Brooklyn, NY—Brooklyn Public Library has released its favorite reads of the year. With over 100 favorites, contributed by librarians and staff, the list includes something for everything one, including memoirs and mysteries, coming of age stories, and imagined futures. A selected few are below; the complete list can be found here.
We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
Harper 2022
We All Want Impossible Things is SO good, like read-it-in-a-day good, laugh-sob-recommend-to-everyone good. A perfect novel in my opinion.
A Life of One’s Own: Nine Women Writers Begin Again by Joanna Biggs
Ecco 2023
An essay collection about how nine women authors (including Toni Morrison, Elena Ferrante, Sylvia Plath, and Zora Neale Hurston) balanced their personal and professional lives, plus a dash of divorce memoir. Delicious!
Big by Vashti Harrison
Little Brown and Company 2022
A powerful compassionate book that gracefully addresses adultification and sizeism of girls.
Social Justice Fallacies by Thomas Sowell
Basic Books 2023
One of Sowell’s best attributes as a writer is his brevity!
A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Avon 2023
A hero with a dad bod and a heroine recovering from purity culture trauma have a steamy romance.
I Meant It Once: Stories by Kate Doyle
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 2023
Cozy up with some cocoa and this book of short stories. Guaranteed to make you feel all the feels.
Radical: My Year with A Socialist Senator by Sofia Warren
Top Shelf Productions 2022
An engaging graphic novel that will help you understand state and local politics in NY!
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
Little Brown and Company 2022
Part love letter to the sea, part celebration of the queer community. What else could you ask for?
How To Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann
Little Brown and Company 2022
A dark interesting twist on classic fairy tales. Couldn’t put it down!
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
Tin House, 2017
A young girl grieving her mother, saving her sleepwalking sister, and many many rabbit cakes.
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
Tordotcom, 2022
A reimagining of Hollywood’s Golden Age that makes lecherous producers literal monsters, this book can’t miss.
This Book is Banned by Raj Haldar
Sourcebook eXplore 2023
This book is a great way to explain the dangers of book banning to kids (and adults!).
Still can’t decide? Read the full list here. Need more recommendations? Our librarians can make a completely customized list just for you. Learn more about BPL’s Book Match program or request your own personalized list here.
About Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library is one of the nation’s largest library systems and among New York City’s most democratic institutions. As a leader in developing modern 21st century libraries, we provide resources to support personal advancement, foster civic literacy, and strengthen the fabric of community among the more than 2.6 million individuals who call Brooklyn home. We provide nearly 65,000 free programs a year with writers, thinkers, artists, and educators—from around the corner and around the world. And we give patrons millions of opportunities to enjoy one of life’s greatest satisfactions: the joy of a good book.