At a time when politics have dominated the national conversation in a way that can often feel overwhelming, the best books of 2016 so far have provided escapism and comfort. They've shown us that empathy is a great virtue, and that art can transcend the unhappiness of the everyday. These 25 books are all highly recommended.

25. by Heather Havrilesky

If Americans really wanted a president who "tells it like it is," Heather Havrilesky would be running for office right now. At a time when most self-help gurus are charlatans, the world could use a less bullshitty, more emotionally connected leader, one with equal parts compassion and charisma. Enter Havrilesky, who writes the advice column Ask Polly for The Cut, and who has compiled a collection of many new columns along with some old favorites. Havrilesky uses a liberating blend of straight talk, empathy, many F-bombs, and pop culture references (see the extended metaphor about Kanye West she uses in a reply to a woman searching for ways to build her self-esteem). Havrilesky's advice answers each question specifically, but they also contain universal truths that will empower just about anybody. —Maris Kreizman

24. by Lindy West

Lindy West is funny. That's the first thing you should know about her essay collection on feminism, fat acceptance, and Internet harassment. Shrill is as hilarious as it is angry. Lindy has faced so many intolerable and enraging situations as a fat woman who is outspoken in her writing and on social media, but she always frames her negative experiences with humor and perspective. With her clear-eyed insights into modern culture and her confidence in her own intelligence and personal worth, West appeals to the humanity of even the most parents' basement-dwelling, misogynistic and casually hateful of trolls. —MK

23. by Emma Cline

You might expect a novel about a young girl who joins a Manson-like cult in the summer of 1969 to be lurid, violent, and sensational. But the most surprising and rewarding trait about The Girls is the author's wonderful restraint. Emma Cline is more interested in studying the loneliness and confusion of being a teenage girl, rather than the depravity of being a cult leader. So the focus remains solidly on Evie Boyd, who has reached the exact point of longing and vulnerability that could lead an innocent-ish girl to fall in love with the women who surround the cult leader. The Girls shows how "good" girls can be drawn to the dark side, and how the decision to distance oneself from evil is sometimes more difficult and less black and white as it seems. —MK

22. by Maggie Nelson

Maggie Nelson is a big star in the literary world now for good reason—she combines personal essay and broader criticism in a way that feels lofty but not at all academic. The Red Parts may not be her piece de resistance, but it's the perfect introduction to Nelson's writing if you'd like to know where to start. Originally published in 2007 and reissued by Graywolf Press in April, The Red Parts is Nelson's deeply intimate memoir about the aftermath of her aunt's murder by a presumed serial killer. It's an enthralling personal story-slash-true-crime-book that just happens to be written by one of the most thoughtful writers of our time. —MK

21. by Helen Oyeyemi

If you haven't ever read Helen Oyeyemi, stop what you're doing right now and delve into her perfect backlist of luminous novels. Caught up? Great! Her new collection is perfectly on brand, dealing in monstrous teen pop stars, enchanted puppets, secret gardens, mystical diaries, and photo albums full of selfies. What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours contains Oyeyemi's heady trademark combination of upside down fairy tale fantasy that is as emotionally resonant as it is inventive, and the excellent details from modern life that bring her stories firmly into some magical version of our own world. —MK

20. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

A very slim volume that contains multitudes. Can't remember much from your high school physics class? Get confused by science fiction because you can't separate what's real versus what's been made up? Italian theoretical physicist and writer Carlo Rovelli uses a conversational tone to untangle the most complicated yet most beautiful advances in science in modern history. Lesson topics range from Einstein's theory of relativity to black holes, and you'll feel a whole lot smarter for having read this elegant, straightforward little book. —MK

19. by Alexander Chee

Queen of the Night joins Tipping the Velvet and The Crimson Petal and the White as the rare historical novel in which the setting may be old, but the writing makes everything feel brand new. Alexander Chee has written a subversive, sexy epic about a young American girl who struggles more than her fans will ever understand on her way to eventually become a highly celebrated soprano at the Paris Opera House. Lillet Berne's dramatic rise to success is all the more exciting because of all the wonderful details Chee includes about her life in the late 19th century. The descriptions of her dresses alone are worth the price of this book, and Chee's knowledge about opera is such that you can almost hear the music when reading his words. But for all the research and historical detail, in the end, it's a love story, as so many of the most excellent books are. —MK

18. Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam

Rumaan Alam has a near telepathic knowledge of the female mind. His debut novel would still be a lovely, emotionally raw meditation on a complicated friendship between two women, even if the author weren't a man. But Rich and Pretty is especially jolting because it's clearly a feat of intense observation and imagination. Alam understands the petty (and not so petty) jealousies that accompany friendship, and the small digs and larger issues that divide and reunite friends. —MK

