Absolution by Alice McDermott
In 1963 Saigon, two young American wives form an uneasy friendship. Tricia is a hopeful newlywed married to an oil engineer working with U.S. Navy Intelligence. Charlene, a mother of three, is determined to help the less fortunate around her. Sixty years later, Charlene’s daughter contacts Tricia, and the two reflect on how Charlene’s actions shaped their lives.

Afterlife by Julia Alvarez 

Antonia Vega, an immigrant and retired English professor, faces sudden loss when her husband dies. As she grieves, her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and a pregnant teenager shows up at her door. Antonia, who has always turned to literature for guidance, must now find her own way in a world full of unexpected challenges.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 
A young artist’s life is turned upside down when her husband is wrongly imprisoned. She leans on a close friend for support, but when her husband’s sentence is overturned, she faces new challenges in rebuilding her life.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman 
A failed bank robber takes eight strangers hostage during an open house. As the group spends time together, they discover surprising connections and shared struggles.

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin 
Ayesha and Khalid are drawn to each other despite their differences and misunderstandings. However, Khalid’s arranged marriage to Ayesha’s cousin complicates their budding romance. This modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice explores love, culture, and family expectations.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
This story spans 50 years, following an Italian innkeeper, an American actress, and a Hollywood producer. Their lives intertwine in a tale of love, ambition, and unforgettable characters.

The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt
Artist Harriet Burden, frustrated by years of being ignored, secretly exhibits her work under the names of three male artists. When she reveals the truth, betrayal and scandal erupt in the art world, leading to a dangerous confrontation.

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
In a small East Texas town, a Black lawyer and a white woman are found dead days apart. Texas Ranger Darren Mathews investigates, uncovering secrets that reveal the town’s deep racial tensions.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
Cussy Mary Carter delivers books to remote Kentucky communities as part of the Pack Horse Library Project. As a member of the Blue People of Kentucky, she faces prejudice while spreading knowledge and hope.

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
Eilis Lacey leaves post-war Ireland for a new life in Brooklyn, New York. Torn between her old home and her new opportunities, Eilis must make a life-changing decision.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The lives of two sisters—Nettie, a missionary in Africa, and Celie, a southern woman married to a man she hates—are revealed in a series of letters exchanged over 30 years.

Conjure Women by Afia Atakora
Rue, a midwife and healer, cares for families on a Southern plantation before and after the Civil War. Secrets and bonds between Rue, the plantation owner’s daughter, and the community unfold in this powerful story.

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Three women—two transgender and one cisgender—navigate their relationships and desires after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their views on motherhood and identity.

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams 
Motherless Esme grows up in the Scriptorium, where her father helps create the first Oxford English Dictionary. She discovers that many words about women and common people are left out, inspiring her to create her own dictionary.

Don’t Cry for Me by Daniel Black 
A dying Black father writes letters to his estranged gay son, seeking forgiveness and understanding. This heartfelt novel explores family, identity, and forgiveness.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
In a remote Polish village, Janina, a reclusive woman loves astrology and animals, and translating the poetry of William Blake. When a neighbor is found dead and other bodies are found, she investigates the series of mysterious deaths. Her unconventional methods reveal shocking truths.

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
In 19th-century England, a widow and a vicar form a bond while investigating rumors of a mythical serpent. The debut novel explores faith, science, and love.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
In 1970s Ohio, a Chinese-American family struggles with grief after the death of their daughter. This story examines family dynamics, race, and identity.

Foster by Claire Keegan 
A young girl is sent to live with foster parents on a farm in rural Ireland. She experiences warmth and care for the first time, but secrets threaten her newfound happiness. 

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
Mia Dennett, an inner-city art teacher and the daughter of a wealthy judge and his Chicago family, is taken hostage by a man who hides her in a remote cabin to protect her from harm. As the story unfolds, shocking truths are revealed.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
This moving novel imagines the life of Shakespeare’s son Hamnet, who dies at age 11, and the grief that inspires the play Hamlet.

