Blog Archives

Selections from the first three years of wanderlust

12/19/2019

africa

Aya: Life in Yop City, Marguerite Abouet, Cote d'Ivoire, GN ABO 1-3
Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, Nigeria, F ACH *ª
Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi, Ghana/United States, F GYA *ª
The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba, Malawi, 621.312136 KAM *ª
Born a Crime, Trevor Noah, South Africa, 921 NOAH *
The Butterfly Mosque, G. Willow Wilson, Egypt, 297.574 WIL

asia & middle east

The Best We Could Do, Thi Bui, Vietnam/United States, GN BUI *
Ants Among Elephants, Sujatha Gidla, India, 305.568 GID *ª
And the Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini, Afghanistan and others, F HOS *ª
Without You, There Is No Us, Suki Kim, North Korea, 951.93 KIM *ª
Forest Dark, Nicole Krauss, Israel, F KRA *ª
Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan, Singapore, F KWA CRA-1 *ª
The Home that Was Our Country, Alia Malek, Syria, 956.91 MAL

americas & Caribbean

The Line Becomes a River, Francisco Cantú, United States/Mexico, 363.285 CAN *ª
Here Comes the Sun, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Jamaica, F DEN *ª
The Round House, Louise Erdrich, an Ojibwe reservation, F ERD *ª
Still Life, Louise Penny, Canada, M PEN GAM-1 *ª
The Queen of Water, Laura Resau and María Virginia Farinango, Ecuador, YA F RES
Deep Down Dark, Héctor Tobar, Chile, 363.11 TOB

Europe

Beartown, Fredrik Backman, Sweden, F BAC *ª
The Green Road, Anne Enright, Ireland, F ENR *ª
My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante, Italy, LP FER NEA-1 *ª
The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro, England, F ISH *ª

Oceania

The Dry, Jane Harper, Australia, F HAR FAL-1 *ª

Space

Endurance, Scott Kelly, International Space Station/Russia/United States, 629.45 KEL *ª

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Learn more about Wanderlust, our evening book club.

Read Your Hogwarts House

12/19/2019

Gryffindor • bravery, daring, nerve

Parable of the Talents, Octavia E. Butler, SF BUT PAR-2 *
Ready Player One, Ernest Cline, F CLI *ª
Founding Brothers, Joseph J. Ellis, 973.4092 ELL
As You Wish, Cary Elwes, 791.4372 ELW *ª
Goliath, Tom Gauld, GN GAU
When the Men Were Gone, Marjorie Herrera Lewis, F LEW *ª
A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, F MAR SON-1 *ª
Ms Marvel: No Normal, G. Willow Wilson, YA GN MSM V1 *
In the Heart of the Sea, Nathaniel Philbrick, 910.9164 PHI *ª
The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan, +F RIO 1 *ª
An Ember in the Ashes, Sabaa Tahir, LP TAH EMB-1 *ª
The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas, YA THO *ª
Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein, YA WEI *

Hufflepuff • hard work, patience, Loyalty

Limping Through Life, Jerry Apps, 921 APPS *
To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Jenny Han, YA HAN *ª
The Heart of Things, John Hilderbrand, 977 HIL *
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo, 648 KON *ª
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith, M MCC NO1-1 *ª
Seconds, Bryan Lee O'Malley, GN OMA
The Boy in the Black Suit, Jason Reynolds, YA REY *ª
Alice and the Fly, James Rice, YA RIC *
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot, 616.027 SKL *ª
Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too, Jonny Sun, GN SUN
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien, SF TOL *ª
My Pantry, Alice Waters, 641.5944 WAT
American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang, YA GN YAN

Ravenclaw • Intelligence, Knowledge, Wit

Hark! A Vagrant, Kate Beaton, GN BEA
Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang, SF CHI *
The Bone Collector, Jeffery Deaver, F DEA RHY-1 *
Andrew's Brain, E.L. Doctorow, F DOC *ª
Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn, F DUN *
Old World Murder, Kathleen Ernst, M ERN ELL-1 *ª
Moonwalking with Einstein, Joshua Foer, 153.41 FOE *ª
Goodbye for Now, Laurie Frankel, F FRA *ª
The Girl from Everywhere, Heidi Heilig, YA HEI *ª
Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman, 153.4 KAH *ª
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle +F LEN *ª
I'll Give You the Sun, Jandy Nelson, YA NEL *
Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson, +811.54 WOO *ª

