Best Books This Spring

Image of 6 book covers

If you need some reading suggestions for the spring, check out our list of new favorite titles. With everything from science fiction to mysteries to memoirs, there’s something for everyone. All titles are linked to our catalog, but feel free to stop by the Adult Reference Desk for help finding a book on this list.   

 

Fiction  

  • Twice by Mitch Albom  

    Albom returns with the story of Alfie Logan, who has the magical ability to do things over. He can rewind any moment and live it again—except for love; in that case, if he undoes it once, it is gone forever.  

  • The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage  

    Lexi Villiers, a British princess who’s stepped away from her royal role to carve out a quiet life in Australia, finds herself suddenly next in line for the throne after her father and twin brother are unexpectedly killed in a skiing accident. Her grandmother, the Queen, gives her one year to decide whether to accept her destiny. 

  • Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily Austin  

    Librarian Darcy comes back to work after a mental breakdown only to confront book-banning crusaders in an empowering story of grief, love, and the power of libraries. 

  • Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash  

    This offbeat debut novel follows a suburban family of five unspooling at the seams, each going to increasingly absurd lengths to find belonging in a different flock. 

  • One & Only by Maurene Goo  

    Workaholic matchmaker Cassia Park has a remarkable gift: she can read clients’ faces to see the love connections they’ve made in past lives and thus determine who will be their “fated” match in this one. Cassia has been searching for her own match for ten years and starts to worry she may never find him. 

  • This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman  

    In the opening scene of this linked story collection, Sylvia and Helen Rubinstein are unmoored when their beloved younger sister passes away, and a misunderstanding about apple cake at the funeral reception turns into decades of stubborn silence. Subsequent stories describe branches of the sprawling Rubinstein clan as they navigate the sisters’ feud and everything else life throws at them. 

  • Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson  

    Set between post-WWII Germany and 1960s America, this novel toggles back and forth in time, telling the stories of three people who are connected in unexpected ways. Inspired by the real experiences of mixed-race children abandoned after WWII, Johnson sheds light on a little-known chapter of postwar history, highlighting the importance of resilience, courage, and love. 

  • The Hospital at the End of the World by Justin C. Key  

    In the near future, medical student Pok is hoping to attend a prestigious medical center operated by artificial intelligence. But when his father dies of a mysterious illness, he decides to train at the last hospital still practicing human-led medicine instead, hoping to learn more about his father’s death. 

  • You & Me and You & Me and You & Me by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees  

    A long-married couple stuck in a rut finds a time machine that allows them to relive crucial moments from their lives. Soon they’re making small changes to their relationship, then larger changes to the future, then huge changes behind each other’s backs in a desperate attempt to get things right this time.  

  • The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits  

    When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair twelve years ago, he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest child left the nest. Now, while driving his college-bound daughter to Pittsburgh, he remembers his promise to himself. So, rather than returning to his wife, Tom keeps driving west, reflecting on his past while moving towards a future he hasn’t even envisioned yet. 

  • How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley  

    A coming-of-age story set in 1986 about an Indian American girl struggling to figure out many things about herself, such as whether she and her sister should kill a relative. From the beginning, the reader knows the killing will take place, and the bulk of this wittily observant and achingly tender novel explores the lead-up to the crime and the sisters’ relationship. 

  • Skylark by Paula McLain  

    McLain’s riveting latest combines the stories of a 17th-century prison break and a WWII physician’s role in the French Resistance. These two urgent stories of survival, set nearly 300 years apart, are connected by treks through Paris’ ancient underground tunnels. 

  • Evil Genius by Claire Oshetsky  

    In this sly, darkly funny novel, a young woman becomes increasingly obsessed with tales of love and death and begins subconsciously plotting to murder her abusive husband. 

  • The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao  

    Q is an artist losing his sight, and Raya is a former songwriter who lost her way when her brother died. One day, the two of them board a train and find themselves on the Elsewhere Express, a train built of lost daydreams, scattered thoughts, grudges, and emotions that helps its passengers find their purpose. 

  • The Future Saints by Ashley Winstead  

    This emotionally charged rock ‘n’ roll love story is set in the richly evoked world of the music business, featuring dual points of view: Theo Ford, the manager sent by the record company to deal with their problematic indie rock group, the Future Saints; and Hannah Cortland, the troubled lead singer of the band, who has been reeling since the death of her younger sister. 

     

Mystery & Thriller  

  • All the Little Houses by May Cobb  

    It’s East Texas in the 1980s, and mother-daughter duo Charleigh and Nellie Anderson rule the social scene. But when farm girl Jane Swift arrives in town, Nellie’s world is thrown into a tailspin at the perceived threat to her social status, something Nellie will do anything to protect.  

  • I’m Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home by Fergus Craig  

    After a decades-long stint in prison, former serial killer Carol is looking to kick back and relax in her new retirement home—until a fellow resident dies and Carol has to prove she actually didn’t do it this time. 

  • The Midnight Taxi by Yosha Gunasekera  

    New York City taxi driver Siri picks up a passenger headed to JFK, only to discover once they arrive that the man has been murdered in her backseat. Suddenly Siri is the prime suspect for murder and has five days to discover the truth behind the impossible crime before she goes in front of a grand jury. 

