Provo City Library Reading Recommendations

Discontinuing blog

2016-01-11T19:23:00.003-07:00

As of January 1, 2016, the Provo City Library's Reading Recommendation blog has been discontinued. Readers will still be able to access the blog's archives; however, all new posts suggesting books to read will appear on the new Provo City Library blog.

provolibrary.com/blog

Thank you for your continued support over the years, and we hope you enjoy our new blog.

Moving On: Books for Life's Changes

2015-11-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:
• Moving tips
• Books on starting a new career
• Advice for life changes

Downsizing Your Home with Style: Living Well in a Smaller Space
Lauri Ward
648. WAR 2007
When you're moving a lifetime's accumulation of belongings from a larger home into a jewel box, the task can seem overwhelming—and so can your emotions. How do you decide what to pack and what to part with? How can you use the things you have so that they function well and look right? Downsizing Your Home with Style answers these questions and more.

How to Survive a Move: By Hundreds of Happy People Who Did, and Some Things to Avoid, From a Few People Who Haven’t Unpacked Yet
Jamie Allen
648.9 HOW 2005
If you are one of the forty million Americans who will move this year, you know the task can seem overwhelming. Now, there's help. How to Survive A Move offers hundreds of helpful and entertaining stories on moving from the real “pros”— everyday people who have moved (many of them over a dozen times!) and survived to tell their stories.

Get the Job You Want, Even When No One’s Hiring
Ford R. Myers
650.14 MYE 2009
You CAN find a good job in a bad economy - but NOT with conventional search strategies. Today's job market is the toughest in recent history, and the challenges are here to stay. Even so, you CAN get the job you want - IF you discard conventional approaches to the search.

Classic Legal Thrillers

2015-11-10T15:36:00.000-07:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:

• Authors similar to Leo Tolstoy or Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Books published more than 10 years ago
• Classics
• Legal Thrillers
• Books available in a variety of formats

The Siege
Helen Dunmore
F DUNMORE
Set against the turbulent backdrop of Leningrad in 1941, a novel of love and war follows the Levin family--twenty-two year-old Anna, her young brother Kilya, and their father, Mikhail--as they struggle to survive during the German siege. Published in 2002, 293 pgs. Available only in regular print.

The Heart of Danger
Gerald Seymour
LP F SEYMOUR
Despite government promises that war criminals in the former Yugoaslvia will be punished, no action is taken when Englishwoman Dorrie Mowat is brutally murdered in Croatia, and P.I. Bill Penn goes behind enemy lines to seek justice. Published in 1996, 542 pgs. Available only in large print.

The Stranger
Albert Camus
F CAMUS
When a young Algerian named Meursault kills a man, his subsequent imprisonment and trial are puzzling and absurd. The apparently amoral Meursault--who puts little stock in ideas like love and God--seems to be on trial less for his murderous actions, and more for what the authorities believe is his deficient character. Published in 1989, 123 pgs. Available only in regular print.

Fathers and Sons
Ivan Turgenev
F TURGENEV
When Arkady Petrovich returns home from college, his father finds his naïve son fallen under the powerful influence of the ardent young Bazarov, a self-proclaimed nihilist. Published in 1862, 219 pgs. Available in regular print, eBook, and downloadable audiobook.

Madame Bovary
Gustave Flaubert
F FLAUBERT
Emma Bovary, the bored wife of a French provincial doctor, scans her solitude with desperate eyes, like a shipwrecked sailor searching for a white sail on the distant horizon. And when Emma's ship finally comes in, it carries with it vast and tragic consequences upon which her own life and the lives of those around her are wrecked. Published in 1856, 403 pgs. Available in regular print, book on CD, eBook, and downloadable audiobook.

The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre Dumas
F DUMAS
Imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, Edmond Dantès spends fourteen bitter years in a dungeon. When his daring escape plan works he uses all he has learnt during his incarceration to mastermind an elaborate plan of revenge against those he holds responsible for his fate. No longer the naïve sailor who disappeared into the dark fortress all those years ago, he reinvents himself as the charming, mysterious and powerful Count of Monte Cristo. Published in 1845, 1462 pgs. Available in regular print, book on CD, eBook, and downloadable audiobook.

Success Stories

2015-10-31T15:12:00.001-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:
• Nonfiction
• Books about sports and fiction
• Biographies
• Success Stories

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
Laura Hillenbrand
BIO ZAMPERIN 2010
On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared--Lt. Louis Zamperini. Captured by the Japanese and driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor.

Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics
Jeremy Schaap
BIO OWENS 2007
A look at the accomplishments of Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympic Games draws on interviews, family sources, and archival research to provide a portrait of a remarkable man in relation to the intrigues, controversies, and political machinations that took place.

American Story: A Lifetime of Searching for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things
Bob Dotson
973 DOT 2013
The host of the NBC Today Show's Emmy Award-winning "American Story with Bob Dotson" celebrates the inspirational stories of everyday, unrecognized people who changed the world for the better, from a truck driver who taught microsurgery to the doctor who developed the vaccine for pertussis.

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Jon Krakauer
796.522 KRA 1999
The author describes his spring 1996 trek to Mt. Everest, a disastrous expedition that claimed the lives of eight climbers, and explains why he survived.

Young Love: Teen Romantic Comedies

2015-10-31T14:34:00.000-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:
• Young adult romantic comedies
• Strong characters
• Intriguing relationships
• Happy endings

I’d Tell You I Love You But Then I’d Have to Kill You
Ally Carter
YA F CARTER
Gallaghe #1
As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from "normal teenage life" until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission.

Paranormalcy
Kiersten White
YA F WHITE Paranorm #1
Evie, the only known human with the ability to see through supernatural "glamours," works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA) tracking down dangerous creatures. (Really, she finds the work dull and would rather be shopping, watching TV, or at the very least at home painting her weapons pink.) But when a mysterious shape-shifter invades the IPCA and brings news of a string of paranormal murders, things start to heat up.

Better Off Friends
Elizabeth Eulberg
YA F EULBERG
Macallan and Levi are best friends from the first day they meet in seventh grade, but over the years their close friendship keeps interfering with their dating life because everyone else regards them as a couple.

Just Like the Movies
Kelly Fiore
YA F FIORE
Pretty, popular Marijke Monti and over-achieving nerd-girl Lily Spencer have little in common--except that neither feels successful when it comes to love. Now they have a budding friendship and a plan--to act out grand gestures and get the guys of their dreams.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Jennifer E. Smith
YA F SMITH
Seventeen-year-old Hadley's father is getting remarried, and while Hadley is (much) less than thrilled about it, she's traveling to England to be a part of his wedding. After missing her flight to London by just four minutes, Hadley gets rebooked on another flight...where she meets Oliver.

The Classics Aren't So Bad: Clean Historical Romance to Get Teens into Classic Lit

2015-10-19T11:26:00.000-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:
• Classics or gateways to classics
• Clean reads
• Historical Fiction
• Romance
• Female protagonists

An Old-Fashioned Girl
Louisa May Alcott
J F ALCOTT
Polly's friendship with the wealthy Shaws of Boston helps them to build a new life and teaches her the truth about the relationship between happiness and riches.

Edenbrooke
Julianne Donaldson
ROMANCE DONADSO
When Marianne receives an invitation to spend the summer with her twin sister in Edenbrooke, she has no idea of the romance and adventure that await her once she meets the dashing Sir Philip.

The Blue Castle
Lucy Maud Montgomery
YA FICTION MONTGOME
Valancy Stirling, an inhibited twenty-nine-year-old spinster, undergoes a total personality change when a doctor tells her she has no more than one year to live.

Longing for Home
Sarah Eden
ROMANCE EDEN
Longing #1
Twenty-six-year-old Katie Macauley has placed all her hope in Hope Springs, a small town in the 1870 Wyoming Territory. But if she wants to return home to Ireland to make amends with her estranged family, she'll need to convince the influential Joseph Archer to hold true to his word and keep her on his payroll as his housekeeper--despite her Irish roots.

Emma: A Latter-day Tale
Rebecca H. Jamison
ROMANCE JAMISON
Jane Austen's classic matchmaking tale with a modern twist. Emma isn't so good at the whole life-coaching thing. Her first client ended up with a broken heart and is threatening to relapse in her bad habits. Now Emma has problems of her own to deal with, and they all start with one name: Justin. Justin is her best friend, so it's hard for Emma not to feel betrayed when she suspects he is falling for her childhood rival. And she knows she's losing him despite her best efforts. How is she supposed to help other people when she's drowning in her own failures.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Elizabeth George Speare
YA F SPEARE
Kit Tyler leaves her luxurious home in Barbados to visit her Puritan aunt in colonial Connecticut. While there she becomes friendly with Hannah, the witch of Blackbird Pond.

