The Buzz...About Books

Every December, staff members share their favourite books of the year. Although not all the books were published in 2016, these were the best reading experiences we had. 

Janice:

The Mandibles: a Family, 2029-2047 by Lionel Shriver
• Audiobook
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Large Print
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
Life in the United States breaks down and builds up all over again in the near future, as the economic system implodes and money loses its value.

Hagseed: The Tempest Retold by Margaret Atwood
• Audiobook
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
A take on Shakespeare's The Tempest. The director of a Stratford, Ontario-esque Shakespeare Festival gets his revenge on the people who ousted him. Funny, moving and incisive, as usual.

Sapiens: a Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Harari
• Audiobook
• eBook
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
A huge hit this year. It's a survey of the history of humanity, with all its quirks. Harari describes the development of cities, religions, economic systems and more. Unsentimental, fascinating, amusing and as page-turning as the best whodunit.

Purity by Jonathan Franzen
• Audiobook
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Large Print
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
Franzen gathers a cast of brilliant characters who struggle to live moral lives in the morass of modern life. It's a very thick book (daunting for book clubs) but it held my interest all the way through.

Linda:

Shoe Dog: a Memoir by the Founder of Nike by Phil Knight
• Audiobook
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
A fascinating story of vision, team building and persistence. Find out how the swoosh was invented and learn about the mad scientist behind the Air.

Margaret:

March: Book 3 written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, art by Nate Powell
Before John Lewis was a Congressman, he was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement. This is the final volume in his graphic memoir documenting those tumultuous years. I cannot recommend this series highly enough. (Winner of 2016 National Book Award for Young People's Literature)

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
• Audiobook
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
The first book I read this year and one of the best. It's about a boarding school for children who have lived in fantasy worlds like Wonderland or Narnia but are unable to cope after they are "rescued" and returned to the "real" world. Truly a wonderful, heartbreaking book.

Crosstalk by Connie Willis
• eBook
This is a bit lighter than the other books on my list. A young woman working in a tech company becomes excited when her boyfriend suggests they get implants that will help them sense each other's emotions on a psychic level. Surely this will lead to marriage! Unfortunately, when she wakes up from the surgery, she's horrified to learn that she's "connected" to a weird coworker instead. Every one of Willis' books is a gem and I wish she write faster.

More Recommendations:

• Best Books of 2016 Selected by Library Staff: Part 2
• Best Books of 2016 Selected by Library Staff: Part 3
• Best Books of 2016 Selected by Library Staff: Part 4
• Best Books of 2016 Selected by Library Staff: Part 5
• Best Books of 2016 Selected by Library Staff: Young Adult and Children's Literature