On January 29, 2021, library staff Betsy, Chris, and Zach presented a selection of 2020’s best fiction, nonfiction, and cookbooks. Below is a list of all the books we talked about, as well as those suggested by people in attendance.
The title links will take you to the library catalog, where you can place holds. If you are exclusively interested in digital formats, this link will take you to a list of curated titles on Overdrive.
If you find yourself on a holds list or two for the titles below, bide your time by checking out one of our Best Books 2019 titles!
At the bottom of this email, you will find reminders about some of the resources we discussed at the presentation’s outset. Hope to see you for the best books of 2021!! Happy Reading!
Fiction
The Living Dead- George A. Romero & Daniel Krauss Blacktop Wasteland- S. A. Cosby The Cacus League- Emily Nemens Untamed Shore- Silvia Moreno-Garcia Little Secrets- Jennifer Hillier When No One Is Watching- Alyssa Cole These Women- Ivy Pochoda Piranesi- Susanna Clarke Plain Bad Heroines- Emily Danforth Black Sun- Rebecca Roanhorse Lakewood- Megan Giddings Luster- Raven Leilani A Children's Bible- Lydia Millet The Vanishing Half- Brit Bennett The Death of Vivek Oji- Akwaeke Emezi The Only Good Indians- Stephen Graham Jones The Office of Historical Corrections- Danielle Evans Catherine House- Elisabeth Thomas The House In TheCerulean Sea- T.J. Klune
Non-Fiction Memorial Drive : a daughter's memoir- Natasha Tretheway The Third Rainbow Girl : the long life of a double murder in Appalachia Emma Copley Eisenberg Unspeakable Acts : tales of crime, murder, deceit, and obsession ed. Sarah Weinman Yellow Bird : oil, murder, and a woman’s search for justice in Indian country- Seirra Crane Murdoch Minor Feelings :an Asian-American reckoning- Cathy Park Hong Stealing Home: Los Angeles, the Dodges, and the lives caught in between - Eric Nusbaum Owls of the Eastern Ice: a quest to find and save the world's largest owl in the world- Jonathan Slaght Hood feminism : notes from the women a movement forgot- Mikki Kendall The Undocumented Americans- Karla Cornejo Villavicencio Just Us :an American conversation- Claudia Rankine
Poetry Postcolonial Love Poem-Natalie Diaz YA Cemetery Boys- Aiden Thomas Cookbooks The Flavor Equation: the science of great cooking explained + more than 100 essential recipes - Nik Sharma In Bibi's Kitchen: the recipes & stories of grandmothers from the eight African countries that touch the Indian Ocean - Hawa Hassan Amboy: recipes from the Filipino-American dream - Alvin Cailan Home Style Cookery- Matty Matheson East: 120 vegan and vegetarian recipes from Bangalore to Beijing - Meera Sodha A Good Bake: the art and science of making perfect pastries, cakes, cookies, pies, and breads at home - Melissa Weller Dessert Person: recipes and guidance for baking with confidence - Claire Saffitz 100 Cookies: the baking book for every kitchen with classic cookies, novel treats, brownies, bars, and more - Sarah Kieffer Oats in the North Wheat from the South: The History of British Baking, Savory and Sweet (aka The British Baking Book)- Regula Ysewijn Vegetable Kingdom: the abundant world of vegan recipes - Bryant Terry The Mexican Home Kitchen: traditional home-style recipes that capture the flavors and memories of Mexico- Mely Martinez Xi'an Famous Foods: the cuisine of Western China, from New York's favorite noodle shop - Jason Wang The Good Book of Southern Baking: a revival of biscuits, cakes, and cornbread - Kelly Fields Coconut and Sambal: recipes from my Indonesian kitchen - Lara Lee Blood- Jennifer McLagan Chi Spacca: a new approach to American cooking - Nancy Silverton Red Sands: reportage and recipes through Central Asia, from hinterland to heartland - Caroline Eden
Titles Recommended by the Group Fiction The Genius Plague- David Walton The Giver of Stars- JoJo Moyes English Creek Ivan Doig Dancing At The Rascal Fair- Ivan Doig Ride With me Mariah Montana- Ivan Doig- Borrow through Interlibrary Loan Exile Music- Jennifer Steil Anxious People- Fredrik Backman Shuggie Bain- Douglas Stuart Girl, Woman, Other- Bernardine Evaristo
Non-Fiction Go to Sleep (I Miss You) Cartoons From the Fog Of new Parenthood- Lucy Knisley Come On Shore And We Will Kill And Eat You All- Cristina Thompson The Color Of Law: a forgotten history of how our governement segregated America- Richard Rothstein YA Pet- Akwaeke Emezi Bent Heavens- Daniel Kraus Movies Driveways (stream on Kanopy) Spa Night (stream on Kanopy) or borrow DVD
Resources
Request a personalized Grab Bag by filling out this form and let library staff find your next great read!
Find out what your library staff read and loved this year!
Stay on top of the holds queue and always be the first to know what is new at TRL by browsing Wowbrary or signing up for the Wowbrary newsletter.
Get familiar with our librarian's best secret weapon in book discovery, NovelistPlus. We would be happy to answer questions about how this database works! You can also check out this short tutorial.
Check out online literary and cultural magazines and sign up for their newsletters. A few of our favorites are: BookPage, BookRiot, Literary Hub, CrimeReads, and Tor.com, to name just a few.
Be sure to follow your favorite library, publisher, bookstore, author, and reader across all social media platforms!
Below you will find some expert tips from Chris on finding great, new cookbooks specifically.
Eater and Munchies (Vice) are two resources I pay the most attention to. Specifically the YouTube channels for both as they frequently host videos with folks promoting a new cookbook.
Your favorite local bookstore will generally feature a cookbook here and there or some sort of food writing. The Book Larder in Seattle is a personal favorite because it's all-cookbooks-all-the-time and they will highlight lesser-known authors and host classes/workshops occasionally.
YouTube in general is great for following your favorite cooks/chefs/food personalities. Matty Matheson has multiple series that I watch religiously. The Burger Show with Alvin Cailan is also great if you're pro-burger (though one of the co-hosts is annoying, IMO). Bon Appetit, for all the summer controversy, is putting out some good videos again too -- I particularly love Chef Harold Villarosa. And Claire Saffitz has some new videos promoting Dessert Person too, and at the end of each one she recommends a book by another author she likes.