YA Historical Novels with Clever Female Leads

2015-10-17T14:22:00.002-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:
• YA Reads
• Female, teenage protagonists
• Stories set in the past
• Adventure

What I Saw and How I Lied
Judy Blundell
YA F BLUNDELL
In 1947, with her jovial stepfather Joe back from the war and family life returning to normal, teenage Evie, smitten by the handsome young ex-GI who seems to have a secret hold on Joe, finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies whose devastating outcome change her life and that of her family forever.

Sophia’s War
Avi
JF AVI
In 1776, after witnessing the execution of Nathan Hale in New York City, newly occupied by the British army, young Sophia Calderwood resolves to do all she can to help the American cause, including becoming a spy.

Scarlet
A.C. Gaughen
YA F GAUGHEN Scarlet #1
Will Scarlet shadows Robin Hood, with an unerring eye for finding treasures to steal and throwing daggers with deadly accuracy, but when Gisbourne, a ruthless bounty hunter, is hired by the sheriff to capture Robin and his band of thieves, Robin must become Will's protector risking his own life in the process.

The Midwife’s Apprentice
Karen Cushman
YA F CUSHMAN
In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world.

Ruby in the Smoke
Philip Pullman
YAF PULLMAN Sally Lo #1
In nineteenth-century London, sixteen-year-old Sally Lockhart, a recent orphan, becomes involved in a deadly search for a mysterious ruby.

Teen Historical Adventures

2015-10-09T15:28:00.001-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:
• Historical Fiction
• Adventure
• Around 100 pages

The Xanadu Adventure
Lloyd Alexander
J FICTION ALEXADER
145 pages. Vesper Holly's adventures continue as she, her guardians, and their friends journey to Asia Minor in search of the ancient city of Troy, but fall into the trap of an old nemesis.

The Wreckers
Iain Lawrence
YA F LAWRENCE High Sea #1
196 pages. Shipwrecked after a vicious storm, fourteen-year-old John Spencer attempts to save his father and himself while also dealing with an evil secret about the English coastal town where they are stranded.

The Call of the Wild
Jack London
YA F LONDON
127 pages. The adventures of an unusual dog, part St. Bernard, part Scotch shepherd, that is forcibly taken to the Klondike gold fields where he eventually becomes the leader of a wolf pack.

I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79
Lauren Tarshis
J FICTION TARSHIS I Surviv PB
95 pages. Follows the experiences of a young boy who struggles to escape the catastrophic A.D. 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Flint
Louis L’Amour
GENERAL FICTION L’AMOUR
181 pages. Rich beyond belief and despised by many, Flint comes home to die of cancer with no one at his side, until Nancy Kerrigan, a local rancher, needs his help in saving her ranch, and only Flint has the resources and skills to help her before his time runs out.

Narrative Nonfiction about Food

2015-10-09T12:39:00.002-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:
• Narrative nonfiction
• Books about food

Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light
Mort Rosenblum
641.3374
A delectable journey into the world of chocolate--from manufacturing to marketing, French boutiques to American multinationals--by the award-winning author of "Olives." Science, over recent years, has confirmed what chocolate lovers have always known: the stuff is actually good for you. It's the Valentine's Day drug of choice, has more antioxidants than red wine, and triggers the same brain responses as falling in love. Nothing, in the end, can stand up to chocolate as a basic fundament to human life. In this scintillating narrative, acclaimed foodie Mort Rosenblum delves into the complex world of chocolate. From the mole poblano--chile-laced chicken with chocolate--of ancient Mexico to the contemporary French chocolatiers who produce the palets d'or--bite-sized, gold-flecked bricks of dark chocolate--to the vast empires of Hershey, Godiva, and Valrhona, Rosenblum follows the chocolate trail the world over. He visits cacao plantations, meets with growers, buyers, makers, and tasters, and investigates the dark side of the chocolate trade as well as the enduring appeal of its product. Engaging, entertaining, and revealing, "Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light" is a fascinating foray into this "food of the gods."

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
Barbara Kingsolver
641.0973 KIN 2007
Bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver returns with her first nonfiction narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat. "As the U.S. population made an unprecedented mad dash for the Sun Belt, one carload of us paddled against the tide, heading for the Promised Land where water falls from the sky and green stuff grows all around. We were about to begin the adventure of realigning our lives with our food chain. "Naturally, our first stop was to buy junk food and fossil fuel. . . ." Hang on for the ride: With characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that's better for the neighborhood and also better on the table. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet. "This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew . . . and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen
Lucy Knisley
GN BIO KNISLEY 2013
Lucy Knisley loves food. The daughter of a chef and a gourmet, this talented young cartoonist comes by her obsession honestly. In her forthright, thoughtful, and funny memoir, Lucy traces key episodes in her life thus far, framed by what she was eating at the time and lessons learned about food, cooking, and life. Each chapter is bookended with an illustrated recipe-- many of them treasured family dishes, and a few of them Lucy's original inventions.

