Library Reads: January 2020

Library Reads day and that means four things here on RA for All:

1. I post the list and tag it “Library Reads” so that you can easily pull up every single list with one click.
2. I can remind you that even though the newest list is always fun to see, it is the older lists where you can find AWESOME, sure bet suggestions for patrons that will be on your shelf to actually hand to them right now. The best thing about Library Reads is the compound interest it is earning. We now have hundreds and hundreds of titles worth suggesting right at our fingertips.
3. You have no excuse not to hand sell any Library Reads titles because there is a book talk right there in the list in the form of the annotation one of your colleagues wrote for you. All you have to say to your patron is, “such and such library worker in blank state thought this was a great read,” and then you read what he or she said.
4. Every upcoming book now has at least 1 readalike that is available to hand out RIGHT NOW. Book talk the upcoming book, place a hold for it, and then hand out that readalike title for while they wait. If they need more titles before their hold comes in, use the readalike title to identify more readalike titles. And then keep repeating. Seriously, it is that easy to have happy, satisfied readers.

Also, the Library Reads Board has also started another great book discovery and suggestion tool for you, a monthly What We're Reading column. This means there are even more library worker approved titles, new and old, for you to choose from. 

So get out there and suggest a good read to someone today. I don’t care what list or resource you use to find the suggestion, just start suggesting books.

Also, please remember to click here  for everything you need to know about how to participate. And click here to see a database of eligible diverse titles sorted by month. 

Announcing the January 2020 LibraryReads list!

You voted, we counted, and January's LibraryReads Favorite is:

Dear Edward

A Novel

by Ann Napolitano

(The Dial Press)

“A dear, dear wondrous novel. Edward is The Miracle Boy, the only survivor of a plane crash. As he struggles to navigate the landscape of his new life, we hear the voices of those who didn't make it.

 Napolitano is an amazing writer who deserves a wider audience. For fans of Did You Ever Have a Family (Bill Clegg),The Grief of Others (Leah Hager Cohen), and The Friend (Sigrid Nunez).”

Jennifer Dayton, Fairfield Public Library, Fairfield, CT

NoveList read-alike: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

And now, the rest of the LibraryReads January Top 10:

Don’t miss the January 2020 Hall of Fame Winners!  Scroll down or visit the Hall of Fame page! [Go to the LR Homepage for annotations and readalikes] All the Ways We Said Goodbye: A Novel of the Ritz Paris  by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White  (William Morrow) American Dirt: A Novel by Jeanine Cummins (Flatiron Books) Followers: A Novel by Megan Angelo (Graydon House) Highfire: A Novel by Eoin Colfer (Harper Perennial) How Quickly She Disappears by Raymond Fleischmann (Berkley) Long Bright River: A Novel by Liz Moore (Riverhead) Love Her or Lose Her: A Novel by Tessa Bailey (Avon) When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald (Gallery/Scout Press) You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley (Berkley) January 2020 Hall of Fame Authors Big Lies In A Small Town by Diane Chamberlain (St. Martin's Press) Read-alikes: Somebody Knows by Lisa Scottoline The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis Dreams of Falling by Karen White Lady Clementine A Novel by Marie Benedict (Sourcebooks Landmark) Read-alikes: The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin A Long Petal of the Sea A Novel by Isabel Allende (Ballantine Books) Read-alikes: Salt Houses by Hala Alyan Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak Love and Ruin by Paula McLean