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Our Favorite Books of 2016

We here at CHPL sure do love books and reading, and it was hard to pick just a few favorites of the year...so here is a big ol' list of what we read and loved in 2016. What were your favorites this year?

Chapel Hill Public Library

80 items

  • 2 votes! I've loved all the Jacqueline Woodson books I've read but this is definitely one of my favorites. She truly works magic with words- every sentence feels important, every paragraph naturally poetic and meaningful. She smoothly…
    BookNew York, NY : Amistad, 2016 — FIC Wood
  • This is a provocative alternate history that re-imagines our world if the Civil War never happened and slavery were still state-sanctioned. The book reminded me in its style and the immediacy of its first-person narration of Margaret…
    BookNew York : Mulholland Books/Little, Brown and Company, 2016 — FIC Wint
  • Has Oprah ever steered us wrong? Well, fine, but this book…this book. Cora is so layered and complex, the plot is often nail-biting, and the alternate world (in which the underground railroad is a literal railroad, among other fantasims)…
    BookNew York : Doubleday, [2016] — FIC Whit
  • My kind of story- beautifully simple with amazingly memorable characters. Extra points for it being historical and southern. I was not familiar with Brad Watson but will definitely seek out his other works. (Krystal)
    BookNew York : W. W. Norton & Company, [2016] — FIC Wats
  • A powerful and riveting memoir that you won't be able to put down. Be prepared to experience all the emotions. (Amanda)
    BookNew York : Flatiron Books, 2016 — 289.3092 Wari
  • Great, fresh re-imagining of the classic comic. (Molly)
    Graphic Novel[Mamaroneck, New York] : Archie Comic Publications, 2016- — YGN Archie
  • Vinegar Girl

    The Taming of the Shrew Retold

    Tyler, Anne,
    BookLondon ; New York : Hogarth Shakespeare, [2016] — FIC Tyle
  • Thug Kitchen

    Party Grub

    Book[Emmaus, PA] : Rodale, [2015] — 641.5636 Thug
  • It’s an office rom-com meets a romance novel. And it’s hilarious. (Martha)
    BookNew York : William Morrow Paperbacks, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2016] — ROM Thor
  • Genderswapped Sherlock Holmes! What’s not to love? This is sharp and witty and an excellent set-up for a new series. (Martha)
    BookNew York : Berkley Books, 2016 — MYS Thom
  • Beautifully illustrated, with sharp colors, and a different cast of animal characters. It’s all about little animals being cuddled by their parents, during a bad storm. (Christie)
    BookNew York, NY : Cartwheel Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2016 — PIC Swinburn
  • The Wicked Boy

    the Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer

    Summerscale, Kate, 1965-
    True Crime. Victorian Child Murderer. Atmospheric. Historically accurate. (Susan N)
    BookNew York : Penguin Press, 2016 — 364.1523 Summ
  • The word "charming" pales as a description of the delightful Miss Kopp, who, along with her sisters, offers an amazingly realistic window to her time and place. Fans of historical mysteries and gentle reads like A.J. Fikry or The Rosie…
    BookBoston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, [2016] — FIC Stew
  • My kids thought this one was hysterically funny—a turkey tries to play a naughty trick on a sheep, and it backfires. Needless to say, it ain’t lemonade in that glass!! (Christie)
    BookSomerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2016 — PIC Sommerse
  • Detailed intrigue. Amsterdam 1600's. New York City 1950's. Sydney, Australia, present day. (Susan N)
    BookNew York : Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016 — FIC Smit
  • The title says it all(!) It’s about a pooper-scooper in the zoo, who’s fortune is made when he comes across some neon-green poop. (Christie)
    BookWilton, CT : Tiger Tales, 2015 — PIC Smallman
  • I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. It was recommended to me by a patron, so I gave it a try. I absolutely have to agree with her assessment. It's fast paced, following the two main characters that you get to see grow and handle…
    BookNew York : Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2016 — YF Skye
  • Eligible

    a Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice

    Sittenfeld, Curtis
    2 votes! A modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice that is total fun. Bingley is a reality TV star, Elizabeth has moved back home to manage her parents, and Kitty and Lydia are avid crossfitters, what's not to love? (Amanda); Fun and…
    BookNew York : Random House, [2016] — FIC Sitt