Talking with My Mouth Full: Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes, and Other Kitchen Stories
Bonny Wolf
641 WOL 2007
In this collection of essays, NPR weekly food commentator Bonny Wolf invites readers to explore foods ranging from toast to aioli, Jell-O to shepherd's pie East Indian style. What are the foods we enjoy eating and how does food bind us to one another? Recipes included.

Inspiring, Whimsical Adventure

2015-10-09T12:21:00.001-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:
• Whimsical books
• Inspiring reads
• Adventure
• Easy reads
• Stories about true love

Ink and Bone: The Great Library
Rachel Caine
NEW BOOKS YA F CAINE Great Li #1
Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. When Jess Brightwell inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life--and soon both heretics and books will burn.

Wizard of Earthsea
Ursuala Le Guin
SCI-FI LE GUIN
Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tumultuous tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance. If you like this be sure to read Tombs of Atuan and the other books in the series.

A Court of Thorns and Roses
Sarah J. Maas
NEW BOOKS YA F MAAS Court of #1
Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from stories, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin, a High Lord of the faeries. As her feelings toward him transform from hostility to a fiery passion, the threats against the faerie lands grow. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose Tamlin forever.

The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss
SCI-FI ROTHFUSS Kingkill #1
A hero named Kvothe, now living under an assumed name as the humble proprietor of an inn, recounts his transformation from a magically gifted young man into the most notorious wizard, musician, thief, and assassin in his world.

Uplifting Reads

2015-09-26T15:10:00.004-06:00

Try these books if you're looking for:
•   Inspiring stories
•   Uplifting information
•   History
•   Feel-good reads
•   Nonfiction or Fiction

Outliers: The Story of Success

Malcolm Gladwell

302 GLA 2008

Identifies the qualities of successful people, posing theories about the cultural, family, and idiosyncratic factors that shape high achievers, in a resource that covers such topics as the secrets of software billionaires and why the Beatles earned their fame.

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Quest for Gold at the1936 Berlin Olympics

Daniel Brown

797.123 BRO 2013

Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans.

All the Light We Cannot See

Anthony Doerr

F DOERR

A blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

The Invention of Wings

Sue Monk Kidd

Fiction KIDD

Traces more than three decades in the lives of a wealthy Charleston debutante who longs to break free from the strictures of her household and pursue a meaningful life; and the urban slave, Handful, who is placed in her charge as a child before finding courage and a sense of self.

The Happiness Project, or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning,Clean my Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

Gretchen Rubin

158 RUB 2009

A thoughtful and prescriptive work on happiness filled with practical advice, sharp insight, charm, and humor.

The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness

Jerome E. Groopman

616.0019 GRO 2004

Explores the diverse ways in which hope and other positive emotions influence the healing process, drawing on real-life experiences to analyze the biology of hope, as well as its benefits and limits.

Children's Fantasy and Adventure

2015-09-26T14:36:00.003-06:00

Try these books if you're looking for:
•    Fantasy
•    Adventure
•    Mystery
•    Mythical creatures and abnormal worlds
•    Suspense
•    Children’s fiction

The Luck Uglies

Paul Durham

JF DURHAM Luck Ug #1

Eleven-year-old Rye O'Chanter and her two friends delve into the secret lore of their village when mysterious creatures of legend reappear on the night of the Black Moon, leading them to the notorious secret society, the Luck Uglies.

The Last Dragonslayer

Jasper Fforde

JF FFORDE Kazam #1

Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange runs an agency for underemployed magicians in a world where magic is fading away, but when visions of the death of the world's last dragon begin, all signs point to Jennifer--and Big Magic.

Mark of the Dragonfly

Jaleigh Johnson

JF JOHNSON

Since her father's death in a factory in the Dragonfly territories, thirteen-year-old Piper has eked out a living as a scrapper in Merrow Kingdom, but the arrival of a mysterious girl sends her on a dangerous journey to distant lands.

Dark Life

Kat Falls

JF FALLS Dark Lif #1

When fifteen-year-old Ty, who has always lived on the ocean floor, joins Topside girl, Gemma, in the frontier's underworld to seek and stop outlaws who threaten his home, they learn that the government may pose an even greater threat.

