ATL's Favorite Reads 2024

1) 2054

Author

Notes

Zach's Pick “2054 provides an exciting view of how the technology we see developing today could be used in the wars of tomorrow. The follow-up to the thrilling 2034, 2054 keeps the same gripping pace and amazing tension.“

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"Military fiction that imagines a geopolitical conflict in the year 2054"-- It is twenty years after the catastrophic war between the United States and China that brought down the old American political order. A new party has emerged in the US, one that's held power for over a decade. Efforts to cement its grip have resulted in mounting violent resistance. The American president has control of the media, but he is beginning to lose control of the...

2) Angle of repose: [a novel]

Author

Stegner, Wallace

Series

Penguin twentieth-century classics

Notes

Peg's Pick “Wallace Stegner writes with real and relatable prose. Mark Bramhall puts the icing on the cake with his masterful narration. The story brings you back to earlier times that are simple, yet still challenging. A gem of a book that reads like a classic, only better.”

Formats:

Book, Audiobook CD, eAudiobook

Description

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Stegner's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is the story of four generations in the life of an American family. A wheelchair-bound retired historian embarks on a monumental quest: to come to know his grandparents, now long dead. The unfolding drama of the story of the American West sets the tone for Stegner's masterpiece. Four generations in the life of an American family are chronicled as retired historian Lyman Ward, confined to a wheelchair, decides...

3) Atomic habits: tiny changes, remarkable results : an easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones

Author

Clear, James

Notes

Lisa's Pick “I loved the practical guidance to creating positive change in every day habits. This is a great book for personal development. “

Formats:

Book, Audiobook CD, Audiobook Playaway, eAudiobook, eBook

Description

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A leading expert on habit formation reveals practical strategies to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

4) Beartown: a novel

Author

Backman, Fredrik

Series

Beartown volume 1

Notes

Raquel's Pick “ ‘Everyone has a thousand wishes before a tragedy, but just one afterward.’ I put off reading this book because I thought it was just a sports story, and I worried I would be bored. But it's so much more than hockey. It tackles issues like toxic masculinity, peer pressure, rape culture and silence, homophobia, small-town struggles, and more. I only wish I had read it sooner.”

Formats:

Book, Large Print, Audiobook CD, Audiobook Playaway, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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"From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here, comes a poignant, charming novel about a forgotten town fractured by scandal, and the amateur hockey team that might just change everything. Winning a junior ice hockey championship might not mean a lot to the average person, but it means everything to the residents of Beartown, a community slowly being eaten...

5) Beneath a scarlet sky: a novel

Author

Sullivan, Mark T

Notes

Peg's Pick “An epic tale written from the perspective of a 17 year old boy in Italy during WWII. This story is beautifully written and reveals a young man's incredible courage and resilience. Truly moving and triumphant!”

Formats:

Book, Large Print, Audiobook CD

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In 1940s Italy, teenager Pino Lella joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps and falls for a beautiful widow, he also becomes the personal driver of one of the Third Reich's most powerful commanders. "Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He's a normal Italian teenager--obsessed with music, food, and girls--but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs,...

6) Blood over Bright Haven

Author

Wang, M. L

Notes

Alexa's Pick “M.L. Wang has become a new favorite of mine. She delivers this fast-paced fantasy with effective world-building that allowed me to focus on the characters' reluctant partnership. Sciona and Thomil's perspectives and experiences really make this fantasy world feel real. “

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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"The first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages unravels a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic forever, in this standalone dark fantasy from the author of The Sword of Kaigen"-- For twenty years, Sciona has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry. When...

7) Bruno, chief of police

Author

Walker, Martin

Series

Bruno Courreges mysteries volume 1

Notes

Meagan's Pick “Set in a small town in southern France, this mystery is a cozy read!”

Formats:

Book, eBook, Kindle

Description

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Meet Benoit Courréges, affectionately named Bruno, chief of police in a small village in the South of France where the rituals of the café still rule. A former soldier, Bruno has embraced the slow rhythms of country life. But the murder of an elderly North African who fought in the French army galvanizes his attention: the man had a swastika carved into his chest. When a visiting scholar helps untangle the dead man's past, Bruno's suspicions turn...

8) The covenant of water: a novel

Author

Verghese, Abraham

Series

Oprah's book club

Notes

Tina's Pick “Verghese is a wonderful storyteller, deftly weaving together history, medicine, faith, culture and family relationships. Listen to the author read it on Hoopla!”

Formats:

Book, Large Print, Audiobook CD, Audiobook Playaway, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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"Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India's Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning--and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala's long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where...

9) Dear Edward: a novel

Author

Napolitano, Ann

Notes

Pam's Pick “Sometimes you need a good cry. While this book is very sad, it is also a touching reminder of how resilient we can be in tough times.”

Formats:

Book, Large Print, Audiobook CD, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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"One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them are a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured vet returning from Afghanistan, a business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes. Edward...

10) Dracula

Author

Stoker, Bram

Series

Oxford world's classics

Notes

Meagan's Pick “I was surprisingly engaged by the fast-paced plot and race to the end in this chilling classic!”

Formats:

Book, Audiobook CD, Audiobook Playaway, eAudiobook, eBook

Description

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The punctured throat, the coffin lid slowly opening, the unholy shriek as the stake pierces the heart-these are just a few of the chilling images Bram Stoker unleashed upon the world with his 1897 masterpiece, Dracula. Inspired by the folk legend of nosferatu, the undead, Stoker created a timeless tale of gothic horror and romance that has enthralled and terrified readers ever since. A true masterwork of storytelling, Dracula has transcended generation,...

