Tastebud

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I love this movie recommendation by bulletproof love on @TheTastebudApp! https://tastebudapp.co/movie/tasty-8289

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I love this recommendation for 'Fear the Walking Dead' by Avery G. on @TheTastebudApp! https://tastebudapp.co/tv/tasty-8292

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Prince Shows Off His Incredible Guitar Chops (MUST SEE)

Prince steals the show while performing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne and others perform at the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

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Let's Go Crazy.

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RIP Prince.

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I love this movie recommended on @TheTastebudApp! https://tastebudapp.co/movie/tasty-8148 "Terrific coming-of-age film based on the true story of a boy who's interest in rocket science may be his ticket out of the West Virginia coal mining town where he lives."

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I love this movie recommended on @TheTastebudApp! https://tastebudapp.co/movie/tasty-8105

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I love this movie recommended on @TheTastebudApp! https://tastebudapp.co/movie/tasty-8115

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The Oscars Has a Race Problem, But a “White” Academy is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

by Olivia Klayman

There is a long-standing debate as to whether or not society influences the media, or if the media is a reflection of society.

As with most things, this is neither a “black” or “white” issue; or is it?

Many hold the belief that this award ceremony historically honors one race over the other.

While I would argue that there have been many significant improvements since the Civil Rights Movement, one of the most ignored yet most important factors has been this country’s increasing outcry for proper representation in the media.

America, noted for being a “country of immigrants,” can come across most of the time, as a “White America.”

I would be curious to see how the voters’ race, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, and religion, influences their votes because from an objective standpoint, it seems as though the Academy only values people of their color for their ability to represent their own race.

These socially constructed archetypes then determine the roles that are “appropriate” for certain races to play.

If you look at black Academy Award Winners in the last ten years, for example, you’ll find that each winner portrays either a person from history who shared the same race, or, was a character who helped perpetuate the same stereotypes flooding the media.

Dreamgirls (Jennifer Hudson); 12 Years a Slave (Lupita Nyong’o); The Help (Viola Davis); Precious (Mo’Nique); and even Ray (Jamie Foxx) are all films that cast people of color on a need basis.

Can you see what’s wrong with this picture?

I think it is unfair to entirely blame the Academy given that they give the awards, not make the films. That said, I would be willing to argue that the Academy seems to favor a “white” agenda; whether it is conscious choice or not.

It’s important to acknowledge that while a white man can be cast in any role and still not influence public opinion as to what it means to be “white,” the roles people of color play are indicative of what it means to be a member of that community.

These people have great difficulty distinguishing themselves from their race.

These actors have to either take the moral high-ground and reject paying jobs that reinforce these stereotypes, or get paid knowing that they’re endorsing the same oppressive industry that makes it difficult to succeed based on their own merit.  

There’s also the possibility that some films choose not to cast people of color for fear of associating their work with the same racially-charged stereotypes, as well as issues of racial inequality. Maybe they fear that this may shift the focus away from their movie to the stigmatized backgrounds of the actors playing their roles. Either way, it’s unacceptable.

Take a look at the nominated films for this year’s awards ceremony. Would different casting really make that much of an impact in some of these films? The answer is, “NO.”

Our country functions on a “supply and demand” basis. This mentality is not limited to our economic system. The unfortunate truth is that the few people of color who have won an Academy Award have been those actors who played roles that “supplied” what society was “demanding,” at the time.

While it’s easy to scapegoat racial inequality in the media on the Academy Awards, it’s unrealistic and honestly ignorant.

If anything, this conflict should force you to introspectively reflect on what sort of content you support with your business because let’s face it: movies that don’t sell don’t win awards. It’s just a fact.

Film, a medium that typically helps viewers escape from reality, may actually reflect the sort of prejudiced beliefs that still reign supreme in this country.

Though the Academy Awards may pride itself on giving accolades to those who are “worthy,” it’s important to ask yourself “who is being given the opportunity to succeed?”

One can only hope that this sort of criticism can be a catalyst to a larger-scale dialogue as to the true role race plays in this country and its politics.

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4 Movies You Should Watch If You’re Single on Valentines Day

by Olivia Klayman

Well folks, here we are again…  Valentine’s Day is here.

Perhaps you’ve found yourself perusing Amazon for “authentic” voodoo dolls so you can “stick it” to your ex that you’re still not over. Maybe you fear this holiday is an indication that you’re doomed to fly forever solo.

