Spring Round Up: Best Books Read So Far This Year

Posted by: Staff

Periodically, we hope to shake things up a bit by giving a little peek into the lives of the EPL staff. This week, we collected the best books staff have read so far this year and what they liked about them.
Amanda: Black Prism by Brent Weeks
Great world building. Political intrigue. Magic system is really creative. A really fun read.

David: In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick 
A foreboding retelling of the sinking of the whale ship Essex, old in harrowing detail and with strong emphasis on characterization. The movie version, by Ron Howard, is not quite as good.



Kathleen: The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Explores the culture of India and the issues associated with moving across the world. I loved that the ending was unexpected.

Joyce: Small Data: The Tiny Clues that Uncover Huge Trends by Martin Lindtrom 

It shows how small actions can have a large impact and how our culture affects our perception.



Tirzah: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Author Ruta Sepetys writes a moving novel about one of the many terrible disasters in WWII: four different characters' voices are heard in alternating chapters and their stories remind us of the many people who were brave and suffered during that time in history. I like her writing and the details she supplies about the time period.

Kelcey: Winter by Marissa Meyer 
Great ending to an awesome series!


Mason: A Hungry Lion or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals by Lucy Ruth Cummings 
Anything I write here will spoil the plot.

Kristen: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah 
It explores the battles faced by those "at home" during during wartime, and I also love the complex characters, who are both strong and admirable as well as flawed. The sister dynamic always interests me too.

Katherine: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
This is my favorite kind of nonfiction. I love books that bring me into places and situations that I've never been and that help me understand what is going on. I was swept away by the scope of the research for this book and loved reading the "About the Project" section in the back the revealed how thoroughly Matthew Desmond immersed himself into the environment in which evictions are most common.