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

This collection of short stories explores the lives of women and the violence they endure. Each story blends reality with the surreal, creating a haunting and thought-provoking experience.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese
This novel reimagines the life of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne, the heroine of The Scarlet Letter. It explores the legacy of New England’s witch trials and the challenges of living as an independent woman in a restrictive society.

His Mother's Son by Cai Emmons

Jana Thomas, a successful doctor and mother, becomes increasingly worried about her young son’s troubling behavior. Her fears threaten her marriage, career, and sense of stability as she struggles to protect her family.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
This sweeping story follows two half-sisters from Ghana—one who marries into privilege and one who is sold into slavery. Their descendants’ lives unfold over eight generations, revealing the lasting impact of their choices.

Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar
This deeply personal novel blends fact and fiction to explore identity, belonging, and the struggles of being Muslim American in a post-9/11 world.

The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea 
Big Angel, the patriarch of the De La Cruz family, gathers his relatives for one final birthday celebration as he faces the end of his life. Days before the party, however, his mother, nearly a hundred herself, dies, resulting in a hefty farewell fete. Over one weekend, the family shares memories of their journey from Mexico to the United States.

How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang
Orphaned siblings Lucy and Sam set out to bury their father in the American West. Along the way, they confront family secrets, their immigrant identity, and the harsh realities of survival.

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova
When their matriarch, Orquídea Divina, dies, her descendants uncover family secrets and face a mysterious danger. Their journey takes them from the United States to Ecuador, where they learn the truth about their inheritance.  

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Klara, an artificial friend, observes the world from a store window, hoping to be chosen by a customer. This story explores love, humanity, and the connections between people and technology.

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
A talented baker running a business out of her nursing home reconnects with her master brewer sister at the same time her pregnant granddaughter launches an IPA brewpub.

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin
George Orr has dreams that can alter reality. When his psychiatrist learns of this power, he tries to control it, leading to unintended and dangerous consequences.

Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin 
After losing his father, 15-year-old Charley Thompson sets out on a journey from Portland, Oregon to Wyoming with a racehorse named Lean on Pete. Together, they search for stability and a place to call home.

Less by Andrew Sean Greer
Arthur Less, a struggling novelist, travels the world to avoid his ex-boyfriend’s wedding. This bittersweet story is a humorous and heartfelt exploration of love, aging, and self-discovery.

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
Monsieur Perdu runs a floating bookstore in Paris, prescribing books to heal people’s hearts. Despite his gift for helping others, he struggles to mend his own broken heart.

Longbourn by Jo Baker
This reimagining of Pride and Prejudice tells the story from the perspective of the Bennet family’s servants, revealing the hidden lives of those working behind the scenes.

Lucky Us by Amy Bloom
Half-sisters Eva and Iris build a life together after being abandoned by their parents. Their journey takes them from golden-era Hollywood to mid-20^th-century Long Island, filled with love, loss, and resilience.

The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar
This dual timeline story follows a modern-day Syrian refugee and a medieval girl apprenticed to a mapmaker. Their journeys highlight the pain of exile and the courage needed to survive.

Martin Marten by Brian Doyle
Living on Mount Hood (or Wy’east, the Native American name 14-year-old Dave prefers), Dave and a young pine marten named Martin navigate the challenges of growing up and finding their place in the world.

Memorial by Bryan Washington
Mike is a Japanese American chef at a Mexican restaurant. Mike and Benson’s relationship is tested when Mike travels to Japan to visit his dying father, leaving Benson to care for Mike’s visiting mother. This story explores love, family, and identity.

Mink River by Brian Doyle
In the small Oregon town of Neawanaka, a diverse cast of characters weaves together a story of community, resilience, and the beauty of everyday life.

Monogamy by Sue Miller
After her husband of 30 years dies suddenly, Annie discovers he had been unfaithful. This emotional story explores grief, love, and the complexities of marriage.

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
This multigenerational story follows the Trần family through the Việt Nam War and its aftermath. It is a tale of survival, family bonds, and the enduring strength of love.

The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin
Three lonely strangers, each dealing with personal struggles, find friendship and healing on a honeybee farm in rural Oregon.

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
The Plumb siblings must confront their family’s dysfunction when their shared inheritance is jeopardized. This story explores relationships, money, and the ties that bind families together.

