Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card!
Celebrate Library Card Sign Up Month by delving into the shelves! From fantasy to non-fiction, these books highlight libraries, the people within them, and the stories they have to share.
The bad-ass librarians of Timbuktu : and their race to save the world's most precious manuscripts
Hammer, Joshua, 1957- author
2016
The book of form and emptiness
Ozeki, Ruth, 1956- author
2021
"After the tragic death his beloved musician father, fourteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices. The voices belong to the things in his house-a sneaker, a broken Christmas ornament, a piece of wilted lettuce. Although Benny doesn't understand what these things are saying, he can sense their emotional tone; some are pleasant, a gentle hum or coo, but others are snide, angry and full of pain. When his mother, Annabelle, develops a hoarding problem, the voices grow more clamorous. At first, Benny tries to ignore them, but soon the voices follow him outside the house, onto the street and at school, driving him at last to seek refuge in the silence of a large public library, where objects are well-behaved and know to speak in whispers. There, Benny discovers a strange new world, where "things happen." He falls in love with a mesmerizing street artist with a smug pet ferret, who uses the library as her performance space. He meets a homeless philosopher-poet, who encourages him to ask important questions and find his own voice amongst the many. And he meets his very own Book-a talking thing-who narrates Benny's life and teaches him to listen to the things that truly matter."-- Provided by publisher.
The borrower
Makkai, Rebecca
2011
Lucy Hull, a young children's librarian in Hannibal, Missouri, finds herself both a kidnapper and kidnapped when her favorite patron, ten-year-old Ian Drake, runs away from home.
Dear Fahrenheit 451 : love and heartbreak in the stacks : a librarian's love letters and breakup notes to the books in her life
Spence, Annie, author
2017
I work at a public library : a collection of crazy stories from the stacks
Sheridan, Gina, author
2014
Librarian tales : funny, strange, and inspiring dispatches from the stacks
Ottens, William, author
2020
"Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly of librarian William Ottens's experience working behind service desks and in the stacks of public libraries, most recently at the Lawrence Public Library in Kansas. In Librarian Tales, published in cooperation with the American Library Association, readers will learn about strange things librarians have found in book drops, weird and obscure reference questions, the stress of tax season, phrases your local librarians never want to hear, stories unique to children's librarians, and more."--Provided by publisher.
The library book
Orlean, Susan, author
2018
The morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As one fireman recounted, "Once that first stack got going, it was 'Goodbye, Charlie.' Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, reporter and bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.
The lions of Fifth Avenue
Davis, Fiona, 1966- author
2020
1913. When valuable books are stolen back from the New York Public Library, Laura Lyons is forced to confront her shifting priorities head on - and may just lose everything in the process. Eighty years later, Laura Lyons’ granddaughter, Sadie Donovan, is a curator at the NYPL. When rare manuscripts, notes, and books begin disappearing from the library’s famous Berg Collection, things unexpectedly become personal as the investigation leads Sadie to some unwelcome truths about her own family heritage - truths that shed new light on the biggest tragedy in the library’s history.
Palaces for the people : how social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life
Klinenberg, Eric, author
2018
The future of democratic societies rests not only on shared values but also on shared "social infrastructure": the libraries, childcare centers, bookstores, coffee shops, pools, and parks that promote crucial, sometimes life-saving connections between people who might otherwise fail to find common cause.
The personal librarian : a novel
Benedict, Marie, author
2021
The remarkable story of J. P. Morgan's personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white to leave a lasting legacy that enriched the nation.
The shadow of the wind
Ruiz Zafón, Carlos, 1964-2020
2004
About a boy's quest through the secrets and shadows of postwar Barcelona for a mysterious author whose book has proved as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget.
The starless sea
Morgenstern, Erin, author
2019
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues that lead him to a secret club and through a doorway to an ancient library.
This book is overdue! : how librarians and cybrarians can save us all
Johnson, Marilyn, 1954-
2010
In a world of streaming media, digital archives, and Google Everything, some think librarians are as obsolete as print on a page. Marilyn Johnson, acclaimed author of "The Dead Beat", now celebrates libraries and librarians, arguing that the work they do is more important than ever. Johnson follows a new breed of visionary professionals - cybrarians - who use the web to link people and information, and bridge the gulf between those who have the tools and resources they need and those left behind by economics, education, or the latest computer upgrade.
The world's strongest librarian : a memoir of Tourette's, faith, strength, and the power of family
Hanagarne, Joshua, 1977-, author
2013