A reading list for readers looking to broaden their horizons

Are you a reader who would like to explore some new genres, but don’t know where to start? Fret not, librarians have got you covered. At the American Library Association Midwinter conference in January, a number of different committees met to discuss and honor books published in 2019. There was the Notable Books List, honoring literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry; the Listen List, highlighting outstanding audiobooks; the Sophie Brody Medal, for achievement in Jewish Literature; the Stonewall Book Award for LGBTQIA+ books; and many more. But today I want to talk about The Reading List, which highlights outstanding genre fiction across eight genres: Adrenaline (thrillers, adventure stories), Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Relationship Fiction, Romance, and Science Fiction.

While each genre has a winner, it also has a four-title shortlist. Among those five books are a range of what a reader can find in the genre, different types of stories for different readers, with hopes that everyone from a diehard fan to a new reader can find a title of interest. Check out the list, below, or in our catalog.

Adrenaline

The Passengers by John Marrs
After their driverless cars are hacked, eight passengers have two and a half hours to live. One will be set free based on the votes of a captive jury and the will of the world’s social media population – but each has secrets that could condemn them.

New Fiction Roundup, February 2020

Coming-of-age stories, a life lived out-of-order, baseball in a dystopian United States, queer librarian spies on horseback, and a dedicated Victorian detective – February has some gems waiting for you to discover!

2/4: Black Sunday by Tola Rotimi Abraham – A family saga follows one family over two decades in Nigeria, as each sibling searches for agency, love, and meaning in a society rife with hypocrisy but also endless life.

2/4: Everywhere You Don’t Belong by Gabriel Bump – In this coming of age novel, Claude McKay Love leaves the South Side of Chicago for college, only to discover that there is no safe haven for a young black man in today’s America.

2/4: The Resisters by Gish Jen –In a near-future world ruthlessly divided between the employed and unemployed, a once-professional couple gives birth to an athletically gifted child whose transition from an underground baseball league to the Olympics challenges the very foundations of their divided society. A Peak Pick!

2/4: Things in Jars by Jess Kidd – In Victorian London, a female sleuth is pulled into the macabre world of fanatical anatomists and crooked surgeons while investigating the kidnapping of an extraordinary child.

 2/4: Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey – The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.

New Fiction Roundup, January 2020

Whether reading is part of your New Year’s resolutions, or already a tried-and-true habit, here are some new novels coming out in January 2020 to consider.

1/1: Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg – Recently promoted as the youngest female homicide detective in the history of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Eve finds herself faced with a crime scene of horrific carnage, but curiously absent of bodies, with just her instinct to go on and a lot of people looking for her to fail.

1/7: The Heap by Sean Adams – In this near-future dystopia, a 500-story building has collapsed, becoming The Heap. Except there’s a survivor, Bernard, somehow broadcasting a radio show from inside the wreckage. Can his brother find him, or will corporate interest prevail?

1/7: Topics of Conversation by Miranda Popkey – This novel about sex, violence, and self-loathing consists of conversations between women over 20 years in the life of an unnamed narrator.

1/14: Cleanness by Garth Greenwell – An American teacher, living in Bulgaria, grapples with the intimate encounters that have marked his time abroad and reflects on a life transformed by the discovery and loss of love.

1/14: Followers by Megan Angelo – Budding novelist Orla and aspiring A-lister Floss come up with a plan to launch themselves using social media; 35 years later, government-appointed celebrities live every moment on camera, and one of them discovers a buried connection to Orla and Floss.

The Yule Log Times Three!

Seattle Weekly

Each of us has a picture that pops into our minds whenever we hear about the yule log. Whether it’s a log on the fire during Winter Solstice, a decadent dessert, or a cozy mystery. Here are a few items in our collection to celebrate the yule log in its many forms!

For apartment dwellers or those of us without a fire place you can stream your yule log fix! Access Video offers an hour of log burning, with music included, in The Ultimate Yule Log – “the Christmas classic! Instrumental and vocal music set against yule log fireplace footage. Songs include “Silent Night,” “Deck the Halls,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” ”O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “Good King Wenceslas,” and more!”

Holiday Shopping Guide from Reader Services

Happy Holidays! Here are some of our 2019 favorites for the readers on your shopping list this year:

Edge of Your Seat
• The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets
• The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
• American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
• Freefall by Jessica Barry
• No Exit by Taylor Adams

Dysfunctional Families
• The Cassandra by Sharma Shields
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
• The Grammarians by Cathleen Schine
• Mostly Dead Things by Kristen N. Arnett
• The Lost Man by Jane Harper

Unreliable Narrator
• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
• They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall
• Five Windows by Jon Roemer
• Speaking of Summer by Kalisha Buckhanon
• The Need by Helen Phillips