Are you looking for your next great read? We can help! Visit us in person, explore reading recommendations online, join an in-person or online book discussion, get recommendations on Facebook, tune in to our televised book club segments, and more. Get started here!
Personalized Reading Recommendations
Whether you are in a reading frenzy or a reading slump, you might just need a short list of title suggestions to support your reading habit or to get inspired. Hoosier Next Read is a personalized book recommendation service from The Indianapolis Public Library. Share your reading preferences, and our Library staff will send you a custom list of 2–5 titles within 7 business days so you’ll always have your next great read ready.
Sunday Nights on Facebook
Join us on Sunday nights at 8:30 p.m. on Facebook for Currently Reading. Enjoy this hour during which book enthusiasts share favorite books and offer suggestion about what to read next. Find out about the books that have everyone talking.
Indy Now Book Club
Catch book recommendations and Library program highlights from your own local librarians once a month on the Indy Now Morning Show with Ryan and Jillian on Fox59. The show airs at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays. Browse our past appearances.
In-Person & Online Book Discussions
Do you love talking about books? Join one of our book discussions or book clubs available both in-person and online.
Online Reading Recommendations
NovelList and NovelList K-8 are online services that offer reading recommendations. Browse both fiction and nonfiction, read-alike suggestions, series information, reviews, and lists of recommended and award-winning books for adults, teens and kids. Learn how to start on this video tutorial. Also try Book Connections which includes a “find the right book for you” feature.
Make a selection from one of the book lists below created by our staff of avid readers. You can also follow our staff’s most recently published lists on the library catalog home page. Don’t miss our If You Like… suggestions that cover all the favorite genres like science fiction, graphic novels, romance, and more. Finally, don’t miss What We’re Reading Teens and What We’re Reading Kids.
Play Your Way! May 30 – August 1
Grab your friends and grab a book because it’s time for Summer Reading at The Indianapolis Public Library! The Library is the ultimate playground for creativity, imagination, and discovery whether you’re a beginning reader or a bookworm. Join the adventure, learn something new, and become a lifelong reader! Learn more about the 2026 Summer Reading Program.
Staff Picks
The Importance of Play in Adult Life
As adults, we don’t always make time in our lives for play. We’re so busy and always balancing so many different tasks– playtime just isn’t a priority once we grow up. But research shows that playing throughout our lives has benefits! Check out these books to learn more about the importance of play, no matter your age.
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250 years of American History
Birthdays always invite us to look back over the preceding years. Here are some fantastic works to explore the history of our great nation – maybe through a new lens. Rediscover the history we know, the history we thought we knew and the history we’ve never learned before. These are the things that unite us.
Adult Summer Reading 2026: Quick Reads
Check out these books from our Quick Reads collection that fit with our Play Your Way theme for Summer Reading! Building your reading skills and enjoy reading at an easy pace. #IndyPLAdults #IndyPLSRP2026 #QuickReads
Adult Summer Reading 2026: Large Print & Audiobook Suggestions
Check out this list of large print and audiobook titles connected to our 2026 Play Your Way summer reading theme! Find a mix of fiction and non-fiction options available in multiple formats.
Short Story Collections
Do you not have the time or attention span to get through a whole novel? Do long books or big series intimidate you? Are you trying to get out of a reading slump? Do you really like short stories? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have come to the right list. While the following collections vary in genre and perspective, they all offer short stories that leave lasting impressions.
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Adult Summer Reading 2026: TTRPG Zines
The DIY ethos of indie TTRPG creators is a perfect match for the DIY ethos of zine makers. It’s no surprise that games represent quite a large sub-genre of the format. Here are a few from our collection, with settings spanning all types of fantasy worlds, from traditional medieval, to outer space, to even modern earthly cafes and restaurants. Game mechanics also encompass everything from traditional dice rolls, to coin-flipping, tarot card pulling, or rock-paper-scissors. But there are many more to explore in the collection beyond this list. Where a title references other media, links to examples are also provided.
Nelson Mandela & the Anti-Apartheid Movement
Nelson Mandela International Day takes place on Saturday, July 18, 2026 and is celebrated throughout the month of July. In order to understand Mandela’s importance to South Africa and the rest of the world, here are some books and movies showing what it was like to live in South Africa during Apartheid and in its aftermath.
Much like the effects of segregation in the United States, it has left a lasting mark on South African society. Sometimes the stories and movies of a place can explain a culture with more nuance than just reading historical accounts. This mix will hopefully give a well rounded picture of South Africa then and now. Some of these were written during Apartheid and others explore its effects.
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While You Wait for Theo of Golden
Are you number 408 in line for one of the library’s copies of Theo of Golden? This hugely popular novel that has taken the reading world by storm explores themes of friendship, kindness, and human connection. This list offers suggested titles to tide you over while you wait.
Disability Pride Month: OCD Awareness
Disability Pride Month is celebrated every July in honor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) being signed into law on July 26, 1990. This month is all about celebrating disability identity, culture, and community.
There are many negative stereotypes and misconceptions about OCD and how it affects individuals. This list of fictional and informational titles aims to shed light on an often misunderstood mental disability.
If You Liked…Project Hail Mary
these are books that capture the humor, science, survival, cosmic wonder, and big-hearted problem-solving of Andy Weir’s hit novel.
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Dying for a Vacation
Sure, you COULD read a relaxing beach read. OR you can do the exact opposite and never relax on vacation again with these antibeach reads.
If You Liked…People We Meet on Vacation
Emily Henry’s iconic writing voice will bring you somewhere warm and sunny, where you’ll meet bookish and heartfelt characters along the way. This list is comprised of some of her recent fiction, as well as other notable summer romance novels.
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