Librarian Picks for the Best Books of 2018

As we enter the new year, many readers reflect on their favorite books from the past year and share recommendations that reflect their reading taste.  

Harris County Public Library’s Book Hunters team of reading experts recommends thousands of books to our customers with all different kinds of reading tastes each year, so we asked them to take a moment to list their absolute favorites of 2018.  

Here are their top 5 in each category, for your reading pleasure! Drumroll, please.

Fiction for Adults

1. The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
2. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
3. There, There: a Novel by Tommy Orange
4. The Book of M by Peng Shepherd
5. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Nonfiction for Adults

1. God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State by Lawrence Wright
2. I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
3. The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King
4. The Library Book by Susan Orlean
5. Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: a Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love and Loss by Stephanie Wittels Wachs

Books for Teens

1. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
2. The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
3. Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
4. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
5. For Everyone by Jason Reynolds

Books for Children

1. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates! by Ryan T. Higgins
2. Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
3. Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin
4. Giraffe Problems by Jory John, illustrated by Lane Smith
5. Drawn Together by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat

Happy Reading in 2019!