Whatever reason you may have for this emotional unrest, fear not!

Whoever said “diamond’s are a girl’s best friend” was a liar and a shallow b*tch. Food and Film are the only two “F’s” you need in your life. There’s always the Red Light District for the last “F.”

Embarrassing, rom-com’s are the only “band aid solution” capable of masking the internal agony you must feel, daily, given your romantic predicament.

Attention to all self-pitying women: it’s time to get yourself together!

You don’t need a man – and quite frankly – you don’t need pants without an elastic waistband.

Light your own damn candles, buy your own damn roses and damn well treat yourself in the meal department. It’s going to be a long night and these four movies will make it go quicker…

Bridget Jone’s Diary (2001)

32-year-old Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) has an epiphany on New Year’s Eve that she must take control of her pathetic life. She smokes too much, drinks too much, and spends too much time alone (romantically). Throughout the movie, she documents her physical – and romantic – transformation.  Will Bridget get her act together before it’s too late?

For many years, I was told to watch this movie. I was hesitant because – quite frankly – I am not the biggest fan of Renée Zellweger or her recently “upgraded” face. Even so, I eventually adhered to the advice of my peers for no other reason than two words: Colin Firth.

It is honestly the best movie to watch when you find yourself with mixed emotions about “love.”

It’s honest yet heart warming. It’s witty without all the convoluted, dramatic word vomit. Every person has felt like Bridget Jones over the course of her life.

This movie is unapologetically itself and there’s nothing more refreshing than that.

Shallow Hal (2001)

This film follows the life of Hal (Jack Black) who – adhering to his father’s last words – exclusively dates women that set the standard for “physical perfection.” His superficiality goes unchallenged until Hal encounters a self-help guru by the tame of Tony Robbins (himself). Robbins, taken aback by Hal’s shallowness, hypnotizes him to see beauty beyond the surface. Hal then finds himself at a moral fork in the road when he falls for a girl he would’ve never given a chance.

This movie nicely touches upon the “physical” component to finding a partner.

So many of us – with extensive exposure to Instagram models and advertisement campaigns – forget that while they’re “selling” sex, you should really be on the market for “buying-into” love.

Jack Black is always a good time. He keeps the movie light-hearted and non-political with regards to physical appearences.

You should watch this movie if you need to reevaluate what you’re really looking for when trying to find the man of your dreams.

Love Actually (2003)

This movie features the lives of eight different couples that loosely share overlap. Throughout the course of the movie, roles played by actors such as Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman and Laura Linney are forced to reevaluate the role “love” places in their day-to-day lives. This film, set a month before Christmas, takes place in London, England. It was also nominated for two Golden Globes.

Man or woman, this movie is hands down the most delightful and pleasant rom-com to watch.

First of all, every actor in it KILLS it. They’re funny, engaging and endearing. On top of that, all the actors are speaking with their accents. Not only does it make you feel more “cultured” – as if you’re watching a foreign film – but it also makes the male actors seem a bit more attractive.

If you’re looking for a movie to restore your faith in men and the romantic universe, play this.

Wedding Crashers (2005)

Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) and John (Owen Wilson) have a tainted view of love, by virtue of being divorce mediators. These two men have come to the conclusion – at the height of their career – that women are best enjoyed on their backs. In their spare time, these friends “crash” weddings with hopes to take back women from the reception who hope to meet “Mr. Right.” This works in their best interest until one friend strays and develops feelings for what should’ve been a one-night shag.

When I was young, my father took me to watch this movie in hopes to “save me” from being a man’s “one-night-stand” in my young adult life. While this movie has stayed with me – for better or for worse – I must admit that it’s great.

It’s realistic (which says a lot about a movie in this genre) but it is also playful and light-hearted.

It subtly questions your beliefs without feeling like a didactic piece of cinema that makes persecutes you for being both the “user” and the “used.”

After watching it, you’ll instantly feel an insatiable desire to take either a man – or a pizza – to bed.

This movie is great for a night where you’re looking for a good laugh and an internal cry in the name of humanity.

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Valentine’s Day: whether you love it – or hate it – isn’t going anywhere, so get comfortable with one of these four movies.

