In literature, the woods are an in-between place where there are no rules. There is magic, which is often a form of trickery—and sometimes, the dirtiest tricks reveal the starkest truths. Those who wander may lose or find themselves, but they will never come out unchanged. If you’re in the mood for atmospheric autumn reading, […]
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 October 15–19 below. Monday, October 15 Killing Commendatore, by Haruki Murakami For Murakami, the journey to connecting often begins in a hole in the […]
It’s October and we’re settling into the school year, so it’s the perfect time to shake up required reading lists. I love the classics, but I’ve also got some reimaginings of these favorites to jump-start your Socratic seminar. These take you beyond John Gardner’s Grendel and Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea—which are already required reading anyway, right? […]
Milkman, by Anna Burns was just announced as the winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize. The novel takes place in an unnamed city following the life of Middle Sister who just wants to blend in and absolutely does not want her encounter with the milkman to be known. Set against the backdrop of the […]
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 The Craftsman, by Sharon Bolton The Cross Country Runner: Collected Short Stories and Novellas, by Andre Dubus The Darkness: A Thriller, by Ragnar Jónasson Famous Adopted People, by Alice Stephens In the House in the […]
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 Friday Black, by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah The Line, by Martin Limón Little, by Edward Carey Pulse, by Michael Harvey Red Moon, by Kim Stanley Robinson The White Christmas Inn, by Colleen Wright Adult Nonfiction Debussy: A […]
In literature, the woods are an in-between place where there are no rules. There is magic, which is often a form of trickery—and sometimes, the dirtiest tricks reveal the starkest truths. Those who wander may lose or find themselves, but they will never come out unchanged. If you’re in the mood for atmospheric autumn reading, […]
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 October 15–19 below. Monday, October 15 Killing Commendatore, by Haruki Murakami For Murakami, the journey to connecting often begins in a hole in the […]
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 […]
Lynn: Here at Bookends, we do our best to review books in the old-fashioned sense, by using literary standards and keeping personal responses out of the mix as much as possible. For this review of Apollo 8: the Mission that Changed Everything (2018) by Martin W. Sandler, I want to say strongly that our literary […]
Cindy: Monopoly has an interesting history and Tanya Lee Stone has produced a thought-provoking picture book about it: Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly Was Invented (2018). Originally called The Landlord’s Game, it was created by Lizzie Magie, who was looking for a way to demonstrate the unfair relationship between landlords and tenants […]
Lynn: It happens without warning: Annabelle has been trying to hold it together for a long time but suddenly she snaps and, in one panicky moment, she is running. “Snapping is easy when you’re already brittle from the worst possible thing happening,” she says. This is the reader’s introduction to Annabelle Agnelli and her journey […]
Time travel, time paradoxes, time shells, time hollows—are they fantasy? Reality? The following titles are billed as fiction, but they’re also a look into endless possibilities. Last week, we brought you audiobooks about time travel for adults, but it’s time (sorry) younger readers got their due. Go ahead—or back. 47, by Walter Mosley, read […]
Time manipulation—obsession with, desire for, and attempts at—is a timeless conundrum and, thus far, an elusive temptation. Our ever-waxing fascination is evident in classic stories and sci-fi favorites. Contemporary pop culture continues to feed the frenzy, from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, with its foray backward, to the new Benedict Cumberbatch vehicle How to Stop […]
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 […]
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 […]
Gain valuable publishing experience by becoming an intern for Booklist Publications in Chicago! Please send your cover letter and resume to Mary Pullen ([email protected]). Be sure to indicate whether you are seeking a spring (February–May), summer (June–August), or fall (September–December) internship. Candidates should be available 10–15 hours per week. For over a century, Booklist has helped more […]
The Louis Shores Award Committee is currently inviting nominations for its 2019 recipient. Established in 1990, the Louis Shores Award recognizes an individual reviewer, group, editor, review medium, or organization for excellence in reviewing. The award recipient is selected for significant achievement related to a reviewing process that helps librarians make selection and collection development decisions. […]
Is your forehead sore from the endless barrage of head-smacking news? Treat the injury with a dose of humor! The Thurber Prize for American Humor is awarded every year to writers who challenge themselves to find the funny and enable us to live life laughing. Finalists were announced today and we here at Booklist are […]
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 October 8-12 below. Monday, October 8 The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs, by America’s Test Kitchen Thorough, generously illustrated introductory pages offer tips on cooking […]
Our readers are often curious about the process of writing books, and we’re happy to provide access to the experts! In this installment of our Publishing U series, Tod Olson, author of the narrative nonfiction series, LOST, and the historical fiction series, How to Get Rich, explains how to capture life-or-death situations. I was 11 when I learned that people, […]
Lynn: Make no mistake, I love writing Bookends. I love getting to read the fabulous new books that we get sent by generous publishers. Cindy and I are lucky people. But for all of you out there who think that you, too, would like to be book reviewers, I feel honor bound to point out […]
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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