Ledding Library Staff Favorites of 2023 - BooksUnpublished

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A USA TODAY BESTSELLER! A New York Public Library Best Book of 2023! A starry-eyed romantic, a cynical writer, and (the ashes of) an elderly woman take the road trip of a lifetime that just might upend everything they believe about true love. ...

Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars, a defiantly joyful adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts. Hugo...

A dazzling collection of eleven interconnected stories from the bestselling, award-winning author of Shrines of Gaiety and Life After Life, with everything that readers love about her novels--the inventiveness, the verbal felicity, the sharp observations on human nature, and the...

At once a powerful evocation of his early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice to both the individual and the body politic, James Baldwin galvanized the nation in the early days of the civil rights movement with his eloquent manifesto. The Fire...

In the stark expanse of Northern Alberta, a queer Indigenous doctoral student steps away from his dissertation to write a novel, informed by a series of poignant encounters: a heart-to-heart with fellow doctoral student River over the mounting pressure placed on marginalized scholars; a meeting...

"A fresh feminist appraisal of the pop culture canon." -Publishers Weekly How bitches, trainwrecks, shrews, and crazy women have taken over pop culture and liberated women from having to be nice. Female characters throughout history have been burdened by the moral trap that...

A gripping debut novel about a survival reality show gone wrong that leaves a group of strangers stranded in the northern wilds  Four strangers and six weeks: this is all that separates Mara from one life-changing payday. She was surprised when reality TV producers came...

"I am a child of the American West, a landscape so rich and wide that my culture trembles with terror before its power." So begins Taylor Brorby's Boys and Oil, a haunting, bracingly honest memoir about growing up gay amidst the harshness of rural North Dakota, "a place where there is no safety...

Renowned author Joseph Bruchac tells a powerful story of a girl who learns more about her Penacook heritage while sheltering in place with her grandparents during the coronavirus pandemic. Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation...

From the superb, creative duo behind Drawing on Walls, A Story of Keith Haring comes this heartfelt story about the loss of a beloved grandparent that yet centers enthusiasm, adventure, and an ebullient creativity rarely seen in books about loss. Some letters can't be...

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Provocative and appealing . . . well worth your extremely limited time." --Barbara Spindel, The Wall Street Journal The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. Assuming you live to be eighty,...

This acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author "pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale" and includes a foreword by N. K. Jemisin (John Green, New York Times). When global climate change and economic crises lead to...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From bestselling author Susan Casey, an awe-inspiring portrait of the mysterious world beneath the waves, and the men and women who seek to uncover its secrets "An irresistible mix of splendid scholarship, heart-stopping adventure...

A timely, delightfully readable, and much-needed book. --Booklist, starred review Social justice work, we often assume, is raised voices and raised fists. It requires leading, advocating, fighting, and organizing wherever it takes place--in the streets, slums, villages, inner cities, halls...

The summer holiday brings new passion and new challenges in the enchanting third book of Jenny Colgan's utterly delightful School by the Sea series, set at a girls' boarding school in Cornwall. School is out, following a bit of saucy scandal at Downey House... Beloved...

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! "A story of love and hope as interweaving characters display: how all moments, big and small, can measure a life. If you want joy, love, romance, and hope--read with us." --Jenna Bush Hager ...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A searing memoir of reckoning and healing by acclaimed journalist Stephanie Foo, investigating the little-understood science behind complex PTSD and how it has shaped her life "Achingly exquisite . . . providing real hope for those who long to heal....

The Jackal. A tall, blond Englishman with    opaque, gray eyes. A killer at the top of his    profession. A man unknown to any secret service in the    world. An assassin with a contract to kill the    world's most heavily guarded man. One    man with a rifle who can change the course of    history....

The story of a Palestinian family's ties to the land, and how one young girl finds a way to care for her home, even as she says goodbye. It's 1967 in Nablus, Palestine. Oraib loves the olive trees that grow outside the refugee camp where she lives. Each harvest, she...

A summerhouse party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Jane Austen's Mr. Wickham-one of literature's most notoriousvillains-meets a sudden and suspicious end in this brilliantly imagined mysteryfrom a New York Times bestselling authorfeaturing Austen's leading literary characters.

"One of my favorite authors."--Colleen Hoover An insightful, delightful, instant #1 New York Times bestseller from the author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation. Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Oprah Daily ∙ Today ∙...

