Howdy y’all,

If you’re like any of the librarians here at Loudoun Campus Library, you’re probably looking for a good book to read while the college shuts down for Winter Break. Well, look no further! Here are some picks from our staff members for you to peruse. Some of the selections were published in 2016, and some were simply read in 2016, but all of them are mighty good reads.

If you’re intrigued, click on the image to be taken to the catalog record in the NOVA Libraries system, where you can place a hold on the book!

Happy Holidays! Happy Winter Break! Take a Load Off! Cheers!

Chrystie Greges, Collection Development Librarian

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

My favorite read this year was Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel The Signature of All Things. One of the main characters is a brilliant woman who dedicates her life to the study of moss, and she develops a theory of evolution along the way. Amazingly this makes for a beautiful and adventurous page turner. Trust me. It is glorious.

Courtney Hunt, Reference Specialist

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik

For fans of the stalwart Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (or just interested parties), this is a must read. Coming out of a blog project paying homage to Ginsburg’s lengthy law record, the two authors of this book gathered personal recollections, photographs, and a solid biographical history of RBG. It is a quick read and immensely interesting. It also offers a good perspective on what it may be like to work with those who don’t necessarily agree with you, as well as sheds light on the operations of the Supreme Court. Recommended reading for sure!

Eliza Selandar, Librarian

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

This was a quick, lovely read. It’s a memoir of sorts—written by a neurosurgeon dying of lung cancer who also had advanced degrees in philosophy and literature—as well as a meditation on meaning, life, God, family, time, work. Everyone dies, he muses, but everyone has some life. How much life, we don’t know. Make it mean something.

Julie Combs, Emerging Technologies Librarian

Girl in the Dark: A Memoir by Anna Lyndsey

A fascinating memoir about a young women who succumbs to living in darkness after developing a painful and debilitating sensitivity to light.

Marion Karol, Circulation Specialist

The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons  by Sam Kean

Through the misfortune of head wounds, strokes, addictions, and other horrendous accidents Sam Kean pulls the reader into a world of medical oddities that have changed the way that we understand the brain. Kean explains how the brain is supposed to work and how it can malfunction, how it is altered after trauma, and how the medical oddities have influenced the scientific discoveries made today. The book is witty, fun, and a fast read that you won’t want to put down.

*All images were taken from the GoodReads website, where you can read more reviews on each of these books.