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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:

Eco-Reads

Go green! Read a book with an environmental theme.

Cover of The Deluge by Stephen MarkleyCover of Bewilderment by Richard PowersCover of Blue Skies by T. C. BoyleCover of Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson

Cover of Islands of Abandonment by Cal FlynCover of The Brilliant Abyss by Helen ScalesCover of Elderflora: A Modern History of Ancient Trees by Jared FarmerCover of A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters by Andrew H. Knoll

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 Fourth Wing by Rebecca YarrosCover of The Covenant of Water Abraham VergheseCover of Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney BoylanCover of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Cover of All about Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel BrooksCover of Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah WinfreyCover of The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul NewmanCover of Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford

One for the History Books

As a library, we always encourage your sense of curiosity. Read a book, fiction or nonfiction, about a period of history that you want to learn more about.
Cover of Crow Mary by Kathleen GrissomCover of Daughters of Nantucket by Julie GerstenblattCover of The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood HargraveCover of River Spirit by Leila Aboulela

Cover of Gallop Toward the Sun: Tecumseh and Harrison's Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation by Peter StarkCover of The Viking Heart: How Scandinavians Conquered the World by Arthur HermanCover of Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld by T.J. EnglishCover of Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age by Annalee Newitz

Walk a Mile in Someone Else's Shoes

Step into someone else's life. Read a biographical fiction book or a memoir.

Cover of The Magician by Colm TóibínCover of Island Queen by Vanessa RileyCover of The Woman With the Cure by Lynn CullenCover of Joan by Katherine J. Chen

Cover of Solito by Javier ZamoraCover of Crying in H Mart by Michelle ZaunerCover of Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate BeatonCover of Finding Me by Viola Davis

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 A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí ClarkCover of Interior Chinatown by Charles YuCover of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu MandannaCover of The Kingdoms of Savannah by George Dawes Green

Cover of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology by Chris MillerCover of The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne and Tamara PayneCover of All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler by Rebecca DonnerCover of The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee

Lost and Found

Whether it's searching for long-lost family or making a new one with friends, read a book with a found family theme.

Cover of Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka AokiCover of Probably Ruby by Lisa Bird-WilsonCover of Nothing to See Here by Kevin WilsonCover of Lark Ascending by Silas House

Cover of Brace for Impact by Gabe MontesantiCover of All The Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks with Kevin Carr O'LearyCover of A Place For Us by Brandon WolfCover of Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz

Hidden Treasure

Read about a fictional or real-life adventure to uncover secrets, jewels, and other mysteries.

Cover of The Last Mona Lisa by Jonathan SantloferCover of Marah Chase and the Conqueror's Tomb by Jay StringerCover of The Cartographers by Peng ShepherdCover of A True Account by Katherine Howe

Cover of Born to Be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune by Keith ThomsonCover of Dreams of El Dorado: A History of the American West by H.W. BrandsCover of The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story by Douglas PrestonCover of Monuments Man: The Mission to Save Vermeers, Rembrandts, and Da Vincis from the Nazis' Grasp by James J Rorimer

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Lions and tigers and bears—oh my! Read a book that features an animal in the title, story, or cover.

Cover of The Bear by Andrew KrivakCover of What We Fed to the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi KolluriCover of Whalefall by Daniel KrausCover of Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey by Kathleen Rooney

Cover of Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by Sy MontgomeryCover of How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina ImblerCover of A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds by Scott WeidensaulCover of The Year of the Horses by Courtney Maum

Lights, Camera, Action!

Is the book always better than the movie? You decide! Read a book with a recent or upcoming adaptation.

Cover of A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor TowlesCover of The Three-Body Problem by Liu CixinCover of Separation Anxiety by Laura ZigmanCover of Cold Storage by David Koepp

Cover of Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica BruderCover of Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era by Laurence LeamerCover of Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl StrayedCover of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Color Your World

Read the rainbow. Read a book with a color in the title.

Cover of Red Thread of Fate Lyn Liao ButlerCover of Gold Diggers by Sanjena SathianCover of Acts of Violet by Margarita MontimoreCover of The Black Swan of Paris by Karen Robards

Cover of Code Name Blue Wren: The True Story of America's Most Dangerous Female Spy―and the Sister She Betrayed by Jim PopkinCover of White Magic by Elissa WashutaCover of The Glitter in the Green: In Search of Hummingbirds by Jon DunnCover of Code Gray: Death, Life, and Uncertainty in the ER by Farzon A. Nahvi

Multilingual Lives

Hello, 你好, Привет, नमस्ते ! Read a book that features dialogue in more than one language.

Cover of Trail of Lightning by Rebecca RoanhorseCover of The Henna Artist by Alka JoshiCover of Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

Cover of The Wild Fox of Yemen: Poems by Threa AlmontaserCover of House of Sticks by Ly TranCover of In Other Words by Jhumpa LahiriCover of Crying in the Bathroom by Erika L. Sánchez

Discover a Debut

Find a new favorite. Read a debut author.

Cover of Shubeik Lubeik by Deena MohamedCover of The Hacienda by Isabel CañasCover of The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine ChanCover of The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

Cover of The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine by Ricardo NuilaCover of Starstruck: A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark by Sarafina El-Badry NanceCover of The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight by Andrew LelandCover of Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear by Erica Berry