I’ve read about 100 books this year. These 20 made particularly lasting impressions.

1. The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaajte [Knopf]

2. Caribou Island by David Vann [Harper]

3. The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanha [Greywolf Press]

4. A Stranger on the Planet by Adam Schwartz [Soho Press]

5. The Astral by Kate Christensen [Doubleday]

6. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett [Harper]

7. The Submission by Amy Waldman [F,S&G]

8. Irma Voth by Miriam Toews [Harper]

9. The Rape of the Muse by Michael Stein [The Permanent Press]

10. The Lies Have It by Jill Edmondson [Iguana]

11. The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta [St. Martins]

12. My New American Life by Francine Prose [Harper]

13. Close Your Eyes by Amanda Eyre Ward [Random House]

14. The Singular Exploits of Wonder Mom & Party Girl by Marc Schuster [The Permanent Press]

15. The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen [Riverhead]

16. The Ringer by Jenny Shank [The Permanent Press]

17. Slant by Timothy Wang [Tincture]

18. The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen [Crown]

19. The Social Climber’s Handbook by Molly Jong-Fast [Villard]

20. Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson [Ecco]