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A Weekend Edition Editor Shares Her Picks For Best Books Of 2014

Published December 30, 2014 at 1:50 PM EST

Every list of “best books” of the year is as different as a special little snowflake.

Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with NPR’s Weekend Edition editor Barrie Hardymon about her picks for the best books of 2014.

Hardymon says 2014 was a breakout year for science fiction books, including “Book of Strange New Things” by Michel Faber and “The Bone Clocks” by David Mitchell, must-reads for middle schoolers,

Hardymon shares her favorite book of the year — “The Paying Guests” by Sarah Waters — and her guilty pleasure — “The King’s Curse” by Philippa Gregory.

Barrie’s Picks
  • “The Paying Guests,” by Sarah Waters

  • “Department of Speculation,” by Jenny Offill

  • “On Such a Full Sea,” by Chang-rae Lee

  • “The Bone Clocks,” by David Mitchell

  • “Book of Strange New Things,” by Michel Faber

  • “Brown Girl Dreaming,” by Jacqueline Woodson

  • “El Deafo,” by Cece Bell

  • “The King’s Curse,” by Philippa Gregory

    • Guest

  • Barrie Hardymon, editor at NPR’s Weekend Edition. She tweets @bhardymon.

    • Related

  • Share Your Favorite Books Of 2014

    • Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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    The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

    If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

    Now all of that is at risk.

    Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

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    Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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