Today, CNN published an illustrated guide to surviving a shark attack. Though useful, the guide provokes new anxieties for we landlubbers about to embark on beach vacations. Luckily, the following titles, linked to their excerpted Booklist reviews, provide superior accounts of shark attacks to soothe us—or prepare us for the inevitable. Bear v. […]
I love only two things in this world: books and hot dogs (and cults and cats and caftans and my friends and family, but who’s counting?). National Hot Dog Day provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate both. The noble tube steak is given its due in the following children’s books, linked to their excerpted Booklist […]
Cindy: July is a great time to read about a first trip to the ocean, although the middle of a midwest winter would be good, too, when everyone has tired of the snow. Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea (2018) by Lynne Rae Perkins is a delightful beach book full of small moments of discovery […]
Our readers are often curious about the process of writing and publishing books, and we’re happy to provide access to the experts. In this installment of our Publishing U series, Joan Schweighardt (The Last Wife of Attila the Hun, 2016) explains how she discovered a passion for ghostwriting while forging a fiction career. I never thought about becoming a […]
The following books, published this week, received starred reviews in Booklist. Want to read our starred reviews before the books go on sale? Subscribe to Booklist! Adult Fiction Give Me Your Hand, by Megan Abbott Kill the Farm Boy, by Delilah S. Dawson The Mere Wife, by Maria Dahvana Headley #Moonstruck, by Sariah Wilson The Other Woman, by Daniel Silva The Sinners, by […]
Today, CNN published an illustrated guide to surviving a shark attack. Though useful, the guide provokes new anxieties for we landlubbers about to embark on beach vacations. Luckily, the following titles, linked to their excerpted Booklist reviews, provide superior accounts of shark attacks to soothe us—or prepare us for the inevitable. Bear v. […]
I love only two things in this world: books and hot dogs (and cults and cats and caftans and my friends and family, but who’s counting?). National Hot Dog Day provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate both. The noble tube steak is given its due in the following children’s books, linked to their excerpted Booklist […]
Our readers are often curious about the process of writing and publishing books, and we’re happy to provide access to the experts. In this installment of our Publishing U series, Joan Schweighardt (The Last Wife of Attila the Hun, 2016) explains how she discovered a passion for ghostwriting while forging a fiction career. I never thought about becoming a […]
Is your book group in a rut? Are folks sick of reading World War II-era historical fiction? Is your attendance dwindling? Maybe it’s time to go rogue. We hosted a live event (sponsored by NoveList) where we gathered some book-group experts to talk about what makes a good selection, how to pick something unexpected for […]
I am an eternal optimist. This tendency to think things will work out for the best is sometimes at odds with my inner curmudgeon, but what can you do? I like to think this conflict keeps my also-inner Pollyanna in check, but sometimes, that Pollyanna is strong. Take, for example, the time my book group […]
Donna Seaman, Booklist Adult Books Editor and co-chair of the SJP Picks selection committee, interviewed Nigerian writer Ayobami Adebayo about her debut novel, Stay with Me, a complex and suspenseful portrait of a besieged marriage—and Sarah Jessica Parker’s third selection for SJP Picks. For more information, visit Book Club Central. DONNA SEAMAN: Stay with Me is […]
Cindy: July is a great time to read about a first trip to the ocean, although the middle of a midwest winter would be good, too, when everyone has tired of the snow. Secret Sisters of the Salty Sea (2018) by Lynne Rae Perkins is a delightful beach book full of small moments of discovery […]
Cindy: I didn’t even have to open this book before I started laughing. The cover art will catch the eyes of young readers and let them know there is some humorous, I mean serious competition in store. Neck & Neck (2018) by Elise Parsley features Leopold, everyone’s favorite animal at the zoo—that is, until a […]
Lynn and Cindy: Yum! There’s nothing like the wonderful flavors of summer food fresh from the garden or the farmer’s market. We have three new picture books celebrating this seasonal bounty and the fun of markets and gardens. Bon appetit! Summer Supper, by Rubin Pfeffer This joyful farm-to-table story follows the process of creating […]
This year’s Audie Award winners were just announced at the 2018 Audies Gala, hosted by Award-winning narrator Simon Vance, at the New York Historical Society in New York City. Lincoln in the Bardo—a production that involved a record 166 narrators—took home the award for Audiobook of the Year. You can read our interview with author George Saunders […]
Y’all know My Favorite Murder, right? The super-popular podcast that, through some alchemical magic, blends true crime and comedy as told by two women who do the bare minimum of research and spend as much time detailing personal anecdotes as they do the murders they’re ostensibly covering? MFM has a huge and devoted following—search Etsy […]
Hold the phone, audiophiles: we just received a very exciting press release! The Audio Publishers Association (APA) has announced Audie Award® finalists for Audiobook of the Year and for Excellence in Design, Excellence in Marketing, and Excellence in Production. The winners of the Excellence Awards will be announced at the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC) […]
Without getting too meta, sometimes the juiciest bits of the news are the stories behind the story. With this mix of novels, non-fiction, and wherever Hunter S. Thompson falls between the two, use the buzz from Oscar-nominated film The Post to draw attention to your other journalist-forward titles. All the President’s Men, by Carl Bernstein and Bob […]
“More than half of U.S. women have experienced unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances from men, three in 10 have put up with unwanted advances from male co-workers, and a quarter have endured them from men who had influence over their work situation,” says a new ABC News-Washington Post poll. The stories of harassment and intimidation that […]
John Green’s latest unputdownable YA novel, Turtles All the Way Down, tackles the tough topic of anxiety disorders, specifically Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. As Michael Cart writes in his starred review, ” Green, a master of deeply felt material, handles all of this with aplomb. With its attention to ideas and trademark introspection, it’s a challenging but […]
Every weekday we feature a different review on Booklist Online. These reviews are notable for different reasons—they may be starred, or high-demand, or especially relevant to the current issue’s spotlight. We’ve collected the reviews from July 9–13 below. Monday, July 9 Illegal, by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano Ten-year-old Ebo and his older brother, Kwame, endure a harrowing […]
LibraryReads has announced its August 2018 selections! Check out the ten titles chosen by librarians below, linked to their Booklist reviews when available. For those of you who prefer to listen rather than read, we’ve hunted down the producers of the audio versions when available and have provided ordering information. Please note that we have not yet had […]
The latest Booklist features a Core Collection of fiction and nonfiction books about music. These books are so cool they deserve their own playlist—so we made one. To follow are 20 essential music titles with songs chosen by Donna Seaman, Annie Bostrom, and yours truly. At the end of the post, we’ve provided a Spotify […]
Spill Zone, the first volume in a series of the same name that began last year, marked Scott Westerfeld’s first foray into comics and was resoundingly well-received. The series takes place in a near-future Poughkeepsie, New York, which has been taken over by an otherworldly presence. Inside the zone, corpses float ominously, detritus suspended in […]
As rescuers race to save the remaining five boys trapped in a Thai cave system, audiences around the world are following the crisis with hope and trepidation. The rescue effort has brought together international military teams, rescue workers, diving experts, and Elon Musk, who is contributing a mini-submarine. For readers interested in other harrowing […]
The following books, published this week, received starred reviews in Booklist. Want to read our starred reviews before the books go on sale? Subscribe to Booklist! Adult Fiction Clock Dance, by Anne Tyler How to Keep a Secret, by Sarah Morgan The Last Cruise, by Kate Christensen My Year of Rest and Relaxation, by Ottessa Moshfegh The Romanov Empress, by C. W. […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
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