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! "The beach-read master hooks us again."--People Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by BuzzFeed ∙ Paste Magazine ∙ Elle ∙ Southern Living ∙ SheReads ∙ Culturess ∙...

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers and Beach Read comes a sparkling novel that will leave you with the warm, hazy afterglow usually reserved for the best vacations. Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall...

At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this "intricate and extraordinary" Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times) This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time. ...

Essun's missing daughter grows more powerful every day, and her choices may destroy the world in this "magnificent" Hugo Award winner and NYT Notable Book. (NPR) The season of endings grows darker, as civilization fades into the long cold night. Essun -- once...

Humanity will finally be saved or destroyed in the shattering conclusion to the post-apocalyptic and highly acclaimed NYT bestselling trilogy that won the Hugo Award three years in a row. The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or...

Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel An Instant USA Today & Indie Bestseller An Oprah Daily Top 25 Fantasy Book of 2022 A Vulture Best Fantasy Novel of 2022 An NPR Best Sci Fi, Fantasy, & Speculative Fiction Book of 2022 A...

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE * WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION New York Times Readers' Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century * An Oprah's Book Club Selection * An Instant New York Times Bestseller * An Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller * A #1 Washington Post...

A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, INDIE and WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER! A 2021 Alex Award winner! The 2021 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner! An Indie Next Pick! One of Publishers Weekly's "Most Anticipated Books of...

In the tradition of Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm comes a true tale of riveting adventure in which two weekend scuba divers risk everything to solve a great historical mystery–and make history themselves. For John...

Stonewall Book Award Winner Sydney Taylor Award Winner Michael L. Printz Honor Book National Jewish Book Award Finalist AudioFile Earphones Award Winner BEST OF THE YEAR NPR · New York...

Throughout history, thinkers from mathematicians to theologians have pondered the mysterious relationship between numbers and the nature of reality. In this fascinating book, Mario Livio tells the tale of a number at the heart of that mystery: phi, or 1.6180339887...This curious mathematical...

Winner of the John Newbery Medal Winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award  An Indiebound Bestseller A New York Times Bestseller Award-winning author Amina Luqman-Dawson pens a lyrical,...

"Entertaining, illuminating, and inspiring! More than a book, it's a public service announcement that we'd all do well to―well, STFU and listen to!" ―Sarah Knight, New York Times bestselling author of Calm the F*ck Down New York Times...

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF 2018 LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER ALA CARNEGIE MEDAL WINNER THE STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER Soon to Be a Major Television Event, optioned by...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The award-winning, best-selling author of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel returns with a novel of art, time travel, love, and plague that takes the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years...

2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST ONE OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES' TOP 5 FICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF TIME AND SLATE'S TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE YEAR Named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2022 by NPR, Vogue, Vulture,...

Like many others on the autism spectrum, 20-something stand-up comic Michael McCreary has been told by more than a few well-meaning folks that he doesn't "look" autistic. But, as he's quick to point out in this memoir, autism "looks" different for just about everyone with Autism Spectrum Disorder...

"Don't You Forget About Me is one of those books I couldn't put down. Crackling with energy and wit, I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud. Mhairi McFarlane's voice is as clear as a bell--she makes you laugh, but she also makes you feel. I adore her!" -- Sally Thorne ...

The highly anticipated new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Clockmaker's Daughter, a sweeping novel that begins with a shocking crime, the effects of which echo across continents and generations Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a...

An instant New York Times bestseller * A New York Times Notable Book * Named a Best Book of 2022 by People, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Los Angeles Times, and Oprah Daily, and more * A Reese's Book Club...

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver presents a personal selection of her best work in this definitive collection spanning more than five decades of her esteemed literary career. "No matter where one starts reading, Devotions offers much to love, from Oliver's exuberant dog...

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. A sweet and charming coming-of-age story that explores friendship, love, and coming out. This edition features beautiful two-color artwork. Now streaming on Netflix! Shy and softhearted Charlie Spring sits next to...

The second book in the delightfully sweet Heartstopper series, featuring beautiful two-color artwork! Now streaming on Netflix! Nick and Charlie are best friends, but one spontaneous kiss has changed everything. In the aftermath, Charlie thinks that he's made a horrible...

The third volume in the poignant and sweet Heartstopper series, featuring beautiful two-color artwork! Now streaming on Netflix! Charlie didn't think Nick could ever like him back, but now they're officially boyfriends. Nick has even found the courage to come out to his...

