LibGuides: Readers' Advisory: Adult Resources

Featured Read

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend intends to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she hopes to help women shape their destinies, to make their own choices for their lives and bodies. But when her first week on the job takes her along a dusty country road to a worn-down one-room cabin, Civil is shocked to learn that her new patients, Erica and India, are children--just eleven and thirteen years old. Neither of the Williams sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black, and for those handling the family's welfare benefits, that's reason enough to have the girls on birth control. As Civil grapples with her role, she takes India, Erica, and their family into her heart. Until one day she arrives at their door to learn the unthinkable has happened, and nothing will ever be the same for any of them. Decades later, with her daughter grown and a long career in her wake, Dr. Civil Townsend is ready to retire, to find her peace, and to leave the past behind. But there are people and stories that refuse to be forgotten. That must not be forgotten. Because history repeats what we don't remember. Inspired by true events and brimming with hope, Take My Hand is a stirring exploration of accountability and redemption.

Reading Challenges

Stuck in a reading slump? Looking for new authors, genres or a good challenge? The challenges below are filled with exciting reading prompts that will help you explore new genres, authors & more!

New in Romance

Adult Subject Guides

Themed Bibliographies

Women Who Lead
A selection of books for Women's History Month, 2020
Books About Librarians for Patrons
Titles owned as of 9/2019
Books Into Movies
Titles as of 9/2019
The Roaring 1920s
updated 1/2020
Space Theme Book List
Titles owned as of 6/2019
Summer Beach Reads
Titles are owned by ACPL as of 5/2019
Universe of Stories Theme
Titles owned as of 5/2019
Essays by Funny Women

Have You Met?

Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, and Anxious People, as well as two novellas and one work of nonfiction. His books are published in more than forty countries.

Celebrate Black History Month!

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi, is a historical novel that traces the descendants of two half-sisters Effia and Esi, born into different villages in Ghana. The sisters' lives follow different paths: Effia marries a wealthy Englishman and lives in Cape Coast Castle, while Esi is captured during a raid and sold into slavery.
When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson-Brown
18-year-old Opal is a young Black woman working as a housekeeper in a small Southern town in the 1930s—and then the Klan descends. A moving story that confronts America's tragic past, When Stars Rain Down is both heartwarming and heart-wrenching.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern Black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
The epic tale of Janie Crawford, whose quest for identity takes her on a journey during which she learns what love is, experiences life's joys and sorrows, and come home to herself in peace.
The Underground Railroad (Pulitzer Prize Winner) (National Book Award Winner) (Oprah's Book Club) by Colson Whitehead
The alternate history novel tells the story of Cora, a slave in the Antebellum South during the 19th century, who makes a bid for freedom from her Georgia plantation by following the Underground Railroad, which the novel depicts as a rail transport system with safe houses and secret routes.

Library Resources

To access the resources below from home you'll need to log in using your library card and PIN (last four digits of whatever phone number we have on file for you).

NoveList Plus

NoveList is a fiction database that provides subject headings, reviews, annotations, and much more for over 125,000 fiction titles. It also includes other content of interest to fiction readers, such as author read-alikes and book discussion guides.

Blogs, Podcasts and More

Books on the Nightstand Podcast: A conversational podcast about books from two longtime veterans of the publishing industry.
Jacket Copy (Los Angeles Times)
Guardian Books Podcast:Weekly podcast from London-based paper The Guardian. Includes author interviews, readings, and discussions.
Book Lust Podcast with Nancy Pearl: Librarian and author Nancy Pearl sits down each month with top writers from around the country for conversations about books and writing.
Beaks and Geeks: Penguin Random House conversations with authors.
ThankBookFor: celebrating “all things book-related” and features chats with authors, editors, booksellers, and librarians.

Best of 2022!

The best Fiction of 2022!

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
In this exhilarating novel by the best-selling author of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry two friends—often in love, but never lovers—come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
In the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin's theory of natural selection was formed, Diana finds herself examining her relationships, her choices, and herself—and wondering if when she goes home, she too will have evolved into someone completely different.
The Winners by Fredrik Backman
Two years after Maya Anderson's rape by Kevin, a hockey star, which has turned the town against her, she finds herself far away in college. Benji Ovich, her friend has also left Beartown to find himself but is living a life full of drugs and alcohol.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.
The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand
After a tragic fire in 1922 that killed 19-year-old chambermaid, Grace Hadley, The Hotel Nantucket descended from a gilded age gem to a mediocre budget-friendly lodge to inevitably an abandoned eyesore—until it's purchased and renovated top to bottom by London billionaire, Xavier Darling.
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
'Our Missing Hearts' by Celeste Ng Our Missing Hearts is the story of 12-year-old Bird, a quest to find his mother and the power of small acts of rebellion. Saddled by grief, this quasi-dystopian novel is ultimately propelled by hope
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
The fragile young scion of a distinguished family resists betrothal to a worthy suitor, drawn to a charming music teacher of no means. In a 1993 Manhattan besieged by the AIDS epidemic, a young Hawaiian man lives with his much older, wealthier partner, hiding his troubled childhood and the fate of his father.
Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
A young girl Zoey going off on her own for the first time with her imaginary pigeon and all of the beautiful interactions that ensue once she arrives on Mallow Island. She arrives to a place that once was her deceased mother and begins her soul journey.
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
When we first meet Ansel, he has been convicted of murdering multiple women and is due to be executed in 12 hours. The novel's ticking clock, the well of tension from which it draws, is Ansel's pending execution.
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult; Jennifer Finney Boylan
“MAD HONEY has all of the things: alternating narratives, suspense, courtroom drama, and a love story at its core. It's about authenticity, identity, and it explores the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become our true selves.”

Even More Recommendations!

Fantastic Fiction

Bibliographies for over 40,000 authors. Use the browse menu on the left to find an author by surname, or use the search box above to search for an author or book. Information on over 500,000 books. Throughout the site, just click on a book to see its cover picture, description and publication details.

Challenge

Alamance County Public Libraries loves a good reading challenge, so we have plenty for you to choose from. Check out some of our challenges below!

Or try a challenge below!

Readers' Advisory: Adult Resources