Bestsellers

Find out about the latest bestsellers from many well known resources.

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• iTunes App Store

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New York Times - Bestselling Fiction by Bestsellers

Bestselling fiction titles, updated every week! This list includes bestselling fiction for the week of January 29, 2023.

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New York Times - Children's Bestsellers by Bestsellers

Bestselling Children's titles, updated every week! This list includes bestselling children's fiction, children's series, and Children's Picture Books for the week of January 29, 2023.

View the full list

New York Times - Bestselling Nonfiction (9 items)

Bestselling nonfiction titles, updated every week! This list includes bestselling nonfiction for the week of January 29, 2023.

Poetry in Translation (6 items)

Take pleasure in reading poets from other languages and cultures.

Poetry - Novels in Verse (19 items)

Poetry with special appeal for tweens and teens.

Poetry - Great Contemporary Poetry (5 items)

Selections from the Literature Department.

Award Winners (20 items)

Award-winning Bestsellers, fiction and nonfiction

Library Reads: Favorite of Favorites 2016 (10 items)

Librarians across the country have chosen their ten favorite books published in 2016.

Oprah's Book Club (73 items)

Bestselling selections from Oprah's Book Club.

Blog Posts

Dena's Favorite Books of 2022

Welcome to Year 11 of my annual list of favorite books and the third year of pandemic reading! I've started getting my reading mojo back and have been spending a bit more time reading than watching tv this year—268 books read…

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• LGBTQ
• reading
• romance
• recommendations
• sci fi
• fiction
• nonfiction
• fantasy literature

Virtual Monday Poets - Now in its 28th season!

Monday Poets is one of the longest continuously running programs at the Free Library, currently in its 28th season. Join us for a very special virtual event on Monday, December 19 at 6:30 p.m. with Philadelphia Poet Laureate Airea D.…

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• Poetry
• literature

Explore Creative Careers with Field Teen Center!

Throughout the month of July, Field Teen Center recorded interviews with a voice actor, four game designers, and a comic book writer. If you’re interested in creative jobs or if you just want to learn more about how your favorite…

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• art
• careers
• tech
• Teens
• YA Literature
• comics and graphic novels
• digital media
• writing
• LEAP
• fiction
• video games
• adaptations
• STEAM
• Anime & Manga
• games and gaming
• literature
• Black Authors

Bloomsday is back!

The Rosenbach's annual Bloomsday festival is BACK on Delancey Place after a two-year hiatus. Join the celebration on Thursday, June 16 anytime between 11:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. What  is  Bloomsday? Bloomsday is the day…

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• history
• Rosenbach
• Bloomsday
• literature

Dracula at 125

Written by Edward P. On May 26, 1897, visitors to bookshops in London found a new book, for just six shillings, published by Constable and Co., bound in a lurid yellow cloth cover with blood red letters announcing its strange…

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• history
• Rosenbach
• literature

Rosemary for Shakespeare

Written by Isabel S. April 23 marks the day that we traditionally celebrate William Shakespeare’s birth and deathday, though neither of those occasions are confirmed to have actually been on the 23rd. Shakespeare was baptized on…

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• history
• Shakespeare
• Rosenbach
• author birthdays
• literature

The lyrical speaker: Finding your own voice through poetry!

“La poesía es un espacio de libertad/ Poetry is a space of freedom”. Carlos José Pérez Sámano, Mexican poet and writer Poetry explores the language and its limitations. It’s a way to get…

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• Community Events
• Poetry
• writing
• literature
• Virtual Programs

Newspapers: A Guide Into the Past

Many of us may get our news from online sources these days—social media feeds provide a constant source of information about everything from policy proposals, the weather, celebrity news, and more, as the events unfold in…

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• databases
• digital media
• Black History Month
• newspapers
• literature

Ulysses at 100

February 2, 2022, will mark the centennial of the publication of James Joyce’s masterpiece  Ulysses . Constructed as a modern parallel to Homer’s  Odyssey ,  Ulysses  takes place over the course of a…

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• fiction

Dena's Favorite Books of 2021

It's that time of year again for my annual list of favorite books from the Philbrick Hall Fiction Department at Parkway Central Library ! Welcome to the tenth anniversary of this yearly list and the second year of pandemic reading!…

