DOWNTOWN — The city's librarians spend the entire year creating their annual "Best Books" list.
The list showcases nearly 50 fiction and nonfiction books from a variety of genres. Stephen Sposato and Maria Villanueva, of the Chicago Public Library, said librarians meet monthly to talk about new books, and midway through the year they take stock of all their books and what should make it into the year-end review.
And, for the last few weeks, they've been finalizing the list, which was released this week.
It would be safe to say "dozens of hours" are spent upon the list, Sposato said. The librarians look for books that are favored by staff, critics and readers.
“We do this as a service to help our readers who are looking for a good book to find the best books of the year all in one place,” Sposato said.
One of Villanueva's picks, "Church of Marvels" by Leslie Parry, follows two sisters who were part of a carnival show and the different journeys they take after their mother's death. Sposato said he pushed for Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Between the World and Me," which covers the challenges of being a black American.
The books on the list are available through public libraries in physical, e-book or audio forms. You can see all of the recommended books online.
Read about the librarians' top 10 picks for the year:
"Between the World and Me"
Ta-Nehisi Coates
The award-winning "Between the World and Me" serves as a letter from author Ta-Nehisi Coates to his teen son. Coates writes about growing up as a black person in the United States, covering his own experiences while also writing about the violence and plights faced by other black Americans.
"The Cartel"
Don Winslow
"The Cartel" follows a DEA agent as he obsessively pursues a cartel kingpin, the fictional Adán Barrera. The book, a New York Times bestseller, shows the drug war in Mexico as well as behind-the-scenes struggles in the United States.
"Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania"
Erik Larson
Journalist Erik Larson earned high praise with "Devil in the White City," which covered Chicago's 1893 World's Fair and serial killer H.H. Holmes. In "Dead Wake," Larson writes about the Lusitania and how it was sunk, killing nearly 1,200 people, during World War I.
"Delicious Foods"
James Hannaham
In "Delicious Foods," the fictional Eddie recounts his family's struggles, writing of his activist father's death and his mother's drug addiction while being forced to work at a camp.
"Ghettoside"
Jill Leovy
The nonfiction "Ghettoside" follows the 2007 murder of Bryant Tennelle in Los Angeles. Writer Jill Leovy covers Tennelle's death and the investigation into it, shedding light onto the issues faced by the community of "Ghettoside," as it is called, while arguing that more attention needs to be paid to black homicide victims.
"H is for Hawk"
Helen Macdonald
Author Helen Macdonald recounts the year she spent raising a goshawk after her father's sudden death in 2007.
"Kitchens of the Great Midwest"
J. Ryan Stradal
The fictional "Kitchens of the Great Midwest" centers around foodie wunderkind Eva, but the events of the book are recounted by her friends, rivals and family members.
"The Nightingale"
Kristin Hannah
"The Nightingale" focuses on two sisters who take very different paths as they try to survive in a France controlled by Nazis during World War II.
"Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind"
Yuval N. Harari
In "Sapiens," Yuval Harari argues that humans have been able to wrest control of the world from other species because they can work in groups and believe in things that exist solely in their imagination, including money, gods and nations.
"The Story of the Lost Child"
Elena Ferrante
Italian author Elena Ferrante tells the story of two women with different approaches to life and motherhood in "The Story of the Lost Child," the fourth book in the author's "Neapolitan Novels" series.
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