Slytherin • Ambition, Cunning, Resourcefulness

The Diviners, Libba Bray, YA BRA *ª
Once Upon a River, Bonnie Jo Campbell, F CAM
A Study in Charlotte, Brittany Cavallaro, YA CAV *ª
My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante, LP FER NEA-1 *ª
Choose Your Own Autobiography, Neil Patrick Harris, 921 HARRIS *ª
Steal Like an Artist, Austin Kleon, 153.35 KLE *
The Dinner, Herman Koch, F KOC *ª
Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan, F KWA *ª
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, John Le Carré, F LEC *ª
Born a Crime, Trevor Noah, 921 NOAH *
Across the Universe, Beth Revis, YA REV *ª
Nimona, Noelle Stevenson, YA GN STE *ª
The Family Fang, Kevin Wilson, F WIL

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Natural Disasters & Climate Change Fiction

12/11/2019

Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood, F ATW MAD-1 *ª
The Water Knife, Paolo Bacigalupi, F BAC *
Things that Happened Before the Earthquake, Chiara Barzini, F BAR *ª
The Tin Roof Blowdown, James Lee Burke, M BUR ROB-18
Parable of the Sower, Octavia E. Butler, SF BUT PAR-1 *
The Marrow Thieves, Cherie Dimaline, YA DIM *
American War, Omar El Akkad, F ELA *ª
The Tilted World, Tom Franklin & Beth Ann Fennelly, F FRA *ª

Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver, F KIN *
In Darkness, Nick Lake, YA LAK *
California, Edan Lepucki, F LEP *ª
Mara and Dann, Doris Lessing, F LES
The Road, Cormac McCarthy, F MCC *ª
Solar, Ian McEwan, F MCE *
I Will Send Rain, Rae Meadows, F MEA ª
Blackfish City, Sam J. Miller, SF MIL *

Life As We Knew It, Susan Beth Pfeffer, YA PFE *ª
Odds Against Tomorrow, Nathaniel Rich, F RIC
The End of the World Running Club, Adrian J. Walker F WAL *
Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward, F WAR *
Gold Fame Citrus, Claire Vaye Watkins, F WAT *ª

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Modern Westerns

12/10/2019

For readers of classic Westerns who are looking for something new to read!

Anna Pigeon series, Nevada Barr, M BAR PIG
Joe Pickett series, C.J. Box, M BOX PIC
Wind River series, Margaret Coel, M COE WIN
Charlie Moon series, James Doss, M DOS MOO
Posadas County series, Steven Havill, M HAV POS
Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito series, Tony & Anne Hillerman, M HIL LEA
Joanna Brady series, J.A. Jance, M JAN BRA
Walt Longmire series, Craig Johnson, M JOH LON
Hap and Leonard series, Joe Lansdale, M LAN HAP
Pronto, Elmore Leonard, F LEO

No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, F MCC
Border trilogy, Cormac McCarthy, F MCC
Thalia, Larry McMurtry, F MCM
Close Range: Wyoming Stories, Annie Proulx, F PRO
Ella Clah series, Aimée and David Thurlo, M THU CLA

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Extremely Cute, presented by Laura the Librarian

12/9/2019

Hark! A Vagrant, Kate Beaton, GN BEA
Raisin, the Littlest Cow, Miriam Busch, ++ BUS
Royal Wedding, Meg Cabot, F CAB PRI-11 *ª
Narwhal, Unicorn of the Sea, Ben Clanton, +GN CLA 1 *
Just Like Beverly, Vicki Conrad, +813 CON
Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Barry Deutsch, + GN DEU 1 *
Horrible Bear!, Ame Dyckman & Zachariah OHora, ++ DYC
Ariol: Just a Donkey Like You and Me, Emmanuel Guibert & Marc Boutavant, +GN GUI 1
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Jenny Han, YA HAN *ª
The Amazing Crafty Cat, Charise Mericle Harper, +GN HAR 1

Kristy’s Great Idea, Ann M. Martin & Raina Telgemeier, + GN MAR 1 *
Binny for Short, Hilary McKay, +F MCK BIN 1
Red, White & Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston, R MCQ *ª
Best Frints in the Whole Universe, Antoinette Portis, ++ POR
School’s First Day of School, Adam Rex & Christian Robinson, ++ REX
My Boyfriend Is a Bear, Pamela Ribon & Cat Farris, GN RIB
Not Quite Narwhal, Jessie Sima, ++ SIM *
Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too, Jonny Sun, GN SUN
Check Please #Hockey, Ngozi Ukazu, GN UKA 1 *

