Oregon City Adult Staff Picks List

Titles recommended by Adult Services staff in the Oregon City Adult Collection.

Updated October 25, 2025
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The casebook of Victor Frankenstein : a novel
Ackroyd, Peter
Paper Book
When two nineteenth-century Oxford students-Victor Frankenstein, a serious researcher, and the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley-form an unlikely friendship, the result is a tour de force that could only come from one of the world's most accomplished and prolific authors.   This haunting and atmospheric...
Go tell it on the mountain
Baldwin, James
Paper Book
A Modern Library edition of the renowned black author's classic first novel captures a vivid and provocative portrait of the African-American experience.
The elegance of the hedgehog
Barbery, Muriel
Paper Book
The phenomenal New York Times bestseller that "explores the upstairs-downstairs goings-on of a posh Parisian apartment building" (Publishers Weekly). In an elegant hôtel particulier in Paris, Renée, the concierge, is all but invisible--short, plump, middle...
The particular sadness of lemon cake : a novel
Bender, Aimee.
Paper Book
The wondrous Aimee Bender conjures the lush and moving story of a girl whose magical gift is really a devastating curse. On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents' attention, bites into her...
Midnight in the garden of good and evil : a Savannah story
Berendt, John
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A modern classic of true crime, set in a most beguiling Southern city--now in a 30th anniversary edition with a new afterword by the author The basis for the upcoming Broadway musical, coming in 2025! "Elegant and wicked . . . might be...
Anais Nin: A Sea of Lies
Bischoff, Leonie.
Paper Book
Anais Nin, the author of works such as Delta of Venus and House of Incest, is the patron saint of taboo-breaking pop culture sexual iconoclasts. Not only is she an inspiration for contemporary figures such as Madonna, but her oeuvre, which encompasses erotica, autobiography, essays, short fiction,...
A short history of nearly everything
Bryson, Bill.
Paper Book
One of the world’s most beloved and bestselling writers takes his ultimate journey -- into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer. In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail -- well, most of it. In In A Sunburned Country, he...
Bittersweet : how sorrow and longing make us whole
Cain, Susan
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * The author of the bestselling phenomenon Quiet explores the power of the bittersweet personality, revealing a misunderstood side of mental health and creativity while offering a roadmap to facing heartbreak in order to...
Quiet : the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking
Cain, Susan.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Experience the book that started the Quiet Movement and revolutionized how the world sees introverts--and how introverts see themselves--by offering validation, inclusion, and inspiration "Superbly researched, deeply insightful, and a...
The Tao of physics : an exploration of the parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism
Capra, Fritjof.
Paper Book
A special edition of the "brilliant" best-selling classic on the paradoxes of modern physics and their relationship to concepts of Eastern mysticism (New York Magazine) The Tao of Physics brought the mystical implications of subatomic physics to popular...
When things fall apart : heart advice for difficult times
Chödrön, Pema
Paper Book
Pema Chödrön's perennially best-selling classic on overcoming life's difficulties cuts to the heart of spirituality and personal growth--now in a newly designed 20th-anniversary edition with a new afterword by Pema--makes for a perfect gift and addition to one's spiritual library.
Hercule Poirot : the complete short stories
Christie, Agatha
Paper Book
At last, a single volume that gathers together all of the short stories featuring Agatha Christie's most famous creation, Hercule Poirot. The dapper, mustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head and curious mannerisms has solved some of the most puzzling crimes of the century--and,...
The feminist financial handbook : a modern woman's guide to a wealthy life
Conroy, Brynne
Paper Book
Your Guide to Wealth and Success This truly is the feminist financial handbook for the new wave of intersectional feminism." ―Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together #1 New Release in Volunteer Work...
Psychiatric tales : eleven graphic stories about mental illness
Cunningham, Darryl.
Paper Book
In these moving and sometimes darkly comic tales, Darryl Cunningham takes us into the minds and experiences of people with mental illness-people who might very well be ourselves. Psychiatric Tales draws on Darryl Cunningham's time working in a psychiatric ward to give a reasoned and...
Batavia's graveyard
Dash, Mike.
