Gift Books For Adults

Start Date

2021 was a great year for books! Take a look at some gift book recommendations from our Adult Services librarians. 

 

MOST LOVED BOOKS BY WPL PATRONS

 

The Four Winds

 The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah 

 A powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great  Depression.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

The Last Thing He Told Me

 The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

 When a devoted husband and father disappears, his wife and daughter set out to find him.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

The Lincoln Highway

 The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

 A novel following four boys who travel the country in search of a fresh start. 

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

The Midnight Library

 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

 A woman must search within herself to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

THE CHICAGO CONNECTION

 

When I Grow Up

 When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers by Ken Krimstein

 A stunning graphic narrative of newly discovered stories from Jewish teens on the cusp of WWII.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

Three Girls from Bronzeville

 Three Girls From Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood by Dawn Turner

 A powerful memoir of family and friendship in a historic Chicago neighborhood.

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Clark and Division

 Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

 The story of a young woman searching for the truth about her older sister's death after her family is released from a Japanese internment camp.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

Refugee High

 Refugee High: Coming of Age in America by Elly Fishman

 A year in the life of a Chicago high school that has one of the highest proportions of refugees of any school in the nation.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

A BIT OF INTRIGUE

 

Last Call

 Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green 

 The gripping true story, told here for the first time, of the Last Call Killer and the gay community of New York City that he preyed upon.

 link to catalog | link to purchase                         

 

Razorblade Tears

 Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby 

 Two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire     for revenge.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream

 The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream: The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer by Dean Jobb

 Dr. Thomas Neill Cream murdered as many as ten people. Poison was his weapon of choice. A villain as brazen as Jack the Ripper. 

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

Empire of Pain

  Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

 A devastating portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, whose fortune was built by Valium and whose reputation was destroyed   by OxyContin.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

DELICIOUSLY COZY AT HOME

 

The Korean Vegan Cookbook

 The Korean Vegan Cookbook: Reflections and Recipes from Omma's Kitchen by Joanne Lee Molinaro

 A collection of the author's favorite Korean dishes, some traditional and some reimagined.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

Black Food

 Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora by Bryant Terry

 A groundbreaking book exploring Black foodways within America and around the world.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

Taste Makers

 Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen

 America’s modern culinary history told through the lives of seven pathbreaking chefs and food writers.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

Baking with Dorie

 Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple by Dorie Greenspan and Mark Weinberg

 The renowned author of thirteen cookbooks offers a collection that celebrates the sweet, the savory, and the simple.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

EYE-OPENING READS

 

A Little Devil in America

 A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib

 Told with sharp insight, humor, and heart, A Little Devil in America exalts the Black performance that unfolds in specific moments in time    and space. 

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

Poet Warrior

 Poet Warrior: A Memoir by Joy Harjo

 Three-term poet laureate Joy Harjo offers a vivid, lyrical, and inspiring call for love and justice in this contemplation of her trailblazing life.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

What Strange Paradise

 What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad

 A beautifully written, unrelentingly dramatic, and profoundly moving novel that looks at the global refugee crisis through the eyes of a   child.

 link to catalog | link to purchase

 

Four Thousand Weeks

 Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

 A lively, entertaining philosophical guide to time and time management in favor of finding joy in the finitude of human life.

 link to catalog | link to purchase


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Adult Services Librarians