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• LGBTQ
• reading
• romance
• recommendations
• sci fi
• fiction
• fantasy literature

A Continued Discussion on the Topics of Surrealism and Gender

Written by Lewis Shaw, who conducted extensive research in the Art Department as part of a Friends Select School Senior Internship Project. The following is a continuation of a previous blog post on the topics of Surrealism and Gender.…

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• archives
• art
• Departments
• history
• literature
• students

Celebrating Jacqueline Woodson

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Jacqueline Woodson grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and Brooklyn, New York, graduating from college with a B.A. in English. She is the author of dozens of award-winning books for young adults, middle…

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• recommendations
• literature
• Black Women Authors

Scary Reads for Autumn Chills | Horror Fiction Recommendations

Greeting fiends! The brisk winds of autumn are finally here, bringing colder nights for spooky reading... So much great horror fiction has been hitting our stacks, here are some of my current favorites.  My Heart Is a Chainsaw by…

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• recommendations
• Halloween
• fiction

Surrealism and Gender

Written by Lewis Shaw, who conducted extensive research in the Art Department as part of a Friends Select School Senior Internship Project. During the extended fever dream which we all refer to as COVID quarantine, I picked up a love of…

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• art
• literature

Create Something New During National Sewing Month

September is National Sewing Month and a great opportunity to create something new this year for everyone on your D.I.Y gift-giving list. Both the Art and Literature and Science and Wellness departments at Parkway Central Library have…

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• art
• Crafts & Hobbies
• literature
• Science and Wellness

¡Celebremos la Fiesta del Libro en Español!

The love for the Spanish language and culture can transcend frontiers! The stories, poems and illustrations of the books can reflect personal narratives that touch our collective unconsciousness. A team of talented community…

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• Community Events
• family programs
• recommendations
• Poetry
• New Americans
• literature
• immigrant heritage
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Uncovering the Real James Bond in the Rare Book Department

From Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, the intrepid agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service—James Bond, designated Agent 007—has epitomized masculine cool. Everyone knows how he likes his vodka martinis. Everyone knows…

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• Rare Book Department
• film
• special collections
• literature
• History of Philadelphia

Celebrating Pakistan's Independence Day with Music, Film, and Literature!

Jashn-e-Azadi Mubarak! Happy Independence Day! This past Saturday, August 14, was Pakistan’s Independence Day. Formed in 1947, Pakistan celebrated 74 years of its independence and freedom from British colonialism and the formation…

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• Holidays
• music
• film
• history
• literature
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Summer Reading with Dena!

Yes, it’s that time of the year again, to head to the beach (or a heavily air conditioned reading nook) and dive into some fun reading! Here are some new and newish books that are perfect for giving yourself a mental vacation:…

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• romance
• recommendations
• summer
• literature
• beach reads

Central Senior Services Joins Moore College of Art to Fight Social Isolation During Pandemic

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has studied the impact of loneliness and social isolation on American seniors and the results are deeply disturbing. Extensive studies of the subject reveal that social isolation of…

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• art
• Seniors
• literature

Podcasts

John Banville | The Singularities

Ross Gay | Inciting Joy: Essays with Major Jackson | A Beat Beyond: Selected Prose of Major Jackson

Orhan Pamuk | Nights of Plague

Anna Badkhen | Bright Unbearable Reality: Essays

Ada Limón | The Hurting Kind

Yiyun Li | The Book of Goose with Elizabeth McCracken | The Hero of this Book

Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan | Mad Honey

Vladimir Sorokin and Max Lawton | Telluria and Their Four Hearts

Ian McEwan | Lessons

Gary Shteyngart | Our Country Friends

Diane McKinney-Whetstone | Our Gen

Alice Elliott Dark | Fellowship Point

Chinelo Okparanta | Harry Sylvester Bird

Lisa Taddeo | The Ghost Lover: Stories

Kali Fajardo-Anstine | Woman of Light

Rebecca Rukeyser | The Seaplane on Final Approach

Maxine Hong Kingston | The Woman Warrior, China Men, Tripmaster Monkey, Other Writings

Zakiya Dalila Harris | The Other Black Girl

Jason Rekulak | Hidden Pictures

Chloé Cooper Jones | Easy Beauty: A Memoir