Denver Public Library

I can’t believe I'm just know getting a library card. I basically lived in the library in Las Vegas, but for some unknown reason I hadn’t even stepped foot into a branch of the Denver Public Library until last weekend. Shockingly, Denver’s seven-story downtown library is just a tad nicer than the one in Las Vegas. The castle-themed children’s library downstairs is adorable, with a story time area in a nearby “turret” with huge windows and pillows for all the kiddos to sit on. I must say the Young Adult “Our Space” section needs some work though - it’s pretty boring.Looking up from the lobby, a huge painting covered wagons and trains runs around the 2^nd story (which is mostly fiction). I love the painting, and it matches the wood panel (but not in a ’70’s type way) theme of the rest of the library.My favorite floor is the 5^h, where the homeless people smell (sorry, that’s not very PC of me. But this is a downtown public library after all) gives way to an old book smell. Plus the 6^th floor is where all the maps and painting of western scenes and landscapes are.The library is located in Denver’s “Golden Triangle” at 10 W. Fourteenth Ave 80204. Plenty of metered parking is available. Library hours are M-T: 10-8, W-F: 10-6, Sat - Sun: 1-5. I love that the library is open on Sundays :) You can get a library card even if you don’t have a state ID yet, as long as you bring in a bill or other proof of address. If you don’t have that yet, the librarians will even give you a card with limited check out capabilities to tide you over until you can bring in a bill or state ID.So now that I am the proud owner of a Denver Public Library card, I can start working on my must-read list. Any suggestions would be most appreciated!Historical and Non-Fiction

• Crazy Horse and Custer: The parallel lives of two American Warrios by Stephen Ambrose
• 1776 by David McCullough
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith (does that count as historical? Haha)
• Sugar Changed the World: A story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science by Marc Aronson (A YA book)
• Freeman: A Liberated Slave in Search of Family, by Leonard Pitts Jr

Fiction

• Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, by ZZ Parker
• The Same Earth, by Kei Miller
• Human Croquet, by Kate Atkinson
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - how have I never read this?

YA Lit

• Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins. I read the first two Hunger Games tales a few years ago when they came out, but haven’t gotten around to the final installment yet
• Where Things Come Back, by John Corey Whaley: The 2012 Printz Award winner
• Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta: A past Printz Award winner that I keep meaning to read
• What Happened to Goodbye, Sarah Dessen's latest. She is a YA genius and I love everything she writes.
• Why we Broke Up, by David Handler.
• The Fault in our Stars, John Green’s new one. Another YA genius.
• Breaking Beautiful, by Jennifer Shaw Wolf
• Sean Griswold’s Head, by Lindsey Leavitt