King County Library System has announced its list of best books of 2016, recommended for adults, kids, and teens.
Covering both fiction and nonfiction titles, the KCLS Best Books Lists include titles nominated and voted on by library staff.
According to Emily Calkins, KCLS Readers’ Services Specialist, “We looking for a balanced list that represents all the different aspects of our collection, with a mix of quality and appeal. So you’ll see some big name bestsellers on the list as well as some hidden gems that we think haven’t gotten their due this year.”
If you enjoy browsing on your own for great reads, visit kcls.org/browse/books/ for ideas. Or visit your nearest KCLS library to look around, ask a librarian for recommendations, or find a program.
Best Books of 2016
Fiction
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
The Girls by Emma Cline
Grace by Natashia Deón
LaRose by Louise Erdrich
The Trespasser by Tana French
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett
The Nix by Nathan Hill
Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
The Murder of Mary Russell, by Laurie R. King
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi
First Star I See Tonight by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner
The Nest, by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Crosstalk by Connie Willis
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
Your Heart Is A Muscle the Size of A Fist, by Sunil Yapa
Kids
Thunder Boy Jr. by Sherman Alexie
Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
King Baby by Kate Beaton
The White Cat and the Monk by Jo Ellen Bogart
Leave Me Alone! by Vera Brosgol
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book!) by Julie Falatko
Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart
The Inquistor’s Tale, or the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein
Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes
Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
We Found A Hat by Jon Klassen
When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin
Jazz Day: The Making of A Famous Photograph by Roxane Orgill
The Best Man by Richard Peck
Pax by Sara Pennypacker
Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems by Bob Raczka
School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex
Are We There Yet? by Dan Santat
Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White by Melissa Sweet
The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh
Freedom in Congo Square by Carole Boston Weatherford
Teen
Booked by Kwame Alexander
The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry
Dan Versus Nature by Don Calame
The Star-touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book 1 by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Unbecoming by Jenny Downham
The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle
We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler by Russell Freedman
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
Exit, Pursued by A Bear by E.K. Johnston
Learning to Swear In America by Katie Kennedy
Still Life With Tornado by A.S. King
This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
Snow White: A Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork
Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke
Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune by Pamela S. Turner
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
Nonfiction
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became An American Hero by Timothy Egan
Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer
The View From the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction by Neil Gaiman
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer
Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art by Virginia Heffernan
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
March, Book Three by John Lewis
The Joy of Leaving Your Sh*t All Over the Place: The Art of Being Messy by Jennifer McCartney
Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens by Steve Olson
The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of A Better Life by Anu Partanen
Once & Future River: Reclaiming the Duwamish by Tom Reese
The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America by Andrés Reséndez
Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach
While the City Slept: A Love Lost to Violence and A Young Man’s Descent Into Madness by Eli Sanders
The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race, Edited by Jesmyn Ward
Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman by Lindy West
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate; Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben
