During Women's History Month, we honor in all genres, fiction and nonfiction, the powerhouse women who broke down barriers and pushed back against the status quo. What about the other 99.9% of women whose names will never be in a history book?

This year, my intention is to focus less on quantity, read books that help me understand and appreciate the world around me, and read more books published at least two years ago. If you’re also looking for a way to move beyond numbers with your reading in 2024, here are a few challenges sure to inspire.

Here's the books that captured the attention of TCCL librarians this year, from local librarian and Imprint writer Rebecca Howard.

I believe reading to be an activity that is less about outcome and more about experience. The act of reading is the thing itself. Even when you cannot remember details, you will often remember your response. In this way, I think that every book you read has the potential to be transformative.

If you are a reader and a Gen-Xer like me, Stephen King and Anne Rice probably played pivotal roles in your adolescence. And even though my adult reading doesn’t include a lot of horror titles, I fully understand their appeal. So do many others, it seems.

Fall reading lists include established, award-winning literary authors, highly anticipated next-in-the-series titles, and celebrity memoirs. While you’re waiting for those highly anticipated fall 2023 releases, here are some go-to recommendations that are ready for you to read now.

I am not an adult who views school days with a lot of nostalgia. Still, it’s no wonder that high school and college are mined so frequently as sources of literary inspiration. Even the most average school experience is rife with possibilities for characters.

My go-to summer books are very often thrillers. Maybe it’s the contrast between a happy, whimsical season and the dark, menacing tone of these novels, but there’s something very satisfying about lazing by the pool with a book you cannot put down.

Portrayals of mothers that include the messier, darker aspects of parenthood provide not only richer, more psychologically astute characterization, but also may help their readers feel less alone in their own experiences.

These are the books that when I’ve read a third of the way through, I find myself thinking (and many times saying out loud), I don’t really know what I’m reading, but I love it.