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
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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.

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The tainted cup : a novel
Bennett, Robert Jackson
Paper Book
HUGO AWARD WINNER * WORLD FANTASY AWARD WINNER * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A Holmes and Watson-style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist, from acclaimed author Robert Jackson Bennett "Like an endearing fantasy version of Knives Out . . . A great...
LEGENDS AND LATTES
BALDREE, TRAVIS
Paper Book
" The much-beloved BookTok sensation, Travis Baldree's novel of high fantasy and low stakes. After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time. The battle-weary orc aims to start...
By any other name : a novel
Picoult, Jodi
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the co-author of Mad Honey comes an "inspiring" (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart--one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare's plays--who are both forced to hide behind another name. "You'll...
WOMEN
Hannah, Kristin
Paper Book
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...
We sold our souls
Hendrix, Grady
Paper Book
"A gloriously over-the-top scare fest that has hidden depths. Readers will root for Kris all the way to the explosive, poignant finale."-Publishers Weekly From the New York Times best-selling author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires<...
CRANE AMONG WOLVES
HUR, JUNE
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!AN EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today's world, based on a true story from Korean history....
CORRESPONDENT
EVANS, VIRGINIA
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Discover the word-of-mouth hit hailed by Ann Patchett as "A cause for celebration"--an intimate novel about the transformative power of the written word and the beauty of slowing down to reconnect with the people we love. "The...
Theo of Golden A Novel
Levi, Allen.
"" font-weight:="" new="" times="">NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from...or why... His name is Theo. And he asks a lot more questions than...
Nothing to see here
Wilson, Kevin
Paper Book
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. Club, Buzzfeed, and PopSugar ...
I LEAVE IT UP TO YOU
CHONG, JINWOO
Paper Book
From the award-winning author of Flux comes "an endearing novel about second chances" (The Washington Post), with wise insights into love, family, and the art of sushi. "Wise and poignant [with] mouthwatering descriptions of food . . . I Leave It Up to You...
Name of the wind ; the kingkiller chronicle. Day 01
Rothfuss, Patrick
Paper Book
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 ...
HEART THE LOVER
KING, LILY
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: TIME Magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Harper's Baazar, NPR, Vogue, Oprah Daily, People Magazine, USA TODAY, Literary Hub, Electric Literature, Kirkus Review, BookPage,...
The Goblin Emperor
Addison, Katherine.
Paper Book
The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only...
MY FRIENDS
BACKMAN, FREDRIK
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A Fallon Book Club Pick WINNER OF THE 2025 GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS FOR BEST FICTION A Most Anticipated Book of 2025: Goodreads * USA TODAY * Marie Claire * BookPage * Literary Lifestyle * Book Riot * Sunset...
Maid : hard work, low pay, and a mother's will to survive
Land, Stephanie
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Evicted meets Nickel and Dimed in Stephanie Land's memoir about working as a maid, a beautiful and gritty exploration of poverty in America. Includes a foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich....
Firekeeper's daughter
Boulley, Angeline
Paper Book
An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller! A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick! A Printz Medal AND Morris Award Winner! Soon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground.
Legendborn
Deonn, Tracy
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! Winner of the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award Filled with mystery and an intriguingly rich magic system, Tracy Deonn's YA contemporary fantasy Legendborn offers the dark allure of...
BEAUTIFUL UGLY
FEENEY, ALICE
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Her best book yet." --Harlan Coben The million-copy bestselling Queen of Twists Alice Feeney returns with a gripping and deliciously dark thriller about marriage. . . . . . and revenge.
I see you've called in dead : a novel
Kenney, John
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER A 2025 NPR "Books We Love" Pick USA Today April Pick "Razor-sharp, darkly comedic, and emotionally piercing. With the satirical bite of Richard Russo's Straight Man, the introspection of Fredrik Backman's A Man...
Boy swallows universe
Dalton, Trent
Paper Book
"The best book I read this decade." --Sharon Van Etten in Rolling Stone "Boy Swallows Universe hypnotizes you with wonder, and then hammers you with heartbreak. . . . Eli's remarkably poetic voice and his astonishingly open heart take the day. They enable him to carve out the best of what...
Dungeon crawler Carl
Dinniman, Matt
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series--now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition. You know what's worse than breaking up with your...
The wedding people : a novel
Espach, Alison
Paper Book
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,...
Culpability
Holsinger, Bruce
Oprah's Book Club Pick * New Yorker Best Books of 2025 * 2026 Aspen Words Literary Prize Longlist * Kirkus Best Books of 2025 * Real Simple Best Books of 2025 * Washington Post Noteable Fiction 2025 * NPR's 2025 "Books We Love" * Minnesota Star Tribune 20 Best of 2025 ...
A history of the world in 6 glasses
Standage, Tom.
Audiobook
Throughout human history, certain drinks have done much more than just quench thirst. As Tom Standage relates with authority and charm, six of them have had a surprisingly pervasive influence on the course of history, becoming the defining drink during a pivotal historical period.A History of the...
