SDPL Recommended Books 2022
Staff Picks 2022
San Diego Public Library staff write short book reviews of their favorite titles for the San Diego Union Tribune, which are published every other Sunday. Here is a selection of the titles we've recommended. Checkout information may be found in the library catalog.
For more book recommendations and reviews check out our YouTube Channel for video reviews by staff.
Librarian I, Central Library
San Diego Union Tribune, 18 December 2022
It’s hard to say what’s more lovable about Snotgirl: Leslie Hung’s vibrant, manga-influenced illustrations of iconic fashion and food moments, or O’Malley’s snappy dialogue and scalding characterization of the LA it-girl. San Diego readers might especially enjoy the depictions of food, which were inspired by things Hung has eaten in Southern California, and the satire of LA influencer culture.
Supervising Librarian, Central Library
San Diego Union Tribune, 04 December 2022
Youth Services Librarian, Point Loma/Hervey Library
San Diego Union Tribune, 20 November 2022
Librarian II, Central Library, San Diego Public Library
San Diego Union Tribune, November 6, 2022
Library Assistant 3, Central Library
San Diego Union Tribune, October 23, 2022
Director, San Diego Public Library
San Diego Union Tribune, October 9, 2022
Library Assistant II, Carmel Mountain Ranch Library
San Diego Union Tribune, October 2, 2022
Youth Services Librarian, North Clairemont Library
San Diego Union Tribune, September 11, 2022
Librarian 2: Valencia Park / Malcolm X Library
San Diego Union Tribune, 28 August 2022
Librarian 2: Children & Teen Materials Selector, Central Library
San Diego Union Tribune, 14 August 2022
Librarian 2, Humanities Librarian, Central Library
San Diego Union Tribune, 31 July 2022
Branch Manager, Balboa Branch Library
San Diego Union Tribune, July 17, 2022
Library Assistant 3, College-Rolando Library
San Diego Union Tribune, July 3, 2022
Youth Services Librarian, North Clairemont Library
San Diego Union Tribune, June 19, 2022
Librarian II, Central Library
San Diego Union Tribune, 5 June 2022
Librarian 1, Sciences Dept., Central Library
San Diego Union Tribune, 22 May 2022
Chin’s killing is typically included in Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies courses, but author Paula Yoo introduces the story for the general public. Yoo mixes meticulous research with keen character development, enveloping readers in the heartbreak of Vincent Chin’s death.
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. This APA Heritage Month, I honor Vincent Chin, Vincent Chin’s brave mother Lily Chin, and the writer Paula Yoo, for this incredible book that so vividly illustrates the start of a civil rights movement. Don’t be fooled by the young adult designation--this is a page turner for adults, too.
Library Assistant 3, College-Rolando Library
Teen Services Librarian, Central Library
San Diego Union Tribune, 10 April 2022
Prison officials took it upon themselves to dole out punishment to the inmates, and sought out those prisoners they believed led the insurrection, including Frank “Big Black” Smith. The guards beat him, tortured him, then placed a football under his chin, against his throat, and told him if it should fall, he would be shot to death.
Big Black: Stand at Attica is an unflinching look at the price of standing up to injustice in what remains one of the bloodiest civil rights confrontations in American history, and shines a spotlight on the treatment of incarcerated citizens in American penitentiaries.
Manager, Pauline Foster Teen Center, Central Library
San Diego Union Tribune, 13 March 2022
Library Assistant III, Central Library
San Diego Union Tribune, February 27, 2022
Reviewed by Jolanta Danaziene
Library Assistant I, Rancho Bernardo Library
San Diego Union Tribune, February 13, 2022
Readers can approach this novel as an allegory or a fable-fairy tale about human’ connection with animals and nature. Yet it is also a vivid story about the bureaucracy and corruption rampant in India, about the impoverished daily life of poor south Indian villagers, about their wisdom and folly, about their brutal survival, all mixed into a novel of magical realism.
Humanities Librarian, Central Library
San Diego Union Tribune, January 30, 2022
Manager, Kensington-Normal Heights Library
San Diego Union Tribune, January 16, 2022
Youth Services Librarian, Scripps Miramar Ranch Library
San Diego Union Tribune, January 2, 2022