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Based on the life of the author’s grandfather, this novel tells the story of a Native American night watchman who carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington.

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
This story spans generations, following a Cuban family’s journey from their homeland to the United States. It explores the choices mothers make and the legacies they leave behind.

Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann
The Briscoe family’s secrets and betrayals come to light when March returns to his small Texas town.  Within days of March's arrival, someone is dead, marriages are upended, and even the strongest of alliances are shattered. In the end, the ties that hold them together might be exactly what drag them all down. 

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
Inti Flynn arrives in Scotland with her twin sister, Aggie, to lead a team of biologists tasked with reintroducing 14 gray wolves into Scotland's Highlands. As the wolves surprise everyone by thriving, Inti begins to let her guard down, even opening herself up to the possibility of love. But when a farmer is mauled to death, Inti knows where the town will lay blame.

The Other Side of Everything by Lauren Doyle Owens
After a murder shakes a quiet neighborhood, three strangers—a widower, an artist, and a teenager—find their lives unexpectedly connected.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

In a society ruled by fear, a mother and son fight to stay connected. This suspenseful novel explores love, resistance, and the power of storytelling. From the number one bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere..

The Overstory by Richard Powers
This novel follows nine remarkable strangers whose lives are connected by their love of trees. Together, they fight to save the last remaining forests.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
This epic saga follows four generations of a poor Korean family living in Japan. It explores themes of identity, resilience, and the struggle to belong.

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
Jade, a high school student, navigates life at a mostly white private school while participating in a mentorship program. She learns to find her voice and advocate for herself.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 
Piranesi lives in a mysterious house filled with endless halls and statues. As he explores, he uncovers secrets about the house and his own past.  

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Kambili and her brother return home to their strict father after experiencing freedom with their aunt. This story explores family, faith, and resilience in Nigeria.

Recursion by Blake Crouch
At first, it seems like a disease. People are suddenly overwhelmed by memories of lives they never lived. But this is not an illness—it is the result of a shocking discovery that threatens reality itself. In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton searches for answers, while neuroscientist Helena Smith unknowingly holds the key to stopping the chaos.

The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg
In Stockholm, a 96-year-old woman lives alone and reflects on her life through the pages of her old address book. As she writes down her memories, she uncovers family secrets that bring unexpected healing and understanding.

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
Micah Mortimer lives a quiet, predictable life as a tech repairman and apartment superintendent in Baltimore. His routine is disrupted when his girlfriend faces eviction, and a teenager shows up at his door claiming to be his son. These events force Micah to rethink his carefully ordered life.

Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
This debut novel blends Hawaiian mythology with a family’s story of struggle and hope. It follows the lives of the Flores family as they face challenges of exile, loss, and the search for redemption.

Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson
Grace Steele and Eliza Jones are among the first Black women to serve in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps during World War II. As part of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, they face discrimination and doubt while working to prove their worth and make history.

Sweetland by Michael Crummey

The government offers to relocate the residents of Sweetland, a small island town, but Moses Sweetland refuses to leave. As his neighbors move away, Moses reflects on the island’s history and his family’s deep connection to the land.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
In Tokyo, 16-year-old Nao writes a diary to document her great-grandmother’s life and her own struggles with loneliness and bullying. Across the Pacific, Ruth, a novelist, finds the diary washed ashore after the 2011 tsunami. As Ruth reads Nao’s story, their lives become unexpectedly connected.

Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar
Five years after losing his mother in a fire, a closeted Syrian American trans boy searches for a new name and a sense of identity. When he discovers the journal of a missing artist, he learns how their histories are intertwined and uncovers truths about his family and community.

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Claude, the youngest child in his family, wants to wear dresses and live as a girl. His family supports him, but they must navigate the challenges of love, acceptance, and loyalty as they reshape their understanding of what it means to be a family.

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
In 1932 Minnesota, 12-year-old Odie and his older brother Albert escape from the Lincoln Indian Training School after a tragic accident. Along with two friends, they travel by canoe down the Gilead River, facing danger and adventure as they search for a place to call home.

