12 Books to Celebrate the Solar Eclipse

From the author of THE PARIS WIFE, a historical novel about a woman ahead of her time. Following her untraditional childhood in Kenya, Beryl Markham defies gender norms to ultimately become a record-setting aviator, all while caught up in a passionate love triangle with safari hunter Denys Finch Hatton and Karen Blixen.

In 1995, New Yorker writer, Adam Gopnik was given the opportunity to move to Paris with his wife and infant son. PARIS TO THE MOON is Gopnik’s personal story of navigating a foreign city for the first time, all while facing the trials and tribulations of being a new parent.

From the author of THE KITE RUNNER comes the heart-wrenching story of Mariam and Laila, two Afghani women jarringly brought together by war, loss, and fate. Chronicling 30 years of Afghan history through the eyes of these two women, A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS paints a story of friendship, family, and love in a time of great unrest.

Read the full review of A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS.

Set in Norway during World War II, John Steinbeck’s classic novel about the effects of invasion on both the conquered and the conquerors served as a major piece of Allied propaganda in Nazi-occupied Europe—in some areas, owning a copy was punishable by death. Now, it serves as a profound reflection on the horrors and truths of war.

Sunshine Mackenzie is a culinary star with millions of fans, bestselling cookbooks, and a devoted husband, until she gets hacked. With her secrets revealed, Sunshine is forced to return to her childhood home—and her estranged sister—to sort through the ruins of her life.

Beginning the summer men first walked on the moon, weaving forward and backward in time, and spanning three generations, MOON PALACE is the story of one orphan’s journey to piece together his past, while finding love and his unknown father.

In 1941, with war raging around him, a young British boy wandered the streets of Shanghai in search of his parents, before ultimately being imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp for more than three years. J. G. Ballard’s semi-autobiographical novel is an honest coming-of-age story set in an often-overlooked corner of World War II.

In the middle of the twenty-second century, the moon is inhabited by millions of people living in underground cities. One such city-state, the Society of Cousins, seems to be a matriarchal utopia, but when its secrets are revealed, the first moon war erupts, leaving everyone to decide what’s worth fighting for.

In his years as an African correspondent for Poland’s state newspaper, Ryszard Kapuściński traveled back and forth across the continent, documenting the end of colonial rule, from the early days of independence in Ghana to the genocide in Rwanda. His memoir paints a stunning picture of Africa’s peoples, cultures, and modern history.

At the end of her life, lying in a London hospital bed, elderly historian and former war correspondent Claudia Hampton imagines writing a history of the world. Instead, what emerges is a rich account of her own life, a truncated affair with a British tank commander in Egypt during World War II at its center. A beautiful, complex, intricately composed fugue, MOON TIGER won the Booker Prize.

After losing both his mother and brother, 22-year-old Etto finds himself adrift in his soccer-obsessed small Italian town. When a scandal-ridden Ukrainian soccer star arrives, though, Etto learns life might have more to offer him than he ever expected.

Read the full review of THE SUN AND OTHER STARS.

After the death of her mother, Emily is brought to live with her reclusive grandfather in a North Carolina town, only to discover her mother left several mysteries behind. Next door, Julia Winterson bakes cake after cake, hoping, one day, they’ll bring back her lost love.