With the end of the year approaching, we take a look at two successful

books published in 2014 and the finalists for the National Book Award.

Specifically, Carly introduces Gary Krist's Empire of Sin, and Dusty introduces Rabih Alameddine's An Unnecessary Woman.

Along the way, we discuss how we experience reading fiction differently

than nonfiction, when it's okay for an author to embellish historical

facts, and how two books that seem so very different can have quite a

lot in common. Do you have a favorite book published in 2014?