Paper Book
"It was the autumn of 1628, and the Batavia, the Dutch East India Company's flagship, was loaded with a king's ransom in gold, silver, and gems for her maiden voyage to Java. The Batavia was the pride of the Company's fleet, a tangible symbol of the world's richest and most powerful commercial...
Flow my tears, the policeman said
Dick, Philip K.
Paper Book
Winner of the John W. Campbell Award and a Hugo and Nebula award nominee, Philip K. Dick's Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said is a rollicking chase story that combines altered reality, genetic enhancement, and drug use into a dystopian setting to create one of the most popular and enduring science...
The plover : a novel
Doyle, Brian.
Paper Book
Declan O Donnell has sailed out of Oregon and deep into the vast, wild ocean, having had just finallyenough of other people and their problems. He will go it alone, he will be his own country, he will be beholden to and beloved of no one.No man is an island, my butt, he thinks.I...
Trust
Díaz, Hernán
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2022 LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 BOOKER PRIZE "Buzzy and...
This is how you lose the time war
El-Mohtar, Amal
Paper Book
* HUGO AWARD WINNER: BEST NOVELLA * NEBULA AND LOCUS AWARDS WINNER: BEST NOVELLA * "[An] exquisitely crafted tale...Part epistolary romance, part mind-blowing science fiction adventure, this dazzling story unfolds bit by bit, revealing layers of meaning as it plays with cause...
The parakeet
Espe?
Paper Book
Bastien is eight years old, and his mother is ill. She often has what his father and grandparents call "episodes." She screams and fights, scratches and spits, and has to be carted away to specialized clinics for frequent treatments. Bastien doesn't like it when she goes, because when she comes...
Shades of grey : the road to High Saffron
Fforde, Jasper.
Paper Book
An astonishing, hotly anticipated new novel from the great literary fantasist and creator of Thursday Next, Jasper Fforde. As long as anyone can remember, society has been ruled by a Colortocracy. From the underground feedpipes that keep the municipal park green to the healing...
One hundred years of solitude
García Márquez, Gabriel
Paper Book
Now a Netflix original series! "One Hundred Years of Solitude is the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race. . . . García Márquez has done nothing less than to create in the reader a sense of all that is profound,...
The wicked + the divine. Vol. 1, The Faust act
Gillen, Kieron
Paper Book
"solid storytelling and clean, gorgeousartwork will keep readers engrossed and eager for more." - PublishersWeekly (Starred) "Gillen's penchantfor fast, sharp dialogue and McKelvie and Wilson's razor-lined,...
Team of rivals : the political genius of Abraham Lincoln
Goodwin, Doris Kearns.
Paper Book
One of the most influential books of the past fifty years, Team of Rivals is Pulitzer Prize-winning author and esteemed presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's modern classic about the political genius of Abraham Lincoln, his unlikely presidency, and his cabinet of former political...
Claudius the god and his wife Messalina
Graves, Robert
Paper Book
A modern classic of historical fiction written in the form of Claudius's autobiography. Claudius the God is the second part of Robert Graves's two-part account of the life of Tiberius Claudius, "the cripple, the stammerer, the fool of the family" who became Emperor of Rome...
I, Claudius : from the autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, born 10 B.C., murdered and deified A.D. 54
Graves, Robert
Paper Book
A modern classic of historical fiction written in the form of Claudius's autobiography. Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus lived from 10 B.C. to 54 A.D. Despised as a weakling and dismissed as an idiot because of his physical infirmities, Claudius survived the intrigues and...
The lathe of heaven : a novel
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Paper Book
The Locus Award-winning science fiction novel by legendary author Ursula K. Le Guin, set in a world where one man's dreams rewrite the future. During a time racked by war and environmental catastrophe, George Orr discovers his dreams alter reality. George is compelled to receive...
Sapiens : a graphic history. V. 3, The masters of history
Harari, Yuval N.
Paper Book
This third volume of the illustrated adaptation of the internationally bestselling phenomenon, Sapiens: A Graphic History--The Masters of History, tackles the question of the driving force of humanity's fate: is it empire, money, religion--or something else entirely--that unites us? ...
The great divide : a novel
Henríquez, Cristina
Paper Book
A TODAY Show Read With Jenna Book Club Pick! A powerful novel about the construction of the Panama Canal, casting light on the unsung people who lived, loved, and labored there It is said that the canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. But first, it must be built...
