Reading recommendations

Melissa Brown
Melissa Brown
Tenth Anniversary Name Dropper Participant Facilitator 1
in Member Lounge (Just for Fun)

My favorite book series published last month and I have finished it already. The next book isn't out until March 2024. Any recommendations for my train ride reading hobby?

Comments

  • Coco Parham
    Coco Parham
    Eighth Anniversary Kudos 5 December 2025 Monthly Challenge Name Dropper

    @Melissa Brown I just started Lessons in Chemistry. So far, great! Maybe not a series, but it is on Apple TV!

  • Crystal Bruce
    Crystal Bruce admin
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Commented in Discussion First Reply

    @Melissa Brown I really enjoyed the Bridgerton series. Also, if you like Sci-Fi try Old Man's War by John Scazi (sp?)

  • Kelly Hogan
    Kelly Hogan
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 2 Name Dropper Participant

    @Melissa Brown I am currently reading How High We Go in the Dark.

  • Jennifer Kluh
    Jennifer Kluh Community All-Star
    Sixth Anniversary Kudos 5 PowerUp Challenge: Data Health #3 bbcon 2025 Attendee Badge

    @Crystal Bruce my two daughters passed their Bridgerton series over to me. Then we watch the movies after we read them ?

  • Christine McDermott
    Christine McDermott
    Eighth Anniversary Kudos 1 Name Dropper Participant

    @Melissa Brown “Giver of Stars” by JoJo Moyes about the depression era women that rode through the Kentucky hills distributing books and magazines to families. This effort was started by Eleanor Roosevelt. There are many other books written about this. Very interesting.

  • Bobby Steurer
    Bobby Steurer
    Seventh Anniversary Kudos 5 January 2026 Monthly Challenge Name Dropper

    @Melissa Brown I just wrapped up Klara and the Sun by Nobel-Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro. It takes an interesting dive into the human/technology relationship and ponders the question - “Can machines have souls?”

  • Christine Robertson
    Christine Robertson
    Kudos 5 Name Dropper Participant First Anniversary

    @Melissa Brown What series is your favorite? I see in your profile that you enjoy mysteries. Have you read the Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency series? It's a favorite of mine.

  • Melissa Brown
    Melissa Brown
    Tenth Anniversary Name Dropper Participant Facilitator 1

    @Christine Robertson I have not tried that one. I love stories that really touch on people and I've occasionally gotten into the Young Adult that my youngest likes.

  • Christine Robertson
    Christine Robertson
    Kudos 5 Name Dropper Participant First Anniversary

    @Melissa Brown I would definitely check it out. The characters are very well written and they're a fun read. The series keeps growing, but they're usually pretty easy to find at the library.

  • Allison King
    Allison King Blackbaud Employee
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 Name Dropper Participant

    I read mostly sci-fi, fantasy, and dystopia. Here are some of my favorites:

    • Broken Earth series by N.K. Jemisin - every book of the series won the Hugo the year it came out. Absolutely amazing series. TW for child deaths.
    • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - Magical realism
    • Kindred by Octavia Butler - The first adult novel I ever read in a day (I was in 8th grade). Recently turned into a mini-series on Hulu (haven't watched yet).
    • The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - Biblical fantasy about the only sister of Joseph (the one with the dream coat).
    • Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey - CW for lots of adult themes. Some of the most beautiful prose ever written. Actually, pretty much everything by Carey is amazing.
    • Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree - Really fun and light fantasy story. The prequel came out recently and I just started reading it.
  • Faith Murray
    Faith Murray Community All-Star
    Tenth Anniversary Kudos 5 First Reply Name Dropper

    @Melissa Brown
    So many fun suggestions on here! I will have to check some of them out.

    Most of my favorites are on the oldie lists - I'm afraid I don't keep up with many new authors except for children's lit these days. (It's apparent you're a parent...?) Octavia Butler's “Xenogenesis” series is a fun, mind-stretching sci-fi series. The Jeeves books are a sit-com-style short story option that are timeless and hilarious. I've come to enjoy fun-romp murder mysteries like Dorothy Sayer's “Five Red Herrings”. And if you like biography, “The Last Voyage of Columbus” by Martin Dugard and “The Worst Hard Time” (The Dust Bowl) by Timothy Egan are enlightening historical reads.

  • Melissa Brown
    Melissa Brown
    Tenth Anniversary Name Dropper Participant Facilitator 1

    @Faith Murray yes, a parent – my youngest is 17 and a senior in high school. But I've found that no matter what the ages, some of the kids' lit or YA is still good stuff!

  • Kellie Dentler
    Kellie Dentler
    Seventh Anniversary Kudos 1 Name Dropper Participant

    @Melissa Brown

    I have enjoyed Ruth Ware, especially Death of Mrs. Westaway. She writes thriller type mysteries with substance. Also Megan Abbot (who I just recently discovered when I read The Turnout). Her novels Beware the Woman and Dare Me are both great. The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrel are both historical fiction novels I really enjoyed. And right now, I am listening to the audiobook Sure, I'll join Your Cult by Maria Bamford (not really about cults, just a hilarious memoir)

  • Carrie Powell
    Carrie Powell
    Kudos 5 Fifth Anniversary Raiser's Edge NXT Fall 2025 Product Update Briefing Badge First Reply

    @Melissa Brown, if you like to read series, here are some set in other countries that I enjoy:

    • Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny (set in Canada)
    • Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear (set in England, though last installment after 20+ years will be published this year)
    • Guido Brunetti series by Donna Leon (set in Italy, specifically Venice)
    • Isabel Dalhousie series by Alexander McCall Smith (set in Scotland, specifically Edinburgh)

Categories