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BOOKLISTS FOR ADULTS

Librarian Fiction Recommendations for Adults
  • Fiction Favorites
    • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
    • The Summer Before the War
    • Sourdough
    • Ready Player One
    • An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
    • The Martian
    • Where’d You Go Bernadette
    • Vying for the Viscount
    • Love and Lavender
    • The Weight of Ink
    • People We Meet on Vacation
    • Project Hail Mary
    • World War Z
    • Lovecraft Country
    • Wanderers
    • Cinnamon and Gunpowder
    • Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
    • How to Stop Time
    • One Two Three
    • The Four Winds
    • The Witch's Heart
    • Failsafe
    • Beauty and the Clockwork Beast
    • Charming Artemis
    • This Tender Land
    • The Lincoln Highway
    • The Lost Man
    • The Bell Jar
    • Slaughterhouse-five
    • The Illustrated Man
    • Pride and Prejudice
    • Jane Eyre
    • The Lord of the Rings
    • The Poisonwood Bible
    • The Mysterious Affair at Styles
    • The Bear
    • Conventionally Yours
    • Juliet Takes a Breath
    • The Midnight Library
    • A Change of Fortune
    • A Worthy Pursuit
    • Soulless
Adult Best Books by Year
2021 Best Books - Fiction
  • Best Adult Fiction Books of 2021
    • The Personal Librarian
    • The Inheritance of Orquίdea Divina
    • The Last Thing He Told Me
    • Cloud Cuckoo Land
    • The Audacity of Sara Grayson
    • The Twilight Zone
    • One Two Three
    • The Four Winds
    • The Guide
    • The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
    • When the Stars Go Dark
    • Apples Never Fall
    • The Lost Apothecary
    • Wish You Were Here
    • The Five Wounds
    • The Rose Code
    • Malibu Rising
    • The Kitchen Front
    • Great Circle
    • The Ex Talk
    • The Lincoln Highway
    • Monsters
    • Clark and Division
    • Lightning Strike
    • The Man Who Died Twice
    • False Witness
    • Charming Artemis
    • A Proper Scoundrel
    • People We Meet on Vacation
    • Winning the Gentleman
    • Love and Lavender
    • To Write a Wrong
    • The Witch’s Heart
    • Under the Whispering Door
    • The Last Graduate
    • Noor
    • Project Hail Mary
    • Fugitive Telemetry
2021 Best Books - Nonfiction
  • Best Adult Nonfiction Books of 2021
    • Unwinding Anxiety
    • Think Again
    • The Power of Fun
    • Atlas of the Heart
    • Effortless
    • Under a White Sky
    • The Sum of Us
    • Demystifying Disability
    • More Than a Body
    • Everybody Fights
    • Finding the Mother Tree
    • On Juneteenth
    • How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch
    • The Code Breaker
    • The Plague Year
    • What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat
    • What Happened to You?
    • Nothin' But a Good Time
    • A Little Devil in America
    • Never Say You Can't Survive
    • Come, Sweet Day
    • A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
    • Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty
    • Empire of Pain
    • Facing the Mountain
    • The 1619 Project
    • How the Word is Passed
    • Somebody's Daughter
    • All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days
    • Broken (In the Best Possible Way)
    • Aftershocks
    • The Woman They Could Not Silence
    • Smile: The Story of a Face
    • Will
    • Crying in H Mart
    • Seek You
    • Let's Make Dumplings!
    • The Secret to Superhuman Strength
2020 Best Books - Fiction
  • 2020 Best Fiction Books
    • Homeland Elegies
    • Leave the World Behind
    • Conjure Women
    • The Vanishing Half
    • Piranesi
    • The Heir Affair
    • When No One Is Watching
    • American Dirt
    • The Sweeney Sisters
    • The Lying Life of Adults
    • Transcendent Kingdom
