Celebrate Libraries: Books for Adults

In honor of Library Card Sign-up Month, we've gathered some of our favorite works of fiction and nonfiction that celebrate libraries.

Updated August 16, 2024
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What you are looking for is in the library : a novel
Aoyama, Michiko
Paper Book
A TIME BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A WASHINGTON POST BEST FEEL GOOD BOOK OF 2023 For fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, a charming, internationally bestselling Japanese novel about how the perfect book recommendation can change a...
The Paris library : a novel
Skeslien Charles, Janet
Paper Book
An instant New York Times, Washington Post, and USA TODAY bestseller--based on the true story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris during World War II--The Paris Library is a moving and unforgettable "ode to the importance of libraries, books, and...
The lions of Fifth Avenue : a novel
Davis, Fiona
Paper Book
1913. When Laura Lyons applies to the Columbia Journalism School she finds herself involved with the Greenwich Village Heterodoxy Club, a radical feminist group that makes her question her role as wife and mother. When valuable books are stolen from the library, she's forced to confront her...
The woman in the library : a novel
Gentill, Sulari
Paper Book
USA TODAY BESTSELLER * MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD NOMINEE * 2022 BOOKPAGE BEST MYSTERIES AND SUSPENSE * LIBRARY READS TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2022 * CRIME READS BEST NEW CRIME FICTION "Investigations are launched, fingers are pointed, potentially dangerous liaisons unfold and I was turning those...
The cartographers : a novel
Shepherd, Peng
Paper Book
USA TODAY AND LA TIMES BESTSELLER Finalist for the LA Times Book Prize! "The Cartographers is one of those brilliant books you have to read twice." -- Washington Post "There are echoes of Borges and Bradbury, Pynchon and Finian's Rainbow, but Ms. Shepherd's...
The secret lives of booksellers and librarians : true stories of the magic of reading
Patterson, James
Paper Book
This "celebration of the world of books" (Kirkus) from New York Times bestselling author James Patterson is a collection of riveting stories celebrating the heroic efforts of the people who are on the front lines getting our books into the world.​
The library book
Orlean, Susan
Paper Book
On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realised this was not the usual false alarm. As one fireman recounted later, 'Once that first stack got going, it was...
Palaces for the people : how social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life
Klinenberg, Eric
Paper Book
"A comprehensive, entertaining, and compelling argument for how rebuilding social infrastructure can help heal divisions in our society and move us forward."--Jon Stewart NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR * "Engaging."--Mayor Pete Buttigieg, The New York...
By book or by crook : a lighthouse library mystery
Gates, Eva
Paper Book
Get bound up in murder in the first Lighthouse Library mystery! For ten years Lucy has enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but she has not enjoyed the demands of her family's social whorl or her sort-of-engagement to the staid son of her...
The book collectors : a band of Syrian rebels and the stories that carried them through a war
Minoui, Delphine
Paper Book
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR "An urgent and compelling account of great bravery and passion." --Susan Orlean Award-winning journalist Delphine Minoui recounts the true story of a band of young rebels, a besieged Syrian town, and an underground library...
Summer hours at the robbers library
Halpern, Sue
Paper Book
"Sometimes the best stories in the library aren't found on its shelves; they're walking through its doors and congregating by the reference desk. Sue Halpern knows this and mines the setting for comic and tragicomic gold."--Marilyn Johnson, author of This Book Is Overdue! and The...
The library of the unwritten
Hackwith, A. J.
Paper Book
In the first book in a brilliant new fantasy series, books that aren't finished by their authors reside in the Library of the Unwritten in Hell, and it is up to the Librarian to track down any restless characters who emerge from those unfinished stories.
Libraries of Minnesota
Ohman, Doug
Paper Book
From cozy structures near small-town parks to impressive buildings in metropolitan downtowns, public libraries stand at the center of community and learning in Minnesota's landscape. Libraries of Minnesota celebrates these architectural icons and the joy of reading they have inspired in...
Why we read : on bookworms, libraries and just one more page before lights out
Reed, Shannon
Paper Book
*NATIONAL BESTSELLER* *A WGN Radio Best Book of 2024* *A Good Housekeeping Reads pick* A hilarious and incisive exploration of the joys of reading from a "beloved and wonderful writer" (George Saunders), teacher, bibliophile, and Thurber...

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