Biblio File

The 12 Days of Bookness

'Tis the season for books, books, and more books . . . it's Bookness! (Yes, we made this up.) 

No matter what you celebrate during this time of year, the time is right for curling up with a special beverage of your choice and a really great new book. We've compiled a list of suggestions, hand-selected by our Readers Services team, to brighten your December. Check back every day until December 22 for a new category.

Some are jolly and bright, some are serious and thought-provoking . . . but hopefully all of them will bring escape, or clarity, or joy, or new perspectives—everything we look for in books, no matter what the season. 

12 Days of Bookness

On the twelfth day of Bookness, the Library gave to me: 12 new works of fiction . . .

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Exit West
Autumn by Ali Smith
Autumn
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Pachinko
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Lincoln in the Bardo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo
Stay With Me
The Changeling by Victor LaValle
The Changeling
The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve
The Stars Are Fire
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Sing, Unburied, Sing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
Waking Lions
The Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch
The Book of Joan
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Less
The Leavers by Lisa Ko
The Leavers

 

 

 

 

 

 

11 cool collections . . .

Ordinary Beast by Nicole Sealey
Ordinary Beast
Five-carat Soul by James McBride
Five-carat Soul
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
Her Body and Other Parties
When I Grow Up I Want to be a List of Further Possibilities by Chen Chen
When I Grow Up I Want to be a List of Possibilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded by Molly McCully Brown
The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded
The Graybar Hotel by Curtis Dawkins
The Graybar Hotel
The Surveyors by Mary Jo Salter
The Surveyors
Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang
Sour Heart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
Don't Call Us Dead
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Refugees
Unaccompanied by Javier Zamora
Unaccompanied

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 real-world stories . . .

The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B. Tyson
The Blood of Emmett Till
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
Never Caught
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
The Radium Girls

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bellevue  by David Oshinsky
Bellevue
The Prisoner in His Palace by Will Bardenwerper
The Prisoner in His Palace
Robert Lowell: Setting the River on Fire by Kay R. Jamison
Robert Lowell: Setting the River on Fire
The Evolution of Beauty by Richard O. Prum
The Evolution of Beauty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Killers of the Flower Moon
Janesville by Amy Goldstein
Janesville

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 creepy thrillers . . .

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
See What I Have Done
Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane
Since We Fell
The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
The Lying Game
A Legacy of Spies by John Le Carre
A Legacy of Spies

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
Bluebird, Bluebird
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Magpie Murders
The Thirst by Jo Nesbo
The Thirst
The Dry by Jane Harper
The Dry

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips
Fierce Kingdom

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 graphic novels . . .

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
The Best We Could Do
Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes
Berlin: City of Stones
My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris
My Favorite Thing is Monsters
Boundless by Jillian Tamaki
Boundless

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cells at Work 01 by Akane Shimizu
Cells at Work 01
Park Bench by Chaboute
Park Bench
Rolling Blackouts by Sarah Glidden
Rolling Blackouts
My Dirty Dumb Eyes by Lisa Hanawalt
My Dirty Dumb Eyes

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 sci-fi sagas . . .

Embassytown by China Mieville
Embassytown
Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein
Children of the New World
Infomocracy by Malka Older
Infomocracy
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe by Kij Johnson
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison
Dangerous Visions
Arkwright by Allen Steele
Arkwright
The Abyss Beyond Dreams by Peter Hamilton
The Abyss Beyond Dreams

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 funny memoirs . . .

This is Just My Face by Gabourey Sidibe
This is Just My Face
Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
Funny in Farsi
Strangers Tend to Tell Me Things by Amy Dickinson
Strangers Tend to Tell Me Things
Gorilla and the Bird by Zack McDermott
Gorilla and the Bird

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiction Ruined My Family by Jeanne Darst
Fiction Ruined My Family
You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein
You'll Grow Out of It

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 fantasy epics!

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
The Fall of Dragons by Miles Cameron
The Fall of Dragons by Miles Cameron
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
Death's Mistress by Terry Goodkind
Death's Mistress by Terry Goodkind

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 tales of romance . . .

First Position by Melissa Brayden
First Position
An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole
An Extraordinary Union
A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev
A Bollywood Affair
This Tender Melody by Kianna Alexander
This Tender Melody

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 horror classics . . .

The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House
The Island of Dr. Moreau
The Island of Dr. Moreau
The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft
The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Nordic noirs . . .

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell
Faceless Killers
Eva's Eye by Karin Fossum
Eva's Eye

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a library card for everyone!

There is so much you can do with a card for The New York Public Library! Do you have your library card and are looking for book recommendations? Our Staff Picks are a great place to start!

Check back for all the days of Bookness, and tell us what you're reading with the hashtag #Bookness on Twitter or Facebook!

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Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!