January is a great month to look back on books that you’ve enjoyed over the years. It’s a good idea to see if any of the authors have new books coming out in the new year or if there are any similar works coming down the pike. Here are some of Britta’s favorite books that adults may enjoy. Some are considered young adult books, but they’re great for an adult audience as well.
1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz – A young, lovesick Dominican man tries to sidestep the curse that has doomed his family to unhappiness for generations. (Also available as an audiobook on Overdrive.)
2. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray – When a plane crash strands thirteen teen beauty contestants on a mysterious island, they struggle to survive, to get along with one another, to combat the island’s other diabolical occupants, and to learn their dance numbers in case they are rescued in time for the competition. (Also available as an audiobook on Hoopla and both an ebook and an audiobook on Overdrive.)
3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – In the future everyone escapes their stress and unhappiness by spending time in in a virtual reality world where you can do whatever you want and be anyone. When the mysterious founder of this world announces a contest for its ownership, Wade Watts – and everyone else – is willing to do anything to win. (Also available as an audiobook on Hoopla and both an ebook and an audiobook on Overdrive.)
4. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan – After a layoff during the Great Recession sidelines his tech career, Clay Jannon takes a job at the titular bookstore in San Francisco, and soon realizes that the establishment is a facade for a strange secret. (Also available as an audiobook on Hoopla and Overdrive.)
5. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh – This collection includes autobiographical, illustrated essays and cartoons from the author’s popular blog and related new material that humorously and candidly deals with her own idiosyncrasies and battles with depression.
6. The Magicians by Lev Grossman – As a senior in high school Quentin Coldwater became preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. After graduating from college and being admitted into a highly exclusive, secret society of magic in upstate New York, he makes a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. (Also available as both an ebook and an audiobook on Overdrive.)
7. Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky – A single mother and her son, Christopher, relocate to a small town to try to start over. Then Christopher disappears. For six awful days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a tree house in the woods by Christmas. (Also available as both an ebook and an audiobook on Overdrive.)
8. The Paper Magician by Charlie B. Holmberg – Bound to a magic she never wanted, a young apprentice falls deeper into its mysteries when she must use everything she’s learned from her master in order to save him, and his heart.
9. Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher – An uproarious look at bestselling author Carrie Fisher’s Hollywood hangover, adapted from the sold-out one-woman show of the same name which the Los Angeles Times called a ‘Beverly Hills yard sale of juicy anecdotes’. (Also available as an audiobook on Hoopla and both an ebook and an audiobook on Overdrive.)
10. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson – In Furiously Happy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jenny Lawson explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. But terrible ideas are what Jenny does best. (Also available as both an ebook and an audiobook on Overdrive.)
