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A dinner party gone wrong, a gothic mystery in the ancient Cornish countryside, a historical thriller inspired by Sleepy Hollow, and more of today's best book deals

Today’s Featured Book Deals $0.99 The Crash by Freida McFaddenGet This Deal $2.99 Sharp Objects by Gillian FlynnGet This Deal $1.99 A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel PennantGet This Deal $1.99 Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate AtkinsonGet This Deal $2.99 The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess ArmstrongGet This Deal $4.99 Ripper by Isabel AllendeGet This Deal $2.99 The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel by Alyssa PalomboGet This Deal $3.99 John Woman by Walter MosleyGet This Deal $2.99 Daisy Darker by Alice FeeneyGet This Deal $1.99 Things Don’t Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter CollinsGet This Deal $2.99 Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. WagnerGet This Deal $2.99 The Conductors by Nicole GloverGet This Deal In Case You Missed Yesterday’s Most Popular Book Deals $3.99 Dreadful by Caitlin RozakisGet This Deal $1.99 Black Sheep by Rachel HarrisonGet This Deal $2.99 Hex by Thomas Olde HeuveltGet This Deal $1.99 Life with the Afterlife by Amy BruniGet This Deal

A comprehensive overview of what's happening with libraries as a major books distributor shutters, an accessible book fair, and more.

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Libraries are Scrambling for Books Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. 404 Media covered why it might be harder for all of us to get new releases from our local libraries. We’ve been talking about the shuttering of one of the largest distributors of books to libraries, Baker & Taylor, and the storm brewing for these essential public spaces. This is one of the most comprehensive articles I’ve seen about the distributor’s downfall and the fallout of its closure being experienced by libraries now. Most frustrating for library staff is the lack of transparency about the state of the books distributor from B&T itself, with news of the shuttering breaking on a Reddit thread instead of via a statement. Read all about the debacle and what it means for libraries and library patrons like you. A Sweet Scholastic Treat for Your Friday It’s Friday. It’s Halloween. Let’s read something that’ll warm the cockles and send us into a festive spirit. Jami Attenberg writes about popping into a Scholastic Book Fair sponsored by her online group writing accountability project #1000wordsofsummer. Through the sponsorship, students at bilingual school Esperanza Academy received stacks of books and enjoyed the full book fair experience. My colleague, Danika Ellis, has written about the inequality of school book fairs, and Attenberg’s project is one small but beautiful way to get books into the hands of more kids. You can hear Attenberg talk about putting together a book fair where every kid walks away with a book here. Happy Halloween! The day has arrived at last. Here are some great books and a fun quiz to drop into your Halloween book bag: 10 of the best ghost stories nominated for the Booker and International Booker Prizes Great Haunted House Novels (rec’d by Silvia Moreno-Garcia) The Best Horror Books of 2025 (So Far) 20 spooky short stories you can read for free online. And the Award Ghost To… : 20 of the Best Award-Winning Horror Novels Oh, the Horror! Do You Know the Books That Inspired These Movies and TV Shows? The Most Read Books on Goodreads in October 2025 What makes for a good October read? You need some pumpkin spice romance in there, but also some thrillers or horror novels to get your heart racing. Adding in werewolves and vampires doesn’t hurt, either. That’s just about the shape of the top five most read books of October on Goodreads, though I think it’s a shame that horror doesn’t make an appearance on even the top 50 list. Before we get into the top five, let’s talk about some new releases that came out in October that deserve more attention. What are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

Banned Books Week is being quietly banned in public libraries across the US. This is a political choice in an era where libraries continue to claim being "not political."

