Ann told me to drop whatever I was reading and pick this memoir up, and boy was she right. Steinem is a captivating storyteller with an incredible history in activism. Reading her work feels like listening to all of the most compelling stories from your most interesting and delightful friend. – Niki Coffman

Remember The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls? If you liked that, you might like this harrowing true story that likewise never tips into maudlin territory. Ruth Wariner shows amazing sentimental restraint in recounting her years as a poor, hungry, confused, and often terrified child growing up in a fundamentalist (and polygamous) religious colony in rural Mexico. Amazing. – Mary Laura Philpott

Everyone else can stop writing sentences and paragraphs and even books now, because it’s impossible to beat these. Compared to this perfectly distilled little novel, bigger books seem waterlogged. If you’re a human with a family, read it. – Mary Laura Philpott

Tarkington knows how to plot a story. I read this debut novel in just a few days, because I had to know what happened. – Sissy Gardner

Ten-year-old Manami’s family is forced to relocate to a camp for Japanese Americans during WWII. She tries to sneak her dog, Yujin, into the camp, but is caught by the soldiers. Manami doesn’t speak in the prison village. She writes paper wishes that she hopes will sail through the air to her dog. This is a beautifully written story about family and survival, perfect for young readers interested in WWII history. – Rae Ann Parker

Hedgehogs are all the rage in 2016. Even in picture books! In this adorable story, hedgehogs Horace and Hattie are BFFs. But they can’t hug because they’re too spiky. Will they find a way to overcome their spikiness? – Rae Ann Parker

Love is Love. It’s not as complicated as we make it. The simplicity of this tale will delight kids and adults! – Sissy Gardner

To celebrate the new year, I took a break from reading novels about the endtimes and read some essays about the endtimes. Joni Tevis turns a critical eye to all thing apocalyptic, forgotten, or lost, and weaves them together in this lovely collection of personal essays. – Lindsay Lynch

Available for grownups or kids: Adult Paperback Edition  / Young Readers Edition

Simon Winchester  takes on the Pacific Ocean in his latest popular history. To tackle a topic that is too big to adequately cover in a one volume, Winchester instead tells 10 different stories that all have the Pacific as a common thread. From nuclear testing on Bikini Island to the transfer of Hong Kong from Britian to China, Winchester illustrates the wide and varied impact the Pacific has had and continues to have on our planet. Whereas the Mediterranean was the focus of the ancient world and the Atlantic the center of current times, the author convincingly argues that the Pacific will be the most important ocean in our future. – Andy Brennan

This charming, original book was precisely what I needed to kick off the New Year and embrace the precious possibilities of my daily life. – River Jordan

Sometimes in winter, I like to reread something I’ve loved in the past. Whenever I get that inkling, this perfectly enchanting novel is my go-to. It’s got just the right balance of magic, mystery, and love to shake off my January blues. – Niki Coffman

Sets the page on fire with the raw truth of what it means to remain human in this cruel and beautiful world. – River Jordan

Christopher Logue did not know Greek. Yet he somehow knew Homer and the spirit of this monumental Greek poem. Logue’s Homer is both comparable to and—for being current—more preferable than the now dusty Homer of Chapman and Pope. – Nathan Spoon

I wanted this for Christmas and I got it. I love the step-by-step directions for preparing real food. The Mexican Tortilla Casserole is delicious! – Kathy Schultenover

An enchanting read for any Star Wars fan. If the gorgeous illustrations don’t win you over, read the first pages and let the narration seal the deal. Even better, Alexandra Bracken will be here Jan. 21 for a reading and signing of her new book Passenger! – Grace Wright

New Year’s Resolution: Buy this book. Read it. Understand why I recommend this book to everyone I meet. Through the main character’s vivid storytelling you will be consumed by a world both familiar and foreign, horrifying and resplendent. – Grace Wright

This book was inspired by the “plague village” that closed its borders to keep the plague from spreading to the outside.  I love Geraldine Brooks, and this is by far my favorite book that she has written. – Ginger Nalley

After a season in which one is traditionally surrounded by family, whether one wants to be or not, you may find much with which to identify in this story of a very grumpy bear and the goslings to whom he finds himself the unwilling parent. On these gray January days, the importance of a good chuckle should not be underrated, and Mother Bruce will provide them in droves. – Stephanie Appell

Another great one from Bill Bryson (the sequel to Notes from a Small Island), this is equally funny. And no, there isn’t a village named Little Dribbling, but I had to check! – Bill Long-Innes

If you don’t love Hoda, you should! Enjoy these inspirational stories from people who discover their lives’ callings in unexpected places. And meet Hoda at the downtown Library on January 31. Yay! – Bill Long-Innes

For those of you who, like me, crave British intrigue and mystery in between hits of Sherlock episodes: here’s your huckleberry. Suspense, masterful plotting, gothic overtones, and psychological realism all make for a perfect wintery read. – Margy Roark

Did you catch “Dead Doormen,” the excerpt from American Housewife on Lit Hub this week? We’ve got signed copies of this new book of darkly funny stories — while they last. – Karen Hayes