Vote for the 2026 Sioux City Reads Book!

Join the Sioux City Public Library for Sioux City Reads, a community-based reading initiative where Sioux Cityans are involved every step of the way – from book selection to completing challenges and attending book discussions.

Now through November 30, cast your vote to help select the next Sioux City Reads title at SiouxCityLibrary.org/siouxcityreads. Copies of each book are available for check out at any Sioux City Public Library location.

Vote for one of the following three exciting mystery books:

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn – A haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse during the McCarthy era. In Washington, D.C., 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital, where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendships. Capturing the paranoia of the McCarthy era and evoking the changing roles for women in postwar America, The Briar Club is an intimate and thrilling novel of secrets and loyalty put to the test. 

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore – August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.  As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet 

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger – On Memorial Day 1958, as the people of Jewel, Minnesota gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of so many sons in the wars of the past, the half-clothed body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. Investigation of the murder falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service.  Both a complex, spellbinding mystery and a masterful portrait of mid-century American life, The River We Remember is a moving exploration of the ways in which we seek to heal, and a testament to the enduring power of the stories we tell about the places we call home. 

The chosen book will be announced in January and will serve as inspiration for events, discussions, and Beanstack challenges throughout the upcoming 2026 Sioux City Reads initiative. Visit the Library’s website, Facebook page, or sign-up for the Library’s e-newsletter at SiouxCityLibrary.org/news to stay up-to-date on the exciting upcoming events.