White Mountains

John Christopher

JF CHRISTOPH Tripods #1

Teen Adventure and Romance with a Female Protagonist

2015-09-01T16:06:00.001-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:

•    Young adult fiction
•    Teen female protagonists
•    Adventure
•    Romance

Grave Mercy
Robin LaFevers
YA F LAFEVERS His Fair #1
In the fifteenth-century kingdom of Brittany, seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts--and a violent destiny.

The Winner’s Curse
Marie Rutkoski
YA F RUTKOSKI Winner’s #1
An aristocratic girl who is a member of a warmongering and enslaving empire purchases a slave, an act that sets in motion a rebellion that might overthrow her world as well as her heart.

We Were Liars
E. Lockhart
YA F LOCKHART
Spending the summers on her family's private island off the coast of Massachusetts with her cousins and a special boy named Gat, teenaged Cadence struggles to remember what happened during her fifteenth summer. This brilliant and heartbreaking novel is full of love, lies, secrets, no shortage of family dysfunction, and a shocking twist that you won’t see coming.

Delirium
Lauren Oliver
YA F OLIVER Delirium #1
Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, she falls in love.

The Kiss of Deception
Mary Pearson
YA F PEARSON Remnant #1
On the morning of her wedding, Princess Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive--and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets--even as she finds herself falling in love.

Smart Dystopian YA

2015-08-19T14:32:00.001-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:

     • Books similar to The Giver by Lois Lowry
     • Smart dystopian fiction
     • Young adult fiction

Among the Hidden
Margaret Peterson Haddix
YA F HADDIX Shadow #1
A government decree allows each family only two children. For Luke, a third child, this has meant a lifetime of hiding. But could a stray glimpse of a child hiding in the house across the way lead to freedom?

Legend
Marie Lu
YA F LU Legend #1
In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

Uglies
Scott Westerfield
YA F WESTERFE Uglies #1
Just before their sixteenth birthdays, when they will be transformed into beauties whose only job is to have a great time, Tally's best friend runs away and Tally must find her and turn her in, or never become pretty at all.

Fantasy Adventure

2015-08-19T13:10:00.000-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:

•   Adventure
•   Fantasy
•   A good story
•   Books that make you think

The Once and Future King
T.H. White
SCI-FI WHITE
Merlyn instructs Arthur and his brother Sir Kay in the ways of the world. One of them will need it-- the king has died leaving no heir, and a rightful one must be found by pulling a sword from an anvil resting on a stone. In the second and third parts ofthe novel, Arthur has become king and the kingdom is threatened from the north. In the final two books, the aging king faces his greatest challenge, when his own son threatens to overthrow him. In The Book of Merlyn, Arthur's tutor Merlyn reappears, and teaches him that, even in the face of apparent ruin, there is hope.

Dune
Frank Herbert
SCI-FI HERBERT Dune #1
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, this is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib, avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family, and bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.

Assassin’s Apprentice
Robin Hobb
SCI-FI HOBB Farseer #1
As Fitz, an outcast and the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, grows to manhood, a legacy of magical skill and other mysterious talents propels him into the role of protector of the kingdom, if his initial perilous mission does not destroy him first.

Across the Nightingale Floor
Lian Hearn
F HEARN Tales of #1
Takeo, brought up peacefully in a remote Japanese mountain village, learns that his father was a celebrated assassin, and that he, too, possesses extraordinary skills. To resolve split loyalties and his conflicted nature, Takeo embarks on a journey that will lead him to his destiny.

Naturalism, Travel and Adventure Nonfiction

2015-08-03T11:42:00.000-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:

•    Travel
•    Adventure
•    Naturalism

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
Bill Bryson
917.404 BRY 2007
This book traces the author's adventurous trek along the Appalachian Trail past its natural pleasures, human eccentrics, and offbeat comforts.

H is for Hawk
Helen Macdonald
598.944 MAC 2015
Recounts how the author, an experienced falconer grieving the sudden death of her father, endeavored to train for the first time a dangerous goshawk predator as part of her personal recovery.

In Search of King Solomon’s Mines
Tahir Shah
916.304 SHA 2003
A bold elephant hunter journeys to an unknown land in search of fabled lost treasure. But terrible dangers threaten anyone who approaches the wonderful diamond mines of King Solomon. This great African adventure novel is an enduring favorite among those who love excitement and romance. It is filled with qualities close to the human heart: the spirit of adventure and discovery, the desire for immortality, primal terror, and the search for the primitive.