SECRET OF SECRETS
BROWN, DAN
Paper Book
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The world's most celebrated thriller writer and author of The Da Vinci Code returns with his most stunning novel yet--a propulsive, twisty, thought-provoking masterpiece that will entertain readers as only Dan Brown can do. ...
Uprooted
Novik, Naomi.
Paper Book
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...
The perfect wife : a novel
Delaney, JP
Paper Book
The perfect life. The perfect love. The perfect lie. From the bestselling author of The Girl Before comes a gripping psychological thriller. . . . "Mind-bending . . . Delaney takes domestic suspense beyond its comfort zone."--The New York Times Book Review
As I lay dying : the corrected text
Faulkner, William
Paper Book
A true 20th-century classic from the Nobel Prize-winning author of The Sound and the Fury: the famed harrowing account of the Bundren family's odyssey across the Mississippi countryside to bury Addie, their wife and mother. As I Lay Dying is one of the most...
We came, we saw, we left : a family gap year
Wheelan, Charles J.
Paper Book
Charlie Wheelan and his family do what others dream of: They take a year off to travel the world. This is their story. What would happen if you quit your life for a year? In a pre-COVID-19 world, the Wheelan family decided to find out; leaving behind work, school, and even the family...
The last hour between worlds
Caruso, Melissa
Paper Book
A whip-smart adventure fantasy packed with reality-bending magic, and sapphic romance, The Last Hour Between Worlds is the brilliant launch of a new series from David Gemmell Award-nominated author Melissa Caruso. In the Deep Echoes, no one can save you.<...
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Irving, John
Ebook
"A remarkable novel. . . . A Prayer for Owen Meany is a rare creation. ... An amazingly brave piece of work ... so extraordinary, so original, and so enriching. . . . Readers will come to the end feeling sorry to leave [this] richly textured and carefully wrought world." --STEPHEN KING,...
YELLOWFACE
KUANG, R.F.
Paper Book
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...
Wake up and open your eyes : a novel
Chapman, Clay McLeod
Paper Book
"Clay McLeod Chapman is one of my favorite horror storytellers working today."--Jordan Peele "If talking politics with family has become a horror show, this book's for you."--New York Times Book Review From master of horror Clay McLeod Chapman, a relentless social...
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...
SORCERY AND SMALL MAGICS
DOOCY, MAIGA
Paper Book
From debut author Maiga Doocy comes the charming tale of an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival as they venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell that can break the curse between them--only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together....
TOM LAKE
PRATCHETT, ANN
Paper Book
#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 ...
Eleanor & Park
Rowell, Rainbow
Paper Book
#1 New York Times Best Seller! "Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book."-John Green, The New York Times Book Review Bono met his...
Crave
Wolff, Tracy
Paper Book
The instant #1 New York Times Bestselling Series Glitter Magazine's #1 Pick for Best YA of 2020 Optioned for Film by Universal My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it....
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...
Dr. No : a novel
Everett, Percival
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2023 PEN/JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARD A sly, madcap novel about supervillains and nothing, really, from an American novelist whose star keeps rising The protagonist of Percival Everett's puckish new novel is a brilliant professor of mathematics who goes by...
The Briar Club : a novel
Quinn, Kate
Paper Book
"Quinn evocatively balances the outward cheerfulness of the 1950s with historical observations exploring racism, misogyny, homophobia and political persecution in this sharply drawn, gripping novel." - People Magazine The New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond...
Atomic habits : tiny changes, remarkable results : an easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones
Clear, James
Paper Book
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 house at Watch Hill : a novel
Moning, Karen Marie
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning is back with a gripping, imaginative, and seductive new series in which a young woman moves to Divinity, Louisiana, to inherit a large fortune and a Gothic mansion full of mysteries and ominous secrets... Zo Grey is reeling from...
The hobbit or, There and back again
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Paper Book
A new mythology in an invented world and a timeless story that can be called both heroic romance and science fiction.
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 Garcia girls lost their accents
Alvarez, Julia.
Audiobook
Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "simply wonderful" How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents captures the vivid lives of the Garcia sisters, four privileged and rebellious Dominican girls adapting to their new lives in America. In the 1960s, political tension forces the Garcia family away from...
House of rain : tracking a vanished civilization across the American Southwest
Childs, Craig
Paper Book
A "beautifully written travelogue" that draws on the latest scholarly research as well as a lifetime of exploration to light on the extraordinary Anasazi culture of the American Southwest (Entertainment Weekly).  The greatest "unsolved mystery"...
The search
Roberts, Nora.
Paper Book
A canine Search and Rescue volunteer fights danger and finds love in the Pacific Northwest wilderness in this riveting #1 New York Times bestseller from Nora Roberts. To most people, Fiona Bristow seems to have an idyllic life--a quaint house on an island off Seattle's...
Before the coffee gets cold : a novel
Kawaguchi, Toshikazu
Paper Book
*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
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "It's perfection, every word, every moment. A masterpiece . . . One of the best books I've ever read." --Lisa Jewell, #1 New York Times bestselling author New York Times bestselling author Gillian McAllister has created a...
All My Rage A Novel
Tahir, Sabaa.
