Staff Picks for Adults & Teens: Our Favorite Things We Read, Watched & Listened To in 2024Like this list

89 items

• Headshot

  a Novel

  Bullwinkel, Rita,

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  We're at a young women's regional championship boxing tournament, and furthermore, in the head of each boxer as she fights. Chapters constructed as boxing matches; reads like a dream.

• Doppelganger

  a Trip Into the Mirror World

  Klein, Naomi, 1970-

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  A well constructed meditation; a personal and societal excavation of doppelganger phenomena and how it gets refracted into our online identities.

• Mother-daughter Murder Night

  a Novel

  Simon, Nina,

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  Three generations of tough, smart women are living under one (shack) roof again after years of estrangement. Tenacious crime solving, river tides, heart warming reconnections.

• Fat Chance, Charlie Vega

  Maldonado, Crystal,

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  "A sensitive, funny, and painful coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves." This book is so cute. It'll make you laugh but it…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Searcher

  French, Tana,

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  An American retires to the Irish countryside and can't seem to shake his investigative bone, despite thinking he went out there to retire. Small town community politics and moral obligation have another thing in mind.

• The Women

  Hannah, Kristin,

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  *2 staff members recommend this one!* The book spotlights the experiences of women who signed up to be nurses in the Vietnam war, yet their heroic exploits and the horrors they faced on the battlefield largely went unacknowledged. Though the setting…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Comprehensive Guide to Intersex

  Petersen, Jay Kyle,

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  If you're not quite sure what it means for a person to be intersex but would like to educate your self, this book is an accessible and well researched guide.

• Pyongyang

  a Journey in North Korea

  Delisle, Guy

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  An interesting and humorous personal account of an animator living and working in North Korea for studio. Naturally, a graphic novel!

• The Fire Next Time

  Baldwin, James, 1924-1987

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  If you haven't read any thing by James Baldwin yet this is the time to pick up some of his writing; why not start here? His reflections of the human experience speak to the soul in an exacting way.

• Secret San Jose

  a Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

  Kifer, Cassie,

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  I'm originally from Chicago, so it was fun to read through Secret San Jose! Every city has its quirky only-the-locals-know gems, and it was a joy to learn about some of the ones around here.

• We Have Always Lived in the Castle

  Jackson, Shirley, 1916-1965

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  Like only playing the sharp keys on the piano, Jackson's Castle is a short and off-kilter story of sisterhood and belonging.

• Tenth of December

  Stories

  Saunders, George, 1958-

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  A collection of short stories, such an interesting storyteller, all of them weird and very much of the human predicament.

• Hello Beautiful

  a Novel

  Napolitano, Ann,

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  Twists and turns, the drama of sisters, loves, and all the beautiful mess that ensues.

• Finlay Donovan Is Killing It

  Cosimano, Elle,

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  Right out the gate punchy and obnoxious in a good way. A fun read.

• Holly

  a Novel

  King, Stephen, 1947-

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  Private detective Holly is steeped in a mysterious disappearance, while an octogenarian couple’s private conviction for their taboo diet creeps closer and closer to Holly’s growing list of missing persons. Stephen King at it again!

• Erasure

  a Novel

  Everett, Percival,

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  We are in the head of Thelonius "Monk" Ellison, a meta experience, a writer, craftily told.

• The Lincoln Highway

  Towles, Amor,

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  After a mix up I realized I was reading the wrong book, but I'm glad I did! The Lincoln Highway follows two brothers, the eldest has to grow up fast, the younger of the two is a an endearing little genius. We meet quite a cast of characters along…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• I Have Some Questions for You

  Makkai, Rebecca,

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  Returning to her old boarding school to teach, a cold case becomes a hot topic among the students. A good suspenseful murder mystery.

• Thief of the Heights

  Son M.,

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  Full of amazing art and a captivating story, this graphic novel deftly explores how change comes from within.

• Witch Hat Atelier. Volume 1

  Shirahama, Kamome,

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  A beautiful series with intricate details and patterns; explores disability and wonder in a world where ink becomes magic.