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3 Classic Romance Movies You Shouldn’t Miss

by Olivia Klayman

When you tell someone you love romance movies, they tend to prematurely judge you. They stereotype you as hyper-sensitive, dramatic and over-emotional when the truth is that you may actually be attracted to genres that compliment what you lack in your own life.

Most “hopeless romantics” appreciate romance movies from the privacy of their rooms for fear of all the ridicule and scrutiny they’ll receive when it comes out.

Nothing is more painful than having to explain, time and time again, the difference between a “romance” movie and a “romantic comedy.”

If you’re tired of begrudgingly having to explain that your taste is more extensive than The Notebook, here are three classic romance movies you shouldn’t miss:

An Affair to Remember

While on a cruise from Europe to New York, two individuals begin what would become a passionate romance. Both are engaged to other people. Despite all the obstacles, the agree to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in sixth-month’s time if they still feel the same way. As the film progresses, it becomes clear that factors out of their control may put an end to this forbidden love affair.

Out of the three movies, this is the most grounded. It’s not idealistic or ridiculous; instead, it is simply the story of two individuals who fall in love at the most inconvenient of times.

On many occasions, people discredit the worth of “romance” movies because they seem implausible. Well, I can promise that of the classics this one is the most straightforward and I also have to applaud this film for featuring one of the strongest female protagonists I’ve ever seen. Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) is witty, sarcastic and stubborn. She’s everything someone would not expect from a female role in the 50’s.

Back Street (1961)

Rae Smith (Susan Hayward) -- determined to get out Lincoln, Nebraska -- comes across a handsome Marine by the name of Paul Saxon (John Gavin) on his way home from WWII. They become romantically involved until it comes to Rae’s attention that Paul is already married. With great difficulty, the two part ways. Rae heads to NYC to pursue her dream of being a fashion designer. There, the two cross paths again but this time the spark may not be put out so easily.

I had never heard of this movie before I watched it. When I put it on, I was with my grandmother who swore by it. While I hate to admit that I have the same taste in movies as my grandmother, I have to admit that she was spot on.

This movie gives you the drama you crave from a romance movie but through an honest lens. The characters, themselves, determine the way you feel about throughout the movie. At times, scenes are bit over-the-top -- while at others -- they are simple and honest in a unique way to the

This movie also follows a somewhat non-traditional route that keeps you engaged in it. Susan Hayward’s character is emotional and passionate while John Gavin keeps her grounded. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry and it makes you wish John Hayward were your very own Marine.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

An adaptation from Truman Capote’s novel, ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, is the story of a Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn): a young woman in NYC who values wealth and status over everything else. This all changes when Paul Varjak (George Peppard) moves into her apartment building. The two begin a friendship that jeopardizes Holly’s value system when it becomes clear she must choose her financial ambition or Paul.

This movie is a classic for a reason. I would argue that if any other actors were cast, this movie would not be worth the hype. The storyline is certainly great, but it takes Audrey and George to bring the words and the themes to life.

This is by no means a traditional romance movie. Instead, it takes conventional themes and flips them on their head to show how both Audrey and George find love in spite of the societal and superficial obstacles in their way.

Whether a romance movie enthusiast -- or aficionado -- An Affair to Remember, Back Street and Breakfast at Tiffany’s are three romance movies you can and should watch, guilt-free.

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Rihanna’s New Single “Work”: A Little Taste

Here it is...

A taste of Rihanna's new single WORK ft Drake off upcoming album ANTI. 

Get the full song here: Rihanna WORK  

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Adele’s Album ‘25′: A Song by Song Review

by Olivia Klayman

It may come as a shock that there are mixed reviews on Adele’s album 25; which, in just two months time, has now sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, including  8 million in the U.S.  By way of comparison, Taylor Swift’s biggest selling album, Fearless, has sold 7 million copies in the U.S. since being released in 2008 (her next biggest is 1989, which has sold just under 6 million copies).

Some love 25, some hate it.

In an effort to save you time -- and money -- here’s the scoop on Adele’s new album: song-by-song.

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Hello

Oh, yes, “Hello.” When I first heard this song I didn’t think much of it. Of course, it sounded beautiful (I don’t think anything horrible can come out of Adele’s mouth).

I didn’t fully get into the song until I saw the music video.There was something about the way Adele belts her lyrics that makes it stay with you.

