Take Me Back to School

Here's a suggested list for adults returning to school.

Updated July 27, 2025
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Educated : a memoir
Westover, Tara
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER * One of the most acclaimed books of our time: an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University ...
Never too late : the adult student's guide to college
Klein-Collins, Rebecca
Paper Book
A smart, snappy, and comprehensive guide for the millions of adults who are thinking about going--or going back--to college and want to know how to do it right As anyone who has done it knows, going back to school is a major undertaking. For younger and older adults alike, starting or...
21 lessons for the 21st century
Harari, Yuval N.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In Sapiens, he explored our past. In Homo Deus, he looked to our future. Now, one of the world's most innovative thinkers explores what it means to be human in an age of bewilderment. "Fascinating . . . a...
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 20 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...
Lessons learned and cherished : the teacher who changed my life
Roberts, Deborah
Paper Book
Everyone can name a teacher that had an impact on their life. Educators not only open our minds to new ideas, but they also help us recognize our potential and our passions. However, they rarely get credit for the life changing work they do, and they may not have any idea how that work can impact a...
The school of essential ingredients
Bauermeister, Erica.
Paper Book
Reminiscent of Chocolatand Like Water for Chocolate, a gorgeously written novel about life, love, and the magic of food. The School of Essential Ingredientsfollows the lives of eight students who gather in Lillian’s Restaurant every Monday night for...
The art of fielding : a novel
Harbach, Chad.
Paper Book
A disastrous error on the field sends five lives into a tailspin in this widely acclaimed tale about love, life, and baseball, praised by the New York Times as "wonderful...a novel that is every bit as entertaining as it is affecting." 
The gifted school
Holsinger, Bruce W.
Paper Book
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Wise and addictive... The Gifted School is the juiciest novel I've read in ages... a suspenseful, laugh-out-loud page-turner and an incisive inspection of privilege, race and class." -J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Friends...
The house of Eve
Johnson, Sadeqa
Paper Book
"Amazing...I was completely surprised by the ending of this beautifully told and written book." --Reese Witherspoon "A triumph of historical fiction" (The Washington Post), an instant New York Times bestseller, and a Reese's Book Club pick, set in 1950s...
The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections : a novel
Jurczyk, Eva
Paper Book
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER "A rare treat for readers. I loved this book!"--Matthew Sullivan, author of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore "Who doesn't love a mystery involving rare books and bad librarians?" --Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times bestselling author Anxious...
Good girl complex
Kennedy, Elle
Paper Book
*USA Today and Toronto Star bestseller* Full of romance, hijinks, and longing, Good Girl Complex is Elle Kennedy at her very best. She does everything right. So what could go wrong? Mackenzie "Mac" Cabot is a people pleaser. Her...
A separate peace
Knowles, John 1926-2001
Paper Book
Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read. An American classic and great bestseller for over thirty years, A Separate Peace is timeless in its description of adolescence during a period when the entire country was losing its...
The paradise problem
Lauren, Christina
Paper Book
Christina Lauren, the instant New York Times bestselling and "reigning romance queens" (PopSugar) of modern classics such as The Unhoneymooners and Love and Other Words, returns with a swoonworthy novel following the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free...
The class
Segal, Erich
Paper Book
From world-renowed author Erich Segal comes a  powerful and moving saga of five extraordinary  members of the Harvard class of 1958 and the women  with whom their lives are intertwined. Their  explosive story begins in a time of innocence and spans  a turbulent quarter century, culminating in their ...
The secret history
Tartt, Donna.
Paper Book
ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME * INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * A contemporary literary classic and "an accomplished psychological thriller ... absolutely chilling" (Village Voice), from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Goldfinch. ...
Brideshead revisited
Waugh, Evelyn 1903-1966
Paper Book
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)   Evelyn Waugh's most celebrated novel is a memory drama about the intense entanglement of the narrator, Charles Ryder, with a great Anglo-Catholic family. Written during World War II, the novel mourns the passing of the aristocratic world Waugh knew...
My Oxford year : a novel
Whelan, Julia
Paper Book
Now a Netflix Film Starring Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest! "My Oxford Year is a pure delight . . . Julia Whelan has crafted a story that is as fun and charming as it is powerful and wise." --TAYLOR JENKINS REID "A read bursting with warmth, mirth, and heart. A powerfully...

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