    • The Once and Future Witches
    • Magic Lessons
    • The Book of Longings
    • The Exiles
    • Sex and Vanity
    • Luster
    • A Burning
    • The Mirror and the Light
    • Deacon King Kong
    • Mexican Gothic
    • The Love Story of Missy Carmichael
    • Hamnet
    • Weather
    • The Switch
    • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
    • One to Watch
    • One by One
    • Memorial
    • Valentine
    • The Book of Lost Friends
    • How Much of These Hills Is Gold
    • Fangs
    • Recipe for Persuasion
    • Space Station Down
    • Ready Player Two
    • A Deadly Education
    • Black Sun
2020 Best Books - Nonfiction
  • 2020 Best Nonfiction Books
    • Tiny Habits
    • Apocalypse Never
    • Minor Feelings
    • Caste
    • Me and White Supremacy
    • Just Us
    • Memorial Drive
    • The Power of Ritual
    • Humble Pi
    • World of Wonders
    • The Hilarious World of Depression
    • Hidden Valley Road
    • Joy at Work
    • African-American Poetry
    • Wow, No Thank You
    • Is This Anything?
    • Vesper Flights
    • The Lost Family
    • The Daughters of Yalta
    • Hell and Other Destinations
    • A Knock at Midnight
    • Solutions and Other Problems
    • Hill Women
    • Inferno
    • The Splendid and the Vile
    • Notes on a Silencing
    • No Time Like the Future
    • Hold On, But Don’t Hold Still
    • His Truth is Marching On
    • The Dead Are Arising
    • Greenlights
    • The Dragons, the Giant, the Women
    • A Promised Land
    • Dolly Parton, Songteller
    • The Answer Is…
    • Uncanny Valley
    • This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing
    • The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist
2019 Best Books - Fiction
  • 2019 Best Books - Fiction
    • The Testaments
    • Your House Will Pay
    • The Night Tiger
    • The Water Dancer
    • City of Girls
    • The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
    • The River
    • An Anonymous Girl
    • Ask Again, Yes
    • If She Wakes
    • The Silent Patient
    • Cilka’s Journey
    • The Flatshare
    • The Dutch House
    • Disappearing Earth
    • The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
    • Normal People
    • How Not to Die Alone
    • Chances Are…
    • Olive, Again
    • On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
    • The Turn of the Key
    • The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
    • Wanderers
    • The Nickel Boys
    • Red at the Bone
    • Angel Eyes
    • Wolf Pack
    • A Dangerous Man
    • The Lost Man
    • The Bride Test
    • Red, White & Royal Blue
    • The Winter of the Witch
    • Exhalation
    • The True Queen
    • Recursion
    • Magic for Liars
    • Gideon the Ninth
2019 Best Books - Nonfiction
  • 2019 Best Books - Nonfiction
    • Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
    • The Next Mormons
    • Biased
    • How to Do Nothing
    • The Moment of Lift
    • She Said
    • How to Be an Antiracist
    • A Good Provider is One Who Leaves
    • Catch and Kill
    • No Visible Bruises
    • Midnight in Chernobyl
    • Furious Hours
    • Say Nothing
    • The Enchanted Hour
    • How To
    • Underland
    • Mama’s Last Hug
    • Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
    • The Last Pass
    • Dreyer’s English
    • Last Witnesses
    • The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee
    • The British are Coming
    • Trick Mirror
    • The Pioneers
    • Sea People
    • Home Work
    • The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books
    • Life Undercover
    • Once More We Saw the Stars
    • Dutch Girl
    • How We Fight for Our Lives
    • Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive
    • In the Dream House
    • Know My Name
    • Code Name: Lise
    • Inheritance
    • They Called Us Enemy

