The best of genre reading in 2018

Coordinated by the American Library Association, each year a group of librarians from across the country form The Reading List Council with the goal to identify the year’s best books across eight genres. Here are the 2019 winners (for books published in 2018) in Adrenaline, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction, and Women’s Fiction, plus the short list of runners up in each category. Find new titles in the genre you love, or branch out and find something new to try. You can also find this full list in our library catalog.

Adrenaline

Safe Houses by Dan Fesperman
Managing CIA safe houses in 1979 West Berlin, Helen overhears a secret conversation that sends her on the run. Thirty-five years later, a tragedy leads Helen’s daughter to dig into her mother’s secret past, unaware that her mother’s old enemies are still watching.

Friday the 13th: Stream the Screams

It’s Friday the 13th, which always makes me want to curl up with a good horror flick…or even a bad one. But I’m sure I’m not the only one, and DVD wait lists can sometimes crush those plans…however with our streaming services a horror flick is just a click away with your library card.

Want to get your horror fix without a wait list! Go to Kanopy and Hoopla to stream now!

My favorites from Kanopy:

What We Do In the Shadows – A great little horror comedy mockumentary from New Zealander’s Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi who wrote, directed, and starred in the film.

“Housemates Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are three vampires who are trying to get by in modern society; from paying rent and doing housework to trying to get invited into nightclubs. They are just like anyone else – except they’re immortal and must feast on human blood. When their 8000 year-old roommate Petyr, turns 20-something human hipster Nick, into a vampire, the guys must guide him through his newfound eternal life.”

Le Guin, Allende, Bradbury & More, This Spring at Thrilling Tales!

This Spring Thrilling Tales, the library’s popular story time for grown ups, is branching out with new monthly evening events in addition to our regular lunch hour gatherings. Now in its 15th year, the program celebrates the joy of story with live readings of compelling, intriguing, wondrous and suspenseful stories. Here’s what’s coming up in the months ahead.

Five horror novels to read now

Why wait until everyone else is looking for ghost stories and horror to enjoy the gothic, the ghoulish and the ghastly? We see a big uptick in horror readers in October, but YOU can get ahead of the curve by diving into horror novels right now, mid April, when the days are getting longer (sunset today is at 7:51 p.m.!) and your body is enjoying replenished stores of vitamin D.

Our librarians chose some recent horror novels, published between 2016 and 2018, for just this purpose. You’ll see how the Donner Party can get even creepier, find out what havoc a Frankenstein-esque mindset can do in Baghdad, and keep the pages turning while the heart is pounding.

A genre reading list for library insiders

Chances are some of you haven’t heard of ALA’s Reading List Council, but trust me on this one: Their annual list of top books in several genres is a book lover’s gem. They pick the best in eight genres — including mystery, science fiction, and adrenaline (read: suspense/heart-thumping-page-turner) for adult readers. Librarians love that the Reading List is selected by readers advisory librarians who offer suggestions for similar titles. Readers love getting a list of genre favorites that includes winners and finalists.

To get you started with your holds, here are the 2018 winners (for books published in 2017). And be sure to check the full Reading List where you’ll find sixty-four (64!) reading recommendations.

Adrenaline

Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips
Joan and her four-year-old son, Lincoln, are enjoying an afternoon outing at the zoo when the unthinkable happens–a mass shooting. Trapped and in tremendous danger, Joan must rely on her bravery and survival instincts to make it out alive. This terrifyingly plausible thriller unfolds in real time.