In honor of today’s Big Give Day with the Willamette Week Give!Guide, during which one lucky donor who gives $10 or more will win a $500 gift card to Powell’s books, YRJ has compiled a list of book recommendations from our staff. This fun tradition highlights fiction, nonfiction, YA and children’s books that our staff have enjoyed this year. Some relate to our work, while others are just fun reads! Enjoy this list and let us know, what books are you recommending this year?
Fiction
- I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
- Impostor Syndrome: A Novel by Kathy Wang, “It’s an edge of the seat thriller, set in the world of Big Tech. It is a fascinating satire about the California dream, the role of women in the workplace and Russian cybersecurity threats.” – Amy
- Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman, “Excellent fiction that blends mythology and magic with a bit of sci-fi. This book maintains relevancy more and more as time goes on. Largely about ancient and old-world cultures and religions coming to an end as they lose power to “new gods” like media and technology.” – Chad
- Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
- The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger, “4 book series. Fantasy Victorian Steampunk with very witty use of language. Also vampires and werewolves.” – Nan
- Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
- Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Historical Fiction
- The Night Watchmen by Louise Erdrich
- From Hell by Alan Moore
- Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi – “This novel explores the relationship of faith and science with a backdrop of race, immigration, addiction and family. Completely different from her first book, Homegoing.” – Jennifer Stoller
- The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown “Incredible historical non-fiction about the Donner Party. It reads like you’re witnessing the ill-fated journey firsthand. Well researched and well written.” -Chad
- City of Thieves by David Benioff
Nonfiction & Memoir
- Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
- What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon, “This book will change the way you think about fatness and fat justice.” – Jennifer S
- Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir by Natasha Tretheway
- Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, “Written by an indigenous woman who looks at the connections of science and the life around us, essentially all of nature, and how society today is losing its connection to it. Focuses a lot on how connected to the earth indigenous cultures were as well, and how their practices and beliefs respected it.” – Chad
- The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth by Kristin Henning
- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
- The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell by W. Kamau Bell, “It is exactly what the title says. Really funny, covers a lot of interesting topics, and is really fun to read. I am a sucker for good comedy writers who have interesting stories to tell.” – Seth
- Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan, “The story of then 16 year old Behan’s time in juvenile detention (a borstal) for his attempt to blow up the Liverpool docks for the IRA. While there he learns he has more in common with the English working class than he realized.” – Sean
Young Adult & Children’s Books
- Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
- Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
- Curious George Goes to the Hospital by Margaret and H.A. Rey “…George eats a puzzle piece. We’ve all done that, right?” – Sean