Staff Recommendations

CURRENT PICKS

Check out the Current Picks blog (featuring both fiction and nonfiction books) for recommendations from our staff. The blog is updated on Mondays and Thursdays.

READING MAPS

Reading maps are a way to explore a book further. Find related books, movies, music and websites. For example, if you enjoyed the circus background of Water for Elephants, check out the list of books involving the circus.

• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (The Big Read 2009)
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett (The Big Read 2010)
• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

ALL TIME FAVES

Find more books to read with our lists of suggested titles. Choose fiction or nonfiction.

Fiction

55+

• 55+

Adult Fiction for Teens

• Adult Fiction for Teens
• From Novel to Graphic Tale

African American Fiction

• African American Male Authors
• African American Women Authors
• Classic African American Fiction
• Street Lit

Audio Books

• Hit the Road: Audio Books
• In Their Own Voices: Celebrity Memoirs Read by the Author

Historical Fiction

• Civil War in Fact and Fiction
• Classic Tales of Mystery and Suspense
• Historical Mysteries: 1920s
• Historical Mysteries: 1930s
• Historical Mysteries: 1940s
• Historical Mysteries: 1950s
• Historical Mysteries: America
• Historical Suspense
• If you liked The Other Boleyn Girl: Sagas of Royal Women
• It's Dark in Here! Mysteries Noir
• Novels About World War I
• Novels Based on Real Crimes
• Novels Based On Real People
• Novels of the Civil War
• Novels of World War II
• The Sequel That Wasn't: Revisit Jane Austen's World
• Westerns for People Who Don't Like Westerns
• World War II Homefront

You may also enjoy nonfiction titles on...

• American History
• Biographies of Royal Women
• The Lives of Presidential Wives
• Presidential Biographies

International Locales

• Amore in Italy
• British Chick Lit
• Gaelic Mysteries
• If you liked The Other Boleyn Girl: Sagas of Royal Women
• Indian Authors
• Irish Tales
• It's Dark in Here! Mysteries Noir
• Latin & Central American Authors
• Mysteries: Dateline Africa
• The Sequel That Wasn't: Revisit Jane Austen's World

You may also enjoy nonfiction titles on...

• Biographies of Royal Women

Literary Fiction

• Classic African American Fiction
• Latin & Central American Authors
• Man Booker Prize 1977-2007

Location, Location

• Amore in Italy
• Chicago Fiction
• Gaelic Mysteries
• Historical Mysteries: America
• Irish Tales
• Mysteries: Dateline Africa
• Scandinavian Crime Fiction

Mystery

• 11 Reasons Not to Move to a Quiet English Villiage
• Classic Tales of Mystery and Suspense
• Gaelic Mysteries
• Historical Mysteries: 1920s
• Historical Mysteries: 1930s
• Historical Mysteries: 1940s
• Historical Mysteries: 1950s
• Historical Mysteries: America
• If you like Brad Thor's Scott Harvath Series, try these....
• If you like Janet Evanovich, try these...
• It's Dark in Here! Mysteries Noir
• Mysteries: Dateline Africa
• Mysteries Can be Funny Too
• Popular Mystery and Suspense Series
• Scandinavian Crime Fiction
• Tropical Heat: Mysteries Set in Florida

Readalikes

• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (reading map)
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett (reading map)
• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (reading map)
• If you like Brad Thor's Scott Harvath Series, try these....
• If you like Janet Evanovich, try these...
• If you like Lillian Jackson Braun's The Cat Who Series, try these...
• If you like Nicholas Sparks, try these...
• If you liked The Other Boleyn Girl: Sagas of Royal Women
• Mitford Series Read-alikes
• The Sequel That Wasn't: Revisit Jane Austen's World
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (reading map)

Romance & Love Stories

• Amore in Italy
• British Chick Lit
• Chick Lit
• Romantic Suspense
• The Sequel That Wasn't: Revisit Jane Austen's World

Sports Fiction

• Fairway Fiction
• Round the Bases

You may also enjoy nonfiction titles on...

• Chicago Baseball

Suspense/Thriller

• Classic Tales of Mystery and Suspense
• Historical Suspense
• It's Dark in Here! Mysteries Noir
• Legal Thrillers
• Medical Thrillers
• Novels Based on Real Crimes
• Past Imperfect
• Political Intrigue
• Popular Mystery and Suspense Series
• Psychological Suspense
• Romantic Suspense

You may also enjoy nonfiction titles on...

• True Adventure
• True Crime

Trade Comics

• From Novel to Graphic Tale
  

Women's Fiction

• Books for Dog Lovers
• Favorite Book Club Selections
• Gentle Reads
• If you like Nicholas Sparks, try these...
• Issue-Driven Women's Fiction
• More Gentle Reads
• Mitford Series Read-alikes

Nonfiction

Our favorite books about...

• American History
• Biographies of Royal Women
• Budget Cooking
• Chicago Baseball
• Civil War in Fact and Fiction
• Cooking
• Cooking Memoirs and More
• Dogs
• Hospitals, Hope and Heroes
• Investing & Personal Finance
• Laugh Out Loud Stories
• The Lives of Presidential Wives
• Memoirs
• Presidential Biographies
• Recent Books on the Civil War
• Scrapbooking Basics
• Scrapbooking Childhood Moments
• Travel Memoirs
• True Adventure
• True Crime
• True Stories