Upon learning of Barbara Bush’s passing last night at the age of 92, my first thought was about what a fascinating lady she was: champion of literacy, doyenne of Kennebunkport, unparalleled rocker of unironic pearl necklaces. My second thought was of her son, but nobody has time to listen to my feelings about him. My […]
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 April 9–13 below. Monday, April 9 The Language of Spells, by Garret Weyr Weyr’s lovely and lyrical middle-grade novel interjects modern history into a […]
Marking the triumphs of Midwestern authors published in 2017, the Society of Midland Authors announced the winners of its annual award today. The ceremony will be held in downtown Chicago on Tuesday, May 8th, to commemorate the winners and their works from the last year. The winning and honored titles, linked to their Booklist reviews when possible, 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 April 2–6 below. Monday, April 2 Familiar Things, by Sok-Yong Hwang Award-winning Korean author Hwang (The Ancient Garden, 2010) presents a coming-of-age story about two […]
Editor’s note: this story originally appeared on January 2. 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 [Out now on DVD! –Ed.] to draw attention to […]
Upon learning of Barbara Bush’s passing last night at the age of 92, my first thought was about what a fascinating lady she was: champion of literacy, doyenne of Kennebunkport, unparalleled rocker of unironic pearl necklaces. My second thought was of her son, but nobody has time to listen to my feelings about him. My […]
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 Big Guns, by Steve Israel Disoriental, by Négar Djavadi From Unseen Fire, by Cass Morris Head On, by John Scalzi Noir, by Christopher Moore Our Little Secret, by Roz Nay The City of Lost Fortunes, by Bryan […]
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: Renowned editor Lee Bennett Hopkins opens World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2018) with this important thought from Leonardo da Vinci: “Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” This book, a glorious new celebration of art […]
Cindy: Unlike Lynn and me, few teens today probably grew up playing with paper dolls, but that hasn’t kept them from gracing teen book covers in recent years. Mary Hogan may have started this cover trend in 2006 with the first of her Susanna paper doll covers, Susanna Sees Stars. Then the memoir, Popular: Vintage Wisdom […]
Cindy: No one likes a rainy day more than a young child who gets to splash in a puddle . . . or two. We have two books for young children that celebrate the pleasures of a good soaking. Even if you’re not eager to get wet, you can read these to a young rain […]
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) […]
The Audio Publisher’s Association has announced the nominees for the 2018 Audie Awards, honoring excellence in audiobooks and spoken entertainment. Winners will be announced at the Audies Gala at the New York Historical Society on May 31. Congratulations to the distinguished nominees! Below is a complete list of finalists, linked to their Booklist reviews when […]
Our video editor Sue Ellen Beauregard remembers superstar audiobook narrator Katherine Kellgren upon her untimely passing. The extraordinary reader of more than 250 audiobooks, Katherine Kellgren passed away on January 10 at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York following a nearly four-year battle with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. I learned […]
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 […]
Book-jacket designers are strange birds, indeed. Idiosyncratic visionaries who often intuit the perfect visual cue to entice us to pick up a book and read it, sometimes, like those giant flocks of starlings who wheel in the sky without using turn signals, they bunch together and do the same thing for no apparent reason at […]
The 2018 winners of the Pulitzer Prize were just announced. Here are this year’s winning books, linked to their Booklist reviews when available. Biography or Autobiography Prairie Fires, by Caroline Fraser Fiction Less, by Andrew Sean Greer General Nonfiction Locking Up Our Own, by James […]
The April 15 issue of Booklist magazine is now live. Visit Booklist Online, where you’ll find 299 new reviews and 7 new feature articles and lists. The articles will be free to all for the next two weeks—to have unrestricted access, you’ll need to log in. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, or do subscribe but […]
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 Gateway to the Moon, by Mary Morris Indian Horse, by Richard Wagamese Macbeth, by Jo Nesbø Nothing Forgotten, by Jessica Levine Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente The Dark Clouds Shining, by David Downing The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse, by Alexander […]
Lynn: Itch! Yikes, the very word makes me want to scratch! What makes us itch and why? Here to answer questions every child has about this irritating phenomenon is Itch! Everything You Didn’t Want to Know About What Makes You Scratch (2017) by Anita Sanchez. I’ve been itching to get my hands on this fall book […]
Sisters in Crime has opened applications for the 2018 Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award. The prize has recognized emerging crime writers of color—both men and women—since 2014 with a $1500 grant. Does this sound like you or someone you know? Read on. From the press release: The Eleanor Taylor Bland Award […]
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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