Just released today is the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2014. We see that Books for Her reviewed one book on the list: We are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas. It’s not a huge surprise for us to have read only one on the list as NYT focuses on impactful, culturally significant and/or deep-thinking reads, while our reviews lean toward more escapist reading.  Here’s some that sound intriguing to us:

Fiction (and Poetry):

• FOURTH OF JULY CREEK. By Smith Henderson. (Ecco/HarperCollins, $26.99.) In Henderson’s impressive novel, an overburdened social worker becomes involved with a near-feral boy and his survivalist father in 1980 Montana.
• THE PAYING GUESTS. By Sarah Waters. (Riverhead, $28.95.) Hard times, forbidden love, murder and justice are the themes of this nevertheless comic novel, set in London after World War I.

Non-fiction:

• CUBED: A Secret History of the Workplace. By Nikil Saval. (Doubleday, $26.95.) This account of office design and technology since the Civil War offers insights into the changing nature of work.
• THE EMPATHY EXAMS: Essays. By Leslie Jamison. (Graywolf, $15.)Considerations of pain, physical and emotional, and how it affects our relationships with one another and with ourselves.

If you’re looking for a little more fictional, fun reads, check out our Holiday Gift Guide: Books for Her Top Books of 2014 here.