on each member’s ability to bring her full self to the table. untamed shows us how to be brave.

One moment june nealon was happily looking forward to years full of laughter and adventure with her family, and the next, she was staring into a future that was as empty as her heart. now her life is a waiting game. waiting for time to heal her wounds, waiting for justice. in short, waiting for a miracle to happen. for shay bourne, life holds no more surprises. the world has given him nothing, and he has nothing to offer the world. in a heartbeat, though, something happens that changes everything for him. now, he has one last chance for salvation, and it lies with june's eleven-year-old daughter, claire. but between shay and claire stretches an ocean of bitter regrets, past crimes, and the rage of a mother who has lost her child. would you give up your vengeance against someone you hate if it meant saving someone you love? would you want your dreams to come true if it meant granting your enemy's dying wish? once again, jodi picoult mesmerizes and enthralls readers with this story of redemption, justice, and love.

“an extraordinary novel . . . a triumph of insight and storytelling.” —associated press“a true masterpiece.” —glennon doyle, author of untamed an extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from the celebrated number one new york times bestselling author of the secret life of bees and the invention of wingsin her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, sue monk kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named ana. raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. she engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. an encounter with eighteen-year-old jesus changes everything. their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in nazareth, where ana makes a home with jesus, his brothers, and their mother, mary. ana's pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to rome's occupation of israel, partially led by her brother, judas. she is sustained by her fearless aunt yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. when ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history. grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, the book of longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. it is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.

The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers, soon to be a showtime/paramount series starring ewan mcgregor as count alexander rostovfrom the #1 new york times-bestselling author of the lincoln highway and rules of civility, a beautifully transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel in 1922, count alexander rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the kremlin. rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery. brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. on the heels of leaving yet another city, hannah moves back to her hometown of los angeles and takes up residence in her best friend gabby’s guestroom. shortly after getting back to town, hannah goes out to a bar one night with gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, ethan. just after midnight, gabby asks hannah if she’s ready to go. a moment later, ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. hannah hesitates. what happens if she leaves with gabby? what happens if she leaves with ethan? in concurrent storylines, hannah lives out the effects of each decision. quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for hannah, as well as the people around her. as the two alternate realities run their course, maybe in another life raises questions about fate and true love: is anything meant to be? how much in our life is determined by chance? and perhaps, most compellingly: is there such a thing as a soul mate? hannah believes there is. and, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.

In this lyrical, exuberant tale, acclaimed turkish author elif shafak, author of the island of missing trees (a reese's book club pick), incarnates rumi's timeless message of lovethe forty rules of love unfolds two tantalizing parallel narratives—one contemporary and the other set in the thirteenth century, when rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the whirling dervish known as shams of tabriz—that together explore the enduring power of rumi's work. ella rubenstein is forty years old and unhappily married when she takes a job as a reader for a literary agent. her first assignment is to read and report on sweet blasphemy, a novel written by a man named aziz zahara. ella is mesmerized by his tale of shams's search for rumi and the dervish's role in transforming the successful but unhappy cleric into a committed mystic, passionate poet, and advocate of love. she is also taken with shams's lessons, or rules, that offer insight into an ancient philosophy based on the unity of all people and religions, and the presence of love in each and every one of us. as she reads on, she realizes that rumi's story mirrors her own and that zahara—like shams—has come to set her free.

One of the bbc's '100 novels that shaped the world''who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past'hidden away in the record department of the sprawling ministry of truth, winston smith skilfully rewrites the past to suit the needs of the party. yet he inwardly rebels against the totalitarian world he lives in, which demands absolute obedience and controls him through the all-seeing telescreens and the watchful eye of big brother, symbolic head of the party. in his longing for truth and liberty, smith begins a secret love affair with a fellow-worker julia, but soon discovers the true price of freedom is betrayal.george orwell's dystopian masterpiece, nineteen eighty-four is perhaps the most pervasively influential book of the twentieth century.

A true story from raina telgemeier, the #1 new york times bestselling, multiple eisner award-winning author of smile, sisters, drama, and ghosts raina wakes up one night with a terrible upset stomach. her mom has one, too, so it's probably just a bug. raina eventually returns to school, where she's dealing with the usual highs and lows: friends, not-friends, and classmates who think the school year is just one long gross-out session. it soon becomes clear that raina's tummy trouble isn't going away… and it coincides with her worries about food, school, and changing friendships. what's going on? raina telgemeier once again brings us a thoughtful, charming, and funny true story about growing up and gathering the courage to face — and conquer — her fears.

Jennette mccurdy details how she overcame harrowing struggles as a child tv star—including anorexia and bulimia, addiction, severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and a traumatic relationship with her mother. a heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by icarly and sam & cat star jennette mccurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life. jennette mccurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. so she went along with what mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. she endured extensive at-home makeovers while mom chided, “your eyelashes are invisible, okay? you think dakota fanning doesn’t tint hers?” she was even showered by mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income. in i’m glad my mom died, jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. cast in a new nickelodeon series called icarly, she is thrust into fame. though mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“hi gale!”), jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. these issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the icarly spinoff sam & cat alongside ariana grande, her mother dies of cancer. finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants. told with refreshing candor and dark humor, i’m glad my mom died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.

