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Themed Book Lists for Adults

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Spotlight on African American Authors. Titles: Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby, Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr., What's Mine and Yours by Maima Coster, Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge, Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, Seven Days in June by Tia Williams, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson, Yonder by Jabari Asim, Hell of a Book by Jason Mott, Deacon King Kong by James McBride
Animal Studies. Titles: The Genius of Dogs by Brian Hare, The Book of Eels by Patrik Svensson, The Dogs of Avalon by Laura Schenone, Fuzz by Mary Roach, The Age of the Horse by Susanna Forrest, Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin, How the Zebra Got Its Stripes by Leo Grasset, Wolf Nation by Brenda Peterson
Camp Out with These Great Books. Teen Titles: Peak by Roland Smith, The Lifeboat Clique by Kathy Parks, Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett, Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman, The Speed of Falling Objects by Nancy Richardson Fischer, The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins, Camp So and So by Mary McCoy, Brain Camp by Susan Kim & Laurence Klavan, You Have a Match by Emma Lord, I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall. Adult titles: The Overstory by Richard Powers, The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel, The All-Night Sun by Diane Zinna, The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, Wild by Cheryl Strayed.
Recent Horror Fall 2023
Gentle Reads Starter Pack. Titles: The Seaside Cafe by Rochelle Alers, Winner Takes All by Sandra Kitt, The Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig, The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, Long Way Gone by Charles Martin
The Butler Did It. Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree by Nancy Atherton, Calamity in Kent by John Rowland, Lake House by Kate Morton, The Searcher by Tana French, A Pale Horse by Charles Todd, The Mistletoe Murder by P.D. James, The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian, Justice Hall by Laurie R. King, The Secrets of Wishtide by Kate Saunders, Fingersmith by Sara Waters
Women's Lives and Relationships. Titles: Fall from Grace by Danielle Steel, I'll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa De Los Santos, Still Me by Jojo Moyes, Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee, Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, the Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin, The Days When Birds Come Back by Deborah Reed, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, As You Wish by Jude Deveraux, The Family by Naomi Krupitsky, Luster by Raven Leilani, Sisters Like Us by Susan Mallery.
Sunny Side Up: Upbeat stories to brighten your day. Titles: From Scratch by Tembi Locke, The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig, The Switch by Beth O'Leary, Lunch with the Do-Nothings at the Tammy Dinette by Killian B. Brewer, Pancakes in Paris by Craig Carlson, How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry, Evvie Drake Starts over by Linda Holmes, Gizelle's Bucket List by Lauren Fern Watt.
Immigrant Experiences in America. titles: Americanah by Cimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum.
Indigenous Reads. Titles: The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich, The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, Johnny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead, Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse, The Removed by Brandon Hobson, Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese, Five Little Indians by Michelle Good, Winter Counts by  David Heska Wanbli Weiden, this Town Sleeps by Dennis E. Staples, There There by Tommy Orange.
Must-Read Memoirs. titles: Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad, Please don't sit on my bed in your outside clothes by Phoebe Robinson, Somebody's daughter by Ashley C. Ford, Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson, A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zavner, Aftershocks by Nadia Owusu, Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Want.
Mirth. Titles: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen, The Department of Sensitive Crimes by Alexander McCall Smith, Less by Andrew Sean Greer, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson, My sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan.
LGBTQIA: Read with Pride. Titles: Memorial by Bryon Washington, Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James, Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala, Something to Talk about by Meryl Wilsner, Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters, Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn, Less by Andrew Sean Greer, Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, Plain Bad Heriones by Emily M. Danforth, Days without End by Sebastian Barry.
What Kind of Romance Do You Like to Read? Steamy titles: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Joang, Get a Life Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall, It Heppened One Summer by Tessa Bailey, The Deal by Elle Kennedy. Humorous titles: the Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun, The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon, Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade, Plot Twist by Bethany Turner, The Decent Proposal by Kemper Donovan. Small town titles: The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller, The Beach House by Rochelle Alers, All In by Shelley Shepard Gray, Finding Home Again by Brenda Jackson, No Offense by Meg Cabot. Suspenseful titles: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske, Blind Tiger by Sandra Brown, Lightning in a Mirror by Jayne Ann Krentz, Deceoption by Stacy Abrams writing as Selena Montgomery, Verity by Colleen Hoover.
If you (think you) hate science fiction. Titles: Crosstalk by Connie Willis, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler, This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Modern Adaptations of William Shakespeare. Titles: Vinegar Girl by Anne tyler, The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig, New Boy by Tracy Chevalier, These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong, I Iago by Nicole Galland, Fool by Christopher Moore, A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley, Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood, The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson, Shylock Is My Name by Howard Jacobson, Exit pursued by a bear by E.K. Johnston, Nutshell by Ian McEwan.
Road Tripping: Road trip stories for every mood. Culturally diverse and compelling: America for Beginners by Leah Franqui. Funny and moving: The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang. Suspenseful and Darkly Humorous: The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris. Amusing and Bittersweet: Less by Andrew Sean Greer, Suspenseful and intricately plotted: The Woman in the Windows by A.J. finn, Quirky and whimsical: The 100-Year-Old Man by Jonas Jonasson. Irreverent and thought-provoking: Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. Moving and heartwarming: the Lido by Libby Page.
Contemporary Westerns. Titles: the Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin, Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx, Outlawed by Anna North, Tru Grit by Charles Portis, All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, Whiskey When We;re Dry by John Larison, How Much of these Hills Is Gold by Z Pam Zheng, Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey.
Memorable Fictional Fathers. Titles: To Kill a Mockingbird bu Harper Lee, The Shining by Stephen King, Ask Again Yes by Mary Beth Keane, King Lear by William Shakespeare, An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, The Godfather by Mario Puzo, the World According to Garp by John Irving, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, The Great Santini by Pat Conroy, A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa.
For fans of podcasts. Titles: Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, Sadie by Courtney Summers, I Know You Know by Gilly Macmillan, the Kids Are Gonna Ask by Gretchen Anthony, The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James, Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin, Our House by Louise Candlish, If I Disappear by Eliza Jane Brazier, Rabbits by Terry Miles, What If You and Me by Roni Loren, Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke, Sorry Not Sorry by Sophie Ranald.

