2015 National Book Award Fiction Longlist

In search of great fiction? Try some of these books on the 2015 National Book Award Longlist for Fiction. All summaries taken from our catalog.

Refund: Stories by Karen E. Bender

In Refund, Bender creates an award-winning collection of stories that deeply explore the ways in which money and the estimation of value affect the lives of her characters...Set in contemporary America, these stories herald a work of singular literary merit by an important writer at the height of her power.

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg

On the eve of her daughter's wedding, June Reid's life is completely devastated when a shocking disaster takes the lives of her daughter, her daughter's fiancé, her ex-husband, and her boyfriend, Luke--her entire family, all gone in a moment.

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

A powerful, timely debut, The Turner House marks a major new contribution to the story of the American family...It's a striking examination of the price we pay for our dreams and futures, and the ways in which our families bring us home.

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Monsters of Templeton and Arcadia, an exhilarating novel about marriage, creativity, art and perception...Profound, surprising, propulsive, and emotionally riveting, it stirs both the mind and heart.

Fortune Smiles: Stories by Adam Johnson

In six masterly stories, Johnson delves deep into love and loss, natural disasters, the influence of technology, and how the political shapes the personal.






The other titles on the Longlist are A Cure for Suicide by Jesse Ball, Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson, Honeydew by Edith Pearlman, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, and Mislaid by Nell Zink.

2015 National Book Award Nonfiction Longlist

Looking for excellent nonfiction to read? Try some of these books on the 2015 National Book Award Longlist for Nonfiction.

Rain: A Natural and Cultural History by Cynthia Barnett

The ability to write about something common in a fascinating way is a skill and Cynthia Barnett uses her skill in this book that combines well-researched science with the everyday effect rain has and has had on humans.  If you enjoyed other microhistories like Mary Roach's Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Siddhartha Mukherjee's The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, or Mark Kurlansky's Salt: A World History, take a look at Barnett's book.



Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates writes for The Atlantic and Between the World and Me is his second book. Written as a letter to his son, he writes about what it is to be black in America today. James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time inspired this fiercely personal yet universal work.







Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs by Sally Mann

In this intimate memoir, Sally Mann takes old and new photographs and combines them with her memories of loved ones to create an amazing book that speaks of family, history, and her Southern heritage.







The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery

Sy Montgomery's friendship with an octopus was the catalyst for this book. Montgomery studied octopi in aquariums and the sea and came to see that they, not unlike humans, have personalities and can be playful and intelligent. If this book interests you, you should also check out her book The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood, the story of a pig that won over her heart and the heart of the small town in which she lived.


The other titles on the Longlist are Mourning Lincoln by Martha Hodes; Paradise of the Pacific by Susanna Moore; Love and Other Ways of Dying: Essays by Michael Paterniti; If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran by Carla Power; Ordinary Light by Tracy K. Smith; and Travels in Vermeer: A Memoir by Michael White.