Official u.s. edition with full color illustrations throughout.new york times bestsellera summer reading pick for president barack obama, bill gates, and mark zuckerberg from a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” one hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited earth. yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. what happened to the others? and what may happen to us? most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but dr. yuval noah harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. from examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.dr. harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of jared diamond, james gleick, matt ridley, robert wright, and sharon moalem.

Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made the kite runner a beloved classic, the #1 new york times bestseller a thousand splendid suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love. “just as good, if not better, than khaled hosseini’s best-selling first book, the kite runner.”—newsweek khaled hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the most important literary writers today.born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, mariam and laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. as they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. with heart-wrenching power and suspense, hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.a stunning accomplishment, a thousand splendid suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love.

Geralt the witcher–revered and hated–holds the line against the monsters plaguing humanity in this collection of adventures, the first chapter in andrzej sapkowski's groundbreaking epic fantasy series that inspired the hit netflix show and the blockbuster video games. geralt is a witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless hunter. yet he is no ordinary killer. his sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world. but not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good . . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth. witcher collections the last wish sword of destiny witcher novels blood of elves the time of contempt baptism of fire the tower of swallows lady of the lake season of storms hussite trilogy the tower of fools warriors of god translated from original polish by danusia stok

Now a netflix film starring florence pugh: in this "old-school page turner" (stephen king, new york times book review) by the bestselling author of room, an english nurse is brought to a small irish village to observe what appears to be a miracle–a girl said to have survived without food for months–and soon finds herself fighting to save the child's life. tourists flock to the cabin of eleven-year-old anna o'donnell, who believes herself to be living off manna from heaven, and a journalist is sent to cover the sensation. lib wright, a veteran of florence nightingale's crimean campaign, is hired to keep watch over the girl. written with all the propulsive tension that made room a huge bestseller, the wonder works beautifully on many levels — a tale of two strangers who transform each other's lives, a powerful psychological thriller, and a story of love pitted against evil. acclaim for the wonder: "deliciously gothic…. dark and vivid, with complicated characters, this is a novel that lodges itself deep" (usa today, 3/4 stars) "heartbreaking and transcendent"(new york times) "a fable as lean and discomfiting as anna's dwindling body…. donoghue keeps us riveted" (chicago tribune) "donoghue poses powerful questions about faith and belief" (newsday)

New york times bestseller – reese’s book club pick – a “tender, beautiful and radiantly outraged” (the new york times book review) novel that follows a year of seismic romantic, political, and familial shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf, from the acclaimed author of girl at war“for those who loved the oscar-winning film coda, a boarding school for deaf students is the setting for a kaleidoscope of experiences.”—the washington postone of the most anticipated books of 2022—oprah daily, the millions, lit hub, publishers weekly, bookpagetrue biz (adj./exclamation; american sign language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talktrue biz? the students at the river valley school for the deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. this revelatory novel plunges readers into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they’ll meet charlie, a rebellious transfer student who’s never met another deaf person before; austin, the school’s golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and february, the hearing headmistress, a coda (child of deaf adult(s)) who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to do both. as a series of crises both personal and political threaten to unravel each of them, charlie, austin, and february find their lives inextricable from one another—and changed forever.this is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy. absorbing and assured, idiosyncratic and relatable, this is an unforgettable journey into the deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection.

A repackage of new york times bestseller v.e. in their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. but when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.ten years later, victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. meanwhile, eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end? schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn't automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question." a dynamic and original twist on what it means to be a hero and a villain. a killer from page one…highly recommended!" —jonathan maberry, new york times bestselling author of marvel universe vs the avengers and patient zero

But everything changes when she discovers that hunter is cheating on her—and she’s forced to decide what her next move should be. soon, sydney finds herself captivated by her mysterious and attractive neighbor, ridge. she can't take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. and there’s something about sydney that ridge can’t ignore, either. they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one.

In the year of 2008 is a collection of poems that reflect the economic and social chaos that engulfed the world at that particular time. a time when the old hegemony of the west almost collapsed overnight. this book of poems (albeit from an irish perspective of the global financial crisis of 2008/09) opens a window into how the global financial crisis affected individual people and families and in particular their daily struggles to find work, maintain a home and even put food on the table are all wonderfully captured in this first publication of poems titled: in the year of twenty zero 08.

At once brutal and tender, despairing and rashly hopeful, spare of language and profoundly moving, this work is a fierce and haunting meditation on the tenuous divide between civilization and savagery, and the essential, sometimes terrifying power of filial love.

The perfect edition for any orwell enthusiasts' collection, discover the classic dystopian masterpiece beautifully reimagined by renowned street artist shepard fairey winston smith works for the ministry of truth in london, chief city of airstrip one. big brother stares out from every poster, the thought police uncover every act of betrayal. when winston finds love with julia, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities. despite the police helicopters that hover and circle overhead, winston and julia begin to question the party; they are drawn towards conspiracy. yet big brother will not tolerate dissent – even in the mind. for those with original thoughts they invented room 101. . . first published in 1949, 1984 is george orwell's terrifying vision of a totalitarian future in which everything and everyone is slave to a tyrannical regime. 'right up there among my favourite books . . . i read it again and again' margaret atwood 'more relevant to today than almost any other book that you can think of' jo brandcomplete the trio with shepard fairey's new-look animal farm and down and out in paris and london.

At once brutal and tender, despairing and rashly hopeful, spare of language and profoundly moving, this work is a fierce and haunting meditation on the tenuous divide between civilization and savagery, and the essential, sometimes terrifying power of filial love.