17. Lust and Wonder by Augusten Burroughs

After Running with Scissors and Dry, Augusten Burroughs closes out an unforgettable trilogy of memoirs with Lust and Wonder. In Lust and Wonder we find Augusten sober (or, at least, soberer), a successful writer, and rather unlucky in love. It's only fitting that the next piece of the puzzle to solve involves romantic relationships, and the failures and heartaches that always accompany such quests. That he finds an ideal mate is not a spoiler, but a well-earned happy ending for the lonely and disaffected. That his dream man with the singular laugh happens to be his friend, his literary agent, and a co-parent to their growing menagerie of dogs is even more satisfying. It takes nothing away from Augusten's struggles to acknowledge that in a lifetime of uncertainty and unease, it really does get better. —MK

16. Proxies by Brian Blanchfield

The premise of this autobiographical essay collection is simple: Blanchfield writes from memory alone, without consulting any outside resources to fact check. As the author explains, "I wrote these essays with the internet off." The result is unlike anything written before. The 24 single topic essays in Proxies are short and focused (topics range from owls to housesitting to frottage), but every single one leads to a more personal revelation or a wider point about the author's life or the greater world. The conclusions of his writings feel organic and authentic, and the 20+ pages of corrections at the end of the book only validate how powerful writing from memory and relying only upon what's inside your own brain can be. —MK

15. by Jade Sharma

"Behind every crazy woman is a man, sitting very quietly, saying, 'What? I'm not doing anything.'" If this sentence doesn't make you want to stand up and cheer, stop reading this blurb right now. If you prefer to read books with cuddly, likable heroines who always make good and healthy decisions, stay away from this novel. But if you enjoy complicated protagonists who don't necessarily pass the "likability" test but do speak to the blackest part of your soul, Problems is for you. Jade Sharma's debut is a darkly funny character study of an unhappy yet witty-as-hell woman whose self-destructive streak is as appalling as it is somehow understandable. Problems challenges readers to forget traditional redemption stories and yet to still find empathy for the messiest of heroines. —MK

14. by Dave Holmes

Esquire Editor-at-Large Dave Holmes uses music—21 songs, and many others that also get name checked—to tell the story of his life with exactly the amount of humor and sensitivity and celebration of fandom that you'd expect from him (lots). The former MTV VJ and pop culture whiz has written the kind of book where, at the end one of the most affecting and charming chapters in the book about coming out at his very Catholic college, he rewards you for finishing with a photo of Melrose Place's Grant Show. (Thank you, Dave.) Party of One is as charming as it is funny, and it's a testament to how pop music has the power to shape our lives. —MK

13. by Garth Greenwell

An American schoolteacher living abroad meets a 23-year-old male prostitute in a public restroom in Bulgaria. Money is exchanged. A long, complicated relationship ensues, one based in lust and shame and dread. What Belongs to You is a short novel, but Garth Greenwell's sentences are expansive and revelatory and poetic. Greenwell juxtaposes the narrator's experiences in an unprogressive, formerly Communist country still recovering its infrastructure, to the narrator's own childhood, growing up gay and closeted in the oppressive American South. What Belongs to You is a lovely meditation on fear and acceptance, desire and oppression, and the disparity between two cultures. —MK

12. by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

A little TV show about nothing became a cultural phenomenon that still inspires avid fandoms to this day. In Seinfeldia entertainment reporter Jennifer Keishin Armstrong not only goes behind the scenes of the making of Seinfeld to deliver some great insider stories, she also widens her lens to cover the people who love it. Packed with many delights and great trivia (if you want to know which suggestion from the writers made Julia Louis-Dreyfus burst into tears, you'll have to read the book), Seinfeldia is a smart, fun read by a writer who truly is the master of her domain. —MK

11. by Karan Mahajan

Just like its beautifully designed cover, The Association of Small Bombs is simple in premise, but it explodes in bursts of brilliant color. Karan Mahajan's masterful novel explores the aftermath of a small bomb detonation in the '90s in Delhi, and the many people whose lives it alters—from the families of victims to the bombers themselves. With great empathy and no lack of humor, Mahajan shows the multitudinous sides to the kind of story that we usually read a line or two about in a newspaper, or hear short mention of on television. —MK

10. by Stephanie Danler

Sweetbitter is the most delicious (sorry!) summer read. A former server at Union Square Cafe and Buvette, debut novelist Stephanie Danler writes sumptuously about her heroine's education in food and wine as she trains and works at a tony New York restaurant. But you don't need to be a foodie to love Sweetbitter because it's also a heartfelt novel about being a newcomer in a new city, about the dangers of being young and lonely and drunk and in love in New York. It's a grasping glimpse what happens behind the scenes where the rich people dine, but it's more sensual and poignant than you might expect. —MK

9. Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

In any other circumstance, one might think Born a Crime is a dramatic title for a celebrity memoir, but in Noah's case there's nothing exaggerated about this claim. His very conception and birth was a criminal act—as the child of a black Xhosa mom and a white Swiss dad, he simply wasn't meant to exist in apartheid South Africa, where he was born. It's hard to imagine that the current host of The Daily show was kept mostly indoors in his early years to protect him from a government that could take him away at any moment. Noah's childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes his comedy, while illuminating a dark and brutal period in South Africa's history that must never be forgotten. —Angela Ledgerwood

