These Are the 6 Most Brooklyn Books of the Year, According to the Brooklyn Public Library

Photo by Lisa Chow and Susan Tam. Courtesy of the Brooklyn Public Library.

Sometimes living in Brooklyn isn’t enough.

Sometimes you also want to read about Brooklyn as you nestle in your Brooklyn window nook, glancing up now and then to drink in your Brooklyn street vista while contemplating the very Brooklyn essence of your Brooklyn book.

And for that, the Brooklyn Public Library is here to help.

This year, for the first year ever, Brooklyn’s library system is awarding a ”Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize” to one work of fiction and one work of nonfiction that best embody the spirit of Brooklyn.

Last week, library officials released a ”longlist” of about 30 semi-finalists. And this week, they’ve narrowed the list down to six.

“Exactly what constitutes a great ‘Brooklyn book’ is difficult to pin down, but each of the shortlisted works captures some unique and defining aspect of the Brooklyn experience,” says New York Times reporter and Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize Co-Chair Charles Duhigg in a statement.

Without further ado — your final six.

Fiction

• Delicious Foods, written by James Hannaham and published by Little, Brown and Company. “A brutal yet compassionately rendered tale of a mother desperate to escape addiction and enslavement to reunite with her son.” Nominated by the Barnes & Noble on Court Street.

• Preparation for the Next Life, written by Atticus Lish and published by Tyrant Books: “An acclaimed, PEN/Faulkner Award-winning debut novel that charts the tortured love story of a Chinese immigrant and a returning American combat veteran as they confront homelessness, incarceration and alienation in New York City.” Nominated by the Community Bookstore.

• Lena Finkle’s Magic Barrel, written by Anya Ulinich and published by Penguin. ”A thoughtful and wholly original graphic novel that examines with frank honesty the challenges of parenting and dating in Brooklyn.” Nominated by WORD Brooklyn.

Nonfiction

• The Edge Becomes the Center: An Oral History of Gentrification in the 21st Century, written by DW Gibson and published by the Overlook Press). ”A refreshingly democratic and clear-eyed take on a subject of central, even consuming, interest to Brooklynites.” Nominated by a Brooklyn Bookmatch librarian.

• The Lost Tribe of Coney Island: Headhunters, Luna Park, and the Man Who Pulled off the Spectacle of the Century, written by Claire Prentice and published by New Harvest. “An absorbing look at a disturbing and nearly forgotten story from America’s sideshow past.” Nominated by the Brooklyn Collection.

• I Am Sorry to Think I Have Raised A Timid Son, written by Kent Russell and published by Knopf. “A bold collection from a Brooklyn-based essayist whose distinct voice unites his wide-ranging subjects.” Nominated by a Brooklyn Eagle.

The six books on the shortlist are “works of fiction and nonfiction that contribute much to our understanding of both contemporary and historical Brooklyn,” according to library officials, by ”authors who have lived in Brooklyn, portrayed it in prose or addressed themes relevant to the life and culture of the borough.”

The contest’s judges have not yet been revealed, but the library promises that they’ll be “Brooklyn’s most celebrated authors and brightest literary minds.”

Winners of the Brooklyn Eagles Literary Prize will be announced on October 23.