In it, Adele nostalgically thinks back to a relationship that she hurts someone she cared about because they weren’t right for one another. C’mon, how relatable is that?

This song is best listened to: after a breakup. Best enjoyed: eating wine and cheese.

Send My Love (To Your New Lover)

You’re either going to love this song, or hate it.

It feels as if Adele tried to steal the sounds from her hit: “Rumor Has It” and then replicate it.

It is an inherently spiteful song, yet the music is upbeat and happy. It doesn’t sound right.

The music and the lyrics feel incompatible and I don’t think the music suits her voice.

This song is best listened to: when you see your ex has an uglier, dumber girlfriend on Facebook. Best enjoyed: as ambient music in your apartment.

I Miss You

The first time I listened to this song, it felt slow. The intro also felt too long. If you hear this song on the radio, first, you will hear a shortened version.

My friend was absolutely smitten with the song so I decided to listen to it a few times through before I formulated my opinion, fully.

The music is dramatic but the lyrics are simple. That said, simplicity is king in pop.

This song is best listened to: when nostalgically reflecting about an ex. Best enjoyed: in your bed with a glass of wine.

When We Were Young

I love this song until it gets to the chorus. I feel like in music, it is important to find universal themes, but make them unique and personal. She takes a very good theme -- “innocent, true love” -- and writes it as trivial as it sounds.

“It was just like a movie / it was just like a song” … C’mon, really? She just got lazy. She had the music and the melody but was looking for lyrics to fill it.

It’s a hit for a reason because the music and the theme are on point -- that said -- she copped out of writing genuine, novel lyrics for the sake of time and marketability for the dumb listeners.

This song is best listened to: reflecting on a childhood romance. Best enjoyed: through the speakers of your car.

Remedy

This song takes the best and worst from each song. I neither hate it -- nor love it -- so I can’t recommend you to “like it” or “dislike it.” It’s sort of just a “song,” if that makes any sense at all.

This song is best listened to: when you’ve experienced “love-lost.” Best enjoyed: on a rainy day.

Water Under the Bridge

This song is the lyrical embodiment of “taking the high road.” It expresses her ability to forgive and forget.

I think this song has a great message, and structure, but lacks the execution to make it a hit.

It requires a lot of patience to enjoy listen to this song long enough before you can enjoy it.  

This song is best listened to: when you’re feeling spiteful of another person. Best enjoyed: when you’re getting ready in your room.

SEE ALSO:  6 Great Female Voices When You’re Sick of Adele.

River Lea

At first, it’s difficult to understand what this song is talking about. After several times through, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is about doubt.

As a successful musician, listeners may be skeptical that Adele could have any insecurities when the truth is that those with the most success find themselves with the most pressure to succeed. She speaks to feeling out of touch with where she came from and the places that made her who we are.

A more complex theme, I think that it’s hard to enjoy at first listen, but if you commit to understanding it, it’s the most rewarding. It’s catchy but honest.

This song is best listened to: when you’re doubting your career or feeling like you’re being used. Best enjoyed: through your headphones while running errands.

Love in the Dark

This is my favorite song on the album. It is the “Hello” if “Hello” didn’t exist.

It sounds great, and it is lyrical genius. It’s honest and it’s thoughtful.

I don’t know if the “dark” is metaphorically synonymous for “living a lie” but I know it addresses deceit in all facets: yourself, others and the truth.

This song is best listened to: when you have to come to the difficult conclusion to leave someone you love; even if it’s for the right reasons. Best enjoyed: drinking dark liquor after watching a John Wayne film.

Million Years Ago

The chorus and the hook are great. The verses read nicely on paper but don’t  translate well to musical accompaniment.

This upbeat song will appeal to someone who reflects on negative events from the past with a certain degree of optimism.

This song is best listened to: when you are determined to succeed. Best enjoyed: on a jog or at the gym.

All I Ask

This song is about the end of a passionate, yet tragic, romance.

In it, she begs her partner to, “hold me like I’m more than just a friend.” This is a sad song, yes, but it also a song of empowerment.

In it, Adele tries to control her last memories with this man so that she can choose her last memories of this romance.

This is a great song and is worth a listen.

This song is best listened to: the night before you end a “friends with benefits” or “traditional” relationship. Best enjoyed: while getting dressed before you go to end a romance.

Sweetest Devotion

This song is the embodiment of the “honeymoon” phase of a relationship.