11) Fairy tale: a novel

Author

King, Stephen

Notes

Karl's Pick “I loved this title because it put a dark twist on a classic fantasy tale, with engaging characters and a world that felt so real.”

Formats:

Book, Large Print, Audiobook CD, Audiobook Playaway, eAudiobook, eBook

Description

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Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. When Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in...

12) The god of the woods

Author

Moore, Liz

Notes

Sarah L's Pick “Don’t let the length (496 pages) scare you! It's a slow burn, but the vivid descriptions of the Adirondack wilderness capture the heat of the summer and the nostalgic 1970s summer camp setting compel you to a satisfying end.”

Formats:

Book, Large Print, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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"When Barbara Van Laar is discovered missing from her summer camp bunk one morning in August 1975, it triggers a panicked, terrified search. Losing a camper is a horrific tragedy under any circumstances, but Barbara isn't just any camper, she's the daughter of the wealthy family who owns the camp--as well as the opulent nearby estate, and most of the land in sight. And this isn't the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared in this region: Barbara's...

13) Hello beautiful: a novel

Author

Napolitano, Ann

Series

Oprah's book club

Notes

Lucienne's Pick “For anyone who has ever loved Little Women, this book will capture your heart. This story shares the lives and relationships of it's characters with a captivating tenderness.”

Formats:

Book, Large Print, Audiobook CD, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

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"William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him. So it's a relief when his skill on the basketball court earns him a scholarship to college, far away from his childhood home. He soon meets Julia Padavano, a spirited and ambitious young woman who surprises William with her appreciation of his quiet steadiness. With Julia comes her family; she is inseparable from her three...

14) How to end a love story: a novel

Author

Kuang, Yulin

Notes

Amy's Pick “This romance has so much emotional depth without losing the page-turning banter characteristic of the genre. Having the main characters be screen writers working on a teen romance adaptation was a fun, original framework.”

Formats:

Book, Large Print, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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Helen Zhang hasn't seen Grant Shepard once in the thirteen years since the tragic accident that bound their lives together forever. Now she's in Los Angeles, where the two have to work together. The result is messy, and electrifying.

15) The husbands: a novel

Author

Gramazio, Holly

Notes

Pam's Pick “This debut novel is a fun read. Lighthearted & refreshing story for when you need a change of pace!”

Formats:

Book, Audiobook CD, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There’s only one problem—she’s not married. She’s never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they’ve been together for years. As Lauren tries to puzzle out how she could be married to someone she can’t remember meeting, Michael goes to the attic...

16) The island of missing trees

Author

Shafak, Elif

Notes

Felicity's Pick “Its vivid descriptions and unique perspective make for a great read!”

Formats:

Book, eBook, Kindle

Description

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"Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when...

17) The last green valley: a novel

Author

Sullivan, Mark T

Notes

Amy's Pick “Compelling and wrenching but filled with hope, this tale, loosely based on a true story, gave me some richer understanding of the German vs. Russian history of Ukraine. Perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah.”

Formats:

Book, Large Print, Audiobook CD

Description

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"In late March 1944, as Stalin’s forces push into Ukraine, young Emil and Adeline Martel must make a terrible decision: Do they wait for the Soviet bear’s intrusion and risk being sent to Siberia? Or do they reluctantly follow the wolves—murderous Nazi officers who have pledged to protect “pure-blood” Germans? The Martels are one of many families of German heritage whose ancestors have farmed in Ukraine for more than a century. But after...

18) Lone women: a novel

Author

LaValle, Victor

Notes

Raquel's Pick “A fascinating blend of historical fiction and horror (WHAT'S IN THE STEAMER TRUNK???). I learned so much about the Homestead Act of 1862 and how it enabled thousands of single women to become landowners. I highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction who don’t mind horror, and who enjoy strong female protagonists and short, gripping chapters that keep you glued to the pages.”

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook

Description

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"Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It's locked at all times. Because when the trunk is opened, people around her start to disappear... The year is 1914, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, and forced her to flee her hometown of Redondo, California, in a hellfire rush, ready to make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will be one of...

19) The lost city of Z: a tale of deadly obsession in the Amazon

Author

Grann, David

Notes

Rhys' Pick “Though it’s nonfiction, this book reads like a story. Grann combines the mystery of the Amazon with his own experiences to make it a very worthwhile read.”

Formats:

Book, Audiobook CD, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, New Yorker writer David Grann set out to solve "the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century": what happened to British explorer Percy Fawcett. In 1925 Fawcett ventured into the Amazon to find an ancient civilization. For centuries Europeans believed the world's largest jungle concealed the glittering El Dorado. Thousands had died looking for it, leaving many convinced that the Amazon was...

20) Lover Girl

Author

Fordemwalt, Raegan

Notes

Felicity's Pick “The poems are modern yet still beautifully written! “

Formats:

Description

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“Lover Girl” is the dreamy debut from poet and breakout TikTok star Raegan Fordemwalt, enhanced with a new cover and never-before-shared poems and art. In her fully illustrated debut collection “Lover Girl”, poet Raegan Fordemwalt writes the story of a girl boldly and devastatingly fond of love. So eager to feel, she proudly walks through Heartbreak, Loneliness, Jealousy, and Acceptance on the journey to personal growth and self-love. This...

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