UBN Participant Recommendations

These books were recommended by participants of Ultimate Book Nerd. Any of these books may be used to complete Category #46 of Ultimate Book Nerd 2026.

Updated January 14, 2026
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Legends & lattes
Baldree, Travis
Ebook
The women A novel
Hannah, Kristin.
Ebook
A #1 bestseller on The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times! From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah''s The Women--at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a...
Nothing to see here
Wilson, Kevin
Ebook
A New York Times Bestseller  *  A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, People, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, TIME, The A.V....
The name of the wind Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1
Rothfuss, Patrick
Ebook
Discover #1 New York Times-bestselling Patrick Rothfuss' epic fantasy series, The Kingkiller Chronicle. "I just love the world of Patrick Rothfuss." --Lin-Manuel Miranda   OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD! DAY ONE: THE NAME OF THE WIND ...
The goblin emperor
Addison, Katherine.
Ebook
The wedding people A novel
Espach, Alison.
Ebook
The runaway New York Times bestseller with over one million copies sold A Today Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick, New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, and a #1 Indie Next Pick Named a Best Book of the Year by The Guardian, Time,...
Uprooted
Novik, Naomi.
Ebook
NEBULA AWARD WINNER * HUGO AWARD FINALIST * "If you want a fantasy with strong characters and brilliantly original variations on ancient stories, try Uprooted!"--Rick Riordan "Breathtaking . . . a tale that is both elegantly grand and earthily humble, familiar as a...
As I lay dying : the corrected text
Faulkner, William
Paper Book
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time From the Modern Library's new set of beautifully repackaged hardcover classics by William Faulkner--also available are Snopes, The Sound and the Fury, Light in August, Absalom, Absalom!, and Selected...
A prayer for Owen Meany : a novel
Irving, John
Paper Book
Owen Meany, the only child of a New Hampshire granite quarrier, believes he is God's instrument; he is. This is John Irving's most comic novel, yet Owen Meany is Mr. Irving's most heartbreaking character. Roomy, intelligent, exhilarating and darkly comic...Dickensian in scope....Quite stunning...
Yellowface A reese's book club pick.
Kuang, R. F.
Ebook
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "Hard to put down, harder to forget." -- Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences... Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who...
Tress of the emerald sea
Sanderson, Brandon
Paper Book
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes a rollicking, riveting tale set in the Cosmere universe--a standalone adventure perfect for fans of The Princess Bride. The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean...
Tom lake A reese's book club pick.
Patchett, Ann.
Ebook
#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...
The hate u give
Thomas, Angie
Paper Book
8 starred reviews · Goodreads Choice Awards Best of the Best · William C. Morris Award Winner · National Book Award Longlist · Printz Honor Book · Coretta Scott King Honor Book · #1 New York Times Bestseller! "Absolutely riveting!" --Jason Reynolds ...
I'm glad my mom died
McCurdy, Jennette
Paper Book
* #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * MORE THAN 3 MILLION COPIES SOLD! A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor--including eating...
Atomic habits An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones.
Clear, James.
Ebook
The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 25 million copies sold! Translated into 60+ languages! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of...
The hobbit or, There and back again
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Ebook
J.R.R. Tolkien's classic prelude to his Lord of the Rings trilogy... Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther than his pantry or cellar. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of dwarves...
Gender queer : a memoir
Kobabe, Maia
Paper Book
2020 ALA Alex Award Winner 2020 Stonewall -- Israel Fishman Non-fiction Award Honor Book In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was...
How the García girls lost their accents
Alvarez, Julia.
Paper Book
"A joy to read."--The Cleveland Plain Dealer
The search
Roberts, Nora.
CD
To most people, Fiona Bristow seems to have an idyllic life -- a quaint house on an island off Seattle's coast, a thriving dog-training school, and a challenging volunteer job performing canine search and rescue. Not to mention her three intensely loyal Labs. But Fiona got to this point by surviving...
Before the coffee gets cold
Kawaguchi, Toshikazu
Ebook
*NOW AN LA TIMES BESTSELLER* *AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER* The first book in the five million-copy bestselling magical realism series If you could go back in time, who would you want to meet? ...
Wrong place wrong time: a novel
McAllister, Gillian.
Ebook
Belladonna
Grace, Adalyn.
Ebook
#1 New York Times bestselling author Adalyn Grace brings to life a highly romantic, Gothic-infused world of wealth, desire, and betrayal. ​ Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested...
Nos4a2 A novel.
Hill, Joe.
Ebook
The spine-tingling, bone-chilling novel of supernatural suspense from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman and Horns--now an AMC original series starring Zachary Quinto, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Ashleigh Cummings. "A masterwork of...
First lie wins
Elston, Ashley.
Ebook
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK | #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "This fast-paced read has everything you could want in a thriller: secret identities, a mysterious boss and a cat & mouse game that kept me guessing the whole way through." --Reese Witherspoon Evie Porter has...
The cruel prince The Folk of the Air Series, Book 1
Black, Holly.
Ebook
The final girl support group
Hendrix, Grady
Paper Book
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER VOTED GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD BEST HORROR NOVEL OF 2021 A Good Morning America Buzz Pick "The horror master...puts his unique spin on slasher movie tropes."-USA Today A can't-miss summer...
Jurassic Park
Crichton, Michael
Paper Book
An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Creatures once extinct now roam Jurassic Park, soon-to-be opened as a theme park. Until something goes wrong...and science proves a dangerous toy.... "Wonderful...Powerful." THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
Out of the dust
Hesse, Karen.
Paper Book
Acclaimed author Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal-winning novel-in-verse explores the life of fourteen-year-old Billie Jo growing up in the dust bowls of Oklahoma."Dust piles up like snow across the prairie. . . ."A terrible accident has transformed Billie Jo's life, scarring her inside and out. Her...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.