A Winter in Arabia
Freya Stark
953.35 STA 1987
Recounts the late author's 1937-1938 expedition through the land now called Yemen, during which she and two companions spent a winter in search of an ancient South Arabian city and examined local business and social conduct as well as life behind the veil for women.

Feel-good Historical Fiction

2015-07-28T16:21:00.000-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:

· Historical Fiction

· Feel-good Reads

It Happened at the Fair

Deeanne Gist

F GIST

A historical novel about a promising young inventor, his struggle with loss, and the attractive teacher who changes his life, all set against the razzle-dazzle of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker

Jennifer Chiaverini

F CHIAVERINI

Elizabeth Keckley, born a slave, uses her skills as a dressmaker to purchase her freedom. After Lincoln’s election, Elizabeth is hired by First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Mrs. Lincoln comes to rely heavily on Elizabeth’s calming influence and steady support as she navigates the trials of being the First Lady.

The Shoemaker’s Wife

Adriana Trigiani

F TRIGIANI
Two star-crossed lovers--Enza and Ciro--meet and separate, until, finally, the power of their love changes both of their lives forever. Set during the years preceding and during World War I.

Clara and Mr. Tiffany

Susan Vreeland

F VREELAND

Louis Comfort Tiffany staffs his studio with female artisans--a decision that protects him from strikes by the all-male union--but refuses to employ women who are married. Lucky for him, Clara Driscoll's romantic misfortunes ensure that she can continue to craft the jewel-toned glass windows and lamps that catch both her eye and her imagination.

Mr.Rosenblum Dreams in English

Natasha Solomons

F SOLOMONS
After escaping Germany during WWII, Jack and Sadie Rosenblum, together with their baby daughter, settle into a life of acting "English." In post-war England, however, no golf club will admit a Rosenblum. So Jack hatches a wild idea: he'll build his own. It's an obsession Sadie does not share, particularly when Jack relocates them to a thatched roof cottage in Dorset to embark on his project.

Young Adult Fantasy

2015-07-18T17:03:00.002-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:

• Young Adult
• Fantasy

The Demon King
Cinda Williams Chima
YA F CHIMA Seven Re #1
Relates the intertwining fates of former street gang leader Han Alister and headstrong Princess Raisa, as Han takes possession of an amulet that once belonged to an evil wizard and Raisa uncovers a conspiracy in the Grey Wolf Court.

The Naming
Alison Coggon
YA F CROGGON Books Pe #1
A manuscript from the lost civilization of Edil-Amarandah chronicles the experiences of sixteen-year-old Maerad, an orphan gifted in the magic and power of the Bards, as she escapes from slavery and begins to learn how to use her Gift to stave off the evil Darkness that threatens to consume her world.

Finnikin of the Rock
Melina Marchetta
YA F MARCHETT Lumatere #1
Now on the cusp of manhood, Finnikin, who was a child when the royal family of Lumatere was brutally murdered and replaced by an imposter, reluctantly joins forces with an enigmatic young novice and fellow-exile, who claims that her dark dreams will lead them to a surviving royal child and a way to regain the throne of Lumatere.

Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss
SCI-FI ROTHFUSS Kingkill #1
A hero named Kvothe, now living under an assumed name as the humble proprietor of an inn, recounts his transformation from a magically gifted young man into the most notorious wizard, musician, thief, and assassin in his world.

Young Adult Historical Fiction

2015-07-18T16:28:00.001-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:

•    Historical Fiction
•    Young Adult Fiction
•    Female Protagonists

Belle Epoque
Elizabeth Ross
YA F ROSS
Sixteen-year-old Maude Pichon, a plain, impoverished girl in Belle Epoque Paris, is hired by Countess Dubern to make her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, look more beautiful by comparison but soon Maude is enmeshed in a tangle of love, friendship, and deception.

My Family for the War
Anne C. Voorhoeve
YA F VOORHOEV
Before the start of World War II, ten-year-old Ziska Mangold, who has Jewish ancestors but has been raised as a Protestant, is taken out of Nazi Germany on one of the Kindertransport trains, to live in London with a Jewish family, where she learns about Judaism and endures the hardships of war while attempting to keep in touch with her parents, who are trying to survive in Holland.

The Caged Graves
Dianne K. Salerni
YA F SALERNI
Returning to her hometown of Catawissa, Pennsylvania, in 1867 to marry a man she has never met, seventeen-year-old Verity Boone gets caught up in the a mystery surrounding the graves of her mother and aunt and a dangerous hunt for Revolutionary-era gold.

