Top Recommendations
Mister Magic
“Genuinely creepy at times that really leans into the fickle nature of childhood memories." -Samantha
Titanium Noir
"An old-fashioned noir mystery set in a dystopian society where the rich can turn themselves into near immortal Titans." -Amanda
Wrath Goddess Sing
"This retelling of the story of Troy follows a trans woman given her heart's desire in exchange for taking her place in the war. I recommend it to people who want a lead who fights on the regular." -Crystal
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
“Good whodunit set in Australia" -Lisa
January Poster
Library Employee Recommendations!
Babel by
"A great book about magic, language, and imperialism. I really appreciated the way the magic is explained, and the author does a great job of making you feel as if you were at Oxford with Robin and his friends!" -Tera
Call Number: POPULAR PS3611.U17 B33 2022b
Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by
“A murder mystery in rural Poland in the dead of winter.” -Kara
Call Number: PG7179.O37 P7613 2019ISBN: 9780525541332Publication Date: 2019-08-13
How to Sell a Haunted House by
“Beautifully captures the sibling relationship navigating various (para)normal horrors.” -Samantha
Call Number: POPULAR PS3608.E543 H69 2023
The Lonely Hearts Book Club by
"Unexpected friendships and the power of community. " -Amanda
Call Number: POPULAR PS3607.I45258 L66 2023
Watership Down by
"I saw the movie first as a teen, which colored this book with a lens of fantasy adventure similar to the Hobbit, but with rabbit main characters and rabbit magics and rabbit spirituality. This is an epic and, at times, sad tale full of legend and adventure." -Crystal
Call Number: PR6051.D345 W37 1972ISBN: 9780901720313Publication Date: 1974-03-01
Fun Home by
“A funny, interesting memoir in the form of a graphic novel about a daughter from a unique family. Explores themes of identity and parent child relationships.” -Kara
Call Number: PN6727.B3757 Z46 2006ISBN: 9780618871711Publication Date: 2007-06-05
Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 1 by
"Kafka Hibino is taking his last shot at joining the Japan Defense Force to fight side by side with his childhood best friend. The problem? Kafka can now turn into a kaiju, the very thing the defense force is sworn to eradicate. " -Amanda
Call Number: POPULAR PN6790.J34 K23217813 2022ISBN: 9781974725984Publication Date: 2021-12-07
The Last Unicorn by
"This story has become a part of me. I memorized the movie as a child and read the novel as a teen. It is the story of a unicorn who discovers she is the only one left. This bittersweet story is about saving what was lost, allowing others in, finding your way, and regret." -Crystal
Call Number: PN6728.L37 G55 2011ISBN: 9781600108518Publication Date: 2011-01-25
Saga by
"A Romeo and Juliet love story set against an epic space war. Includes space magic, ghost babysitters, magic treehouse spaceships,and lie detector cats. " -Amanda
Call Number: POPULAR PN6727.V387 S24 2012ISBN: 9781607066019Publication Date: 2012-10-23
Skip and Loafer Vol. 1 by
“Just a cute, fun read.” -Samantha
Call Number: POPULAR PN6790.J34 S85513 2021ISBN: 9781648275883Publication Date: 2021-08-10
Butts by
"This book is well-researched, insightful, and funny." -Amanda
Call Number: POPULAR GT498.B87 R33 2022ISBN: 9781982135485Publication Date: 2022-11-29
Catch and Kill by
"The story of the downfall of Harvey Weinstein and the brave women who exposed his crimes." -Amanda
Call Number: HV6250.4.W65 F385 2019ISBN: 9780316486637Publication Date: 2019-10-15
The Dark Queens by
“Two controversial queens of history that played essential roles in ruling France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Fun Fact: These two notable women inspired the character of Cersi Lannister from Games of Thrones.” -Kara
Call Number: POPULAR DC65.P84 D37 2022ISBN: 9781639730759Publication Date: 2023-04-11
From Here to Eternity by
“A quirky travel guide to multiple death practices and rituals from places all over the world. Does an excellent job of comparing and critiquing American views and practices of death compared to other countries/cultures.” -Kara
Call Number: RA622.D68 F76 2017ISBN: 9780393249897Publication Date: 2017-10-03
I'm Glad My Mom Died by
“An emotional, intense exploration of gaining self-awareness and understanding about trauma, family and the cost of love. Also, get all the ins and outs of growing up as a child actress.” -Kara
Call Number: POPULAR PN2287.M33 A3 2022ISBN: 9781982185824Publication Date: 2022-08-09
Quietly Hostile by
"An absolutely hilarious memoir that is both relatable and absurd." -Amanda
Call Number: POPULAR PN4587.2.I73 A3 2023ISBN: 9780593315699Publication Date: 2023-05-16
Hell Followed with Us by
"This apocalyptic novel explores the life and struggles of a trans teen raised by the cult that ended the world. The book is for anyone who has ever felt injustice and wanted to fight back." -Crystal
ISBN: 9781682633243Publication Date: 2022-06-07
This Is How You Lose the Time War by
"This is one of the best books I have ever read. The prose is poetic and beautiful with a romance/scifi plot. 100% would recommend."- Tara
ISBN: 9781534431010Publication Date: 2019-07-16
Written in Bone by
"These books tour the reader through the human skeleton, the bones that tell a story about a person's life. The author's narrative includes stories of solving crimes from her career as a forensic anthropologist. I love these books because they remind me of my two favorite TV series: Bones and CSI." -Harikleia
ISBN: 9781951627805Publication Date: 2021-06-01
Outside Resources
- Book RiotBook Riot is a website that covers book reviews and publishing news. They publish both articles and podcasts regularly.
