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Reading Recommendations

Suggestions for all types of readers

Bemis Catalog Lists

Jackpot Fiction

Jackpot Fiction Banner - Click for list of Jackpot Books

Staff Picks

Websites and More

Find book lists and more:

  • ALL-TIME 100 Novels - critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo picked the 100 best English-language novels published since 1923 - the beginning of TIME Magazine.
  • BBC's 100 Books You Must Read Before You Die - authors and book experts recommend some of the best novels ever written.
  • Fantastic Fiction - find a list of books published by specific authors, and find the order of any series they have published.
  • Goodreads - keep track of the books you read, or get recommendations based on genres, popular lists, and more. 
  • Library Reads - top books each month as chosen by librarians all across the country.
  • Modern Library's 100 Best Novels - reader voted list of the top 100 novels of all time.
  • NPR Book We Love - Lists of the best books from 2013 to 2021 with filters to find what you want and recommendation blurbs.

Book Awards

In addition to the genre specific awards listed in each tab to the left, here are some awards for literature in general:

  • The Booker Prizes - awarded for the best original novel written in English; usually given to a book from the UK but not always
  • Goodreads Choice Awards - the only major book awards decided by readers; best books in 21 categories including picture books and Young Adult Fiction.
  • Newbery Medal - awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American Literature for Children.
  • National Book Award - awarded by the National Book Foundation for the best Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People's Literature published each year.
  • Pulitzer Prize - for distinguished fiction, a distinguished book upon the history of the United States, for a biography or autobiography, a volume of original verse, and a distinguished book of nonfiction, all by American authors.