Hello librarians!
We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! It's hard to believe winter is almost here, but alas, Jack Frost waits for no one. But not to worry! We're here to help prepare for his arrival with a fresh round of reading suggestions for LibraryReads. Enjoy!
Remember: Votes for the February LibraryReads List are due January 1st.
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The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson
For fans of: The Leavers by Lisa Ko and
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
A thought-provoking, page-turning debut about race, class, identity, and the pursuit of the American dream.
"The Kindest Lie is a deep dive into how we define family, what it means to be a mother, what secrets we owe to those we love, and what it means to grow up Black. This beautifully crafted debut will keep you asking these questions and more."
—Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Two Ways
"Taut and surprising, Nancy Johnson’s debut novel tackles complex issues—ambition, romance, class—with the lightest of touches."
—Rumaan Alam, New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida
For fans of: Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
An achingly beautiful and wickedly funny story of female friendship, betrayal, and a mysterious disappearance, set in the changing landscape of San Francisco.
"A nimble and arresting drama about the spell cast by beauty, the compulsion to lie, the valor of forthrightness, and the inevitability of the inexplicable."
—Donna Seaman, Booklist STARRED review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
Watch Vendela Vida on Door to Door!
The Removed by Brandon Hobson
For fans of: Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Steeped in Cherokee myths and history, a novel about a fractured family reckoning with the tragic death of their son long ago—from National Book Award finalist Brandon Hobson.
"Brandon Hobson has given us a haunted work, full of voices old and new. It is about a family’s reckoning with loss and injustice, and it is about a people trying for the same. The journey of this family’s way home is full—in equal measure—of melancholy and love. The Removed is spirited, droll, and as quietly devastating as rain lifting from earth to sky."
—Tommy Orange, New York Times bestselling author of There There
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
Raceless by Georgina Lawton
For fans of: This Will Be My Undoing by Morgan Jerkins
From The Guardian’s Georgina Lawton, a moving examination of how racial identity is constructed—through the author’s own journey grappling with secrets and stereotypes, having been raised by white parents with no explanation as to why she looked black.
"Lawton’s examination of identity and family is a compelling account that will resonate with many readers."
—Booklist
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
Watch Georgina Lawton on Door to Door!
The Upstairs House by Julia Fine
For fans of: The Need by Helen Phillips and
Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
The author of What Should Be Wild returns with a provocative meditation on new motherhood—Shirley Jackson meets
The Awakening—in which a postpartum woman’s psychological unraveling becomes intertwined with the ghostly appearance of children’s book writer Margaret Wise Brown.
"Macabre and funny, spooky and soulful, Julia Fine's
The Upstairs House lets the reader inhabit a massively entertaining and slyly enlightening story nestled inside another story like a ghost within its host. Love and resentment, madness and clarity compete and comingle in this unforgettable tale of literature and legacy."
—Kathleen Rooney, author of Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey and Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins
Also from the author: On the Corner of Hope and Main
and Rebel
USA Today bestselling author Beverly Jenkins continues her captivating Women Who Dare series with a female rancher who forges her own path in the wake of the Civil War.
"Memorable characters and fun, if fraught, dialogue make the highly anticipated second book in romance star Jenkins' Women Who Dare series a refreshing and keenly innovative historical romance. Readers will be clamoring for more well-researched and inclusive love stories featuring strong women in the American West."
—Booklist STARRED review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
Watch Beverly Jenkins on Door to Door!
First Comes Like by Alisha Rai
For fans of: Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey
Alisha Rai, author of The Right Swipe and Girl Gone Viral, returns with a story about finding love in all the wrong inboxes.
"Another win from this rising romance star."
—Booklist
Let's make Alisha Rai a LibraryReads Hall of Fame author!
Previous LibraryReads selections:
The Right Swipe (Top Pick - August 2019)
Girl Gone Viral (April 2020)
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
Lola on Fire by Rio Youers
For fans of: If She Wakes by Michael Koryta and No Exit by Taylor Adams
British Fantasy Award nominee Rio Youers combines vengeance and deceit, love and bullets, secrets, and twists in this high-octane action thriller with a vibrant emotional core.
"Lola on Fire serves up all the gonzo action, quotable lines, and unforgettable characters a reader could want, in a novel that rivals Killing Eve in intensity and atmosphere."
—Joe Hill, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
For fans of: The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer
A compulsively readable debut novel—spiky, sharp, intriguingly dark, and tender—about a woman on the edge that combines the psychological insight of Sally Rooney with the sharp humor of Nina Stibbe and the emotional resonance of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.
"Sorrow and Bliss is a brilliantly faceted and extremely funny book about depression that engulfed me in the way I'm always hoping to be to be engulfed by novels. While I was reading it, I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realized that I wanted to send it to everyone I know."
—Ann Patchett
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
We Can Only Save Ourselves by Alison Wisdom
For fans of: The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
With echoes of The Virgin Suicides and The Fates Will Find Their Way, Alison Wisdom’s debut novel is the story of one teenage girl’s unlikely indoctrination and the reverberations in the tight-knit community she leaves behind.
"In this tense, complicated novel, the loss of a daughter is observed through the singular, haunting voice of the town’s mothers as they wage a daily battle for safety under the guise of conformity and belonging.... taut, steely prose reveals new complexities, questions, and dangers with each turn of the page."
—Elizabeth Wetmore, New York Times bestselling author of Valentine
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
City of a Thousand Gates by Rebecca Sacks
For fans of: Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok
A novel of great humanity, compassion, and astonishing immediacy, this inventive and unique debut captures the emotional reality of contemporary life in the West Bank and the irreconcilable Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a collage of narrative voices and different viewpoints centered on a particular set of events.
"A stunning first novel…imbued with foreboding at every turn…. Through her vibrant characters, Sacks paints a moving and powerful portrait of those who love the region passionately despite its many tensions and dangers."
—Booklist STARRED review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
Love and Other Lies by Ben McPherson
For fans of: The Wife by Alafair Burke and
Grace is Gone by Emily Elgar
A mother and father search for the truth behind their daughter’s disappearance in this stunning psychological suspense novel that takes Nordic noir to a level that is "emotional, painful, and utterly memorable" (Alex Marwood, Edgar Award-winning author of
The Poison Garden).
"[A] stunning psychological thriller.... McPherson dramatically highlights the tensions between Norway’s native and immigrant populations as the plot builds to a devastating conclusion. This powerful, thought-provoking novel deserves a wide readership."
—Publishers Weekly STARRED review
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LibraryReads Votes Due: January 1, 2020
For more great reading suggestions for February, check out our
The deadline to submit your votes is January 1!
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We hope you enjoy the books! For more information about LibraryReads, visit their website. Remember: Vote early! Vote often!
-Chris
www.librarylovefest.com