Steppenwolf
Hesse, Hermann
Paper Book
With its blend of Eastern mysticism and Western culture, Hesse's best-known and most autobiographical work is one of literature's most poetic evocations of the soul's journey to liberation Harry Haller is a sad and lonely figure, a reclusive intellectual for whom life holds no...
Nature girl
Hiaasen, Carl.
Paper Book
In his latest New York Times bestseller, Hiaasen introduces impassioned, possibly bipolar, self-proclaimed queen of lost causes Honey Santana, who schemes to help rid the world of irresponsibility, indifference, and dinnertime sales calls.
Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine : a novel
Honeyman, Gail
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick "Beautifully written and incredibly funny, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is about the importance of friendship and human connection. I fell in love with Eleanor, an eccentric...
Klara and the sun
Ishiguro, Kazuo
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER * Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes our view of the world. This magnificent novel from the Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go is "an intriguing take on how artificial intelligence might play a role in our futures ... a...
A little hope : a novel
Joella, Ethan
Paper Book
A Read with Jenna Bonus Selection An "immersive...illuminating" (Booklist) and life-affirming novel following the residents of an idyllic Connecticut town over the course of a year, A Little Hope explores the intertwining lives of a dozen neighbors...
You : a novel
Kepnes, Caroline
Paper Book
NOW A HIT NETFLIX SERIES A NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER "Hypnotic and scary." --Stephen King "I am riveted, aghast, aroused, you name it. The rare instance when prose and plot are equally delicious." --Lena...
One flew over the cuckoo's nest
Kesey, Ken.
Paper Book
"Powerful, poetic realism...makes the tired old subject of life in a mental hospital into an absorbing Orwellian microcosm of all humanity."--Life. An international bestseller and the basis for a hugely successful film, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was one of...
The poisonwood Bible : a novel
Kingsolver, Barbara.
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller * An Oprah Book Club Pick "Powerful . . . [Kingsolver] has with infinitely steady hands worked the prickly threads of religion, politics, race, sin and redemption into a thing of terrible beauty." --Los Angeles Times Book Review Taking its place alongside...
My struggle. Book one
Knausgr̄d, Karl Ove
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller, My Struggle: Book 1 introduces American readers to the audacious, addictive, and profoundly surprising international literary sensation that is the provocative and brilliant six-volume autobiographical novel by Karl Ove Knausgaard. It...
Displacement
Knisley, Lucy
Paper Book
In a book that is part memoir, part travelogue and part family history, Knisley not only tries to connect with her grandparents, but to reconcile their past and present selves. She is aided in her quest by her grandfather's World War Two memoir, which is excerpted. Readers will identify with Knisley...
In the pines. 5, Murder ballads
Kriek, Erik
Paper Book
A Dutch cartoonist adapts five murder ballads - some of which have been covered by modern masters like Nick Cave, Steve Earle, and Gillian Welch - into ruthless graphic narratives that dig deep into the darkness of Americana, in which guns and religion maintain an uneasy balance.
We are the Brennans
Lange, Tracey
Paper Book
**INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** In the vein of Mary Beth Keane's Ask Again, Yes and Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's The Nest, Tracey Lange's We Are the Brennans explores the staying power of shame--and the redemptive power of love--in an...
The devil in the white city : murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America
Larson, Erik
Paper Book
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile comes the true tale of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and the cunning serial killer who used the magic and majesty of the fair to lure his victims to...
An exaltation of larks : the ultimate edition
Lipton, James.
Paper Book
A delightfully unexpected, lovingly curated ode to the unique collective nouns that adorn our language, from "a leap of leopards" to "a murder of crows" and beyond, from the inimitable voice behind Inside the Actors Studio "I am madly in...
Dear Emmie Blue
Louis, Lia
Paper Book
"A delightful story about how the things we imagine to be best for us usually aren't. The reason you will love Dear Emmie Blue is because you've probably *lived* Dear Emmie Blue, in some small part of your own journey to adulthood." --Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times...
The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse
Mackesy, Charlie
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER · WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER  · USA TODAY BESTSELLER "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is not only a thought-provoking, discussion-worthy story, the book itself is an object of art."- Elizabeth Egan,...