Book banners don’t ban books. That’s what they’ve said for years, utilizing terms like “curating,” “reviewing,” and “removing” to describe their acts of intentionally getting rid of books they don’t like from library collections. They claim they’re not banning books because kids can get the books being “curated” from the school libraries at the public libraries or at bookstores. Of course, what happens at the school library then makes its way to the public library. The same people banning school library books set their sights then on public libraries, then onward to bookstores and the materials available on retail sites. Those same people, then and now, are active and engaged in changing the law at the state and federal levels to prohibit access to materials they deem “inappropriate.” This includes working to chip away not only at the standardized Miller Test that determines whether material is considered obscene, but also at the First Amendment rights of children, teenagers, and every adult across the country. If you’ve spent any time learning about book censorship over the last four and a half years, none of this is new. Parallel to the public book banning is the quieter level of banning. Quiet/soft/self censorship thrives in sociopolitical and sociocultural conditions like those we’re in right now. When you create laws or merely threaten to cause difficulty for someone trying to do their job, many professionals become more cautious about the work that they’re more than qualified, trained, and experienced in doing. Quiet censorship appears as a library worker choosing not to purchase materials for a collection out of concern that someone might not like them. Removing materials without justification or choosing not to pursue justification are among other acts of quiet/soft/self/ silent censorship. That’s not to mention those professionals who agree with the censorship and choose not to purchase or decide to remove those materials. Quiet/soft/self censorship happens both on the frontlines and in administration. Perhaps, though, the convergence of both out-loud book banning and quiet book censorship is this: the banning of discussion around banned books altogether. This year’s Banned Books Week, held from October 5 to 11, was never about celebrating the damage being done to our constitutional rights; since its inception, the week-long event has been about raising awareness about the threats to our constitutional rights. But in ways that are baffling even to folks who’ve been working in this arena for decades, 2025’s Banned Books Week brought not only further lies and misinformation about what’s happening in public institutions nationwide. It also brought with it censorship of discussing the issue at all. In 2025, we saw more bans on Banned Books Week than in any recorded memory. Thanks to the library workers who participated in an anonymous survey distributed throughout October, we have some insight into what was — and what was not — permitted as a means of raising awareness of book censorship. To be clear, “ban” in the context of banning Banned Books Week is used to describe the intentional removal or change of the week from how it once was. Some libraries have never highlighted Banned Books Week. Those are not considered “bans” on the week. Libraries that have run Banned Books Week displays, programming, or other events in the past but’ve intentionally elected not to this year are being discussed. This might be one of my favorite Banned Books Week displays ever, and it so perfectly captures what it means that books are banned right now. The display is by librarian Rachel Haider at Eagan High School (MN). The saran wrap shows that you can see the books, but you’re unable to access them without having some privilege–in this case, scissors, physical strength, time to find the end, etc. Bans on Banned Books Week took two different flavors this year. One was about reframing what the week is about during an era when trying to change the language around book censorship is difficult, if not impossible. The other was about banning discussion altogether, whatever framework was used to describe what was happening. Freedom to Read vs. Banned Books Week What to call this week-long campaign to raise awareness around book censorship has been under debate for years. For some, “Banned Books Week” has a negative connotation, and it can lead to confusion for library users who see displays featuring banned books and wonder why their own library would ban a particular book. Some see the framing of “Intellectual Freedom Week” or “Freedom to Read Week” as more positive (and thus, more celebratory). While there’s nothing inherently wrong with electing a different method for highlighting library censorship, the methods used and the reasons for its rebranding matter. It takes time and effort to change the language around this week effectively. One of the biggest Banned Books Week stories this year came from the state of Hawaii, where Banned Books Week was banned across the state. The Hawaiʻi State Public Library System issued new guidelines, changing the week-long awareness-raising campaign around book censorship from Banned Books Week to Freedom to Read Week. Again, this rebrand isn’t uncommon. The way it was rolled out to libraries in Hawaii, however, was: words and imagery connected to the week were banned. The 51 public libraries statewide could not use the words “banned” or “censored.” They could not use the phrase “Banned Books Week.” They could not create displays with caution tape or fake flames, nor could they even reference the materials produced and distributed by the American Library Association (recall that disallowing association with the largest professional association for library workers is increasingly common as part of the greater attacks on the field itself). There are errors in this story, which first reported on the banning of Banned Books Week in Hawaii, including the claim that “book banning has existed for 100 years in the United States.” Book banning began even before the United States had a Constitution (see Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan, and, if we’re going on a technicality here, the widespread banning of Uncle Tom’s Cabin before, during, and after the Reconstruction era). That aside, the story sheds light on what’s a clear divide between those working the frontlines of librarianship and those working in offices removed from them. The state librarian’s comment that the new language is less confusing is, well, confusing. Equally befuddling is the prohibition of anything