Prisoner of Night and Fog
Anne Blankman
YA F BLANKMAN Prisonder #1
In 1930s Munich, the favorite niece of rising political leader Adolph Hitler is torn between duty and love after meeting a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter.

Catherine, Called Birdy
Karen Cushman
YA F CUSHMAN
The daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off.

Paranormal Fantasy with Action and Romance

2015-07-18T12:55:00.003-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:

•    Adventure
•    Action
•    Romance
•    Paranormal Fantasy

Stitching Snow
R.C. Lewis
YA F LEWIS
A futuristic retelling of Snow White in which seventeen-year-old Essie, a master at repairing robots and drones on the frozen mining planet Thanda, is pulled into a war by handsome and mysterious Dane after his shuttle crash-lands near her home.

Ill Wind
Rachel Caine
SCI-FI CAINE Weather #1
When Joanne Baldwin, a Weather Warden who can tame the most violent weather, is forced to flee from the law when murder accusations rain down upon her, she must find the only man who can help her - Lewis, the most powerful Warden, who is also on the run from the World Council.

Embrace
Jessica Shirvington
YA F SHIRVING Violet #1
Violet Eden's life is thrown into disorder on her seventeenth birthday when Lincoln, her training partner and the object of her affection, reveals to her that they are both half angels, until the mysterious exiled angel Phoenix enters her life.

The Iron King
Julie Kagawa
YA F KAGAWA Iron_Fey #1
When her half-brother is kidnapped, Meghan Chase, who has recently learned that she is the daughter of the summer faery king, must journey into a strange world she never imagined to face an unknown enemy and save those she loves.

Beautiful Creatures
Kami Garcia
YA F GARCIA Caster #1
In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.

Contemporary Urban Horror

2015-06-24T14:36:00.001-06:00

Try these books if you’re looking for:

• horror
• adventure
• urban setting
• contemporary setting

The Strain
Guillermo del Toro
F TORO Strain #1
The story begins onboard a grounded plane that has just landed at New York's JFK airport. Police and emergency medical crews are called to investigate the possible outbreak of a mysterious disease, which has killed all but four of the plane's passengers. Unknowingly, something more ominous is responsible for the carnage, which now threatens the city and soon the entire country.

House of Leaves
Mark Z. Danielewski
F DANIELEW
When House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper. Now, for the first time, this astonishing novel is made available in book form. The story remains unchanged, focusing on a young family that moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something is terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story -- of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Jeffry P. Lindsay
MYSTERY LINDSAY Dexter #1
Dexter Morgan, who hides a secret life as a serial killer while working as a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami police, is intrigued by the work of a new serial killer whose style mimics his own.

Odd Thomas
Dean R. Koontz
F KOONTZ Odd Thom #1
Over the course of two days, Odd Thomas, his soul-mate Stormy Llewellyn, and an assortment of allies make their way through a dark, terrifying world in which past and present, and life and death collide as they try to avert a cataclysm.

Koko

Peter Straub

F STRAUB Tim Unde #1

"KOKO..." Only four men knew what it meant. They were Vietnam vets-a doctor, a lawyer, a working stiff, and a writer. They were as different as men could be. Yet all of them were bound eternally together by a single shattering secret. And now they have been reunited, on a quest that will take them from the graveyards and fleshpots of the Far East to the human jungle of New York...as they hunt something inhuman from the past that has risen from the darkness to kill and kill and kill....

Teen Fiction

2015-06-16T16:52:00.000-06:00

Try these books if you're looking for:

fiction
teen reads
young protagonists
reads like Lois Lowry, JK Rowling, Gail Carson Levine, and Harper Lee

Cinder
By: Marissa Meyer
Call Number: YA F MEYER Lunar #1
As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.

Matched
By: Ally Condie
Call Number: YA F CONDIE Matched #1
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her, so when Xander appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate--until Ky Markham's face appears for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Wednesday Wars
By: Gary Schmidt
Call Number: YA F SCHMIDT
During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in.

Rebecca
By: Daphne du Maurier
Call Number: F DU MAURIER
A classic novel of romantic suspense finds the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter entering the home of her mysterious and enigmatic new husband and learning the story of the house's first mistress, to whom the sinister housekeeper is unnaturally devoted.

Clean, Fast-Paced Novels with Action and Romance

2015-05-01T12:29:00.001-06:00

Try these books if you're looking for:

clean reads
fast pacing
some action
some romance

Princess of the Midnight Ball
Jessica Day George
YA F GEORGE
A retelling of the tale of twelve princesses who wear out their shoes dancing every night, and of Galen, a former soldier now working in the king's gardens, who follows them in hopes of breaking the curse. The first in a series.

