The novels and nonfiction we couldn’t stop thinking about this year—and in a year like this one, that’s saying something.

100 Best Books of the 21st Century: As voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

“Everyone Who is Gone is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis” by Jonathan Blitzer (Penguin, Jan. 30, 2024) and “The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster” by John O’Connor (Sourcebooks, Feb. 6, 2024).

Viking, £16.99 For Strout enthusiasts, of which there are many, the fact that this novel weaves together the worlds of two of her most beloved characters – Lucy Barton and Olive Kitteridge – is like Christmas itself.