The Brooklyn Public Library released its favorite books of the year picked by staff and librarians, as well as its top checkouts from 2024.
With fiction and nonfiction, memoirs, poetry, graphic novels and more, there's 100 titles, or something for every reader. The complete list of favorite reads can be found here.
A selection of top picks from BPL staff and librarians:
Loved and Missed by Susan Boyt
One of the best books I've read in years. It made me laugh and cry—on the same page, no less—while I was on a packed train. Very funny, very sad.
Oye by Melissa Mogollon
A unique format told from a one-sided phone conversation. Laughter. Tears.
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
Agatha Christie meets ocean voyage mystery meets catastrophe gays.
The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya
Family dysfunction at its peak in an amazing location. Think "White Lotus" on steroids.
Once There Were Wolves: A Novel by Charlotte McConaghy
A page-turner that filled me with wonder for the natural world and our place within it.
Brooklynites: The Remarkable Story of the Free Black Communities That Shaped a Borough by Prithi Kanakamedala
Incredibly informative about Brooklyn's history, and the writing is LUSH!
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake
Science as poetry. Meticulously researched, fascinating stories, and minutiae about fungi.
The Queen of Ocean Parkway by Sarvenaz Tash
"Harriet the Spy" meets "Only Murders in the Building" set in Brooklyn, with time travel, too! A+++++++.
Nicked by M.T. Anderson
So good it made me interested in the Middle Ages, which I thought was impossible.
A Pinecone! by Helen Yoon
This book is full of entertaining illustrations and relatable characters. Fun for the whole family!
The New York Game: Baseball and The Rise Of A New City by Kevin Baker
A magisterial history of baseball in the five boroughs, from the beginning through World War II.
Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen
Amazing characters who you are rooting for from the beginning.
We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang
In beautiful illustrations and straightforward prose, kind humans do what kind humans do.
Top 10 Adult Checkouts at BPL in 2024:
1. Happy Place by Emily Henry
2. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
3. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
4. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
5. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
6. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
7. Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
8. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
9. Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
10. The Guest by Emma Cline
Top 10 Young Adult Checkouts:
1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
2. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
3. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
4. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
6. If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin
7. Demon Slayer by Koyoharu Gotoge
8. Divine Rivals: A Novel by Rebecca Ross
9. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
10. Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Top 10 Children's Checkouts:
1. Diary of A Wimpy Kid: No Brainer by Jeff Kinney
2. Cat Kid Comic Club #5: Influencers by Dav Pilkey (words, illustrations, and artwork), with digital color by Jose Garibaldi & Wes Dzioba
3. Dog Man: Unleashed by Dav Pilkey
4. Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea by Dav Pilkey
5. Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Diper Överlöad by Jeff Kinney
6. Guts by Raina Telgemeier
7. Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties by Dav Pilkey
8. Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
9. Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey
10. Dog Man: Mothering Heights by Dav Pilkey