It’s fine, at best.

This song sounds like her label asked her to write a “love song” when her true speciality is writing the “love-lost” song.

This song is best listened to: when you’re longing for a boyfriend or reminiscing on a past romance. Best enjoyed: painting your nails or putting on makeup.

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On many occasions, the messenger is more important than the message.

Adele’s new album -- “25” -- is an album that both ‘hits’ and ‘misses’ the target. The album would not have been as successful if not for its messenger: Adele.

People love Adele, and by virtue of loving Adele, they support everything she touches.

Her album is smart and engaging but is not worth the hype.

For an alternative to Adele, check out: 6 Great Female Voices When You’re Sick of Adele.

[tastebudblog]

The 2016 Oscars Nominations

"Spotlight," "The Revenant," "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "The Martian" led all 2015 films in nominations for the 2016 Oscars. "The Revenant" led overall with 12 nods.

Here are the nominees...

BEST PICTURE

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

DIRECTING

WRITING - ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

See all of the Oscar nominations here.

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David Bowie: 10 Amazing Minutes

On October 20, 2001, David Bowie gave a standout 10-minute performance (watch two videos below - wait through the ads...it’s well worth it) at the opening of the now-historic Concert for New York City, which took place at Madison Square Garden just six weeks after the terrorist attacks on 9-11.

The concert was broadcast live on VH1 and in addition to raising over $35 million for the Robin Hood Foundation, it honored the first responders from the Fire Department of the City of New York and New York City Police Department, their families, those lost in the attacks and those who had worked in the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts in the weeks since that time.

Bowie opened the Concert with an incredibly poignant rendition of Paul Simon's "America", followed by a rousing version of his own "Heroes", dedicated to the local ladder company in the SOHO New York neighborhood where he’d been living with his wife, Iman, since 1999.

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Golden Globes 2016: The Films That Will Win Best Picture

Based on Tastebud’s Ultimate List of Best Movies of 2015, a mega analysis of 45 different ‘best movies of 2015′ lists, here are the nominees and the films that will win (highlighted in yellow-ish) the 2016 Golden Globe in each of the four “Best Motion Picture” categories.

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40 New Books in 2016 That’ll Make You Forget About Netflix

We spent countless hours combing through 2016 book lists from a wide range of trusted publications to come up with Tastebud's definitive list of best books to read in 2016. Our list covers fiction only. Look for a YA 2016 list shortly.

Among the notable lists we poured over were Flavorwire's "Most Anticipated", EW's "Books We Can't Wait to Read", HuffPo's "New Books to Add to Your Shelf", Washington Post's "Novels We Can't Wait to Read" and The Millions' "Great 2016 Book Preview".

Not only did we look for the titles that appeared most frequently across the lists, but we also kept our eye out for books that seemed particularly intriguing or thought provoking. Finally, we tried to ensure that we highlighted a diversity of books in terms of genre, author gender and author ethnicity.

Let’s get to it...

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian | January 5 (crime, suspense, family life)

When Kristin agrees to let her husband host his brother’s bachelor party, she expects a certain amount of debauchery. She brings their young daughter to Manhattan for the evening, leaving her Westchester home to the men and their hired entertainment.  At the end of the night, two men will lie dead in her living room and her marriage will begin ripping apart at the seams.

Get The Guest Room: hardcover | Kindle  |  iBooks  |  audiobook

The Past by Tessa Hadley | January 5 (psychological thriller, family life)

Three sisters, a brother, and their children assemble at their beloved country house filled with memories of their shared past. Yet beneath the idyllic pastoral surface, hidden passions, devastating secrets, and dangerous hostilities threaten to consume them.

Get The Past: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks 

American Housewife: Stories by Helen Ellis | January 12 (short stories, humor)

A sharp, funny, delightfully unhinged collection of stories set in the dark world of domesticity, American Housewife features murderous ladies who lunch, celebrity treasure hunters, and the best bra fitter south of the Mason Dixon line.

Get American Housewife: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout | January 12 (family life)

In this new book by Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout, Lucy Barton is recovering from an operation. Her mother, to whom she hasn’t spoken for many years, comes to see her. Gentle gossip about people from Lucy’s childhood seems to reconnect them, but just below the surface lie the tension and longing that have informed every aspect of Lucy’s life. Knitting this powerful narrative together is the brilliant storytelling voice of Lucy herself: keenly observant, deeply human, and truly unforgettable.