not aligned with that framing. Library workers were made to feel ashamed and belittled for highlighting what has been happening in the country — and without advance notice. It’s also a perfect example of the type of top-down directive that undermines the autonomy of public libraries to serve their communities. Two library workers outside of Hawaii also shared that this year’s Banned Books Week was rebranded as Freedom to Read Week in their institutions. In both cases, the decision to create displays and awareness around the “Freedom to Read” was done as a means of “toning down” the reality that books are being banned nationwide. “In late August we were given the directive to refrain from using the phrase “banned books” in our displays to “keep things positive.” Our staff was very disturbed by this information, which was then reiterated by our branch managers,” explained one public library worker from Washington state. “This prompted a “clarification” email from our library director who long-windedly lectured us about our library values. We were told that Banned Books Week was not being banned, but that we should not use the phrase and also refrain from displaying any books that might “poke the bear.” In the same email, [the director] suggested we display Junie B. Jones, because “can you believe it was banned?” This was confusing and made many of us feel like we are now in the position to have to determine which books have been banned for ‘silly’ reasons and which would “poke the bear.” At a public library in Oregon, the administration elected to forgo Banned Books Week this year, instead choosing to recast it as “Freedom to Read Week.” The decision came in order “to prevent scrutiny from the local community and public in general.” There was neither programming nor displays tied to book censorship that week in the library. Banning Discussion, Displays, or Awareness of Book Censorship Libraries are political. Any library still insisting libraries don’t talk about or engage with politics is writing its own obituaries. By virtue of being taxpayer-funded institutions, libraries are fundamentally political. Too often, libraries conflate being political with being partisan. Public libraries are unabashedly pro-library, regardless of which party promotes pro-library policy and advocacy. To be non-political is to fail to understand what the hell a library even is. Banned Books Week being banned by libraries is often conducted under the guise of being “apolitical.” It’s also done to stave off book banners or to avoid addressing the reality of librarianship in the 2020s with community members who may notice something and begin to ask questions. How libraries expect to survive or thrive when they’re unwilling to talk about the ongoing efforts to dismantle them is unclear. Public libraries and public school libraries will only survive if people are aware of their importance, so that community members can then show up to the polls and vote in support of these institutions. Politics are exactly why libraries are under scrutiny right now. Elected officials have zero shame in implementing their own agenda based on conspiracy theory and partisan doctrine. This year, a public academic library in Texas had its Banned Books Week display removed by the administration. The reason? “It may be in violation of SB17 in Texas.” According to what the library worker shared, the administration made it clear that, under the state’s law, any cultural or heritage celebrations are prohibited, including Banned Books Week. This style of compliance in advance is precisely what lawmakers who passed the sweeping bill hoped for, and they’re getting it. Counter this example with another public academic library in Texas, where a library worker shared that they were supported by the administration in holding several events during Banned Books Week this year. “I volunteered for it because I am all about the right to read. I created a larger-than-usual display featuring classics and current removals. I got the ALA poster and bookmarks. All went well! I am extending it for the full month and including Prison Banned Books week.” They included several other programs that they’re running related to book censorship and Texas legislation, noting, “I am happy to be still working and deeply appreciate the support of my boss and co-workers. We have to be brave.” Public K-12 schools and public libraries were subject to the most Banned Books Week censorship, too. Here’s a rundown of some of their experiences this year: A week before Banned Books Week, a public library system in South Carolina received an email notice that all displays and programs related to the week were canceled. The decision was made by the library board chair and communicated to the library director. It is a library where the board is currently rewriting collection policies to suit their political interests. A Kansas City, Missouri, area library worker noted that the week before Banned Books Week, they were informed that no displays were allowed that mixed titles from various age ranges (i.e., no children’s books displayed with teen books or teen books displayed with adult books). This did not impact their Banned Books Week displays this year, but it came in response to some patron complaints about queer and Pride-themed books. Displays about Pride and queer history month are already banned from the library. These decisions came from “Headquarters and/or board members who are a combination of members who personally do not like queer or banned books, members who show obedience in advance to threats from public or government pressure, and members who would rather try to appease hateful individual customers rather than uphold library values on censorship and intellectual freedom.” A last-minute memo at a public library in Connecticut directed library workers not to post about Banned Books Week on any social media. The library worker shared that it was most likely related to pushback from the city, not the library itself. Both Pride and Black History Month celebrations have also had to be scaled back over the last few years. “Since I have worked here ([several] years), we have been at the forefront for stocking banned books and championing them, so this comes as a shock and a disappointment at the moment.” “We were directed not to have any displays that have the potential to bring negative attention to the library or cause the community to complain. This was not directly targeting Banned Books, but focused on Black History Month and Pride Month. Staff chose not to do Banned Books