Friends of the Library - Spotlight on Literary Award Winners and Finalists
September 15, 2024
By Linda Bono
That’s right, “Literary Awards—Winners and Finalists” is the current theme for the Featured Books Shelf (FBS) in the Robson Ranch Library. There’s lots of variety in the genres on display—highlighted books run the gamut from the expected fiction, history, and biography to “romantasy” (who knew that was even a genre!). Hardcovers, paperbacks, large print copies, and books on CD are included in the mix. The FBS definitely offers something for everyone! Award-winning books will be highlighted throughout the months of September and October. Be sure to come in and check it out! Stop by often, because the display will be changed frequently. We have over 150 titles on the curated list!
The Featured Books Shelf is a new offering in the library. The shelf kicked off with Celebrity Picks as the theme for May/June. Historical Fiction followed for July/August. In November, the FBS will proudly honor our veterans, and December will offer holiday-themed materials. We encourage patrons to tell the volunteers on duty how they feel about the FBS and share suggestions.
So, what can you expect to find on the current FBS?
We’ve got recent releases and classics represented. The 2024 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Biography, King: A Life, by Jonathan Eig, as well as the 2024 Pulitzer Prize Biography Finalist, Larry McMurtry: A Life, by Tracy Daugherty, are included on our list. We’ve also got A Bell for Adano, by John Hersey (Pulitzer Fiction Winner 1945), and the beloved To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (Pulitzer Fiction Winner 1961). To Kill a Mockingbird also holds the distinction of having garnered the #1 spot in The Great American Read sponsored by PBS in 2018, which, through a lengthy Internet vote, sought to identify America’s Best-Loved Novel. You might be interested in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, which won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for Fiction in 1983. Or maybe you’d like to read one of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize Winners in Fiction: The Nickel Boys (2020) and The Underground Railroad (2017). How about David McCullough’s The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914 (1978 National Book Award Winner in History)?
Perhaps Goodreads Choice Awards will interest you. We have scoured our shelves to find what books we have in our collection from the Top 10 in their genre from 2019 to 2023. That’s where you’ll find the 2023 #1 Best Romantasy book Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros, as well as the 2023 #1 Best Humor book Being Henry: The Fonz … and Beyond, by Henry Winkler. Are you looking for a Mystery/Thriller winner? You might consider The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides (#1 in 2019), The Guest List, by Lucy Foley (#1 in 2020), The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave (#1 in 2021), The Maid, by Nita Prose (#1 in 2022), or The Housemaid’s Secret, by Freida McFadden (#1 in 2023).
That’s right, “Literary Awards—Winners and Finalists” is the current theme for the Featured Books Shelf (FBS) in the Robson Ranch Library. There’s lots of variety in the genres on display—highlighted books run the gamut from the expected fiction, history, and biography to “romantasy” (who knew that was even a genre!). Hardcovers, paperbacks, large print copies, and books on CD are included in the mix. The FBS definitely offers something for everyone! Award-winning books will be highlighted throughout the months of September and October. Be sure to come in and check it out! Stop by often, because the display will be changed frequently. We have over 150 titles on the curated list!
The Featured Books Shelf is a new offering in the library. The shelf kicked off with Celebrity Picks as the theme for May/June. Historical Fiction followed for July/August. In November, the FBS will proudly honor our veterans, and December will offer holiday-themed materials. We encourage patrons to tell the volunteers on duty how they feel about the FBS and share suggestions.
So, what can you expect to find on the current FBS?
We’ve got recent releases and classics represented. The 2024 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Biography, King: A Life, by Jonathan Eig, as well as the 2024 Pulitzer Prize Biography Finalist, Larry McMurtry: A Life, by Tracy Daugherty, are included on our list. We’ve also got A Bell for Adano, by John Hersey (Pulitzer Fiction Winner 1945), and the beloved To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (Pulitzer Fiction Winner 1961). To Kill a Mockingbird also holds the distinction of having garnered the #1 spot in The Great American Read sponsored by PBS in 2018, which, through a lengthy Internet vote, sought to identify America’s Best-Loved Novel. You might be interested in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, which won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for Fiction in 1983. Or maybe you’d like to read one of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize Winners in Fiction: The Nickel Boys (2020) and The Underground Railroad (2017). How about David McCullough’s The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914 (1978 National Book Award Winner in History)?
Perhaps Goodreads Choice Awards will interest you. We have scoured our shelves to find what books we have in our collection from the Top 10 in their genre from 2019 to 2023. That’s where you’ll find the 2023 #1 Best Romantasy book Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros, as well as the 2023 #1 Best Humor book Being Henry: The Fonz … and Beyond, by Henry Winkler. Are you looking for a Mystery/Thriller winner? You might consider The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides (#1 in 2019), The Guest List, by Lucy Foley (#1 in 2020), The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave (#1 in 2021), The Maid, by Nita Prose (#1 in 2022), or The Housemaid’s Secret, by Freida McFadden (#1 in 2023).