We Recommend

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Illustration of an oversized pile of books with people sitting, lying and walking amongst them.

All of OPL’s staff recommendations in one page. You can browse the different lists based on topics, format or genres, or you can read some of the more detailed blog posts about specific items.

You can view additional recently added staff lists here. If you can’t find what you are looking for, you can always #AskALibrarian online or in a branch!

Spotlight on...

Capital Pride 2026

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Jude Saves the World
Riley, Ronnie
2023
Twelve-year-old Jude struggles with some things: focusing at school, feeling like everything rests on their shoulders, not being able to come out as nonbinary to their old-fashioned grandparents. But Jude doesn't struggle with Dallas, their best friend in the whole world. Their person. Jude and…
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This Is Our Rainbow
16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us
2021
Featuring contributions from Eric Bell, Katherine Locke and A.J. Sass, this first LGBTQA+ anthology for middle-grade readers presents stories of queer fantasy, historical and contemporary stories for every letter of the acronym.
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Bea Mullins Takes A Shot
Deibert, Emily
2025
After a lifetime of humiliating sports experiences, Bea Mullins knows the best way to survive middle school is to stick to the sidelines. When PE is suddenly canceled, though, Bea is forced to join an after-school activity...which is how she ends up as a member of the Glenwood Geese, her middle…
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Are You A Friend of Dorothy?
The True Story of An Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped
Lukoff, Kyle
2025
""Are you a friend of Dorothy?" In a time when the LGBTQ+ community was forced to hide in the shadows, a woman named Dorothy helped her people find each other in the dark and celebrate themselves in the light. But who was Dorothy? Was she from the neighborhood, someone's wife, mother, or sister?…
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No! No! No! No!

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Yeah, No. Not Happening
How I Found Happiness Swearing Off Self-improvement and Saying F*ck It All--and How You Can Too
Karbo, Karen
2020
"Karen Karbo has had enough. She's taking a stand against the cultural and societal pressures, marketing, and media influences that push us to spend endless time, energy and money trying to "fix" ourselves—a race that has no finish line and only further increases our send of self-dissatisfaction…
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No!
No!
The Art and Activism of Complaining
Ahmed, Sara
2026
An assembly of refusals portraying the radical power of "no" by the renowned scholar and author of The Feminist Killjoy Handbook, Sara Ahmed.To be heard as complaining is not to be heard, writes Sara Ahmed. In her sweeping exploration of complaint as a means of resistance, Ahmed attunes her …
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The Joy of Saying No
A Simple Plan to Stop People Pleasing, Reclaim Boundaries, and Say Yes to the Life You Want
Lue, Natalie
2022
"Are you still playing a role you learned in childhood to please others, such as the Good Girl/Boy, the Overachiever, or the Helper? Though these kinds of roles may have gained us attention and affection, they prohibited us from becoming our true selves. People-pleasing--putting others ahead of…

Lights in the Night

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Nightfaring
In Search of the Disappearing Darkness
Eaves-Egenes, Megan
2026
"People, plants and animals all depend on the natural night--both its darkness and its starlight--for so much, from regulating our sleep cycles to providing the inspiration for myths and legends across the millennia. But darkness is disappearing, and with it, our view of the stars. The constant…
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Evening's Empire
A History of the Night in Early Modern Europe
Koslofsky, Craig
2011
"What does it mean to write a history of the night? Evening's Empire is a fascinating study of the myriad ways in which early modern people understood, experienced, and transformed the night. Using diaries, letters, and legal records together with representations of the night in early modern…
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Moon Garden
A Guide to Creating An Evening Oasis
Osofsky, Jarema
2023
A "guide to creating a moon garden, plus soothing rituals to practice in your night-blooming oasis. Moon gardens are green spaces that come alive at night, with plants that reflect moonlight, attract nocturnal creatures, and release scent after sundown. Though beautiful during the day, they're best…
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Night Magic
Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark
Henion, Leigh Ann
2024
"In a glorious celebration of the dark, nature writer Leigh Ann Henion invites us to leave our well-lit homes and step outside to embrace the biodiversity that surrounds us"--Provided by publisher.
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The Garden at Night
Private Views of Public Edens
Rutenberg, Linda
2007
Linda Rutenberg's images capture an astonishing world hidden in plain sight. By photographing public and botanical gardens at night, Rutenberg reveals a luminous landscape of plants, colors, shadows, and light. Twenty-one gardens throughout North America are included, each with intimate portraits…
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Lights of Mankind
The Earth at Night as Seen From Space
Keeney, L. Douglas
2012
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Classical Mythology of the Constellations
Timeless Tales of the Starry Night Sky
Giesecke, Annette
2025
"Classical Mythology of the Constellations is a stargazer's guide to the wondrous stories of the gods, heroes, and monsters that populate the night sky. As long as humans have lived on Earth, they have gazed up at the starry sky with fascination and longing. For the ancient Greeks and Romans, the…
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Night Owl
Poems
Nezhukumatathil, Aimee
2026
"In her latest poetry collection, Aimee Nezhukumatathil plumbs the depths of nighttime, crafting a series of nocturnes that explore the magic, sensuality, and life that emerge as the rest of the world goes to bed. Night Owl navigates questions and concerns for the environment that envelops us. It…

