ICPL Staff Top Picks for 2013: Best of the Best

Here it is; the Iowa City Public Library's Best of the Best Books for 2013. These books received nominations from more than one staff person.

For the second year in a row, the list is dominated by a young adult book. Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park is easily the Library's Best Book of 2013, with several staff members nominating it.

A story about two teens falling in love, this book is deeper than one would expect. Issues of bullying and child abuse are also explored, interwoven with one of the truest love stories we've read in a long time. Words Library staff have used to describe it include sweet, nostalgic, and "I couldn't put it down!"

It's interesting to note that our second-highest nominated book for 2013 was also written by Rainbow Rowell: Fangirl. If you haven't read any of her books (she has three in print; her fourth novel will be released in July 2014), check one out today! Or, more likely, put one on hold. They're very popular!

BEST OF THE BEST BOOKS FOR 2013

• Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (YA)
• The Rosie Project: A Novel by Graeme Simsion (fiction)
• Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders (fiction, short stories)
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (YA)
• Leaving Everything Most Loved: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline Winspear (mystery)
• Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan (non-fiction)
• Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg (non-fiction)