8. Swing Time by Zadie Smith

In classic Smith style, her new novel is sweeping, packed with bold voices, and explores when and how our lives diverge from those we love. There's the fraught friendship between two biracial girls forged over their mutual love of dance, a celebrity pop star attempting to build an orphanage in an African village, and a grown up narrator asking herself, "How did I get here?" She thinks, "A truth was being revealed to me: That I had always tried to attach myself to the light of other people. That I had never had any light of my own. I experienced myself as a kind of shadow." This revelation about identity underpins the entire tale, as does Smith's concern with class and race. —AL

7. Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire by Julia Baird

Don't be fooled by the demure portrait of Victoria on the cover—here is a woman who reigned over a quarter of the world's population at the height of her rule. (She also bore nine children and survived eight assassination attempts.) In Baird's deft portrayal, Victoria lives, breathes, and struts before us in all her complexity, and so do her consorts, particularly her politically ambitious husband Prince Albert—and later her "Scottish stallion" and probable lover, John Brown. On a geopolitical level, Baird's sweeping historical portrait also illuminates just how interconnected the European royal families were during this time—Victoria's Belgian cousin, King Leopold II, perpetrated genocide in the Congo while her German nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm II, would go on to initiate World War I. Historical astuteness aside, the pages gallop along enhanced by titillating morsels of info—like a certain Prime Minister's predilection for whipping, in and out of the bedroom. —AL

6. by Matthew Desmond

Evicted is one of those Important Books That Every American Should Read that you might pass up because it looks so Important and Not Fun. But you should know that it's worth a full read—the excellence of Evicted lies not only in the overall message that the housing crisis in America is an endless cycle of pain and inequality, but in the details that humanize the facts and figures that accompany the writing. Matthew Desmond is a sociologist and urban ethnographer who gets in on the ground of the poorest districts in Milwaukee and reports on eight families who are on the brink, along with the landlords and the city officials with whom they interact. With a presidential election coming up, there's no book that speaks more to the injustice of America's infrastructure. —MK

5. The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between by Hisham Matar

Hisham Matar's award-winning novels and essays have examined the legacy of disappeared fathers, political exile, and totalitarianism. In his most intimate work to date, he reveals the true story of his father's kidnapping by the Egyptian secret police and his delivery to brutal Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 1990. As one of the Qaddafi regime's most prominent opponents, Matar's father was taken to Abu Salim prison, in Tripoli, known as "The Last Stop" – the place where the regime sent those it wanted to forget. Hopeful that his father was still alive (the family received three letters from his 22 years of his captivity), there was no sign of Matar's father in the wake of Qaddafi's fall. In this haunting memoir, Matar returns to the place of his childhood and grapples with the question of how to live without knowing his father's fate. —AL

4. Innocents and Others by Dana Spiotta

Like Joan Didion and Don DeLillo, two legends to whom she's often compared, Dana Spiotta is a master of observing the way cultural artifacts take up so much space in our daily lives. Her latest novel takes place in the world of film in the 1980s, and two friends who've taken dramatically different paths in their careers as filmmakers. But more than that, Innocents and Others is about the power of the phone—particularly the landline. In the pre-internet age, all you needed to charm and seduce a stranger (even a big shot Hollywood VIP) was a pleasant phone voice and a deep ability to listen. As the two friends' lives intersect with a woman named Jelly, who has anonymous yet romantic phone conversations with the Hollywood elite, it's clear how an undeniable trait of humanity is seek meaningful connection in an isolating world. —MK

3. Grief Is the Thing With Feathers by Max Porter

Winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize, this Kafkaesque, bizarre, and beautiful debut thrusts us deep inside an East London flat where a widower and his two young boys are reeling from a monumental loss. It's the arrival of an uninvited houseguest—of the belching, burping, slurping (and hugging) kind—in the form of a giant, Ted Hughes-inspired crow that comforts the fledging family. Equal parts novella, poem, and play, Porter obliterates the confines of form, transforming the manuscript into a breathing living organism of its own. This book is guaranteed to change the way you see everyone precious in your life, and it's a powerful reminder to love hard and relish everyday intimate moments. —AL

2. by Yaa Gyasi

In this exceptional debut, Yaa Gyasi traces the lives and legacies of two African half-sisters, one who is sold as a slave and taken to America in the 18th century, and one who remains in Ghana. The novel spans more than 300 years and many generations, chapter by chapter exploring the lives of the women's descendants. And while it's epic in ambition and scope, Homegoing still manages to feel profoundly intimate and personal. Each and every one of the characters, in each and every decade where their stories are set, is so finely drawn that any of their stories alone could bring you to tears. Together, they're a tour de force that will leave you in awe. —MK

1. by Colson Whitehead

Coming in just under the wire because Oprah convinced its publisher to release the book a month early, Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad enters the pantheon of one of the Great American Novels. It may not be quite as easy or escapist a read as Oprah's previous book club picks, but it is possibly the most essential. Whitehead's novel, which follows two slaves as they make their escape via the Underground Railroad, is a wonderful reminder of what great literature is supposed to do: open our eyes, challenge us, and leave us changed by the end. —MK

Maris Kreizman Kreizman, a former book editor and avid reader who writes frequently about books, has contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Esquire, and more.

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