What are you reading this September? Explore our latest staff booklists

Looking for your next great read—or listen? Each month, Louisville Public Library staff create booklists for children, teens, and adults, bringing together stories around timely themes, celebrations, and topics worth exploring.

September’s lists have a little bit of everything: talking dragons, standout audiobooks, books that pair perfectly, and selections celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, Library Card Sign-Up Month, International Literacy Day, and more.

For kids: Dragons have something to say

Fire-breathing, flying, and treasure-hoarding are impressive enough. But what about dragons that can talk—or find other ways to communicate?

Talking Dragons for Kids is a collection of juvenile fiction for fans of Wings of Fire and other fantastical adventures featuring memorable dragons.

In Alliana, Girl of Dragons, Alliana spends her days tending to her stepfamily’s inn at the edge of the abyss. Rescuing an orphaned nightdragon—and later helping an apprentice witch—could finally give her the chance to escape her stepmother and seek a new life.

Or enter the world of Dragonwatch, where an ancient group of wizards, enchantresses, and dragon slayers is crumbling just as an uprising of dragons threatens both magical preserves and the nonmagical world.

Explore the Talking Dragons for Kids booklist.

For teens: Stories worth listening to

A great narrator can make a story feel entirely new. Amazing Audiobooks for Teens highlights books that are especially rewarding to experience through your headphones.

Fantasy fans can try Daughter of No Worlds, the story of Tisaanah, who escaped a forgotten homeland and years of captivity only to find herself fighting for the freedom of someone she left behind. Her journey takes her to the Orders, powerful organizations of magic wielders that may offer the help she needs—if she can earn a place among them.

In Gone Wolf, a Black girl known as Inmate Eleven imagines a world beyond the small room where she is confined. Alongside her dog, who is increasingly “going wolf” and imagining himself free, she begins to question the world she has been told is real.

Listen your way through the Amazing Audiobooks for Teens booklist.

For adults: Twice as nice

Why stop at one author? Twice as Nice celebrates collaborative fiction—novels created by two or more writers bringing their voices together to tell one story.

The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, brings to life the remarkable story of Belle da Costa Greene. As J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Greene became a powerful figure in New York’s literary and art world while guarding a secret that could threaten everything she had achieved.

For a change of pace, try Judge Stone, by Viola Davis and James Patterson. In the small town of Union Springs, Alabama, Judge Mary Stone is a local celebrity who holds her courtroom—and herself—to the highest standard: Do the right thing, or don’t do it at all. Then she takes on the biggest case Alabama has ever seen, one that appears open-and-shut until it becomes anything but.

Discover the pairings on our Twice as Nice booklist.

More to explore in September

September also gives readers plenty of reasons to discover something new. Library staff have curated additional lists for several celebrations and observances throughout the month, including:

• Library Card Sign-Up Month — Celebrate the library with an adult booklist featuring stories set in libraries and books about the people, places and possibilities found within them.
• Labor Day, Sept. 7 — Browse an adult booklist exploring work and the people who do it.
• International Literacy Day, Sept. 8 — Celebrate reading, learning and the power of literacy with selections for adults.
• Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15–Oct. 15 — Discover books and stories for children, teens and adults celebrating Hispanic and Latino voices, cultures and experiences.

Whether you’re looking for a dragon-filled adventure, your next audiobook or a new perspective, there’s a September booklist waiting for you.

Browse all Louisville Public Library booklists and find your next read.