The fourth volume in the wonderfully sweet Heartstopper series, featuring gorgeous two-color artwork. Now streaming on Netflix! Charlie and Nick's relationship has been going really well, and Charlie thinks he's ready to say those three little words: I love you. ...

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2022 by The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, New York Public Library, Minneapolis Star Tribune Part memoir, part sweeping journalistic saga: As Casey Parks follows the mystery of a stranger's past, she is forced...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America's finest writers. "Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than...

Elfrida Phipps, once on the London stage and retired at 62, never anticipated going off with a man. But after a devastating tragedy, church organist Oscar Blundell asks for her companionship. So with her brown-and-white dog in tow, Elfrida begins her journey, not knowing that joining her and Oscar...

In the dust of the Gilded Age Bone Wars, two vastly different men emerge with a mission to fill the empty halls of New York's struggling American Museum of Natural History: Henry Fairfield Osborn, a privileged socialite whose reputation rests on the museum's success, and intrepid Kansas-born...

The story of an uncovered voyage as colorful and momentous as any on record for the Age of Discovery--and of the Black mariner whose stunning accomplishment has been until now lost to history   It began with a secret mission, no expenses spared. Spain, plotting...

The #1 New York Times bestseller. "A gorgeous and inspiring work of art on creation, creativity, the work of the artist. It will gladden the hearts of writers and artists everywhere, and get them working again with a new sense of meaning and direction. A stunning...

One of Amazon's Best Books of September! Strangers on a London bus unite to help an elderly man find his missed love connection in the heartwarming new novel from the acclaimed author of The Last Chance Library. When Libby Nicholls arrives in London,...

*Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature* A middle grade graphic memoir based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life. Dan's always been a...

From award-winning author Gary D. Schmidt, a warm and witty novel in the tradition of The Wednesday Wars, in which a seventh grader has to figure out how to fulfill a seemingly impossible school assignment--and learns about friendship, community, and himself along the way....

A surprising, fascinating journey through the experiments that not only unlocked the nature of matter and shaped our understanding of the cosmos but also forever changed the way we live within it "A book about the fundamental problems of physics written from a viewpoint I hadn't come...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK * The unforgettable story of a daredevil female aviator determined to chart her own course in life, at any cost: an "epic trip--through Prohibition and World War II, from Montana to London to present-day Hollywood--and...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * A comedy writer thinks she's sworn off love, until a dreamy pop star flips the script on all her assumptions--a "smart, sophisticated, and fun" (Oprah Daily) novel from the author of Eligible, Rodham, and Prep....

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES' BEST ROMANCES OF THE YEAR! "Intimate and unflinching."--New York Times A USA TODAY BESTSELLER! An Indie Next Pick A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Pick One of Amazon's Best Romances of July ...

Named a Best Book of the Year by Elle, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, NPR, Financial Times, Vanity Fair, and more! "In Britney Spears's memoir, she's stronger than ever." --The New York Times Over 2 million copies sold of...

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER "The pages brim with tenderness and an appreciation for what we had and who we were. I could not have loved it more."--Ann Patchett "One of the most moving and intelligent time travel novels I have ever read. Nostalgic, wise, funny, and filled with...

The turn of a card could change your destiny in this captivating middle grade adventure based on the Loteria card game and perfect for fans of Coco. While searching for her missing cousin, a young girl is transported to a mythical kingdom, becoming entangled in a perilous game of chance....

Through the lens of horror--from Halloween to Hereditary--queer and trans writers consider the films that deepened, amplified, and illuminated their own experiences. Horror movies hold a complicated space in the hearts of...

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! NAMED A BEST BOOK OF SUMMER by: Chicago Tribune * The View * Southern Living * USA Today "Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an ultimately feel-good but deceptively...

An IndianAmericanfamily is turned upside down when the parents split up thirty-six years into their arranged marriage​in this"heartwarming journey of self-discovery" (Southern Living). "Touching . . . both funny and moving-a family drama the entire family can enjoy."-...

From the author of My Oxford Year, Julia Whelan's uplifting novel tells the story of a former actress turned successful audiobook narrator--who has lost sight of her dreams after a tragic accident--and her journey of self-discovery, love, and acceptance when she agrees to narrate...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Sam and Sadie--two college friends, often in love, but never lovers--become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It...