Get My Name is Lucy Barton: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks 

Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa | January 12 (political, literary)

On a rainy, cold November day in Seattle, a teenager who's run away from home sets out to sell as much marijuana as possible to the throng of WTO demonstrators determined to shut down the city. But, It quickly becomes clear that the history-making 50,000 anti-globalization protestors are testing the patience of the police, and what started out as a peaceful protest is threatening to erupt into violence. Over the course of one life-altering afternoon, the fates of seven people will change forever.

Get Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth Mckenzie | January 19 (humor)

A young couple on the brink of marriage find their engagement in danger of collapse. Along the way they weather everything from each other’s dysfunctional families, to the attentions of a seductive pharmaceutical heiress, to an intimate tête-à-tête with a very charismatic squirrel.

Get The Portable Veblen: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

The Winter Girl by Matt Marinovich | January 19 (psychological thriller, crime)

Set in The Hamptons, a scathing and exhilarating thriller that begins with a husband's obsession with the seemingly vacant house next door.

Get The Winter Girl: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders | January 26 (scifi, paranormal, end of world)

Laurence is an engineering genius who's working with a group that aims to avert the catastrophic breakdown of Earth through technological intervention. Patricia is a graduate of a hidden academy for the world's magically gifted, and works with a small band of other magicians to secretly repair the world's every-growing ailments. Little do they realize that something bigger than either of them, something begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together--to either save the world, or plunge it into a new dark ages.

Get All the Birds in the Sky: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

Ginny Gall by Charlie Smith | February 2 (historical fiction)

A sweeping, eerily resonant epic of race and violence in the Jim Crow South of the 1920s and 30s: a lyrical and emotionally devastating masterpiece from Charlie Smith, whom the New York Public Library has said “may be America’s most bewitching stylist alive.”

Get Ginny Gall: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee | February 2 (literary, mystery)

If you pay attention to literary Twitter, you’re familiar with Chee, the quintessential author/good book-world citizen. Now he has a new novel coming out for the first time in over a decade, an intriguing tale of operatic blackmail and suspense. – HuffingtonPost

Get The Queen of the Night: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

Square Wave by Mark de Silva | February 9 (dystopian, thriller)

A dystopian debut set in America with a theme of imperial power struggles in Sri Lanka in the 17th century. Part mystery, part sci-fi thriller, the novel reportedly deals with “the psychological effects of a militarized state upon its citizenry” — highly topical for Americans today.

Get Square Wave: hardcover  

The Lost Time Accidents by John Wray | February 9 (time travel, literary)

Haunted by a failed love affair and the darkest of family secrets, Waldy Tolliver wakes one morning to discover that he has been exiled from the flow of time. In his ambitious and fiercely inventive new novel, John Wray takes us from turn-of-the-century Viennese salons buzzing with rumors about Einstein's radical new theory to the death camps of WWII, from the golden age of postwar pulp science fiction to a startling discovery in a Manhattan apartment packed to the ceiling with artifacts of modern life.

Get The Lost Time Accidents: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

Perfect Days by Raphael Montes | February 16 (psychological thriller)

A twisted young medical student kidnaps the girl of his dreams and embarks on a dark and delirious road trip across Brazil. Both tense and lurid, and brimming with suspense from the very first page, Perfect Days is a psychological thriller in the vein of Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley—a chilling journey in the passenger seat with a psychopath in the English-language debut of Brazil's most celebrated young crime writer.

Get Perfect Days: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

Prodigals by Greg Jackson | March 1 (short stories)

Jackson’s collection opens with a story originally published in The New Yorker, ”Wagner in the Desert,” a crackling tale of debauchery set in Palm Springs. Unflinching, funny, and profound, Prodigals maps the degradations of contemporary life with unusual insight and passion--from the obsession with celebrity, to the psychological debts of privilege, to the impotence of violence, to the loss of grand narratives.

