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We're thrilled to share with you a treasure trove of personal reading recommendations straight from the hearts of our avid book enthusiasts. From the cozy classics that warm our souls to the latest page-turners that ignite our imaginations, we hope that these handpicked gems will capture your heart too.
Get ready to immerse yourself in the worlds we've come to love, and who knows, you might just discover your next literary obsession right here!
Title The Whistling Season
Author Ivan Doig
Brief Description This charming story centers on a one-room schoolhouse in 1909 Montana. The Milliron family housekeeper, Rose, and her brother, Morrie, bring much to the Milliron home. After the schoolteacher runs off with a travelling preacher, Morrie becomes the new teacher. This is a year, and an education, the students and townspeople never forget.
Recommended By Renée Findahl, Adult Services
Title A Gentleman in Moscow
Author Amor Towles
Brief Description In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin, living there while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. "Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell...".
Recommended By Renée Findahl, Adult Services
Title The Bell Jar
Author Sylvia Plath
Brief Description A haunting American classic. First person narrative of the mental breakdown of a young, smart and talented Esther Greenwood in the 1950s. This fictionalized and poetic tale of Plath's descent into depression is masterfully done.
Recommended By Renée Findahl, Adult Services
Title The Night Circus
Author Erin Morgenstern
Brief Description "The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements." A magical, fantastical tale of a boy's fascination for a unique travelling circus, its performers, and its secrets.
Recommended By Renée Findahl, Adult Services
Title People of the Book
Author Geraldine Brooks
Brief Description The journey of a rare, illuminated manuscript through centuries of exile and war. While conserving this priceless item, a rare book expert find tiny artifacts in the binding that tells the book's storied and mysterious history. As with many of Brooks' novels, this is inspired by a true story.
Recommended By Renée Findahl, Adult Services
Title The Ogress and the Orphans
Author Kelly Barnhill
Brief Description When a child goes missing from the Orphan House in the town of Stone-in-the-Glen, the mayor suggests the kindly Ogress is responsible, but the orphans do not believe that and try to make their deluded neighbors see the real villain among them.
Recommended By Jessica Smith, Youth Services
Why She Chose It This is a beautiful homage to generosity and kindness. This book could heal the world. It has a delightful narrator, brilliant children, and answers the question of what it means to be a neighbor. I have always loved a good fantasy- especially in which the magic feels more academic and there’s lots of lore surrounding storytelling.
Title Babel: An Arcane History
Author R. F. Kuang
Brief Description Set during an alternate timeline in which translation from one language to another is a kind of magic that can be stored in silver, the novel is a story about four Oxford students who confront their complicity in British imperialism.
Recommended By Jessica Smith, Youth Services
Why She Chose It Babel is a great book with magic introduced in a very natural way- through words and translation. It also has a rarely seen perspective on Western practices.
Title Devil in Winter
Author Lisa Kleypas
Brief Description Desperate to escape her scheming relatives, Evangeline Jenner has sought the help of the most infamous scoundrel in London. A marriage of convenience is the only solution. No one would have ever paired the shy, stammering wallflower with the sinfully handsome viscount. It quickly becomes clear, however, that Evie is a woman of hidden strength—and Sebastian desires her more than any woman he's ever known.
Recommended By Jessica Smith, Youth Services
Why She Chose It The Kleypas universe is a romance reader’s paradise. I have two cats named after the hero of this story and legions of Kleypas heads celebrate whole days dedicated to her heroes. This book is perfect for fans of Bridgerton who want historical romances with lighthearted banter, strong heroines, and men who are smitten.
Title Braiding Sweetgrass
Author Robin Wall Kimmerer
Brief Description As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as "the younger brothers of creation."
Recommended By Jessica Smith, Youth Services
Why She Chose It One genre I have always struggled with is nonfiction, but recently I’ve been drawn to the outdoors and nature. I have been dreaming of a life in the woods. Braiding Sweetgrass is such a hopeful and beautiful book to read if you are looking for healthier ways to connect with the earth, and to learn more about all the wisdom lost with colonialization.
Title Heartbreaker
Author Sarah Maclean
Brief Description Sarah MacLean follows her highly acclaimed Bombshell with Heartbreaker, featuring a fierce, fearless heroine on a mission to steal a duke's secrets... and his heart. This second book in the series takes readers on a journey with Adelaide Frampton (the Matchbreaker) and her nemesis/love interest Henry, The Duke of Claybourn as they trek across England to try and track down a couple eloping to Gretna Green.
Recommended By Jessica Smith, Youth Services
Why She Chose It Every single book by this author is incredible. Historical romance at its finest. This series in particular is for people who enjoy a gang of women who take down corrupt men and the men who love them better for it. During the pandemic, I was having a lot of difficulty with anxiety. I decided to start reading romance novels because of the guaranteed Happily Ever After. Knowing that no matter what hard stuff happens, the main characters will be happy at the end of the book helped me feel safe to read again. But more than just safety, I found books that were incredibly well written and empowering. Emotional growth and healthy examples of consensual adult relationships?! Sign me up.
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