The Books Most Enjoyed by Library Staff in 2024: Part 2

It seems library staff enjoy a wide range of genres aside from adult fiction. Here are the top recommended reads from elsewhere in the library.

Getting the prize for reading the brainiest non-fiction title could well be our Cole, who got stuck into The New Cold War by Robin Niblett. The book “dives into the contest between global super powers China and America, spanning their economic, political powers, and how this will impact global challenges and the future of humanity.”

Meanwhile Library Li read Wonder Drug by Jennifer Vanderbes, which she describes as “the story of thalidomide in America. Intense, well-researched and so compelling. We heard all about the rest of the world but turns out it was being used as ‘trials’ in the US without FDA approval or knowledge.”

On a lighter note was Miss Moneypenny’s non-fiction pick: The Green Sketching Handbook: relax, unwind and reconnect with nature by Ali Foxon. Miss M says the book features step-by-step instructions in mindful sketching for the non-artist. Just the thing for unwinding after the hurley-burley of Christmas.

Poetry also gave us some highly recommended books, the first, selected by Emma, was Tusiata Avia’s Big Fat Brown Bitch. Emma says: “I am one of the white ladies Avia writes about who reads and buys poetry. I believe in the power of language, and Tusiata Avia’s poetry is one of the reasons I hold that belief so dearly. Her words are powerful and painful and pain-filled and unapologetic (especially when those words are “sorry”). This collection is everything. So much. Angry and righteous and hurting and All Of The Things. I love it. I needed it.”

Also in verse was our only memoir on the list: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Emma says: “I listened to this as an audiobook, read by the author herself. Another skilled writer, this time telling her own story. This is the kind of book that makes difficult things feel possible.” First published in 2014, the book won a bunch of awards including the Newbery Honor.

And a classic of a different kind is Suzanna’s poetry pick: Archy and Mehitabel by Don Marquis. Originally published in 1934, the two characters of this story in verse are a cockroach and author (Archy) and an ally cat (Mehitabel) on her ninth life. Suzanna says she has loved it ever since she was young.

It wouldn’t be a list of must-reads without some YA fiction. Library Li recommended The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall. She describes this one as a “cute YA novel – it’s fat, its queer, it’s nerdy, it’s DnD, it’s romance (but not overwhelming), it’s mental health, it’s just adorable. Made me cry.”

More DnD crops up in Amy’s recommendation of Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce. Says Amy: “This young adult novel had me smitten. I was in the mood for a cheeky romance and I got a cheeky romance. (It’s an) enemies to lovers novel with the addition of some of my favourite things, theatre and Dungeons and Dragons. I loved the friendships, the family dynamic and the sweet innocent romance.”

And then there was the YA thriller, Influencer by Adam Cesare, recommended by Library Li, who thought: “First book where I actually wanted the bad guy to get away (naughty Timmy does not count, he is a loveable cannibal). Told in alternating perspectives of the good character and the sociopath, it’s so well written I actually wanted him to get away with it, and not have the ending you would expect. Did I get what I wanted? Not telling!”

There can be some absolute gems among the library’s graphic novel collections. Jeanette picked Detective Beans and the Case of the Missing Hat by Li Chen. Detective Beans is a sleuthing cat, in search of his hat – a search that will take him all over Cat Town. A humorous and imaginative delight from start to finish.

Sometimes though, it’s the junior fiction that really packs a wallop. This was particularly true for October, October by Katya Balen. Emma says: “I have discovered a new favourite author. Books like this are the reason I am constantly trying to convince more adults to read children’s books. I cried pretty much the whole way through. A quick read with simple but incredibly evocative language. Balen is a master of storytelling.” You can read more about this book in Emma’s blog review.

20 December 2024

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