Looking for more Best Books lists?  Our librarians compile a list of their favorite books from the previous year every February. 

More Booklists?

For more and expanded booklists for adults, please contact the Adult/Teen Reference Department.

Or find great book recommendations 24/7 on Novelist Plus, a database of fiction and nonfiction books that offers reviews, author read-alikes, theme-oriented booklists, and more!

Adult Booklists
Acclaimed Audiobook Narrations
  • Acclaimed Audiobook Narrations
    • Anxious People
    • The Institute
    • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
    • The Midnight Library
    • One by One
    • The Raven Tower
    • Run Away
    • The Tattooist of Auschwitz
    • The Moment of Lift
    • American Moonshot
    • Born a Crime
    • Educated
Action-Packed Books
  • Action-Packed Books
    • Without Sanction
    • Rules of Engagement
    • Marauder
    • The Treadstone Resurrection
    • Devoted
    • Total Power
    • Near Dark
    • Long Range
    • Chaos
    • Engines of Oblivion
    • The Dynasty
    • The Iron Sea
Assassins, Spies, and Thieves
  • Assassins, Spies, and Thieves
    • Lana's War
    • Relentless
    • Prodigal Son
    • Hour of the Assassin
    • Stop at Nothing
    • The Paradise Affair
    • Shorefall
    • The Unconquered City
    • Persephone Station
    • Agent Sonya
    • Atomic Spy
    • The Unexpected Spy
Chilling Books
  • Chilling Books
    • Devolution
    • The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
    • The Only Good Indians
    • Later
    • The Other Emily
    • Unbury Carol
    • Lost Causes of Bleak Creek
    • Mexican Gothic
    • The Need
    • The Turn of the Key
    • The Sun Down Motel
    • Black Wings
Clean Reads
  • Clean Reads
    • The Library of Legends
    • The Most Precious of Cargoes
    • Her Quiet Revolution
    • I Was Told It Would Get Easier
    • Mistaken Reality
    • The Venice Sketchbook
    • Farm to Trouble
    • The Burdens of a Bachelor
    • Rakes and Roses
    • A Castaway in Cornwall
    • The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water
    • Spellbreaker
Cozy Mysteries
  • Cozy Mysteries
    • Ink and Shadows
    • Antiques Fire Sale
    • Mimi Lee Gets a Clue
    • A Deadly Inside Scoop
    • A Catered Book Club Murder
    • Death by Chocolate Snickerdoodle
    • A Bad Day for Sunshine
    • Irish Parade Murder
    • Bait and Witch
    • The Broken Spine
    • A Glimmer of Death
    • The Thursday Murder Club
Fantasy
  • Fantasy
    • Over the Woodward Wall
    • The Unwilling
    • Driftwood
    • The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water
    • Race the Sands
    • The House in the Cerulean Sea
    • The Girl and the Stars
    • The Sin in the Steel
    • House of Earth and Blood
    • The Kingdom of Liars
    • A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians
    • The Midnight Bargain
Fractured Fairy Tales
  • Fractured Fairy Tales
    • Gingerbread
    • Sisters of the Winter Wood
    • Court of Swans
    • How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse
    • Burning Roses
    • A Court of Thorns and Roses
    • Gods of Jade and Shadow
    • Spinning Silver
    • Hasib and the Queen of Serpents
    • Persephone
    • Fierce Fairytales
    • Heroes
Historical Fiction
  • Historical Fiction
    • Feast of Sorrow
    • Circe
    • Conjure Women
    • The Water Dancer
    • Once Upon a River
    • The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
    • A Gentleman in Moscow
    • The Tattooist of Auschwitz
    • Resistance Women
    • The Rose Code
    • The Island of Sea Women
    • Next Year in Havana
Historical Romance
  • Historical Romance
    • Someone to Romance
    • How to Catch a Duke
    • Marry in Scarlet
    • Wilde Child
    • Who Wants to Marry a Duke
    • The Duke Effect
    • Chasing Cassandra
    • A Princess by Christmas
    • Daring and the Duke
    • Once Dishonored
    • The Lady has a Past
    • First Comes Scandal
Inspiring Real Life Stories
  • Inspiring Real Life Stories
    • The Gift of Forgiveness
    • Bringing Columbia Home
    • The Doctors Blackwell
    • When Blood Breaks Down
    • The Eagles of Heart Mountain
    • Facing the Mountain
    • The Other Madisons
    • A Knock at Midnight
    • Heart of Fire
    • Father of Lions
    • Buses are a Comin'
    • The Unexpected Spy
Jane Austen Adaptations
  • Jane Austen Adaptations
    • Ladies of the House
    • The Heiress
    • The Other Bennet Sister
    • Ayesha at Last
    • The Jane Austen Society
    • Unmarriageable
    • Polite Society
    • Recipe for Persuasion
    • Jane in Love
    • The Wrong Mr. Darcy
    • Pride and Prometheus
    • A Taste for Love
LGBTQ
  • LGBTQ
    • Cantoras
    • The Mercies
    • Honey Girl
    • This Town Sleeps
    • Red, White, and Royal Blue
    • Something to Talk About
    • Upright Women Wanted
    • The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry
    • Tabernacles of Clay
    • Ordinary Girls
    • How We Fight for Our Lives
    • Too Much Is Not Enough
Librarian Favorites - Nonfiction
  • Librarian Nonfiction Favorites
    • Introverted Mom
    • The Moment of Lift
    • 13 Hours
    • Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done
    • Dare to Lead
    • Frontier Grit
    • Ty Cobb
    • Dutch Girl
    • Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery
    • Flocks
    • The 57 Bus
    • Imperfect: A Story of Body Image
Mystery Fiction
  • Mystery Fiction
    • Guilty Not Guilty
    • The Searcher
    • Before She Disappeared
    • A Dredging in Swann
    • The Survivors
    • The Traitor's Pawn
    • Thief of Souls
    • First Cut
    • A Stranger at the Door
    • Crocodile Tears
    • The Devil and the Dark Water
    • The Silenced Women
Proper Romance
  • Proper Romance
    • Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts
    • The Solicitor's Son
    • A Gilded Lady
    • It Started in Budapest
    • Forget Me Not
    • A Bride of Convenience
    • The Light at Wyndcliff
    • Solving Sophronia
    • Destined for You
    • To Steal a Heart
    • Lakeshire Park
    • A Captain for Caroline Gray
Romance
  • Romance
    • The City of Tears
    • When Twilight Breaks
    • Fortune Favors the Sparrow
    • The Dating Plan
    • No Holding Back
    • Party of Two
    • The Runaway Bride
    • The Kiss Quotient
    • The Happy Ever After Playlist
    • If I Never Met You
    • Country Strong
    • First Kiss with a Cowboy
Science Fiction
  • Science Fiction
    • All the Birds in the Sky
    • The Medusa Chronicles
    • The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
    • The Fifth Season
    • The Poppy War
    • Ninefox Gambit
    • The Three-Body Problem
    • Sleeping Giants
    • The Ministry for the Future
    • Delta-V
    • Project Hail Mary
    • All Systems Red
Popular Adult Booklists
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