Odysseus! Go Home!

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Epic Adventures of Odysseus
An Interactive Mythological Adventure
Hoena, B. A.
2017
"Interactive adventures about the mythical Greek hero Odysseus in You Choose format"--
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The Children's Homer
The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy
Colum, Padraic
2019
A retelling of the events of the Trojan War and the wanderings of Odysseus based on Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.
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The Odyssey
Sutcliff, Rosemary
2014
Presents a retelling of the adventures of Odysseus on his long voyage home from the Trojan War.
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"When people hear Polyphemus is a cyclops, they always assume he's a big scary monster with one huge eye who eats people .The truth is, Yes, he is big, and he does have one huge eye, and OK he does occasionally eat people... but that's not the whole story! All he ever wanted was to throw the…

Back in the ’60s

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The Women
Hannah, Kristin
2024
"Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances "Frankie" McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965…
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The Girls
Cline, Emma
2016
Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a…
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Sister Stardust
A Novel
Green, Jane
2022
Inspired by a true story, the author reimagines the glamorous and tragic life of fashion icon and socialite Talitha Getty through the eyes of Claire, a young woman in search of adventure who is drawn into Talitha's orbit, forever changing her life.
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Concert Season! New Music Reads

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"Why do Bob Marley, John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, and Nina Simone move us the way they do? What drives the worried notes of the Delta blues? What makes Beyoncé's triumph Cowboy Carter inescapably great? As Melvin Gibbs shows in How Black Music Took Over the World, it is the musical inheritance of…
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Living in A D.A.I.S.Y. Age
The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made
McCoy, Austin
2026
"A culturally connected celebration of the groundbreaking hip-hop group De La Soul, and how they changed the look, sound, and feel of Black America. Music artists and trends come and go, but every once in a while, a moment arrives that genuinely changes everything. In 1988, De La Soul, three young…
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Tonight the Music Seems So Loud
The Meaning of George Michael
Sanghera, Sathnam
2026
He wrote one of the biggest hits of our age in 'about an hour' in his childhood bedroom. He would go on to collaborate with some of the greatest musicians of all time, from Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder. He was a pop star who bleached his hair blonde, wore tiny shorts and, at the same time,…
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Cosmic Thing
Crighton, Pete
2025
"The B-52s fifth record Cosmic Thing took the world by storm in 1989 in the wake of the band's single greatest tragedy: losing guitarist Ricky Wilson to complications from AIDS in 1985. Cosmic Thing is a celebration of queer joy in the face of that seismic setback. Not only did the B-52s have to…
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Mighty Real
A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000
Walters, Barry
2026
"From the underground dancefloors of the Seventies to the global charts of the Nineties, LGBTQ artists and audiences shaped music's sound, style, and spirit. In Mighty Real, veteran journalist Barry Walters chronicles its LGBTQ history from the Velvet Underground to the 21st century's dawn as he…
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Rough Description
Love Letters and Ghost Stories From A Life in Music
Pyle, Don
2026
"Recalls first bands, the absurdity and incredible rewards of touring, and dubious-dealing stories of the groups he’s been in, most prominently as drummer and co-founder of beloved group Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. It recounts friend and work relationships with musician Dallas Good, venerable…
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Gone to the Dogs