Get Prodigals: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

Innocents and Others by Dana Spiotta | March 8 (literary)

The Stone Arabia novelist’s anxiously awaited new work is about two best friends — both L.A. filmmakers — who tangle with a mysterious older woman who likes to seduce men over the phone. – Entertainment Weekly

Get Innocents and Others: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

The Throwback Special by Chris Bachelder | March 14 (sports, literary)

22 friends meet to reenact the brutal 1985 play where Lawrence Taylor sacked Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, breaking his leg, an occasion that allows Bacheler to philosophize about memory and the inherent chaos of sports. – The Millions

Get The Throwback Special: hardcover   |  iBooks

Burning Down the House by Jane Mendelsohn | March 15 (thriller, family saga)

A bold, deeply engrossing novel about the fall of a wealthy New York family whose struggles to face the challenges of familial rivalry, an explosively revealing love affair, and involvement, however unwitting, in a world of international crime unfold with the inexorability of Greek tragedy.

Get Burning Down the House: hardcover  |  Kindle  |  iBooks

Hold Still by Lynn Steger Strong | March 21 (literary, suspense)

An emotionally suspenseful debut about the relationship between a mother and her troubled young daughter, who commits an unfixable indiscretion that implicates them both.

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The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney | March 22 (family life, literary)

In one of 2016’s most talked-about debuts, adult siblings squabble over their joint trust fund after their reckless brother threatens to drain it. Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney brings a remarkable cast of characters to life to illuminate what money does to relationships, what happens to our ambitions over the course of time, and the fraught yet unbreakable ties we share with those we love.

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Lazaretto by Diane McKinney-Whetstone | April 12 (historical fiction)

In this masterful work of historical fiction, Diane McKinney-Whetstone seamlessly transports us to Philadelphia in the aftermath of the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination, beautifully evoking powerful stories of love, friendship and humanity amid the vibrant black community that flourished amid the troubled times.

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Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld | April 19 (family saga, humor)

From the New York Times bestselling author of American Wife, comes a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice where “Liz” Bennett is a magazine writer, Darcy is a pesky neurosurgeon, and Jane is a yoga teacher. Equal parts homage to Jane Austen and bold literary experiment, Eligible is a brilliant, playful, and delicious saga for the twenty-first century.

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Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel | April 26 (technothriller, post-apocalyptic)

A girl named Rose is riding her new bike when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand. Seventeen years later Rose is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand’s code. Once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction? Told in interviews, journal entries, transcripts, and news articles, Sleeping Giants masterfully blends together elements of sci-fi, political thriller and apocalyptic fiction.

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LaRose by Louise Erdrich | May 10 (crime, family drama, literary)

Erdrich won the National Book Award for her novel The Round House, about a crime committed on a reservation. In her latest book, a man accidentally shoots his neighbor’s 5-year-old son and both families deal with the emotional fallout. Inspiring and affecting, LaRose is a powerful exploration of loss, justice, and the reparation of the human heart, and an unforgettable, dazzling tour de force.

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The Fox Was Ever the Hunter by Herta Müller | May 10 (literary, political)

As if living in a totalitarian regime wasn’t bad enough, the four friends in Müller’s novel must contend with the fact that one of them is spying on the group for the secret police. Capturing the fear and moral corruption of the final days of Romania’s Ceausescu regime — and inevitably drawing on her own persecution by the secret police — Müller won a Nobel Prize in Literature in 2009 for her work. Now, her long-time translator Philip Boehm brings the classic to English readers. – The Millions

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Zero K by Don DeLillo | May 10 (family, technology, humor)

A billionaire tries to cure his ailing wife by preserving her body until biomedical advances and new technologies can ensure her life. Don DeLillo’s new novel weighs the darkness of the world—terrorism, floods, fires, famine, plague—against the beauty and humanity of everyday life; love, awe, “the intimate touch of earth and sun.”

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Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler | May 24 (urban life, coming of age)

After 22-year-old Tess stumbles into a coveted job at a renowned New York restaurant, she's pulled into the magnetic thrall of two other servers—a handsome bartender she falls hard for, and an older woman she latches onto with an orphan's ardor.  A lush, raw, thrilling novel of the senses.

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The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin | May 25 (post-apocalyptic, horror)

Cronin brings his mammoth, vampire apocalypse horror trilogy to a close this spring with The City of Mirrors. In The Passage and The Twelve, Justin Cronin brilliantly imagined the fall of civilization and humanity’s desperate fight to survive. Now all is quiet on the horizon—but does silence promise the nightmare’s end or the second coming of unspeakable darkness?