Week programs or displays to comply with this overall directive,” wrote a public library worker in Virginia. The library has dealt with challenges previously, choosing to relocate two books previously in the teen section to the adult section (one of those titles was Gender Queer, so its relocation to the adult section doesn’t constitute book censorship, as it was published for adult readers; the second relocated book was referenced by author name alone). At an in-person meeting, multiple branches of a large public library system in Georgia were asked not to participate in any activities for Banned Books Week. The mandate came from the Director, who did not want their library “singled out” for highlighting banned books. The library worker who shared this information noted that the directive may have come from county commissioners. Another public library in South Carolina saw Banned Books Week banned for them on October 1, just days before it was to launch. This wasn’t a huge surprise, given that the library has seen the board clamp down on other week-long and month-long events, and that the library itself has been not-so-slowly dismantling its young adult sections. “Supposedly for staff safety, but our board is made up of pro-banning folks,” wrote the library worker. The librarian added that the board chair would be approving all celebrations going forward and not to expect Pride month to happen. This public library, although not mandated by South Carolina law to remove books that the State Board of Education demands be removed from public school libraries, has taken the liberty of relocating all of those books to the adult section. This is still book censorship. Banned book displays are prohibited at a public library system in Colorado due to the board’s ban on all displays of a celebratory nature. Even book displays related to colors are banned in this library because “that would open a door to rainbow displays, which are unofficially banned due to the book banners on our library board kicking up a fuss over a non-LGBT rainbow display in the new books section.” The library worker emphasized how bad the culture is in their library, which has been forced to make several decisions based on the demands of their county library board, members of whom are appointed by an unfriendly commissioner. “The situation in our library district is really dire. Clothing and behavioral bans for staff have been discussed, including any items with rainbows, pronoun pins, and “lifestyle decisions” with which the board members disagree. There’s a very real brain drain and skill loss in the district as a result, leaving the few who remain feeling trapped by their circumstances, including masking their queer identities. Everyone who can is already making plans to leave. We are not safe. We are scared. We are not free to help those who come to us asking for resources.” A different library worker sent a report from the same public library in Colorado mentioned above. All displays, mentions, and acknowledgements of Banned Books Week are prohibited. A public school librarian in California was informed by the school superintendent that discussing Banned Books Week was inappropriate. This began with a librarian wearing a shirt that said, “I Read Banned Books.” At a public library in Tennessee, the administration was informed by the county’s human resources department that displaying information about Banned Books would put a target on the library’s back. This report came from an administrator who has chosen to keep Banned Books Week and Pride displays more discreet and has put in the effort to ensure that those books remain on shelves, period. ” I hate it, but I also need to keep my staff and my family safe,” they wrote. “The fact that I’m [continuing] to put ‘controversial’ books in the collection is risky. I keep the number for the local ACLU on my desk in case it goes bad. A display isn’t the highest priority as long as I can keep the books available for my patrons.” They hope to see these displays become more visible in the future. A librarian from a Florida public library noted that they hold a Banned Books Week display every year and that this year, they planned one with an interactive element. “The planned display had an emphasis on the freedom to read and utilized giveaway materials from the ALA with this year’s “Censorship is So 1984″ theme as prizes for the interactive element. The display was cancelled by my library director the week before I was set to assemble it.” The reason? The director cited the current political climate and did not want to call attention to the library’s diverse materials. “Florida has the dubious distinction of having the most bans enacted this year out of any state. There is a chilling effect and a culture of fear because of it.” A public school library in Michigan was forced to cancel plans for its Banned Books Display a week before it was set to go up. The principal and superintendent made that call for political reasons, and it applied to all schools across the district. “This crack down is hard, but banned books [week] is like library pride week and it hurts the most,” wrote an Ohio public library worker, whose director canceled their Banned Books Week display (and all heritage-themed displays) earlier this year as a result of the “political landscape.” The average library user isn’t reading about the assault on libraries, nor are they aware of book censorship and its impact in their own community. That’s a fact, whether it’s rampant or hasn’t yet reached their library. The erasure of Banned Books Week displays is a form of censorship, and it’s one more way that libraries are hindering their own survival. As is pretty damn clear in the instances above, politics are alive and well in libraries. They’re just not the politics that are going to protect these institutions of democracy. It’s also pretty damn clear how loud this “quiet” censorship really is. It mirrors the same “quiet” banning of Pride in libraries that we’ve seen since the rise of far-right attacks on public institutions. Book Censorship News: October 31, 2025 The La Grange School Board (TX) debated in their meeting about the book Butt or Face, and one board member showcasing how much they know about children, asks why such a book would be in the school library. North Little Rock School District (AR) hid several LGBTQ+ books from the school’s digital book platform. A North Woods school library assistant (MN) was fired from their job following a banned books display. Wisconsin MassResistance is trying to get several books