Stephanie Hershberger (left) and Erin Streeter (right) answer questions from Warsaw Christian School students during a visit to the Warsaw Community Public Library. Photo provided by Warsaw Community Public Library.

By Melissa Chapman

Cataloging Supervisor

Keeping up with all of the latest must-read books can quickly turn into an overwhelming endeavor. Whether you’re in the market for an absorbing new book or are just on the lookout for your next can’t- put-it-down read, there are so many options out there. If you need a new book to add to your reading list, look no further than this roundup of some exceptional reads from 2019.

“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” by Charlie Mackesy is a beautiful, profound book filled with characters each of us can relate to in some fashion. The conversations held between the Boy, and the friends he finds along the way, are a reflection of truths many of us have forgotten, how to be gentle to others and ourselves. How to love without limit and walk with the ones we love, through all that life brings.

“The Way I Heard It” by Mike Rowe presents an entertaining, fascinating collection of his favorite episodes from America’s #1 short-form podcast, “The Way I Heard It,” along with a host of personal memories, musings, and insights. It is a charismatic must-read.

“I Really Needed This Today” by Hoda Kotb is a collection of quotes from the Today show’s host. It’s a quote a day for a full year. Hoda also gives her own personal yarns after each quote, mentioning celebrities, coworkers, family and friends. Her voice shines throughout. It is charming, amusing and encouraging. It’s so inspiring that you will say “I really needed this today!”

“Testaments” by Margaret Atwood is the long-awaited sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale.” It is set 15 years after the first story. If you expected a “happily ever after” story about “Offred” that isn’t this book. It’s more about the fall of the dystopian and non-functional Gilead from the point of view of some of the women, gender-traitors, who run the regime and some of the young women born into the system.

“The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead is an enthralling, appalling story of abuses at a reform school for boys in Florida that have a long-ranging impact in this coming-of-age novel that grapples with race, honesty, friendship, and betrayal. Set in the 1960s during Jim Crow, “The Nickel Boys” is both a powerful portrayal of racism and inequality that acts as a lever to pry against our own willingness to ignore it.