Ruby in the Smoke
Philip Pullman
YA F PULLMAN
In nineteenth-century London, sixteen-year-old Sally Lockhart, a recent orphan, becomes involved in a deadly search for a mysterious ruby.

Princess Bride
William Goldman
YA F GOLDMAN
A classic swashbuckling romance retells the tale of a drunken swordsman and a gentle giant who come to the aid of Westley, a handsome farm boy, and Buttercup, a princess in dire need of rescue from the evil schemers surrounding her.

Grave Mercy
Robin LaFevers
YA F LAFEVERS
In the fifteenth-century kingdom of Brittany, seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts--and a violent destiny.

Longbourn
Jo Baker
F BAKER
Using Pride and Prejudice’s familiar setting and characters, Baker tells a very different story of family, love and self-discovery. Bold and intelligent, Sarah is an orphaned housemaid whose days are filled with hard, body-punishing work.

Sabriel
Garth Nix
YA F NIX
Sabriel, daughter of the necromancer Abhorsen, must journey into the mysterious and magical Old Kingdom to rescue her father from the Land of the Dead.

Modern Boy YA with Magic

2015-05-01T12:14:00.001-06:00

Try these books if you're looking for:

teen reads
male protagonist
good characterization
modern settings

Ship Breaker
Paolo Bacigalupi
YA F BACIGALU
In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.

Midnight for Charlie Bone
Jenny Nimmo
YA F NIMMO Charlie #1
Charlie Bone's life with his widowed mother and two grandmothers undergoes a dramatic change when he discovers that he can hear people in photographs talking.

Insignia
S.J. Kincaid
YA F KINCAID Insignia #1
Tom, a fourteen-year-old genius at virtual reality games, is recruited by the United States Military to begin training at the Pentagon Spire as a Combatant in World War III, controlling the mechanized drones that do the actual fighting off-planet.

Human Interest Nonfiction

2015-05-01T11:52:00.001-06:00

Try these books if you're looking for:

nonfiction
human interest (like Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert)
not super sad
not explicit

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels
Ree Drummond
BIO DRUMMOND
American blogger and food writer Ree Drummond relates the real life story of how she met and married her "Marlboro Man." Her stories about her husband, family, and country living paint a humorous and poignant picture of life on an Oklahoma ranch. This book is one of my favorites (and, yes, I've read it more than once). Humorous writing style and just a good, true story.

Dad Is Fat
Jim Gaffigan
814.6 GAF 2013
Stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan, who's best known for his legendary riffs on Hot Pockets, bacon, manatees, and McDonald's, expresses all the joys and horrors of life with five young children.

The Answer to the Riddle Is Me: A Memoir of Amnesia
David MacLean
BIO MACLEAN
"In 2002, at age twenty-eight, David MacLean "woke up" in a foreign land with his memory wiped clean. No money. No passport. No identity. Taken to a mental hospital by the police, MacLean then started to hallucinate so severely he had to be tied down. Soon he could remember song lyrics and scenes from television shows, but not his family, his friends, or the woman he loved. All of these symptoms, it turned out, were the result of the commonly prescribed malarial medication he was taking. Upon his return to the States, he struggled to piece together the fragments of his former life in a harrowing, absurd, and unforgettable journey back to himself." While this does have some sadder elements, the entire journey is fascinating and the writing is beautiful.

Wish You Happy Forever: What China's Orphans Taught Me About Moving Mountains
Jenny Bowen
362.734 BOW 2014
The founder of Half the Sky Foundation, an organization dedicated to transforming Chinese orphanages and the lives of the neglected girls who live in them, details her relentless perseverance and unwavering commitment to this cause. This seems like it would have the potential to be really sad, but it was actually really inspiring. It made me want to go start a non-profit organization. And adopt Chinese orphans.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress
Rhoda Janzen
BIO JANZEN
A hilarious and moving memoir--in the spirit of Anne Lamott and Nora Ephron--about a woman who returns home to her close-knit Mennonite family after a personal crisis. This book had a lot to say about personal faith and growth that was very interesting. The first book has a lot of language in it. The second book (Mennonite Meets Mr. Right) does not and details her conversion to evangelical Christianity.

The Boys in the Boat
Daniel Brown
797.123 BRO 2013
Daniel James Brown's robust book tells the story of the University of Washington's 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. Super inspiring. I listened to this on a road trip and had to keep driving around so I could finish it.