Each year we pick our favourite books that we can’t stop recommending to people. Check out our 2016 list below!
You can also download a printable PDF version of the list.
Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Written as a letter to his teenage son, this is a short and very well-written meditation on what it means to be a black man in the US. Powerful, accessible and highly recommended.
– Jenny Fry, Surrey Libraries
The Pier Falls: And Other Stories
by Mark Haddon
The award-winning British author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has written a collection of nine short stories. I found myself haunted by the characters and stories long after I finished the book. Haddon’s dark tales take the reader to such places as the British seaside, the Amazonian jungle and a tiny, desolate Greek island. Genres in this book include sci-fi, mystery, adventure and more. The stories are so good…I bet you can’t read just one!
– Lori Nick, Fraser Valley Regional Library
The Library at Mount Char
By Scott Hawkins
Once the Librarians were normal American kids. But after being orphaned they were raised by Father who trained each child in one catalogue of knowledge – languages, healing arts, math and sciences, war, and death. Years later Father has gone missing and the Librarians must find him, or at least resolve who exactly is now in charge. Hawkins tosses you into a deeply strange, complex, and violent fantasy of our world that rewards with a most haunting reading experience.
– Anna Ferri, Vancouver Public Library and West Vancouver Memorial Library
Lab Girl
by Hope Jahren
Hope Jahren is a brilliant, hilarious feminist geobiologist. Her exceptional memoir traces her life’s journey thus far, exploring the lab of her scientist father as a child, studying within a male-dominated field, managing mental health breakdowns, enjoying recognition of her research, and reflecting upon marriage and motherhood. At its core, Lab Girl is the tale of her three-decade long intimate working relationship with her eccentric lab partner Bill, her love and admiration of plants, and her scientific vocation.
-Tara Matsuzaki, West Vancouver Memorial Library
H is for Hawk
by Helen Macdonald
This book is impossible to classify. It is memoir, it is nature writing, it is a meditation on family relationships – but it is much more than the sum of its parts and will draw you in. MacDonald’s writing is beautiful and her ability to evoke feelings in the reader makes this book a really powerful experience.
– Shelley Wilson-Roberts, New Westminster Public Library
Big Little Lies
by Liane Moriarty
Mother warfare on the playground! What more do you want? How about a whodunnit thrown in the mix? This tale of small-town scandal, snobby parents, and murder is a deliciously entertaining read that will have you flipping frantically to get to the final page. And that is no lie!
– Alan Woo, co-founder of This Book is RAD
Captive Prince
by C.S. Pacat
In this high fantasy trilogy, Prince Damen is ousted from his throne and sent as a slave to Prince Laurent, the ruler of an enemy kingdom, where he must hide his true identity to stay alive. A compelling, fast-paced, character-driven narrative of political intrigue, tightly-plotted action, and queer romance. (Note that the first book in particular contains some graphic, dark themes.)
– Chloe Riley, Vancouver Public Library
Dear Mr. You
by Mary-Louise Parker
This book took me for a spin. I’ve always enjoyed Mary-Lousie Parker’s acting roles and sass (Weeds, Angels in America, etc), so I was curious to pick up this book. I devoured this book in one sitting. Through a series of letters to the men who have impacted her life, Parker shares personal narratives that are hilarious, dark, sad, and moving. Her language is evocative and her stories are fascinating, personal, and vulnerable. Highly recommended.
– Meghan Savage, Surrey Libraries
Humans of New York: Stories
by Brandon Stanton
Based on the blog Humans of New York. Stanton photographs strangers in the Big Apple, but in this sequel, he adds captions, pieces of conversations he had with those people. It is a powerful narrative and a celebration of our shared humanity, regardless of our roots, faiths, social statuses or bank accounts. We’re all human and yearn to belong and to be loved, and this shows so beautifully in Stanton’s images and captions.
– Ana Calabresi, Burnaby Public Library
My Name is Lucy Barton
by Elizabeth Strout
Lucy Barton, recovering in hospital from complications from minor surgery, tells her life story, with particular focus on her relationship with her mother. This is a beautiful, astonishing book which captured me from the first page – I read it almost straight through, captivated by the title character and the story of her life. It’s a life both ordinary and extraordinary. The voice is true and the story she tells moved me and made me consider my own memories. I cannot recommend it too highly.
– Claire Westlake, North Vancouver District Public Library
A Head Full of Ghosts
by Paul Tremblay
In a desperate attempt to save their daughter, a down-on-its-luck family agreed to an exorcism on a reality TV show. Tremblay has written a horrifying novel that requires no gore to chill your bones. He pays homage to the familiar possession tales while turning the conventions upside down, leaving us to figure out who is telling the truth.
-Virginia McCreedy, Port Moody Library
Paper Girls, Vol. 1
Written by Brian K. Vaughan. Illustrated by Cliff Chiang
It’s time to join the American Newspaper Delivery Guild and meet the raddest group of newspaper delivering, video game playing, dinosaur fighting, time travelling, 12 year olds girls that 1988 has to offer. Brian K. Vaughan, the writer of hit Image comic Saga, is joined by Cliff Chiang, whose art manages to capture the personalities, emotions, and actions of the characters perfectly. Who knew newspaper delivery girls could be so badass?
– Matthew Murray, creator of the Readers’ Advisory for Library Staff Facebook group
