As 2024 comes to a close, critics, reporters and editors at The New York Times are reflecting on the year in arts and culture, including books.The deputy editor of Culture and Lifestyle, Melissa Kirsch, speaks with the editor of The New York Times Book Review, Gilbert Cruz, about the best books of 2024 — and of the century. Also, The Times’s book critics detail their favorite reads of the year.Guest: Melissa Kirsch, the deputy editor of Culture and Lifestyle for The New York Times.Gilbert Cruz, the editor of The New York Times Book Review.M.J. Franklin, an editor for The New York Times Book Review.Jennifer Szalai, the nonfiction book critic for The New York Times Book Review.A.O. Scott, a critic at large for The New York Times Book Review.Sarah Lyall, a writer at large for The Times and the thrillers columnist for The New York Times Book Review.Alexandra Jacobs, a critic for The New York Times Book Review.Dwight Garner, a critic for The New York Times Book Review.Background reading: The 10 Best Books of 2024The 100 Best Books of the 21st CenturyFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Full Episode
Hey, it's Michael. Today, our coverage of the year in arts and in culture continues with guest host Melissa Kirsch speaking to Times critics, reporters, and editors. Take a listen. I think you're going to like it.
From the New York Times, this is The Daily. I'm Melissa Kirsch, Deputy Editor of Culture and Lifestyle. As we close out 2024, I'm talking with my colleagues around the newsroom about what they watched and listened to and read this year. Today, we're talking about books.
I'll talk with Gilbert Cruz, the editor of the New York Times Book Review, about the best books of the year and the best books of the century. Then the Times' book critics will join us with some of their favorites of 2024. And the critic Dwight Garner will share some of the funniest, snappiest, and most insightful writing he encountered this year. It's Tuesday, December 31st. Gilbert Cruz, hello.
Melissa, hi.
Okay, so every year, the staff of the New York Times Book Review puts out a list of the 10 best books of the year. It has just come out. Tell me about how that list comes together.
Sure. So a bunch of editors and critics over the course of the year, really, are meeting monthly. And at every one of those meetings, we're discussing books that we think are great. And these are books that sort of go through the ringer. We're really debating them over the course of the whole year. At the end of October, which is when this process ends, we take a vote.
And these 10 books are the result of that vote.
Got it. Okay. So let's take a spin through the list. Sure. Let's start with fiction.
Um, the five fiction books, some of them might be familiar to you. All Fours by Miranda July, Good Material by Dolly Alderton, James by Percival Everett, Martyr by Kaveh Akbar, and You Dreamed of Empires by Alvaro Enrique.
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