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Fifteen Dogs
An Apologue
Alexis, André
2015
I wonder, said Hermes, what it would be like if animals had human intelligence. I'll wager a year's servitude, answered Apollo, that animals - any animal you like - would be even more unhappy than humans are, if they were given human intelligence. And so it begins: a bet between the gods Hermes and…
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Catching Sight
How A Guide Dog Helped Me See Myself
Elliott, Deni
2026
"One woman's journey through progressive blindness and the extraordinary guide dog who kept her safe along the way. When ethics scholar Deni Elliott, born with limited vision, realized she could no longer navigate the world safely alone, she turned to a guide dog--a decision that reshaped her…
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Cornelius
The Merry Life of A Wretched Dog
Torices, Marc
2025
"Horrifying and hilarious, Cornelius the dog is a spectacular train wreck--you just can't look away. Cornelius is a fumbling loser, the butt of everyone's jokes. When his friend Alspacka is kidnapped, the subsequent criminal investigation turns into a dramatic and emotional ordeal, upending…
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The Best Dog in the World
Essays on Love
2026
"Anyone who has ever been fortunate enough to share their life with a dog knows the experience is both profound and transformative. Here, in this charming collection of essays, fourteen celebrated authors share unforgettable tales of the dogs who left their pawprints on their hearts. With…
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The Word of Dog
What Our Canine Companions Can Teach Us About Living A Good Life
Rowlands, Mark
2025
"If you have spent any part of your life with a dog, you may have found certain questions popping, unbidden, into your mind: Is my dog living a fulfilled life? Is my dog a good dog? Does my dog love me? Addressing these questions compels you to confront not just your dog's life but yours as well-…
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Monster of A Land
On the Road in Search of Modern America
Hough, Lauren
2026
"An update of John Steinbeck’s trip in Travels with Charley, a cross-country journey exploring modern America with Lauren Hough’s signature observational wit, searing social commentary, and perspective as someone who knows what it’s like to truly exist on the margins in this country."--Publisher.
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The Marvels of Canada

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Gardens Canada
Live the Garden Life
2022
"From coast to coast, Canada's gardens and offer relaxing hours and inspire you to create your own garden experience. This book is the proof. Relax along the sweet floral scents as you admire a rich tapestry of colours, or simply get inspired for your home garden!"--Publisher.
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Canada
Raach, Karl-Heinz
2019
"Canada borders the United States to the south and the Arctic Circle to the north. This results in a landscape diversity with endless forest areas in the south and ice and rock areas in the north, beyond the Arctic tree line. In more than 500 pictures, this volume shows the multifaceted wilderness…
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150 Nature Hot Spots in Canada
The Best Parks, Conservation Areas and Wild Places
Olsen, Debbie
2020
"The best of the Nature Hot Spots regional books in one national guide. 150 Nature Hot Spots in Canada features a selection of destinations from the four existing Canadian nature hot spot guides with the addition of destinations in Quebec, Atlantic Canada and the territories. Like the other titles…
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Canada's World Wonders
Brown, Ron
2018
"With Canada's World Wonders, you'll visit Banff National Park, the first link in a vast network of natural parks and heritage sites that has grown to include Old Quebec, the Rideau Canal, and the Fortress of Louisbourg. UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in Alberta…
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The Beautiful Game

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Diez Espada—named after the jersey number of his soccer-obsessed father’s favorite player, Lionel Messi—would rather be chasing clues than soccer balls. When the World Cup trophy disappears at a glitzy party in Miami, he’s suddenly at the center of the most thrilling match of his life—a race to…
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Canada National Soccer Teams
Ultimate Fan Guide
Stabler, David
2026
"The Canadian National Team is a growing force in the world of soccer. It boasts talented women, skilled men, and a passionate fanbase. Readers will discover the history and greatest moments of this team"-- Provided by publisher.
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The Ultimate Unofficial World Cup Book
Legends, Stats, and Stories From Soccer's Biggest Game
Barbo, Maria S.
2026
Your go-to guide for the Summer 2026 World Cup hosted by North America is packed with everything a fan needs to know!From star players and powerhouse teams to historic moments and record-breaking stats, this action-packed book is filled with full-color photos, fun facts, and must-know trivia. Dive…
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Soccer Atlas
A Journey Across the World and Onto the Soccer Field
Buckley, James
2021
"Grab your gear and join your team to get ready for an action-packed trip around the world and onto the soccer field! Explore the history of the beautiful game, get the low down on major tournaments and leagues, then travel to stand-out stadiums and meet some of the world's top teams and superstar…

