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

NPR
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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    Federal funding is gone.

    Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

    That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

    The future of public media is in your hands.

    All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

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