John Green
This is the most emotionally engaging story on the list. Green is best known as a YA author, but this novel transcends the label. It’s smart and brisk, and yes, you won’t be able to put it down.
Gillian Flynn
This book will not disappoint. It’s part mystery, part psychological thriller, and all engrossing. Another book you will pick up every chance you get. I can’t stop thinking about it and want to read it again.
Richard Ford
This is one of those books that devotes pages and pages to the most mundane of details, which doesn’t sound like an endorsement, but the world of a boy whose parents rob a bank is rendered so beautifully that the details are luxurious and fully satisfying.
Steven Naifen and Gregory White Smith
I think everyone knows that Van Gogh was unstable, but this book sheds sharp light on what fueled that instability. It’s a long book, and 200 pages in, Van Gogh is still trying to find his footing and hasn’t yet discovered his passion for painting. When he does, most of his great work is completed in ten years before the age of 40! He used art to console him, to the point of delusion. It’s an extraordinary work of research.