Library staff have been tweeting their ten favorite titles of the year, one per day since Dec. 12th, using the hashtag #libfaves2016.

Two very different novels now top the list, the SF title Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (PRH/Crown; BOT; Overdrive Sample) and Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (RH/Knopf; RH Audio; BOT; OverDrive Sample), a multi-generational examination of the legacy of slavery.

Libfaves participant Carrie Shaurette says that Dark Matter is a “Mind-bending thriller that will make you reflect on the life choices you’ve made.” Greg Winsor says it is an “emotional thriller about alternate universes and going home” and suggests, “Hollywood take notice.” One day later, another libfaves tweet noted that Hollywood had done just that, linking to a Deadline story that director Roland Emmerich is “orbiting” the project.

Janet Snyder describes Homegoing as “graceful, powerful & packed w book club potential. Tragedy & legacy of slavery over 8 generations,” while another tweet simply quotes from the book, “Strength is knowing that everyone belongs to themselves.”

Many of the tweets are admirable 140 character readers’ advisory examples. Just a few that caught our eye (links are to the titles):

JANE STEELE by Lyndsay Faye. Murderous heroine delivered in delicious prose… A gorgeous literary feat! –Annette Jones@ZenLibrarian

JANE STEELE by Lyndsay Faye – excellent re-imagining of Jane Eyre if Jane killed off all the people who deserved it. — Jane Jorgenson@madpoptart

 

INVISIBLE LIBRARY by GenevieveCogman. You had me at cyborg alligators. Best new series I read this year —  Joe_Jones@Joe_Jones

LAB GIRL by Hope Jahren. Curiosity-driven science gets its due & it’s messy, funny, glorious. — Stephen Sposato@stephensposato

Therese Oneill, UNMENTIONABLE, b/c it’s freakin’ hilarious, informative, & meticulously researched w/ OMG! moments. — Robin B@robinsbooks

THE GENE: AN INTIMATE HISTORY by Mukherjee. Tracing the history of genetics, this reads like a mystery novel. — Matthew Noe@NoetheMatt

It’s not too late to join in. The rules are simple. Tweet your ten favorite titles of the year, one per day. If you’re late to the party, no worries. Just play catchup by posting the ones you missed.

Please type TITLES in all caps, to make it easier for those doing the final wrap-up (which we will publish).

Check out what others are posting by following the Twitter timeline widget to the right of the screen.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 19th, 2016 at 11:43 am and is filed under Best Books 2016. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.