True biz by Sara Nović
At the River Valley School for the Deaf, students deal with everyday struggles like relationships and exams while also fighting against the expectations of doctors, parents, and politicians. This story explores identity, community, and the challenges of being deaf in a hearing world.

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
Ray McMillian, a Black classical musician, is on the rise when his family’s heirloom violin is stolen. As he prepares for a major competition, Ray embarks on a desperate search to recover the violin, uncovering secrets about his family and the music world.

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

At 11 years old, Washington Black is chosen to be a manservant on a Barbados sugar plantation. His life changes when he is introduced to science and technology, but betrayal forces him to flee. His journey takes him across the globe as he searches for freedom and his true identity.

West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge 
In 1938, two giraffes survive a hurricane while being transported to the United States. A young man drives them across the country to the San Diego Zoo, encountering danger and wonder along the way. Inspired by true events, this story blends history with fiction. 

When All Is Said by Anne Griffin
At a hotel bar in Ireland, 84-year-old Maurice Hannigan spends an evening reflecting on his life. Through five toasts, he honors the five people who meant the most to him, sharing stories of love, loss, and regret.

Whiskey When We're Dry by John Larison
In 1885, 17-year-old Jess disguises herself as a boy and sets out across the mountains to find her outlaw brother. Along the way, she faces danger and discovers her own strength in a harsh and unforgiving world.

Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Set in Colorado, this story of multiple generations follows a family of mixed heritage as they navigate love, secrets, and survival. Against the backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the novel explores identity and the bonds of family.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Juniper Song becomes a bestselling author by stealing the work of her deceased Asian American friend. As her lies unravel, the story examines racism, cultural appropriation, and the pressures of social media in the literary world.

The Address Book by Deirdre Mask
When most people think about street addresses, if they think of them at all, it is in their capacity to ensure that the postman can deliver mail or a traveler won’t get lost. But street addresses were not invented to help you find your way; they were created to find you. In many parts of the world, your address can reveal your race and class.

American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee
The story of O-Six, a female wolf in Yellowstone National Park who became something of a social media star, and the challenges her, her pups, and her pack faced from hunters, cattle ranchers, and other Yellowstone wolves. It is also a larger story of the clash in the American West between those who want to restore the wolf population of Yellowstone, and those who oppose it.

Astoria by Peter Stark
Documents the 1810 to 1813 expedition, financed by millionaire John Jacob Astor and encouraged by Thomas Jefferson, to establish Fort Astoria, a trading post on the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming the dangers of childbirth, injury, and disease from harrowing to manageable. But when it comes to the inescapable realities of aging and death, what medicine can do often runs counter to what it should. Through eye-opening research and gripping stories of his own patients and family, Gawande reveals the suffering this dynamic has produced.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a framework for understanding our nation's history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of "race," a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men -- bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Between the World and Me is Coates's attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. National Book Award Winner.

Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad
A few weeks shy of her twenty-third birthday, Jaouad received a diagnosis of leukemia, with a 35 percent chance of survival. She would spend much of the next four years in a hospital bed, fighting for her life and chronicling the saga in a column for The New York Times. After countless rounds of chemo, a clinical trial, and a bone marrow transplant she learned that a cure is not where the work of healing ends; it's where it begins. How could she reclaim what had been lost? Jaouad embarked on a 100-day, 15,000-mile road trip across the country.

Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott
As a daughter, mother, and friend, Mary Laura Philpott considered herself an "anxious optimist"—a natural worrier with a stubborn sense of good cheer. And while she didn't really think she had any sort of magical protective powers, she believed in her heart that as long as she loved her people enough, she could keep them safe. Then, in the early hours of one dark morning at home, her belief was upended.

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime story of one man's coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
The story of the University of Washington's 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. It traces the story of the team that defeated elite rivals at Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympics, sharing the experiences of their enigmatic coach, a visionary boat builder, and a homeless teen rower.

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as "the younger brothers of creation."

The Common Good by Robert Reich
Robert B. Reich makes the case for a generous, inclusive understanding of the American project, centering on the moral obligations of citizenship. Rooting his argument in everyday reality and common sense, Reich demonstrates the existence of a common good, and argues that it is this that defines a society or a nation.

Dead Wake by Erik Larson
Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love. Dead Wake captures the sheer drama and emotional power of a disaster whose intimate details and true meaning have long been obscured by history.

Driving Miss Norma by Tim Bauerschmidt
When Miss Norma was diagnosed with uterine cancer, she was advised to undergo surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. But instead of confining herself to a hospital bed for what could be her last stay, Miss Norma—newly widowed after nearly seven decades of marriage—rose to her full height of five feet and told the doctor, "I'm ninety years old. I'm hitting the road." And so Miss Norma took off on an unforgettable around-the-country journey in a thirty-six-foot motor home with her retired son Tim, his wife Ramie, and their dog Ringo.

Half American by Matthew Delmont
The definitive history of World War II from the African American perspective, written by civil rights expert and Dartmouth history professor Matthew Delmont.

Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
In this powerful and provocative memoir, genre-bending essayist and novelist Kiese Laymon explores what the weight of a lifetime of secrets, lies, and deception does to a black body, a black family, and a nation teetering on the brink of moral collapse.

How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones
Haunted and haunting, this stunning coming-of-age memoir tells the story of a young, black, gay man from the South as he fights to carve out a place for himself, within his family, within his country, within his own hopes, desires, and fears. Through a series of vignettes that chart a course across the American landscape, Jones draws readers into his boyhood and adolescence—into tumultuous relationships with his family, into passing flings with lovers, friends, and strangers. Each piece builds into a larger examination of race and queerness, power and vulnerability, love and grief.

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
In Hunger, Roxane Gay casts an insightful and critical eye on her childhood, teens, and twenties—including the devastating act of violence that acted as a turning point in her young life—and brings readers into the present and the realities, pains, and joys of her daily life. Gay explores what it means to be overweight in a time when the bigger you are, the less you are seen.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
The founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama recounts his experiences as a lawyer working to assist those desperately in need, reflecting on his pursuit of the ideal of compassion in American justice.

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Presents a true account of the early twentieth-century murders of dozens of wealthy Osage and law-enforcement officials, citing the contributions and missteps of a fledgling FBI that eventually uncovered one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.

Kings of the Yukon by Adam Weymouth
In this riveting examination of one of the last wild places on earth, Adam Weymouth canoes from Canada's Yukon Territory, through Alaska, to the Bering Sea. The result is a book that shows how even the most remote wilderness is affected by the same forces reshaping the rest of the planet.

Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbott
Using a wealth of primary source material and interviews with the spies' descendants, Abbott weaves the adventures of four heroines together throughout the tumultuous years of the war.

Maid by Stephanie Land 
At 28, Stephanie Land's plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unplanned pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and with a tenacious grip on her dream to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephanie worked days and took classes online to earn a college degree, and began to write relentlessly. She wrote the true stories that weren't being told: the stories of overworked and underpaid Americans. 

Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
A ruthlessly honest, emotionally charged, and utterly original exploration of Asian American consciousness and the struggle to be human. Hong blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose the truth of racialized consciousness in America.

Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer 
Examines the complex relationship between artists and their work, questioning whether we can or should separate the art from the morality of its creator. Through reflections on figures like Hemingway, Polanski, and Michael Jackson, the author explores themes of genius, monstrosity, morality, and the challenges faced by artists, particularly women, in reconciling personal and creative identities. 

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
With startling candor and intimacy, Sonia Sotomayor recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a progress that is testament to her extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.

My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsberg
A selection of writings and speeches by Justice Ginsburg on wide-ranging topics, including gender equality, the workways of the Supreme Court, on being Jewish, on law and lawyers in opera, and on the value of looking beyond US shores when interpreting the US Constitution.

Nomadland by Jessica Bruder
From the North Dakota beet fields to California's National Forest campgrounds to Amazon's Texas CamperForce program, employers have discovered a new low-cost labor pool: transient older Americans. With Social security coming up short, these invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands, forming a growing community of migrant laborers dubbed "workampers." In a secondhand vehicle christened "Van Halen," Bruder hits the road to tell an eye-opening tale of the American economy's dark underbelly.

