Book recommendations from the Biblioracle

John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read.

1. “Slough House” Mick Herron

2. “We Run With the Tides” Vendela Vida

3. “Black Cake” Charmaine Wilkerson

4. “Dry” Neal Shusterman

5. “The Buddha in the Attic” Julie Otsuka — Karen W., LeRoy

“Love” came later in Toni Morrison’s career when she was an acknowledged master, which I think may cause it to be overlooked next to the books like “Beloved,” which secured her reputation, but it’s a slim and beautiful kaleidoscope of voices that one can hunker down with and immerse themselves in for an afternoon under its spell.

1. “Harlem Shuffle” by Colson Whitehead

2. “The Intuitionist” by Colson Whitehead

3. “Devil in a Blue Dress” by Walter Mosley

4. “The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket” by Benjamin Lorr

5. “Golden Gates: The Housing Crisis and a Reckoning for the American Dream” by Conor Dougherty

— Will N., Portland, Maine

For Will, I’m recommending “The Italian Teacher” by Tom Rachman, a novel with great affection for its sad and searching protagonist (the son of a great artist, growing up in his father’s shadow) that transmits to the reader to the point you yourself will worry about his fate.

1. “Free Love” by Tessa Hadley

2. “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides

3. “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles

4. “Young Mungo” by Douglas Stuart

5. “Our Country Friends” by Gary Shteyngart

— Wesley T., Madison, Wisconsin

A mix of history and character and adventure, you can’t go wrong with E.L. Doctorow’s “Billy Bathgate.”