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2025 Branch Out Reading Challenge: Additional Reading Suggestions

Additional Reading Suggestions

Looking for more reading suggestions beyond what's in the booklet? Here are some additional ideas for each theme. If you would like a handout with these titles, please ask at the Adult Desk and we'll be happy to print one out! And remember, you can read anything that meets the theme, even if it's not one of our suggestions.

Here are a few more ideas to get you started:

Meet Someone New

Step into someone else’s life. Read a biographical fiction book, a biography, or a memoir.

Cover of Ella by Diane RichardsCover of The Champagne Letters by Kate MacintoshCover of Flight of the Wild Swan by Melissa PritchardCover of The Glutton by A.K. Blakemore

Cover of The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History by Karen ValbyCover of Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents by Nigel HamiltonCover of Last to Eat, Last to Learn: My Life in Afghanistan Fighting to Educate Women by Pashtana Durrani and Tamara BraloCover of I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself: One Woman's Pursuit of Pleasure in Paris by Glynnis MacNicol

Patron of the Arts

Find inspiration in the arts. Read a book related to music or the arts.

Cover of The Instrumentalist by Harriet ConstableCover of Colton Gentry's Third Act by Jeff ZentnerCover of The Porcelain Maker by Sarah FreethyCover of Loot by Tania James

Cover of Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See by Bianca BoskerCover of My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future by Alice RandallCover of The Power of Art: A Human History of Art: From Babylon to New York City by Caroline CampbellCover of Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell by Ann Powers

Beyond the Headlines

Dive deeper into the news of the day. Read a book that relates to current events or has topical themes.
Cover of Pearce Oysters by Joselyn TakacsCover of Our Best Intentions by Vibhuti JainCover of The Deluge by Stephen MarkleyCover of Some Strange Music Draws Me In by Griffin Hansbury

Cover of Mastering AI: A Survival Guide to Our Superpowered Future by Jeremy KahnCover of By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land by Rebecca NagleCover of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis by Jonathan BlitzerCover of Living on Earth: Forests, Corals, Consciousness, and the Making of the World by Peter Godfrey-Smith

What's in a Name

Play the name game! Read a book with a name in the title.

Cover of The Truth According to Ember by Danica NavaCover of Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci FrenchCover of Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xóchitl GonzálezCover of Miss Morgan's Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles

Cover of John Lewis: A Life by David GreenbergCover of There Is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America's Biggest Catfish by Anna AkbariCover of Christopher Isherwood Inside Out by Katherine BucknellCover of Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar by Cynthia Carr

Discover a Debut

Find a new favorite. Read a debut author.

Cover of The Volcano Daughters by Gina María BalibreraCover of The Moorings of Mackerel Sky by MZ Cover of The Stars Too Fondly by Emily HamiltonCover of Bright Objects by Ruby Todd

Cover of First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream by Jessica HoppeCover of Life as No One Knows It: The Physics of Life's Emergence by Sara Imari WalkerCover of The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi by Boyce UpholtCover of When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s by John Ganz

Blockbusters You Might Have Missed

Was there a book that made you say “Maybe later” when you saw the waiting list the first time around? Read a book that was recently popular with your neighbors.

Cover of All the Colors of the Dark by Chris WhitakerCover of Intermezzo by Sally RooneyCover of The Night We Lost Him by Laura DaveCover of The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Cover of Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles DuhiggCover of The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik LarsonCover of An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns GoodwinCover of From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough

Award Winners

There’s a book for every reader and recognition for every genre. Read a book that won an award in recent years.

Cover of Nettle & Bone by T. KingfisherCover of Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko TamakiCover of Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed ParkCover of Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

Cover of How to Say Babylon by Safiya SinclairCover of We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America by Roxanna AsgarianCover of Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling by Jason De LeónCover of A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko

One Word Titles

Short, sweet, and to the point. Read a book with a one word title.

Cover of Enlightenment by Sarah PerryCover of Shanghai by Joseph KanonCover of Nicked by M.T. AndersonCover of Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

Cover of Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric GagneCover of King: A Life by Jonathan EigCover of Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman RushdieCover of Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and other Sensory Wonders of Nature by Nancy Lawson

Time After Time

Travel through time from the comfort of your home. Read a book about time, futuristic elements, time-travel, or parallel timelines.

Cover of The In-Between Bookstore by Edward UnderhillCover of The Witches of El Paso by Luis JaramilloCover of The Book of Doors by Gareth BrownCover of The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

Cover of About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks by David RooneyCover of The Allure of the Multiverse: Extra Dimensions, Other Worlds, and Parallel Universes by Paul HalpernCover of Y2K: How the 2000s Became Everything by Colette ShadeCover of Twelve Trees: The Deep Roots of Our Future by Daniel Lewis

So Good, It's Criminal

It’s criminally good! Read a mystery, crime fiction, or a true crime book.

Cover of Pony Confidential by Christina LynchCover of Smoke Kings by Jahmal MayfieldCover of The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom RyanCover of The Hunter's Daughter by Nicola Solvinic

Cover of The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi by Wright ThompsonCover of Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II by Abbott KahlerCover of A Gentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue by Dean JobbCover of Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail by Andrea Lankford

Found in Translation

Transport yourself through the power of translation. Read a book that was translated into the language of your choosing.

Cover of Red Queen by Juan Gómez-JuradoCover of The Picture Bride by Lee Geum-yiCover of The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga TokarczukCover of The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki

Cover of Cold Crematorium: Reporting from the Land of Auschwitz by József DebreczeniCover of In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing by Elena FerranteCover of What's Cooking in the Kremlin: From Rasputin to Putin, How Russia Built an Empire with a Knife and Fork by Witold SzabłowskiCover of Love in a Time of Hate: Art and Passion in the Shadow of War by Florian Illies

Treat Yourself

Take a well-deserved break. Read an uplifting, cozy, or humorous book.

Cover of I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie SueCover of The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLeanCover of Say You'll Be Mine by Naina KumarCover of The Excitements by C.J. Wray

Cover of The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center by Rhaina CohenCover of Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees by Aimee NezhukumatathilCover of Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show by Tommy TomlinsonCover of Your Caption Has Been Selected: More Than Anyone Could Possibly Want to Know About The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest by Lawrence Wood