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Looking for a good book for your book club? We recommend these titles, which are all previous selections from the library’s book discussion groups.

2023 Selections

H is for Hawk book cover
In the Woods book cover
Silent Patient book cover
Harlem Shuffle book cover
Judges List book cover
Eight Perfect Murders book cover
One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot book cover
Say Nothing book cover
Beautiful Country book cover
Family Romanov book cover
The Last Flight book cover
Ask Again Yes book cover
True Biz book cover
Deacon King Kong book cover
The Wedding book cover

2022 Selections

The Thursday Murder Club book cover
Fuzz by Mary Roach book cover image
The Girl with the Louding Voice book cover
The Buddha in the Attic book cover image
The books of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Save Me the Plums book cover image
I Remember Nothing book cover image
The Story of Arthur Truluv book cover

2021 Selections


2020 Selections


2019 Selections


2018 Selections


2017 Selections


2016 Selections

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Fines vary according to individual library rules and UHLS resource sharing rules. The EGRN Table of Fines and Fees are applicable for items which are checked out from the East Greenbush Community Library

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All ages eligible. Youth under age 16 must have their application completed and signed by a parent or guardian, who provides acceptable identification for them.

UHLS library cards expire and must be renewed every three years.

Card blocked at $5 or more in replacement costs or fines/fees

Fines vary according to individual library rules and UHLS resource sharing rules. The EGRN Table of Fines and Fees are applicable for items which are checked out from the East Greenbush Community Library

The UHLS MyCard is a fine-free, limited-access library card for youth. It is intended to address multiple barriers to serving youth and families, including:

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Free for youth residing in a community served by a UHLS library.Applicants 18 and under who are applying for a limited use, UHLS Youth Only MyCard, need to provide name, address, and date of birth.UHLS library cards expire and must be renewed every three years.Youth ages birth to 18 can register unaccompanied, or with the help of a caregiver or relative who is not the child’s parent/guardian.This card may be used at all UHLS Libraries except for the Colonie Town Library.

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