Active hope : how to face the mess we're in without going crazy
Macy, Joanna
Paper Book
The challenges we face can be difficult even to think about. Climate change, the depletion of oil, economic upheaval, and mass extinction together create a planetary emergency of overwhelming proportions. Active Hope shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face this crisis so that we...
The science of can and can't : a physicist's journey through the land of counterfactuals
Marletto, Chiara
Paper Book
A luminous guide to how the radical new science of counterfactuals can reveal that the scope of the universe is greater, and more beautiful, than we ever imagined There is a vast class of things that science has so far almost entirely neglected. They are central to the...
The Blackhouse : a novel
May, Peter
Paper Book
From acclaimed author and television dramatist Peter May comes the first book in the Lewis Trilogy--a riveting mystery series set on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, a formidable and forbidding world where tradition rules and people adhere to ancient ways of life.  <...
Lonesome Dove : a novel
McMurtry, Larry.
Paper Book
The 40th anniversary edition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic of the American West, with a new foreword by Yellowstone cocreator Taylor Sheridan. An epic of the frontier, Lonesome Dove is the grandest novel ever written about the last defiant wilderness. ...
Annals of the former world
McPhee, John A.
Paper Book
The Pulitzer Prize-winning view of the continent, across the fortieth parallel and down through 4.6 billion years Twenty years ago, when John McPhee began his journeys back and forth across the United States, he planned to describe a cross section of North America at about the...
Becoming
Obama, Michelle
CD
An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States   #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WATCH THE EMMY-NOMINATED NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY * OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK * NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER * ONE OF...
What happened to you? conversations on trauma, resilience, and healing
Perry, Bruce Duncan
CD
[Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry] are both capable, likable narrators who are sincerely engaged with their subject matter...The performances of these two humanitarians make this a must-hear for anyone recovering from their traumatic past. -- AudioFile Magazine This...
Bewilderment : a novel
Powers, Richard
Paper Book
The astrobiologist Theo Byrne searches for life throughout the cosmos while single-handedly raising his unusual nine-year-old, Robin, following the death of his wife. Robin is a warm, kind boy who spends hours painting elaborate pictures of endangered animals. He's also about to be expelled from...
The overstory : a novel
Powers, Richard
Paper Book
The Overstory, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of--and paean to--the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers's twelfth novel unfolds in concentric...
Chasing me to my grave : an artist's memoir of the Jim Crow South
Rembert, Winfred
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2022 PULITZER PRIZE Booklist?#1 Nonfiction Book of the Year * African American Literary Book Club (AALBC) #1 Nonfiction Bestseller * Named a Best Book of the Year by: NPR,?Publishers Weekly,?BookPage,...
Packing for Mars : the curious science of life in the void
Roach, Mary.
Paper Book
The best-selling author of Stiff and Bonk explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and life without gravity. Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. Space...
The order of time
Rovelli, Carlo
Paper Book
One of TIME's Ten Best Nonfiction Books of the Decade "Meet the new Stephen Hawking . . . The Order of Time is a dazzling book." --The Sunday Times From the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, Reality Is Not What It...
Blindness
Saramago, José.
Paper Book
A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" which spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations and raping women. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides seven strangers...
The complete Persepolis
Satrapi, Marjane
Paper Book
Here, in one volume: Marjane Satrapi's best-selling, internationally acclaimed graphic memoir of growing up as a girl in Iran during the revolution has for twenty years been a classroom staple, a feminist manifesto, and one of the most popular and widely known graphic novels of all time. <...
I like you : hospitality under the influence
Sedaris, Amy.
Paper Book
Sedaris's blisteringly funny take on entertaining--plus color photos and enlightening sidebars on everything it takes to pull off a party with flair--make this volume the best hostess gift on the planet (Entertainment Weekly)
Harleen
Sejic, Stjepan
Paper Book
New York Times Bestseller! 3 GRAPHIC NOVELS IN 1 VOLUME: A bold retelling of the tragic origin of Harley Quinn, told through the eyes of the only person who knows her better than anyone: Harleen. Dr. Harleen Quinzel has a theory: mental illness is a...
Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore
Sloan, Robin
Paper Book
A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life--mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of...
The werewolf at dusk : and other stories
Small, David
Paper Book
Long celebrated as a modern master of graphic literature, David Small has elicited in his work comparisons to Stan Lee and even Alfred Hitchcock. His internationally acclaimed graphic memoir, Stitches, told the story of a childhood in disarray. Werewolf at Dusk, appearing nearly fifteen years...
A tree grows in Brooklyn
Smith, Betty
Paper Book
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick A beautifully designed Harper Perennial Deluxe Edition of the beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the twentieth century. From the moment she entered the world, Francie Nolan needed to be made of stern...
Beyond that, the sea
Spence-Ash, Laura
Paper Book
"Spence-Ash has written the novel in eight points of view, but each character is utterly three-dimensional and distinct. This debut novel captivated me from start to finish." --Julia Quinn, author of the Bridgerton Series A sweeping, tenderhearted love story,...
The secret lives of color
St. Clair, Kassia
Paper Book
One of USA Today's "100 Books to Read While Stuck at Home During the Coronavirus Crisis"  A dazzling gift, the unforgettable, unknown history of colors and the vivid stories behind them in a beautiful multi-colored volume. "Beautifully...
The elements of style
Strunk, William
Paper Book
You know the authors' names. You recognize the title. You've probably used this book yourself. This is The Elements of Style, the classic style manual, now in a fourth edition. A new Foreword by Roger Angell reminds readers that the advice of Strunk & White is as valuable today as when it was...
The shootist
Swarthout, Glendon
Paper Book
This is the all-time classic novel chosen by the Western Writers of America as one of the best western novels ever wrttten. It is also the inspiration for John Wayne's last great starring role--the acclaimed 1976 film, The Shootist This special commemorative edition includes a brand new introduction...
Kiss the ground : how the food you eat can reverse climate change, heal your body & ultimately save our world
Tickell, Joshua
Paper Book
Discover the hidden power soil has to reverse climate change, and how a regenerative farming diet not only delivers us better health and wellness, but also rebuilds our most precious resource--the very ground that feeds us. Josh Tickell, one of America's most celebrated documentary...
A gentleman in Moscow
Towles, Amor
Paper Book
The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers * A New York Times "Readers' Choice: Best Books of the 21st Century" Pick From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Table for Two, a beautifully transporting novel about a...
Honor : a novel
Umrigar, Thrity N.
Paper Book
THE JANUARY 2022 REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "In the way A Thousand Splendid Suns told of Afghanistan's women, Thrity Umrigar tells a story of India with the intimacy of one who knows the many facets of a land both modern and ancient, awash in contradictions...
The golden spruce : a true story of myth, madness, and greed
Vaillant, John.
Paper Book
As vividly as Jon Krakauer put readers on Everest, John Vaillant takes us into the heart of North America's last great forest, where trees grow to eighteen feet in diameter, sunlight never touches the ground, and the chainsaws are always at work. When a shattered kayak and...
Cat's cradle
Vonnegut, Kurt.
Paper Book
"A free-wheeling vehicle . . . an unforgettable ride!"--The New York Times Cat's Cradle is Kurt Vonnegut's satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist, a...
Slaughterhouse-five, or, The children's crusade : a duty-dance with death
Vonnegut, Kurt.
Paper Book
A special fiftieth anniversary edition of Kurt Vonnegut's masterpiece, "a desperate, painfully honest attempt to confront the monstrous crimes of the twentieth century" (Time), featuring a new introduction by Kevin Powers, author of the National Book Award finalist The Yellow Birds<...
On earth we're briefly gorgeous : a novel
Vuong, Ocean
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller * Nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction * Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century ...
The big door prize : a novel
Walsh, M. O.
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling author of My Sunshine Away returns with a captivating, quirky, and poignant novel about a mysterious machine that upends a small Louisiana town. What would you do if you knew your life's potential? That's the question facing the town...
A people's history of the United States
Zinn, Howard
Paper Book
THE CLASSIC NATIONAL BESTSELLER "A wonderful, splendid book--a book that should be read by every American, student or otherwise, who wants to understand his country, its true history, and its hope for the future." -Howard Fast Historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United...

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