Find your new read with this hand picked collection of staff favorite titles.
My favorite read of 2025 was Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle. The book offers its characters the chance to have a final meal with someone they have loved and lost. I adored it because it includes everything I love in fiction, all wrapped up in one novel: a love story, dark comedy, grief, food, and a hint of the supernatural (Joanna M. L., Library Assistant II, 5 Years)
Currently my favorite book is the western Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. It is one of the few books that I have read more than twice, and it is well over 800 pages. I love this book because of the depth that it carries while being so easy to read. The characters are excellent, the storyline is entertaining, and the language is beautiful. It is no wonder that it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 (Daniel O., Librarian I, 3.5 Years).
Graham Green is an English writer and he appeals to me because his topics and locals for his novels include Africa, Asia, Mexico, and England! Currently I’m reading The End of the Affair. The reason I'm reading it is because I just watched the movie based on this book, and the cast included Julianne Moore and Ralph Fiennes (Tim M., Library Aid, 8 Years as staff and 9 years as a volunteer).
It's a short book but it gives the reader a lot to think about. There's a lot of insight but also practical advice and tools to cope with suffering in everyday life. It has so many nuggets of wisdom, that I've found myself returning to it over and over again (Keith W., Media Technician, 10 years).
My favorite book to recommend these days is Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. It’s a memoir written by one of the "top" employees and at Facebook, now Meta. It gives an inside look at the company, its staff, and (through Sarah’s personal account) when and how things have gone so wrong. If you liked Bad Blood by John Carreyrou, you might like this book, too (Daniela L., Librarian I, 5 Years).
I've read everything Naomi Novik has written and believe her to be one of the best fantasy writers of our time, but the book of hers I like to recommend most is A Deadly Education, the first book in the Scholomance triology (followed by The Last Graduate, and The Golden Enclaves). The Scholomance is a school for the magically gifted, but it's no Hogwarts! This school has no teachers, its halls are riddled with monsters trying to devour the students, and no one can leave until they graduate. El, the protagonist, is jaded and sassy, perhaps because she possesses a dark power she suspects could annihilate even the most powerful monster, but that she fears might also end up killing all her classmates in the process. This book will suck you in and you won't be able to stop until you've finished the whole trilogy! (Clara M., Collection Development Librarian-Youth, 14 years).
Isabel Allende is one of my favorite fiction authors and reading her novels is a yearly ritual for me. However, none of her stories prepared me for the heart breaking tale detailing the year and a half of her life when her daughter suffered the long illness that eventually led to her death. A moving book and a love letter to her daughter, Allende alternates her family's story with Paula's illness. Along the way, we also learn of the family members and situations that were the inspiration for many of the characters, places, and stories in Allende's fictional world. Told with a touch of magical realism, this book is a unique experience that lingers (Mildred A., Digital Services Librarian, 14 years).
Compiled by Daniela Leyva
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