Staff Top Tens
Our top ten favorite books by genre!
June 16, 2022
Love the Staff Picks display? This list is for you! Berlin-Peck Librarians and Staff have compiled a list of our top ten favorite books by genre.
Contemporary Fiction
- Beartown by Fredrik Backman
- Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos
- Girls With Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier, Wendy Katzman
- Guncle by Steven Rowley
- The Extraordinary Life Of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
- Honor by Thrity Umrigar
- No Land To Light On by Yara Zgheib
- The One Hundred Years Of Lenni And Margot by Marianne Cronin
- The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
- We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride, Jo Piazza
Thrillers
- 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard
- A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight
- The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
- Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy
- Last Flight by Julie Clark
- Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
- Night Film by Marisha Pessl
- The One by John Marrs
- The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica
- The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf
Mystery and Crime
- Darktown by Thomas Mullen
- Emma In The Night by Wendy Walker
- The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker
- Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto
- Lady Sherlock Series by Sherry Thomas
- The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
- The Maid by Nita Prose
- Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz
- Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith
- We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson
Cozy Mysteries
- Alaskan Diner by Elizabeth Logan
- Beyond The Page Bookstore by Lauren Elliott
- Bookmobile Cat by Laurie Cass
- Cat Café by Cate Conte
- Cupcake Bakery by Jenn McKinlay
- A Fixer-Upper by Kate Carlisle
- Magical Bookshop by Amanda Flower
- Paws & Claws by Krista Davis
- Sherlock Holmes Bookshop by Vicki Delany
- Sophie Kimball by J.C. Eaton
Historical Fiction
- Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
- Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
- The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen: A Novel Of Victorian Cookery And Friendship by Annabel Abbs
- The Nature Of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
- The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
- Saving Sophie by Ronald Balson
- The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
- Where The Lost Wander by Amy Harmon
Romance
- Forever Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
- Ghosted by Rosie Walsh
- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
- The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
- The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
- The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle
- Seven Days In June by Tia Williams
- Sight Of You by Holly Miller
- Things You Save In A Fire by Katherine Center
Speculative Fiction
- After The Flood by Kassandra Montag
- Book Of M by Peng Shepherd
- Eleanor by Jason Gurley
- Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
- Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson
- Oryx And Crake by Margaret Atwood
- Sea Of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
- Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
Science Fiction
- The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes by Suzanne Collins
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
- The Flight Of The Silvers by Daniel Price
- How Rory Thorne Destroyed The Multiverse by K. Eason
- John Dies At The End by David Wong
- The Martian by Andy Weir
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
- The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
- Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke
- To Sleep In A Sea Of Stars by Christopher Paolini
Fantasy
- The Bear And The Nightingale by Katherine Arden
- The Book Of Form And Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
- The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
- A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
- The House In The Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
- How To Stop Time by Matt Haig
- The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
- The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
- Wild And Wicked Things by Francesca May
Horror
- The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
- Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
- The Last House On Needless Street by Catriona Ward
- The Lost Village by Camilla Sten
- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- The Passage by Justin Cronin
- The Ruins by Scott Smith
- The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
- Swan Song by Robert McCammon
- Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
Graphic Novels
- Blankets by Craig Thompson
- The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse by Charlie Mackesy
- Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu
- Here by Richard McGuire
- Hyperbole And A Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, And Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh
- Just Peachy: Comics About Depression, Anxiety, Love, And Finding The Humor In Being Sad by Holly Chisholm
- Maus by Art Spiegelman
- Saga by Brian K. Vaughan
- Sarah’s Scribbles by Sarah Andersen
- Welcome To The New World by Jake Halpern
If You Love Animals
- All Creatures Great And Small by James Herriot
- The Art Of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein
- Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World by Vicki Myron
- Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
- How To Be A Good Creature: A Memoir In Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery
- Katie Up And Down The Hall: The True Story Of How One Dog Turned Five Neighbors Into A Family by Glenn Plaskin
- Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys Of An Old, Happy Dog by Dave Barry
- Marley And Me: Life And Love With The World’s Worst Dog by John Grogan
- Piglet: The Unexpected Story Of A Deaf Blind Pink Puppy And His Family by Melissa Shapiro
- Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior And The Golden Retriever Who Saved Him by Luis Carlos Montalván
Non-Fiction
- The Art Of Gathering: How We Meet And Why It Matters by Priya Parker
- Breath: The New Science Of A Lost Art by James Nestor
- Catch And Kill: Lies, Spies, And A Conspiracy To Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow
- The Day The World Came To Town: 9/11 In Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede
- Dreamland: The True Tale Of America’s Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones
- The Enneagram Made Simple: A No-Nonsense Guide To Using The Enneagram For Growth And Awareness by Ashton Whitmoyer-Ober
- How Civil Wars Start: And How To Stop Them by Barbara F. Walter
- Humans: A Brief History Of How We F*Cked It All Up by Tom Phillips
- Think Again: The Power Of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant
- A World Without Work: Technology, Automation, And How We Should Respond by Daniel Susskind
Biography and Memoirs
- Finding Chika: A Little Girl, An Earthquake, And The Making Of A Family by Mitch Albom
- From Scratch: A Memoir Of Love, Sicily, And Finding Home by Tembi Locke
- From The Corner Of The Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein
- Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett
- I’ll Be Seeing You by Elizabeth Berg
- Left On Tenth: A Second Chance At Life by Delia Ephron
- A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley
- Read My Pins: Stories From A Diplomat’s Jewel Box by Madeleine Albright
- The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life And Freedom On Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton
- The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight For Freedom, And The Men Who Tried To Make Her Disappear by Kate Moore
Celebrity Memoirs
- Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
- Going There by Katie Couric
- Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
- Live Your Life: My Story Of Loving And Losing Nick Cordero by Amanda Kloots
- Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci
- A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
- We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu
- The Wreckage Of My Presence by Casey Wilson
- Yearbook by Seth Rogen
- You Can’t Be Serious by Kal Penn
Essays
- Artcurious: Stories Of The Unexpected, Slightly Odd, And Strangely Wonderful In Art History by Jennifer Dasal
- Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, And Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott
- Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love And Heartbreak In The Stacks: A Librarian’s Love Letters And Breakup Notes To The Books In Her Life by Annie Spence
- Did I Say That Out Loud? Midlife Indignities And How To Survive Them by Kristin van Ogtrop
- The Opposite Of Loneliness: Essays And Stories by Marina Keegan
- Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide To Modern Cinema by Lindy West
- A Short Guide To A Happy Life by Anna Quindlen
- Sick In The Head: Conversations About Life And Comedy by Judd Apatow
- A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again: Essays And Arguments by David Foster Wallace
- Tell Me More: Stories About The 12 Hardest Things I’m Learning To Say by Kelly Corrigan