Owls of the Eastern Ice by John Slaght
When he was just a fledgling birdwatcher, Jonathan C. Slaght had a chance encounter with one of the most mysterious birds on Earth. Bigger than any owl he knew, it looked like a small bear with decorative feathers. He snapped a quick photo and shared it with experts. Soon he was on a five-year journey, searching for this enormous, enigmatic creature in the lush, remote forests of eastern Russia.

Poverty by America by Matthew Desmond 
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and dieon the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages? In this landmark book, an acclaimed sociologist draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. 

River of the Gods by Candice Millard
For millennia the location of the Nile River's headwaters was shrouded in mystery. Expeditions to find it were stymied by a giant labyrinthine swamp. In the 19th century Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke were sent by the Royal Geographical Society to claim the prize for England.

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
A graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II.

Troop 6000 by Nikita Stewart
Giselle Burgess, a young mother of five, and her children, along with others in the shelter, become the catalyst for Troop 6000. Having worked for the Girl Scouts earlier on, Giselle knew that these girls, including her own daughters, needed something they could be a part of, where they didn't need to feel the shame or stigma of being homeless, but could instead develop skills and build a community that they could be proud of.

Under a White Sky by Elizabeth Kolbert
So pervasive are human impacts on the planet that it's said we live in a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. The author takes a hard look at the new world we are creating. One way to look at human civilization, she says, is as a ten-thousand-year exercise in defying nature. She explores the ways in which our capacity for destruction has reshaped the natural world. From the Mojave to Iceland and Australia, she examines how the very sorts of interventions that have imperiled our planet are increasingly seen as the only hope for its salvation.

Why Didn’t You Tell Me? by Carmen Rita Wong 
A former national television host, advice columnist, and professor, Carmen searches to understand who she really is as she discovers her mother’s hidden history, facing the revelations that seep out. A riveting and poignant story of Carmen’s experience of race and culture in America and how they shape who we think we are. 

A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
Virginia Hall became the first woman to deploy to occupied France, before the United States had even entered the war. At a time when sending female secret agents into enemy territory was still strictly forbidden, Hall coordinated a network of spies to blow up bridges, report on German troop movements, arrange equipment drops for Resistance agents, and recruit and train guerrilla fighters. The Gestapo considered her the most dangerous of all Allied spies. Purnell tells the breathtaking story of how one woman's fierce persistence helped win the war.

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
At its peak, the Dust Bowl covered close to one hundred million acres, and more than a quarter of a million Americans were forced to flee their ruined homes. Egan follows a diverse cast of individuals and families across the affected region, weaving together the eyewitness accounts of survivors now in their eighties and nineties.

La herencia de Orquídea Divina por Zoraida Córdova 
Una novela sobre una familia ecuatoriana estadounidense de Four Rivers, ahora dispersa por todo Estados Unidos, que tiene que reconectarse con sus raíces y descubrir los secretos del pasado de su matriarca antes de que todos sean destruidos por un peligro oculto. Decididos a salvar lo que queda de su familia y descubrir la verdad detrás de su herencia, los descendientes de Orquídea Divina viajan a Ecuador, al lugar donde ella enterró sus secretos y promesas incumplidas y nunca miró atrás. 

El murmullo de las abejas por Sofía Segovia
En Linares, al norte del país, con la Revolución mexicana como telón de fondo. Un buen día, la vieja nana de la familia que lo acoge y la de toda una región. Para lograrlo, deberá enfrentar sus miedos, el enemigo que los acecha y las grandes amenazas de la guerra: la influenza española y los enfrentamientos entrelos que desean la tierra ajena y los que protegerán su propiedad a toda costa.

¿Por que no me lo dijiste? por Carmen Rita Wong 
Ex presentadora de televisión nacional, columnista de consejos y profesora, Carmen busca entender quién es ella realmente mientras descubre la historia oculta de su madre, enfrentándose a las revelaciones que se filtran. Una historia fascinante y conmovedora de la experiencia de Carmen sobre la raza y la cultura en Estados Unidos y cómo dan forma a lo que creemos que somos.