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Women's Health Memoirs & Personal Stories

12/9/2019

The Big Sick, DVD BIG
Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh, GN BRO *
Brain on Fire, Susannah Cahalan, 616.832 CAH *ª
Unbearable Lightness, Portia De Rossi, 616.8526 DER
What Made Maddy Run, Kate Fagan, 616.85 FAG *ª
Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher, 921 FISHER *ª
Hunger, Roxane Gay, 921 GAY *ª
Thinking in Pictures, Temple Grandin, 616.85882 GRA *ª

Blackout, Sarah Hepola, 362.292 HEP *
Bite Me, Ally Hilfiger, 616.9246 HIL *
Invisible, Michele Lent Hirsch, 305.48 HIR
Odd Girl Out, Laura James, 616.85882 JAM
An Unquiet Mind, Kay R. Jamison, 616.895 JAM ª
Sick, Porochista Khakpour, 616.9246 KHA
Girl in the Dark, Anna Lyndsey, 616.515 LYN *ª
Heart Berries, Terese Marie Mailhot, 362.19685 MAI *
Positive, Paige Rawl, YA 921 RAWL

The Bright Hour, Nina Riggs, 362.19 RIG *ª
Everybody's Got Something, Robin Roberts, 921 ROBERTS ª
My Stroke of Insight, Jill Bolte Taylor, 362.1968 TAY ª
The Collected Schizophrenias, Esmé Weijun Wang, 616.89 WAN *
First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, Sarah Wilson, 616.8522 WIL ª
Dear Scarlet, Teresa Wong, GN WON
The Unwinding of the Miracle, Julie Yip-Williams, 616.994 YIP *ª

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Looking for Home: refugees & displaced Persons

12/9/2019

The Boat People, Sharon Bala, F BAL
One Goal, Amy Bass, 796.334 BAS *ª
The Lost Boys of Sudan, Mark Bixler, 962.4043 BIX
Across Many Mountains, Yangzom Brauen, 305.895 BRA
The Best We Could Do, Thi Bui, GN BUI *
Deported Americans, Beth C. Caldwell, 305.9 CAL
The Displaced, ed. Viet Thanh Nguyen, 305.6 DIS
A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka, Lev Golinkin, 947.0049 GOL
Exit West, Mohsin Hamid, F HAM *ª
Human Flow, BLU 325.21 HUM
The Refugees, Viet Thanh Nguyen, F NGU *

We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled, Wendy Pearlman, 956.91 PEA
City of Thorns, Ben Rawlence, 967.73053 RAW *ª
The Fox Hunt, Mohammed Al Samawy, 953.3053 SAM
Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys, YA SEP *ª
The Newcomers, Helen Thorpe, 373.1862 THO
Children of the Stone, Sandy Tolan, 956.95 TOL
The Girl Who Smiled Beads, Clemantine Wamariya, 967.5710431 WAM *ª
The Latehomecomer, Kao Kalia Yang, 959.7043 YAN *ª

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Social Media: Culture & Society

12/9/2019

Irresistible, Adam L. Alter, 302.23 ALT
I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did, Lori B. Andrews, 323.0285 AND
It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, danah boyd, 305.23 BOY
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, Nicholas G. Carr, 612.8 CAR ª
(Not) Getting Paid to Do What You Love, Brooke Erin Duffy, 605.1082 DUF
The Circle, Dave Eggers, F EGG *ª
Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World, Timothy Garton Ash, 323.443 GAR
Think Before You Like, Guy P. Harrison, 302.23 HAR
Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand..., Brittany Hennessy, 658.872 HEN
Ingrid Goes West, DVD ING

Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, Jaron Lanier, 302.321 LAN
Who Owns the Future?, Jaron Lanier, 303.48 LAN
Camgirl, Isa Mazzei, 306.77 MAZ
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, Gretchen McCulloch, 302.23 MCC *
Privacy, B. J. Mendelson, 342.08 MEN
To Siri with Love, Judith Newman, 616.85882 NEW *
The Death of Expertise, Thomas M. Nichols, 303.48 NIC ª
The Distraction Addiction, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, 303.4833 PAN
The Filter Bubble, Eli Pariser, BOCD 004.678 PAR

