Reading: Recommended books lists
Resources for Reading and IRW (Integrated Reading and Writing) Courses
Use this guide to find book to read for a class assignment or your own reading pleasure.
Information Literacy Projects: If you will be working on an information literacy project, consult this guide for step-by-step guidance: RD 115 Information Literacy Project
Books to Check Out from PCC!
Find a lively book to read on your favorite topic! These lists include books recommended by students, staff, faculty, and librarians. Choose a topic that looks interesting, then look at the list for your Reading class to see a list of recommended books.
- Action, Adventure, True Crime (fast paced thrillers, some fiction, some real life)
- Culture Clash (different cultural values and beliefs collide)
- Dystopia (worlds gone bad, like 1984 and Hunger Games)
- Fantasy (filled with supernatural or magical characters and events)
- History, Historical Fiction (some true books about history, some stories about historical events)
- Humorous (tickle your funny bone!)
- International (set outside the U.S. or written by international authors)
- LGBTQ (books that reflect LGBTQ issues and characters)
- Life Experiences (realistic stories about people and their experiences)
- Memoir (true life stories)
- Movies (books made into movies)
- Mystery (suspense and whodunits)
- Nonfiction (books full of information about all sorts of topics)
- Overcoming Adversity (inspirational stories, both fictional and real)
- Realistic Fiction (true-to-life stories)
- Romance (love stories)
- Science Fiction (imagined futures, technology, space travel and more)
- Social Justice (fictional and real-life social issues)
- Sports (fictional and real-life sports stories)
- Street Lit (urban fiction)
- War and Veterans (military fiction and war memoirs)
There's something for everyone here - if you don't find a book you want to read, talk to any PCC librarian for more suggestions!
Tell us your favorite book!
Do you know a great book that your friends and classmates might like reading? The library would like to know about that book! You can recommend a book for the library to purchase here:
Thank you for your suggestions.
Staff picks
Between the World and Me by A father's letter to his son about the experience of being a Black man in America. Widely recognized as one of the best books of 2015. Nonfiction. 152 pages. Available as ebook and audiobook
Crazy Rich Asians by An outrageously funny debut, Crazy Rich Asians is the story of three superrich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting and scheming that occur when Nicholas Young, heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia, brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season. Fiction. 517 pages.
The Hate U Give by This runaway best seller tells the story of 16-year-old Starr Carter, who is drawn to activism after she witnesses the police shooting of her unarmed friend. Winner of the Coretta Scott King award. Young Adult Fiction. 444 pages. Available as ebook and audiobook
Hunger : a memoir of (my) body by Roxane Gay addresses the experience of living in a body that she calls 'wildly undisciplined. Nonfiction. 306 pages
Station Eleven by "This post-apocalyptic tale of a traveling theater troop is beautifully written and very hard to set down." (Summary from Multcolib). Fiction. 333 pages.
The Sun Is Also a Star by Two teens--Daniel, the son of Korean shopkeepers, and Natasha, whose family is here illegally from Jamaica--cross paths in New York City on an eventful day in their lives--Daniel is on his way to an interview with a Yale alum, Natasha is meeting with a lawyer to try and prevent her family's deportation to Jamaica--and fall in love. Young Adult Fiction. 344 pages. Available as ebook and audiobook
Sources of Additional Book Recommendations
WhichBook
This site will help you find a book to read based on your interests. Browse books by mood and emotion, by characteristics of the main character (gender, sexuality, race, etc.), by events in the book, or find books that take place in specific parts of the world.
Goodreads
This social media site for book lovers has scores of rankings and reviews on every imaginable type of book! Browse genre (subject) lists, lists created by other users of the site, or search for a book or author you've read that you enjoyed to see other recommendations.
Read This Twice
Book recommendations from famous people, including Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, Jennifer Lawrence and many more.
Read Alikes
If you like a particular author or book title, you might be able to find similar books from Read Alike tools and lists like these:
- What Should I Read Next?
- BookBrowse
- Search for a book you liked in LibraryThing and take a look at the LibraryThing and Member recommendations for similar books to read.
- Search for a book you liked on Amazon.com and take a look at the list of books under "Customers who bought this item also bought..."
- Goodreads Read Alikes
- Read Alikes from Hoover Library
NPR's Book Concierge
Find recommended books by NPR staff and trusted critics on every topic imaginable
- Books and Authors This link opens in a new windowThis database includes the option to search by author, browse new titles or genres, locate book awards, do graphical searches, find recommended reading lists, find book reviews, and much more. If you have ever wondered what to read next, this can help you make an informed choice.
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Research Help
You can get help in-person from our librarians during open hours at any PCC Library (see Library hours).
Call us:
- Cascade: 971-722-5269
- Rock Creek: 971-722-7239
- Southeast: 971-722-6289
- Sylvania: 971-722-4500
Email: refer@pcc.edu
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