Vote for the Next 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.

From November 1-30, 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.
This year the Library selected books from the mystery genre. The winning book will serve as inspiration for events, discussions, and challenges throughout the upcoming 2026 Sioux City Reads initiative. Vote for one of the following three exciting books:

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger is set in 1958 in a small Minnesota town. On Memorial Day, as people gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of so many in the wars of the past, the body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. Investigation falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. 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 God of the Woods by author Liz Moore begins in August 1975 when 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. 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. Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances.
The Briar Club by author Kate Quinn is a haunting and powerful story of female friendships and secrets in a Washington, D.C. boardinghouse during the McCarthy era. In Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital, everyone keeps to themselves. 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 winner will be announced in January. Visit SiouxCityLibrary.org/siouxcityreads, the Library's Facebook page, or sign-up for the Library's e-newsletter at SiouxCityLibrary.org/news to get all the latest updates.