- Epic ReadsEpic Reads is a website devoted to helping you find the right next book with list articles on books that touch on a wide variety of topics from feminism to the enemies to lovers trope.
- WhichbookWhichbook provides a way to search for books based on common plot elements or author categories. Searchers can pick from up to four sliders to search by emotional categories, or look books up by their publication origins.
- Literature MapLiterature Map allows the reader to input an author that they enjoyed to see a map of other authors who are commonly reported as similar, with the closer names being most often cited as similar.
- Shelf AwarenessShelf Awareness is the website for a daily newsletter on books and the associated industry. They have both articles dedicated to book industry professionals and readers.
- Literary HubThis website publishes literary critique, news, and reviews of books both old and new.
- CatapultThis website publishes short fiction and nonfiction while also supporting aspiring authors.
- Bookshop BlogThe Bookshop Blog publishes blogs about the book shop industry, publishing, and writing.
- Library Journal ReviewsLibrary Journal is a professional publication that publishes news and other sources important to the support of libraries and librarians. They also have a dedicated section for reviews of any information sources librarians, and readers, might want to pick up.
What are genres?
Genre Specific Websites
- GoodreadsGoodreads allows readers to create a profile from which they can share their reading experience with others on their friends list. The user created reviews, online book clubs, and the yearly reading challenge make this website a good resource for the regular reader.
- Story GraphStory Graph is similar to Goodreads, but with features such as the ability to give half stars, private reading notes in addition to public ones, and built in content warning features.
- Library ThingLibrary Thing is a website that allows readers to keep a library catalog of what books they own and how they feel about them. While this makes them similar to Goodreads, they have the added ability to transition their catalog into a usable small library catalog to keep track of borrowing and other necessary things.
- LitsyLitsy is a picture app for taking those cozy photos of reading your books. Sometimes you just want to be able to share that aesthetic view over the edge of your current read.
- Book CrossingBook Crossing is a website for setting your books free and seeing where they end up. Users will place a book with a way to track it on the website and finders are asked to report where they find it before setting it free again when they are done reading it.
- Book MoochBook Mooch is a website that allows people to trade books on a virtual leave one take one shelf. Users first list a book they would like to send to a new home. Once the listed book is claimed that user is given a credit to request another user's listed book. Receivers are responsible only for paying shipping to their location.
- Circulating IdeasThis podcast hosts discussions between people in libraries and writing as well.
- The Librarian is inThis podcast is hosted by New York City public librarians to discuss culture and what to read next.
- Book Riot PodcastsBook Riot produces a wide variety of podcasts to recommend books of all different genres and themes.
- AudioFile MagazineThis online magazine talks about audiobooks and how to find your next listen.
- LibrivoxLibrivox is a website dedicated to recording and distributing free audiobook copies of books that have fallen out of copyright. They have several titles considered dystopian from the early days of this genre available.
- Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a yearly prize given to outstanding book and journalism titles.
- RUSA Notable BooksThe Reference User Services Association is a professional organization for reference librarianship. This award is given to titles that achieved notoriety in professional reviews in the year of their nomination and were selected by the Notable Books Council for that notoriety.
- The Hugo AwardsThe Hugo Award is an award given to a title that successfully secures the majority vote of the World Science Fiction Society membership every year.
- The NebulasThis yearly award is voted on by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America organization. There are several awards for different formats such as novel or novelette.
- The AudiesThis award given by the Audio Publishers Association is given to audiobooks of a great number of categories each year.
- Library Reads AwardLibrary Reads awards are given to books that were selected by library staff across the country from the new releases they are currently reading. Each month a new list is released, making this the most informal and most often updated award on this list.
Finding your next read can be a complicated thing. The resources in this box contain reviewers and other potential sources of something librarians call reader's advisory. Check some of them out, and if you would much rather speak to someone local feel free to come by the reference desk for help finding something to read next!
- Book Trigger WarningsThis wiki catalogues author-provided content warnings as well as allows community entries. While it may not be very big, it appears to have many YA and more recent works on the list.
- Does the Dog Die?This website crowd sources content warnings for tv shows, movies, and books. Their name comes from a very common content worry of viewers, whether or not the furry friend will die or be hurt in the story.
- Trigger Warning DatabaseThis database allows you to search by trigger, author, or title. Their content warnings are put together by a group of authors and book reviewers that is available on the website.
Help and Contacting Us
How do I?
Contact Us
If any material listed is problematic or you would like to suggest future recommendations and themes please contact Crystal Miller at crrichardson@valdosta.edu! They would love feedback, or just to talk about books!
