Home

Featured Collections On the shelf & ready to reserve

Cozy mysteries to warm your November nights

November is National Native American Heritage Month. To honor indigenous peoples, we have made this list of fiction and nonfiction books written by authors of indigenous heritage. "Own Voices" is a term libraries use to describe books written by people with lived experience in an identity.

Whether you're grateful, thankful, or just plain hungry, check out one of these seasonal picks!

This time of year is all about being thankful for the people, place, and things that make up life's precious moments.

More featured collections

ICPL Recommends

Kitty and the great lantern race book cover
Kitty and the great lantern race book cover

Kitty and the great lantern race

Paula Harrison

jFICTION Harrison Paula
Early Chapter Books

"Kitty is proud of the lantern she has crafted for Hallam City's Festival of Light. But just as the parade starts, a series of mysterious burglaries occur in the crowd. Kitty spots a shadowy figure and knows that she must use her catlike superpowers to investigate. Chasing the culprit...

This series is a great choice for readers moving on from very short, very early chapter books but not quite ready for longer, denser chapter books. Short sentences and simpler vocabulary without seeming babyish! Absolutely adorable illustrations in a palette of orange, black, and white add to the whimsy and fun of this series, which blends magic and mystery as Kitty, a shape-shifting superhero, saves the day in one exciting, page-turning volume after another. -Anne W

Black Sun book cover
Black Sun book cover

Black Sun

Rebecca Roanhorse

SCIENCE FICTION Roanhorse, Rebecca
Diverse Characters, Fiction, Fantasy, LGBTQ+

"A god will return when the earth and sky converge under the black sun in the holy city of Tova... The winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the...

"Between Earth and Sky" is an excellent series, and it just concluded with "Mirrored Heavens" this year. Roanhorse creates a detailed and intriguing wold inspired by Native American cultures. I love how messy the politics get in this series. The main characters are frequently at odds with one another and the tensions that creates are fascinating to explore. -Chelsea

Welcome to scare school book cover
Welcome to scare school book cover

Welcome to scare school

Jarrett Lerner

jFICTION Lerner Jarrett
Early Chapter Books

Bash is a young ghost who has never been good at scaring people is nervous about his first day at scare school, where he will learn to master the necessary skills to become a successful ghost.

A great transitional chapter book - for kids just beginning to read chapter books on their own! Absolutely adorable illustrations, funny stories, with large text, plenty of white space, and picture support. -Anne W

The republic of thieves book cover
The republic of thieves book cover

The republic of thieves

Scott Lynch

SCIENCE FICTION Lynch Scott
Fantasy

With the greatest heist of their career gone spectacularly sour, con artist extraordinaire Locke Lamora and his trusted partner, Jean, have barely escaped with their lives. Or at least Jean has. Locke is slowly succumbing to a lethal poison that no alchemist can cure. With the end nearing,...

Sabetha--the character teased in the first and second book--finally appears. I repeat--SABETHA!!! And she was more than worth the wait. Now I'm caught up with the series and have to wait like a chump for the next installment (if it ever comes out.) -Brian

The saint of bright doors book cover
The saint of bright doors book cover

The saint of bright doors

Vajra Chandrasekera

SCIENCE FICTION Chandras Vajra
Fantasy

"The Saint of Bright Doors sets the high drama of divine revolutionaries and transcendent cults against the mundane struggles of modern life, resulting in a novel that is revelatory and resonant. Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty...

This book is incredibly hard to describe--it's fantasy, but grounded, also, paradoxical, wildly dreamlike? It's hard to know what's "true" in the book. At first, characters seem dishonest and manipulative, but maybe there's reality in what they're telling us. It's an amazing book, and I do it disservice in trying to tell you about it. I highly recommend it. -Brian

Someone You Can Build a Nest in book cover
Someone You Can Build a Nest in book cover

Someone You Can Build a Nest in

John Wiswell

SCIENCE FICTION Wiswell John
Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, LGBTQ+

"Shesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she's fallen in love. Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body from the remains of...

A cozy queer romance seasoned with cosmic horror. "Someone You Can Build a Nest in" asks what it really means to be monstrous, and challenges us to break away from cycles of familial abuse. -Chelsea

NEW

More new materials

Check out our Digital Library

Sunday Fun days! Handprint Dinos, Nov. 3, 2-4 p.m. Storytime Room. Pastasaurus Skeleton, Nov. 10, 2-4 p.m. Storytime Room. Triceratops Headband, Nov. 17, 2-4 p.m. Storytime Room. Pterodactyl Puppet, Nov. 24, 2-4 p.m. Storytime Room. Iowa City Public Library.
ICPL & UIowa Andhi present Diwali Family Night. Friday, Nov. 8. 4:30 - 6 p.m. Meeting Room A. Iowa City Public Library.
The Golden Age of Song. The Dunn Quartet. Iowa City Public Library. Iowa School of Music. Oaknoll.
Books to Cooks Club: Wafflesaursus Rex. Tuesday, Nov. 12. 4 - 5 p.m. Storytime Room. Iowa City Public Library. Book cover: "How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?" by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague.
Teen Knitting & Crochet Hangout. Every Monday weekly through November 18th. 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Teen Space. Iowa City Public Library.
Preschool Stories & More: Raptology. Iowa's Birds of Prey. Thursday, Nov. 7. 10:30 to 11 a.m. Meeting Room A. Iowa City Public Library.
Chess Butterflies. Sundays 12:15 to 1:45 p.m. Storytime Room. Iowa City Public Library.
Community Writing Center. Iowa City Public Library. Coralville Public Library. Kirkwood Community College. Iowa.
The Iowa Libraries Adventure Pass Program
Get Making with Creativebug.
Staff Picks Just for you - get recommendations on what to read next
Bookmobile schedule

News

by Stacey October 17, 2024
I had this idea too late last year, so we...
by Heidi K October 12, 2024
As part of Book Festival 2024, Dr. Kirsten Kumpf Baele, Associate...
by Katie October 4, 2024
Join us in the lobby and Meeting Room D on Saturday, October 5th from...
by Elsworth October 3, 2024
Every year at this time, we invite our community to explore the...
by Victoria September 24, 2024
This summer, Y.E.S interns worked on a variety of opportunities...
by Sam H September 23, 2024
Driven by a thirst for knowledge and understanding, a devoted patron...
by Kami September 13, 2024
September 26th 11:00am to 10:00pm   Celebrate Yotopia's 13th...
by Jason September 4, 2024
In person early voting at the Auditor's Office for the November 5,...