We continue an annual Connections tradition by talking to members of the Rochester community about their favorite books of the year. We hear about a range of genres, while getting some insight into how our guests think, what they read, and why. In studio:
- Kyle Semmel, executive director of Writers & Books
- Leslie Youngblood, writer
- Candice Hudson, teacher at Northwood Elementary School in Hilton
- Tony Leuzzi, poet and associate professor of English at Monroe Community College
Here are our guests' and listeners' favorite books of the year, as well as their recommendations for 2018:
- Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
- The Mothers by Brit Bennett
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Burmese Days by George Orwell
- Arab Voices by James Zogby
- The Dark Net by Benjamin Percy
- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
- Greater Gotham by Mike Wallace
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
- Fantasyland by Kurt Anderson
- Pride and Prejudice & Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
- Exit West Mohsin Hamid
- The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce
- The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
- Tenth of December by George Saunders
- The Slave by Isaac Bashevis Singer
- The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande
- Hunter by Mercedes Lackey (young adult)
- Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown
- Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
- Crown by Derrick Barnes (children)
- Heaven is for Real by Lynn Vincent and Todd Burpo
- The Book of Harlan by Bernice McFadden
- Cold Welcome by Elizabeth Mood
- Love Like Sky by Leslie Youngblood (middle grade)
- Meditation Archipelago by Tony Leuzzi
- Cancer Crossings by Tim Wendel
- The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
- The Wide Circumference of Love: A Novel by Marita Golden
- Where Now: The New and Selected Poems by Laura Kasichke
- The Small Door of Your Death by Sheryl St. Germain