  • The Storm by Rachel Hawkins  

    Bestselling Hawkins uses multiple points of view, mixed media, and alternating timelines to craft a gripping suspense novel featuring a journalist who arrives in a small Alabama tourist town to investigate a mysterious death that occurred during a hurricane over forty years ago. 

  • In Her Defense by Philippa Malicka  

    As a sensational celebrity libel trial unfolds, a young woman at the periphery secretly wields the power to make or break the case. But with her own hidden past, will she dare to speak up? 

  • The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery  

    This entertaining locked-room whodunit set in 1910 in England features an eccentric viscount who believes the world is coming to an end with the arrival of Halley’s Comet. When the viscount is found murdered, his scientifically minded great-aunt and a newly hired footman form an unorthodox detective duo to solve the crime. 

  • Wolf Hour by Jo Nesbo  

    In 2016 Minneapolis, disgraced homicide detective Bob Oz probes the attempted murder of a crooked gun dealer, an inquiry that develops into a serial killer investigation as more bodies pile up. Six years later, Norwegian crime fiction writer Holger Rudi comes to Minnesota to research the story. 

  • A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage by M. K. Oliver  

    Oliver’s satirical debut introduces Lalla Rook, a suburban mother who casually murders an intruder in her kitchen to avoid disrupting her son’s fourth birthday party. Narrated by Lalla, the story unveils her chillingly pragmatic approach to life, focusing on manipulation, blackmail, and even murder to secure wealth, social status, and a successful marriage.

  • Missing Sam by Thrity Umrigar  

    An ill-timed fall during a morning run shatters the lives of English professor Sam O’Malley and her wife, Ali Mirza, in this engrossing thriller that doubles as a moving meditation on otherness. 

  • Good Intentions by Marisa Walz  

    Luxury party planner Cady’s life is upended when her twin sister, Dana, is seriously injured in a car crash. While at the hospital, a brief chance encounter with a woman in the waiting room sparks a snowballing obsession in this psychological suspense debut. 

  • The Final Score by Don Winslow  

    Characters wrestle with the costs of loyalty and the burdens of familial responsibility in this collection of six short novellas from Winslow. From a group planning a casino heist to a good man forced to unleash his dark side, these stories feature vividly realized characters, morally ambiguous situations, and pitch-perfect dialogue. 

 

Nonfiction & Biography  

  • Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton by Martha Ackmann  

    This larger-than-life new biography of country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton takes a deep dive into the social, historical, and personal forces that made her one of the most beloved figures in public life. Features interviews with friends, family members, Nashville neighbors, band members, producers, and many others, along with never-before-seen photographs. 

  • Homeschooled: A Memoir by Stefan Merrill Block    

    In the vein of Tara Westover’s Educated, novelist Block delivers a wrenching account of his traumatic homeschooling in suburban Texas and his complex relationship with his mother. Through this poignant memoir that seamlessly blends humor, anger, and sadness, readers will appreciate Block’s journey from homeschooling to adulthood. 

  • Strangers: A Memoir of a Marriage by Belle Burden  

    Burden’s debut memoir explores the emotional journey she embarked upon after her husband of two decades unexpectedly left her in the early weeks of the pandemic in 2020. This detailed narrative of what happens after the end of a marriage recounts the many pathways Burden traveled to understand what happened and to begin building a new life. 

  • Fly, Wild Swans: My Mother, Myself and China by Jung Chang  

    Chang continues the story of her family’s life in China which she began in 1991’s Wild Swans, tracing the history of modern China through the stories of three generations of women in her family. 

  • Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life by Ezekiel Emanuel  

    Everyone wants to live a full and healthy life, but every day brings a tidal wave of attention-grabbing misinformation, bizarre fads, and questionable advice from influencers. Dr. Emanuel cuts through the noise to help us consider which lifestyle changes are worth making and how to easily implement them. 

  • Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling by Danny Funt  

    In this eye-opening debut investigation, reporter Funt digs into the rise of American sports betting. He delves into the history, politics, and the companies involved, and his in-depth reporting includes interviews with many industry employees, gamblers, and athletes. 

  • Football by Chuck Klosterman  

    Journalist Klosterman presents an entertaining cultural history of football. Approaching the subject with rigor and drawing on his lifelong fascination with the game, he sheds light on the sport’s outsized and underrated role in shaping contemporary culture, resulting in a smart, rewarding consideration of America’s favorite sport. 

  • Island at the Edge of the World: The Forgotten History of Easter Island by Mike Pitts  

    This vital and timely work of historical adventure from archaeologist Pitts rewrites the popular yet flawed history of Rapa Nui and uses newly unearthed findings to challenge the long-standing historical assumptions about the manmade ecological disaster that caused the island’s collapse. 

  • A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness by Michael Pollan    

    In Pollan’s exploration of consciousness, he discovers a world far deeper and stranger than our everyday reality. Eye-opening and mind-expanding, Pollan invites us to explore our own minds to more meaningfully connect with the world and our deepest selves. 

  • 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke   

    On the eve of his 100th birthday, Van Dyke brings us this autobiographical collection of stories, reflections, and advice on how he’s maintained a zest for life. Offering poignant reflections on aging and health, he encourages readers to stay true to their passions and to find joy by spreading joy.