It’s that time of year again… the time when everyone starts making their “Best of 2016” lists. We, of course, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make one of our own and share our staff’s favorite books, movies, and TV on DVD from 2016. So here it is!
We just have one disclaimer: This blog post could not possibly fit ALL of the favorites from all of our staff (many of them have 20 or more on their personal lists!), so it’s really just our staff’s top picks from their VERY extensive favorites lists for this year. So, if you’re looking for more reading/watching recommendations, come on in and we can definitely give you more than what you see here.
Now, without further adieu, our favorites of 2016…
Staff Favorites of 2016 – Adult
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (Adult Historical Fiction)
- All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda (Adult Fiction, Mystery/Thriller)
- All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister (Adult Nonfiction, Social Sciences)
- Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue (Contemporary Adult Fiction)
- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (Adult Nonfiction, Biography)
- Cooking for Jeffrey by Ina Garten (Adult Nonfiction)
- Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat by Chrissy Teigen with Adeena Sussman (Adult Nonfiction)
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (Adult Fiction, Science Fiction)
- Darktown by Thomas Mullen (Adult Historical Fiction)
- Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica (Adult Fiction)
- End of Watch by Stephen King – Third book of a trilogy, including Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers (Adult Fiction, Horror/Mystery)
- Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans At War by Mary Roach (Adult Nonfiction)
- Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter (Adult Nonfiction, History)
- In a Different Key: The Story of Autism by John Donvan and Caren Zucker (Adult Nonfiction)
- Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly (Adult Historical Fiction)
- Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen (Women’s Fiction, Romance)
- Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett (Adult Fiction)
- Sudden Death by Álvaro Enrigue (Adult Fiction)
- Swing Time by Zadie Smith (Adult Fiction)
- The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture by Glen Weldon (Adult Nonfiction)
- The Girls by Emma Cline (Adult Historical Fiction)
- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (Adult Fiction, Romance)
- The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith (Adult Historical Fiction)
- The Passenger by Lisa Lutz (Adult Fiction, Mystery, Thriller)
- The Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam (Adult Fiction)
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Adult Historical Fiction)
- The Whistler by John Grisham (Adult Fiction)
- Underground Airlines by Ben Winters (Alternative History, Adult Fiction)
- Victoria by Daisy Goodwin (Adult Historical Fiction – basis of upcoming Masterpiece/PBS “Victoria”)
- We Stand on Guard by Brian K. Vaughan (Adult Graphic Novel, Dystopian)
- What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell (Adult Fiction)
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (Memoir, Adult Nonfiction)
Staff Favorites of 2016 – Teen
- A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & other Badass Girls, Edited by Jessica Spotswood (Teen Historical Fiction, Fantasy)
- My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand (Teen Historical Fiction)
- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys (Teen Historical Fiction)
- The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis (Realistic Teen Fiction)
- The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge (Teen Fiction, Mystery)
- The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4) by Maggie Stiefvater (Teen Fantasy, Paranormal)
- The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (Teen Realistic Fiction)
- The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock (Teen Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction)
- The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (Realistic Teen Fiction, Romance)
- Unbecoming by Jenny Downham (Teen Realistic Fiction)
Staff Favorites of 2016 – Kids
- A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary (Picture Book)
- Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty (Picture Book)
- Before Morning by Joyce Sidman (Picture Book)
- Best in Snow by April Pulley Sayre (Nonfiction Picture Book)
- Booked by Kwame Alexander (Realistic Fiction, Poetry, Juvenile Fiction)
- Dog Man by Dav Pilkey (Graphic Novel – Humor, Juvenile Graphic Novel)
- Framed! (A T.O.A.S.T. Mystery) by James Ponti (Juvenile Fiction)
- Ghost by Jason Reynolds (Realistic Fiction, Juvenile Fiction)
- Have you seen Elephant? by David Barrow (Picture Book)
- I Am a Story by Dan Yaccarino (Picture Book)
- My Heart Fills With Happiness by Monique Gray Smith (Board Book)
-
Nanette’s Baguette by Mo Willems (Picture Book)
- Owl Sees Owl by Laura Godwin (Picture Book)
- Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White by Melissa Sweet (Juvenile Nonfiction)
- The Gallery by Laura Marx Fitzgerald (Juvenile Historical Fiction, Mystery)
- The Happiest Book Ever by Bob Shea (Picture Book)
- The Inquisitor’s Tale, or, The Three Magical Children and their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz (Fantasy/Action-Adventure, Juvenile Fiction)
- The Night Gardener by Terry Fan (Picture Book)
- The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Juvenile Fiction)
- Ugly by Robert Hoge (Memoir, Juvenile Nonfiction)
- We Are Growing! by Laurie Keller (Early Reader)
- When Penny Met POTUS by Rachel Ruiz (Picture Book)
Staff Favorites of 2016 – Movies/TV Released on DVD
- 10 Cloverfield Lane
- Captain America: Civil War
- Creed
- Deadpool
- Finding Dory
- Ghostbusters
- Hail, Caesar!
- Hunt for the Wilderpeople
- Kubo and the Two Strings
- Kung Fu Panda 3
- O.J. – Made In America
- Outlander Season 2
- Peaky Blinders Season 2
- Sing Street
- Star Trek: Beyond
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Sully
- The Fall Season 2
- The Jungle Book
- The Martian
- Zootopia