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Modern Lovers by Emma Straub | May 31 (humor, family life)

From the New York Times‒bestselling author of The Vacationers, comes a novel about friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth and Andrew and Zoe who have watched one another marry, buy real estate, and start businesses and families, all while trying to hold on to the identities of their youth. But nothing ages them like having to suddenly pass the torch (of sexuality, independence, and the ineffable alchemy of cool) to their own offspring.

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End of Watch by Stephen King | June 7 (horror, supernatural)

The final volume of the Bill Hodges trilogy that began with Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers.

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Barkskins by Annie Proulx | June 14 (family saga, historical fiction)

From the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author of The Shipping News and Brokeback Mountain, comes her masterpiece, ten years in the writing—an epic, dazzling, violent, magnificently dramatic novel about taming the wilderness and destroying the forest, set over three centuries. Barkskins is Proulx’s Moby Dick, the story she has been writing all her life, a magnificent American novel.

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The Girls by Emma Cline | June 14 (psychological thriller)

Evie, a lonely and thoughtful teenager is drawn by an older girl, Suzanne, into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. As Evie spends more time away from her mother and her normal daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, she doesn’t realize she’s coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence, and to that moment in a girl’s life when everything can go horribly wrong.

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Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler | June 21 (humor)

Anne Tyler’s retelling of The Taming of the Shrew asks whether a thoroughly modern, independent woman like Kate would ever sacrifice herself for a man. Its answer is as individual, offbeat, and funny as Kate herself.

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Listen to Me by Hannah Pittard | July 5 (psychological thriller)

Mark and Maggie's annual drive east to visit family has gotten off to a rocky start. By the time they're on the road, it's late, a storm is brewing, and they are no longer speaking to one another. Adding to the stress, Maggie — recently mugged at gunpoint — is lately not herself. Forced to stop for the night at a remote inn, completely without power, Maggie's paranoia reaches an all-time and terrifying high. But when Mark finds himself threatened in a dark parking lot, it’s Maggie who takes control.

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Losing It by Emma Rathbone | July 19 (humor, coming of age)

Julia Greenfield has a problem: she's twenty-six years old and without meaning to, she made it through college and into adulthood with her virginity intact. Something's got to change. To re-route herself from her stalled life, Julia travels to spend the summer with her mysterious aunt Vivienne in North Carolina. It's not long, however, before she unearths a confounding secret—her 58 year old aunt is a virgin too. In the unrelenting heat of the southern summer, Julia becomes fixated on figuring out what could have lead to Viv's appalling condition, all while trying to avoid the same fate.

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Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarity | July 26 (domestic life, thriller)

From the bestselling author of What Alice Forgot, Big Little Lies and The Husband’s Secret comes a new novel about the consequences of something that happens at a neighborhood backyard barbecue.

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Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue | August 23 (family life, literary)

A Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem with his wife and son lands a job in 2007 as a chauffeur for a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. For fans of Americanah and The Lowland comes a debut novel about an immigrant couple striving to get ahead as the Great Recession hits home. With profound empathy, keen insight, and sly wit, Imbolo Mbue has written a compulsively readable story about marriage, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream.

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Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer | September 6 (literary, family)

The novel takes place in Washington, where a Jewish family with three sons faces the fallout as the parents’ marriage struggles.  The novel sees relatives from Israel visiting the troubled family in Washington for the bar mitzvah of one of the sons, while in the wider world, the Middle East has been devastated by an earthquake and Israel is being invaded.

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The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead | September 6 (historical fiction)

Whitehead showed us a hilarious recent past with Sag Harbor, a chilling future in the postapocalyptic Zone One — and now he takes us into the deep past with his thrilling tale of a young enslaved woman racing to freedom in the South.

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Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple | September 6 (humor, family)

From the author of the terrific Where’d You Go, Bernadette comes a new novel about Eleanor Flood, who’s going to re-examine her life, clean up her act, get dressed, only change into yoga clothes for yoga, which today she will actually attend, and be a better version of herself.  That is until she’s blindsided by a memoir that reveals family secrets, written by the younger sister she tries not to talk to. Suddenly, all of her dirty laundry is public business.

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The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen | November 29 (fantasy)

Find out the results of Queen Kelsea’s bejeweled sacrifice in the finale of our favorite fantasy trilogy – Entertainment Weekly

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