GIVE THE GIFT OF A BOOK

December is one of my favorite times of the year. Not only do students and staff members ask for reading recommendations for the upcoming holiday break, they request help to find the perfect book for a child, friend or family member. With the thousands of books published each year, selecting the right book for someone could seem like a daunting task. However, it is easier than you may think. ​

There are plenty of book lists available to narrow down your choices. As there are a variety of readers and/or age groups, I chose four book lists to share. These lists offer different ways to organize book recommendations and should meet the needs of everyone.

​2022 Goodreads Choice Awards - ​This is one of my favorite reading lists, as the winners in the categories were chosen by the readers! Eligible recommendations were books published in the United States between November 17, 2021, and November 15, 2022. This site also has a “Best of” Reading Lists link (left-hand side) that includes recommendations from a variety of other sources!​​

Young Adult Library Services Association - YALSA offers a database of over 4,000 award winning books, audiobooks, and films from book awards and book lists for teens from 12 to 18 years of age. You can search by award/book list, author, genre and award year. 

MU Libraries - University of Missouri - The professors at the University of Missouri celebrated its 175th anniversary by compiling a list of the 175 most influential books. Their choices are broken down by autobiographies/biographies, fiction, non-fiction, philosophy/spirituality, plays & poetry, science and social sciences. 

​NPR's Book Concierge - The NPR staff and critics selected their favorite books for 2022. You’ll find that it’s super easy to use the filter to find just the right book for someone. There are also links to their 2013-2021 lists.

​​Congratulations to the best and most influential books of the year.

​Happy reading!​