Cindy: After last week’s midterm elections concluded, one issue had bipartisan support: everyone applauded the end of the political TV ads and robocalls. I figure we have six weeks or so before the 2020 ads appear and perhaps some of you don’t know what to do with your free time, now that you’re not fact-checking lies […]
Our newest feature gives Booklist critics the opportunity to shout about a recently published book they adored. They’ll tell us why we should read it, then provide five read-alikes for the title. Friday Black, by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Adjei-Brenyah’s dozen stories are disturbingly spectacular, made even more so by how he magnifies and exposes […]
Bird’s-eye views of towns and suburbs! Surely we can’t trace the inspiration for this cover design to the introductory credits of Weeds (2005) . . . or can we?? Listed below in order of publication, here are links to the Booklist reviews of each title along with a brief suggestion of how the content of […]
Jonathan Lethem’s The Feral Detective publishes today—and, given that it is set in the days following Donald Trump’s 2016 election, can it be any coincidence the book comes out during the midterms? As the Booklist reviewer (ahem, me) writes in his starred review: Set in the days surrounding Donald Trump’s inauguration, this echoes with Phoebe’s […]
Lynn: Shhhh! Nestle in for two sweet bedtime stories that tell tales of people and places most children seldom see. There is something so special about a school after everyone has gone home, and Karen Hesse captures this quiet magic perfectly in Night Job (2018). On Friday nights a school custodian takes his young son with […]
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 Empire of Sand, by Tasha Suri Insurrecto, by Gina Apostol The Last Unicorn: The Lost Journey, by Peter S. Beagle Not One of Us: Stories of Aliens on Earth, by Neil Clarke We Can […]
Our newest feature gives Booklist critics the opportunity to shout about a recently published book they adored. They’ll tell us why we should read it, then provide five read-alikes for the title. Friday Black, by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Adjei-Brenyah’s dozen stories are disturbingly spectacular, made even more so by how he magnifies and exposes […]
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 November 5–November 9 below. Monday, November 5 In Extremis: The Life and Death of the War Correspondent Marie Colvin, by Lindsey Hilsum Foreign correspondent Marie […]
In book-world news, Booklist alumnus and all-around good guy John Green has started a book club (in conjunction with his friend and colleague Rosianna Halse Rojas), called Life’s Library. The difference between it and other celebrity book clubs? All the proceeds from this one go to a charity called Partners in Health, a Boston-based nonprofit […]
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 […]
Cindy: After last week’s midterm elections concluded, one issue had bipartisan support: everyone applauded the end of the political TV ads and robocalls. I figure we have six weeks or so before the 2020 ads appear and perhaps some of you don’t know what to do with your free time, now that you’re not fact-checking lies […]
Lynn: I thought I had some tough dilemmas to deal with lately but those are nothing compared to what 17-year-old Elena faces in Shaun David Hutchinson’s new book, The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza (2018). Here’s the deal: Elena has heard voices emanating from everyday objects her whole life, so it’s not a huge surprise when […]
Lynn: Shhhh! Nestle in for two sweet bedtime stories that tell tales of people and places most children seldom see. There is something so special about a school after everyone has gone home, and Karen Hesse captures this quiet magic perfectly in Night Job (2018). On Friday nights a school custodian takes his young son with […]
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 […]
On Friday, November 2, at the annual Brooklyn Classic fundraising event, the winners of the Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize accepted their awards for excellence in fiction/poetry and nonfiction. The award comes with a $5,000 prize. The winners were originally announced on October 22. Nominations were selected from librarians in all 59 libraries in the BPL […]
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 An Agent of Utopia, by Andy Duncan An Elderly Lady Is up to No Good, by Helene Tursten, tr. by Marlaine Delargy Body & Soul, by John Harvey The Feral Detective, by Jonathan Lethem Forever […]
Three curses. A collection of hearts buried under the ocean floor. Mermaids born of human tragedy. A coastal town’s worst nightmare that rolls in with the mist. These 2018 YA debuts center on the sea creatures sailors feared—seductive and strong, and out to lure you to the bottom of the ocean. Follow the siren song […]
The 2018 World Fantasy Convention was held in Baltimore, Maryland over the weekend, where the winners of the World Fantasy Awards were announced. This year’s awards were marked by a tie in the novel category. Winners are listed below, linked to their Booklist review when available: Novel The Changeling, by Victor LaValle (tie) Jade City, by Fonda Lee […]
This mesmerizing design concept has been a constant presence in my peripheral vision since David Mitchell’s World Fantasy Award–winning (and starred review-receiving!) novel The Bone Clocks was released in 2014. My attention was next grabbed by Lauren James’ 2016 romantic sf The Last Beginning, and then again this past April by Richard Powers’ The Overstory, which also received a starred review […]
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 29–November 2 below. Monday, October 29 Duchess by Design, by Maya Rodale Adeline Black has a passion for fashion that is not being fulfilled […]
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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