Insect Helpers

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The Mighty Pollinators
Frost, Helen
2024
When you are outside on a summer's day, have you ever seen fine powder on a flower or floating on the breeze? That's pollen, almost invisible, waiting for the only thing it needs -- a ride on the wind, or a wing, or a feather. And it's the pollinators, small and mighty, who hold the world together…
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Pollinators & Native Plants for Kids
An Introduction to Botany
Daniels, Jaret C.
2025
"Learn about the importance of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators in this children's book that includes an introduction to botany and a plant identification guide. Native plants surround us every day, so it's easy to take them for granted. But they are vital to the existence of all animals…
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Insect Pollinators
Boothroyd, Jennifer
2015
Readers will learn how bees, butterflies, ants, and other insects assist in pollination.

Creating Connections

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Community and Well-being
Exploring Sense of Belonging Among Youth
Foran, Helen
2025
"This study uses data from the Canadian Social Survey (2021 to 2024) to explore the experiences of youth (aged 15 to 29) and their sense of belonging to their community across the urban and rural divide. Specifically, it describes the characteristics of youth who are most likely to experience a …
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A Little More Social
How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection
Epley, Nicholas
2026
"[A] message for our lonely age about why we often avoid what makes us happiest--connecting with other people--and how we can build wiser social habits through small and simple acts, from leading behavioral scientist and author of Mindwise"--Provided by publisher.
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A Time to Gather
How Ritual Created the World--and How It Can Save Us
Feiler, Bruce
2026
"It's easy to be overwhelmed by the sharp decline in the types of life rituals that have been the tentpoles of family and community life since time immemorial. Birth rituals have plummeted, as have comings-of-age. Fewer than half of Americans are married today; only one in three is buried. "It took…
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Tribe
On Homecoming and Belonging
Junger, Sebastian
2016
Sebastian Junger takes a critical look at post-traumatic stress disorder and the many challenges today's returning veterans face in modern society.There are ancient tribal human behaviors-loyalty, inter-reliance, cooperation-that flare up in communities during times of turmoil and suffering. These…
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On Belonging
Finding Connection in An Age of Isolation
Samuel, Kim
2022
"Humanity is at an inflection point. Stress, disconnection, and increasing environmental degradation have people yearning for more than just material progress, personal freedom, or political stability. We are searching for deeper connection. We are longing to belong. On Belonging is an exploration…
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The Art and Science of Connection
Why Social Health Is the Missing Key to Living Longer, Healthier, and Happier
Killam, Kasley
2024
"Argues that the definition of wellbeing is missing a major component: social connection, proving that relationships not only make us happy, but they are also critical to our overall health and longevity."--Publisher.

New Music from Ottawa Artists

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The Sum of All Wounds
Touched Fables (Musical group)
2025
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Listen to the City
"Systems of Technology"
2025
"Ottawa, Canada has always been home to a thriving underground music community, rich with boundary-pushing artists, diverse genres, and a spirit of collaboration that runs deep. To capture and celebrate this energy, Disown Me Recordings has partnered with Catalyst Events to curate a new compilation…
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What’s in a Name?

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Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead
A Novel
Nguyen, Mai
2026
All Cleo Dang has ever wanted was to be a mother. The day she discovers she's pregnant is the happiest of her life, especially when she learns that her best friend, Paloma, is also expecting. It's a wonderful surprise and together, they enjoy their pregnancies. But when they both go to the hospital…
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Clementine Crane Prefers Not to
A Novel
Bair, Kristin
2025
Clementine Crane has a few things on her plate: She keeps the peace, picks up the slack, and always puts everyone else first. But when her first hot flash strikes, perimenopause sends her into a tailspin. Between a husband who can't navigate a revolving door without her, three kids who treat her as…
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Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
Cosimano, Elle
2021
"Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send…
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Mrs. Shim Is A Killer
A Novel
Kang, Chi-yŏng
2026
When a middle-aged widowed loses her job at the butcher shop, she's at a loss as to how to provide for her family--until she's offered a position that puts her carving skills to new uses . Shim needs money. She's lost her husband and her job, and she's got three mouths to feed at her kitchen table…