If you are looking for an escape from the news (or feel like "leaving" home for awhile), science fiction and fantasy novels can take you far away from our current situation. In my teens and twenties I read a lot of these genres. Then I switched mostly to other genres, but in the last few years I have come back to SF and Fantasy. Below is a list of books that I have enjoyed recently that are available as e-books from The New York Public Library. There are gaps in my reading list so if anyone wants to suggest authors for me to try, that would be lovely.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

A trilogy by a Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy award winning author Nnedi Okorafor. A young Himba girl named Binti is traveling to the elite Oomza University when her spaceship is attacked by aliens.

 

 

 

 

 

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

Now humbled and seeking a menial position in the royal household he once served as a page, Cazeril is stunned to be offered the post of secretary to the Royesse Iselle, sister to the heir to Chalion's throne. His new assignment brings unexpected dangers when he comes face to face with old enemies and a sinister curse.

 

 

 

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

Here be dragons ... and the denizens of Ankh-Morpork wish one huge firebreather would return from whence it came. Long believed extinct, a superb specimen of draco nobilis ("noble dragon" for those who don't understand italics) has appeared in Discworld's greatest city. Not only does this unwelcome visitor have a nasty habit of charbroiling everything in its path, in rather short order it is crowned King (it is a noble dragon, after all...)

This is the 8th book in the Discworld series, but the 1st City Watch Book, and can be read independently of the rest of the series.

 

 

 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Escaping Earth before it is demolished to make way for a new galactic highway, reluctant galactic traveler Arthur Dent embarks on a series of off-beat and occasionally extraterrestrial journeys, accompanied by a variety of unusual companions.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin

After Yeine Darr is summoned to the majestic city of Sky and named an heiress to the king of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, she is thrust into a vicious power struggle with cousins she never knew she had, drawing ever closer to the secrets of her mother's death and her family's bloody history.

 

 

 

 

 

The Invisible Library by Genieve Cogman

Sent to retrieve a dangerous book from an alternative London where magic and supernatural creatures exist, Irene and her assistant, Kai find themselves caught in a deadly race to find the tome.

 

 

 

 

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

A classic swashbuckling romance retells the tale of a drunken swordsman and a gentle giant who come to the aid of Westley, a handsome farm boy, and Buttercup, a princess in dire need of rescue from the evil schemers surrounding her.

 

 

 

 

 

Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord

When Paama leaves her husband, she attracts the attention of the undying ones who present her with the Chaos Stick, which allows her to manipulate the subtle forces of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union. Life couldn't be better...until Andrew begins to realize that 1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces, 2) the ship's senior officers always survive these confrontations, and 3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed. Unsurprisingly, the savvier crew members below decks avoid Away Missions at all costs.  Then Andrew stumbles on information that transforms his and his colleagues' understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is...and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives. 

 

 

To Say Nothing of the Dog, or How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last by Connie Willis

Ned Henry shuttles between the 1940's and the Twenty-First Century while researching Coventry Cathedral for a patron interested in rebuilding it until the time continuum is disrupted. This is a funny time travel caper. Another delightful Connie Willis title is Bellwether, a romantic comedy in which two scientists use chaos theory to predict fads in our society.   

 

 

 

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Don't forget to "return" your e-books when you're done—the sooner you return them, the sooner someone else can use them.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!