2019 Staff Picks for Adults

This year was a great year at HCPL! We had a great time with Lisa Scottoline at All Henrico Reads, had a blast with Summer Reading, and opened the new Fairfield Library. We also read a lot of great books that we would love to share with you.

Here are our favorite books for adults from 2019:

Fiction

The Water Dancer: A Novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates – recommended by Fritz D. at Varina and Angie B. at Library Administration
An Unorthodox Match by Naomi Ragen – recommended by Michelle C. at Tuckahoe
Exhalation by Ted Chiang – recommended by William A. at Fairfield
Stay and Fight by Madeline ffitch – recommended by Lindsey H. at Libbie Mill
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C. A. Fletcher – recommended by Mike H. at Fairfield
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher – recommended by Kristina C. at Library Administration
The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell – recommended by Patty C. at Library Administration
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid – recommended by Amy C. at Tuckahoe
Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips – recommended by Courtney W. at Libbie Mill
Recursion by Blake Crouch – recommended by Maggie A. at Tuckahoe
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen – recommended by Haven H. at Gayton
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa – recommended by Susan L. at Libbie Mill
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong – recommended by Amanda S. at Fairfield
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton – recommended by Barbara B. at Library Administration
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – recommended by Kimberly B. at Outreach
Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden – recommended by Kendall H. at Library Administration
Lager Queen of Minnesota by Ryan Stradal – recommended by Lisa K. at Glen Allen
Murder with Collard Greens and Hot Sauce by A L Herbert – recommended by Teshawna T. at Sandston Also available on Hoopla.
The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves – recommended by Savannah C. at Library Administration
Island of Sea Women by Lisa See – recommended by Gay Lynn V. at Twin Hickory
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston – recommended by Alicia A. at Library Administration

Nonfiction

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei – recommended by Rachel S. at Fairfield and Sarah C. at Glen Allen Also available on Hoopla.
How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones – recommended by Amy B. at Libbie Mill
Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley – recommended by Hayley D. at Twin Hickory
Fentanyl, Inc.: How Rogue Chemists Are Creating the Deadliest Wave of the Opioid Epidemic by Ben Westhoff – recommended by Mike B. at Libbie Mill Also available on Hoopla.
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe – recommended by Kelsey C. at Varina
Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom – recommended by Tracey B. at Libbie Mill Also available on Hoopla.
D-Day Girls by Sarah Rose – recommended by Penelope F. at Varina
The Jamestown Brides: The Story of England's "Maids for Virginia" by Jennifer Potter – recommended by Kareemah H. at Varina
Let’s Make Ramen by Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan – recommended by Antonia P. at Fairfield
An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk by Allison Schrager – recommended by Hannah T. at Fairfield

2019 Staff Picks for Kids
2019 Staff Picks for Teens

For more staff favorites, check out last year’s picks for kids, teens, and adults, or browse all of our booklists.