These Are the Best Books to Add to Your Reading List, According to Librarians
Because who else would you trust with book recommendations?
Sure BookTok, newspaper and magazine reviews, and book sites are good places to get ideas for your “To Be Read” list, but probably the best source to get recommendations from are librarians. Like you would trust skincare tips from a dermatologist or wine options from a sommelier, you know a librarian will always come through with the good recs, no matter the genre.
Now Libby, the public library reading app used by millions of readers across North America, is putting all librarians’ recommendations in one place for its inaugural 2024 Libby Book Awards. Nominated by an expert librarian panel and voted on more by than 1,700 librarians worldwide, the winners are all new books that were published in 2023 and are representative of a variety of genres, from fiction to young adult to cookbook to science fiction.
And many of the authors featured on the list are honored to be chosen by this esteemed group. “I’m so honored to be recognized by the Libby Awards—libraries are and always have been central to my life as a reader, from summer reading programs to school projects to simply browsing stacks and apps for my next favorite read,” said Kate Clayborn, author of Georgie, All Along, the Libbys Best Romance selection, in a press release. “I am in awe of librarians and the good they do in their communities and in the country at large, and I treasure their support of my work as an author.”
Take a look at the winners below, see the full list here, and download the Libby app here.
- Fiction: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
- Nonfiction: The Wager by David Grann
- Young Adult: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
- Audiobook:I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
- Debut Author: The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes
- Diverse Author: Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling
- Comic Graphic Novel: The Talk by Darin Bell
- Memoir & Autobiography: Pageboy by Elliot Page
- Cookbook: Start Here by Sohla El-Waylly
- Mystery: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
- Thriller: Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
- Romance: Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
- Fantasy: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- Romantasy: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
- Science Fiction: System Collapse by Martha Wells
- Historical Fiction: Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
- Book Club Pick: Yellowface by R. F. Kuang