Crash Override, Zöe Quinn, 794.8 QUI *
So You've Been Publicly Shamed, Jon Ronson, 152.44 RON *
American Girls, Nancy Jo Sales, 305.235 SAL *ª
Super Sad True Love Story, Gary Shteyngart, F SHT *
The Big Disconnect, Catherine Steiner-Adair, 303.4834 STE

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Guns & Gun Violence

12/9/2019

Accidental Saints, Nadia Bolz-Weber, 284.1 BOL *
Armed in America, Patrick J. Charles, 363.33 CHA
Beating Guns, Shane Claiborne & Michael Martin, 261.CLA
Columbine, Dave Cullen, 371.782 CUL *ª
Parkland, Dave Cullen, 371.782 CUL *ª
Enough, Gabby Giffords, 363.33 GIF

#NeverAgain, David & Lauren Hogg, YA 363.33 HOG *
Big Guns, Steve Israel, F ISR
A Mother's Reckoning, Sue Klebold, 364.1523 KLE *ª
An American Summer, Alex Kotlowitz, 364.14 KOT *ª
American Gun, Chris Kyle, 623.442 KYL *ª
School Shooters, Peter F. Langman, 371.782 LAN
Lethal Passage, Erik Larson, 364.1523 LAR *
Glimmer of Hope, March for Our Lives, YA 363 MAR

Fortress America, Elaine Tyler May, 364.904 MAY
How to Be Safe, Tom McAllister, F MCA ª
On the Other Side of Freedom, DeRay Mckesson, 323.09 MCK *
Only Child, Rhiannon Navin, F NAV *
Choosing Hope, Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis, 371.782 ROI
Long Way Down, Jason Reynolds, YA REY *ª
Revolver, Duane Swierczynski, F SWI
Silencer, Marcus Wicker, 811 WIC

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Gender Identity

12/9/2019

This list was updated in 2020. Take a look!

Some Assembly Required, Arin Andrews, YA 306.76 AND *
Becoming an Ally to the Gender-Expansive Child, Anna Bianchi, Parents' +155.33 BIA
A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns, Archie Bongiovanni, YA GN BON
Raising My Rainbow, Laurie Duron, 306.7662 DUR
This Is How It Always Is, Laurie Frankel, F FRA *ª
Gender Revolution, DVD 305.3 GEN
George, Alex Gino, +F GIN *ª
Red: A Crayon's Story, Michael Hall, ++ HAL *

I Am Jazz!, Jessica Herthel & Jazz Jennings, ++ HER *
Being Jazz, Jazz Jennings, YA 306.768 JEN ª
Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe, GN KOB *
Beyond Magenta, Susan Kuklin, YA 306.768 KUK *
Julián Is a Mermaid, Jessica Love, ++ LOV *
Amateur, Thomas Page McBee, 155.332 MCB
Tomorrow Will Be Different, Sarah McBride, 306.768 MCB
Redefining Realness, Janet Mock, 306.768 MOC

Gumballs, Erin Nations, GN NAT
Transgender Children and Youth, Elijah C. Nealy, 306.768 NEA
Becoming Nicole, Amy Ellis Nutt, 306.768 NUT *
The Bold World, Jodie Patterson, 306.874 PAT *ª
Who Are You? The Kid's Guide to Gender Identity, Brook Pessin-Whedbee, +305.3 PES
The Trans Generation, Ann Travers, 306.768 TRA
Raising Ryland, Hillary Whittington, 306.76 WHI

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About

Booklists and reading suggestions from the team at Monroe Public Library.

After each title, you'll find links to reserve these items on LINKcat and Wisconsin's Digital Library. In many cases, you can choose from print, large print, audio CD, and Playaway, or ebooks and eaudiobooks.

(LINKcat links from 2021 through 4/2022 may be broken. We'll fix them ASAP!)

For lists before 2021:
Titles with an asterisk * are available as ebooks and titles with an ª are available as digital audiobooks on Wisconsin's Digital Library.

africa

asia & middle east

americas & Caribbean

Europe

Oceania

Space

Gryffindor • bravery, daring, nerve

Hufflepuff • hard work, patience, Loyalty

Ravenclaw • Intelligence, Knowledge, Wit

Slytherin • Ambition, Cunning, Resourcefulness

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