Paper Book
National Book Award WINNER Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature WINNER An INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! An INSTANT INDIE BESTSELLER! A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Century "All My Rage is a love story,...
Belladonna
Grace, Adalyn
Paper Book
#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...
Looking for Jane
Marshall, Heather.
Paper Book
This "clever and satisfying" (Associated Press) #1 international bestseller for fans of Kristin Hannah and Jennifer Chiaverini follows three women who are bound together by a long-lost letter, a mother's love, and a secret network of women fighting for the right to choose--inspired by true...
The extraordinary life of Sam Hell : a novel
Dugoni, Robert
Paper Book
Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni's coming-of-age story is, according to Booklist, "a novel that, if it doesn't cross entirely over into John Irving territory, certainly nestles in close to the border." Sam Hill always saw...
NOS4A2 : a novel
Hill, Joe
Paper Book
"A masterwork of horror."-- Time 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. Victoria...
FIRST LIE WINS
ELSTON, ASHLEY
Paper Book
Evie Porter has everything a nice, Southern girl could want: a perfect, doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence and a garden, a fancy group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn't exist. The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she's given a name and...
AWARD
PEARL, MATTHEW
"The Award begins as a wryly funny satire of thwarted literary ambition, but it quickly evolves into something darker and more disturbing. Matthew Pearl's addictive and propulsive novel has the twisted nightmare logic of a Patricia Highsmith thriller."--Tom Perrotta, New York Times ...
The river is waiting a novel
Lamb, Wally
Paper Book
" From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two Oprah Book Club Picks--She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True--Wally Lamb comes the propulsive story of a young father who, after an unbearable tragedy, reckons with the possibility of atonement for the...
ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI
CHAKRABORTY, SHANNON
Paper Book
"A thrilling, transportative adventure that is everything promised-Chakraborty's storytelling is fantasy at its best." -- R.F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and The Poppy War "An exhilarating, propulsive adventure, stitched from the threads of real history, Amina's...
ANYONE'S GHOST
THOMPSON, AUGUST
Paper Book
A 2025 Lamda Literary Award finalist * Longlisted for The Center For Fiction's 2024 First Novel Prize * Named a Best Book of 2024 by Elle, Vogue, and Debutiful "This new novel is a real heart-squeezer. Beautiful, one of a kind and perfectly titled." --Matt...
The cruel prince
Black, Holly
Paper Book
By #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, the first book in a stunning new series about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue. Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine...
STOLEN LIFE OF COLETTE MARCEAU
HARMEL, KRISTIN
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Kristin Harmel, the New York Times bestselling author who "is the best there is at sweeping historical drama" (Kelly Harms, author of The Seven Day Switch), returns with an electrifying new novel about two jewel thieves, a...
REFORMATORY
DUE, TANANARIVE
Paper Book
*Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner * New York Times Notable Book * Locus Award Finalist * Winner of the Bram Stoker Award and the Shirley Jackson Award * "You're in for a treat...one of those books you can't put down...Due hit it out of the park." --Stephen King ...
Breath : the new science of a lost art
Nestor, James
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller A Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of 2020 Named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR   "A fascinating scientific, cultural, spiritual and evolutionary history of the way humans breathe--and how we've all been...
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...
Problematic summer romance
Hazelwood, Ali
The Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller! What is wrong meets what feels right in this romance set in Italy by the New York Times bestselling author of Deep End. Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out...
Sky in the deep
Young, Adrienne
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! A Most Anticipated Young Adult book from debut author Adrienne Young, Sky in the Deep is part Wonder Woman, part Vikings--and all heart. OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE. Raised to...
Jurassic Park
Crichton, Michael
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the author of Timeline, Sphere, and Congo, this is the classic thriller of science run amok that took the world by storm. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's...
His majesty's dragon
Novik, Naomi
Paper Book
In the first novel of the New York Times bestselling Temeraire series, a rare bond is formed between a young man and a dragon, and together they must battle in the Napoleonic Wars. "A terrifically entertaining fantasy novel."--Stephen King Aerial combat brings...
Out of the dust
Hesse, Karen.
Paper Book
A poem cycle that reads as a novel narrates the story of 15-year-old Billie Jo and her battle against the elements during the Oklahoma Dust Bowl of 1934.
The lion women of Tehran
Kamali, Marjan
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER An "evocative read and a powerful portrait of friendship, feminism, and political activism" (People) set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran--from nationally bestselling author Marjan Kamali. In 1950s Tehran,...
MAGNOLIA PALACE
DAVIS, FIONA
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue, returns with a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal, and murder within one of New York City's most impressive Gilded Age mansions....
The plot
Korelitz, Jean Hanff
Paper Book
** NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! ** The Tonight Show Summer Reads Winner ** A New York Times Notable Book of the Year** "Insanely readable." --Stephen King Hailed as "breathtakingly suspenseful," Jean Hanff Korelitz...
The lost year
Marsh, Katherine
Paper Book
*A National Book Award Finalist* From the author of Nowhere Boy - called "a resistance novel for our times" by The New York Times - comes a brilliant middle-grade survival story that traces a harrowing family secret back to the Holodomor, a terrible famine that...
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