banned from Hales Corners Public Library. How Book Bans Control Information and Why They Backfire. Remember how New Braunfels Independent School District (TX) closed their libraries so they could go in and ban books? They’ve apparently reopened this week and have pulled over 80 books for further review. Those books are banned until they’re back on shelves. The titles under review are the ones being targeted regularly. Also, you’ll see this happening in other Texas schools because, like the leadership at New Braunfels claimed, “their hands are tied.” That’s PRECISELY what legislators in the state wanted, even when they said things like this would never happen. “Why is banning or removing books such a big deal? The banning or removal of books is particularly consequential because it diminishes the diversity of perspectives available in American libraries and educational institutions. Such actions undermine the “marketplace of ideas,” a foundational theory of freedom of expression, protected under the First Amendment, which assumes that the free exchange of competing viewpoints is essential to discovering truth and fostering a vibrant democratic society.” This is a great read. A right wing newspaper in Minnesota is fomenting about an elementary school talking about banned books week and sharing a picture book about gay people to talk about why books are being banned. This link won’t give them traffic and it’s worth reading to see how these stories are framed to rile up the base over something completely harmless. A great column about how we need to protect the First Amendment and the freedom of speech the same way we see people defending the Second Amendment. It’s centered on the fight over books, over student press, and over speech in Indiana. “According to campaign finance reports on Cy-Fair ISD’s website, the board’s nine candidates have already raised $83,614 in donations, with three candidates raising more than $10,000 each and two raising more than $20,000.” School board elections in Texas are underway and they’re bringing big bucks from PACs eager to keep these boards stuffed with right-wing candidates. Related, here’s Frank Strong’s guide to the Texas school board elections for those in the state who haven’t yet voted. You’ve got a few more days. Brooklyn Public Library’s “Books Unbanned” program just reached ONE MILLION checkouts. Huntington Beach, California’s, city council voted to appeal the the ruling that they must unsegregate books from the public library (a thing that voters wanted). They’re so hell bent on pushing their conservative little minds on everyone that they’ll ignore the thing they claim to be representing: the community. A breakdown of the books, curriculum, and film that have been banned in Iowa’s public schools, due to their legislation. “A recent analysis of dozens of Pennsylvania school boards found one in five of them have adopted culture war policies that censor material, ban books or target LGBTQ+ students. ” First, they’re not culture wars when it is a tiny fraction of “the culture” creating the war. Second, that tiny fraction of “the culture” is having undue influence in public school policies. Wyoming’s chapter of the ACLU is coming out swinging against the drafted legislation that would essentially kill young adult sections in public school and public libraries. Let’s hope there’s a lawsuit brewing. Publishers Weekly explores whether or not the Supreme Court will take up the public library book banning case out of the Fifth Circuit in the next session (see here). New Mexico is preparing to introduce anti-book ban legislation again this session. Though it has not been formally introduced, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a second shot taken to pass anti-book ban legislation in Michigan. It’s absolutely crucial to show up and vote in support of your libraries. Why? Because people who are being brainwashed by disinformation and propaganda about the books available in public libraries are. Here’s what’s happening in Jefferson County, Ohio, which has a levy measure on the ballot. Two authors who’ve had their work targeted in Alabama talk about the state’s coercion tactics to continue revoking access to LGBTQ+ books in libraries statewide. Cameron Samuels, a high school student in Texas, talks about one of the Texas ballot measures, Proposition 15, and how it would hurt student rights in education. Despite all of the fomenting, turns out there was no actual problem with books across the state of North Dakota requiring an absurd law. More stories like this, please, which call out how book banners only care about a thing to score political points. Marion County Schools (IN) offer up their stage for students at Mississinewa High School to use for the play that their school canceled. “Picoult said one parent’s complaint about a non-binary character in the “Between the Lines” book led to MHS’ cancellation of the students’ performances. Picoult added that, while the character is present in the book, the character is not part of the play MHS was planning to put on.” This story is paywalled, but South Hadley Library (MA) is getting backlash from bigots who are mad there is a Pride club being held there. Blah blah blah, taxpayer money. Just say you don’t like gay people and move on because that’s all it is. Oconee County library (GA) won’t be relocating the children’s picture book My Rainbow out of the children’s area. “Nicholas Bennett had challenged the book, saying his 5-year-old daughter “does not need to learn about transitioning genders at her age.” Bennett said he had not read the book and had discovered the book by asking a librarian for it.” In other words, he had some kind of list and didn’t actually care about the book but about deciding who could access it. Texas school districts are turning to AI to ban books. This is the dream of those legislators who implemented these laws–they LOVE AI. Russia’s banned one of the largest anime databases in the country. Why? “Extremist LGBTQ+ content.” This week, a board member for the Citrus County Public Library (FL) proposed that they use the money no longer being used for the library’s BookPage magazine subscription to create a public memorial to Charlie Kirk. If you don’t think libraries should be political but think it’s okay for a board member to be so blatantly political, yikes. The board meeting actually debated this in seriousness, but ultimately rejected it. The first reader to do a Drag Queen Story Hour is now the Drag Laureate of San Francisco. A great story here! Here’s a far-right group to put on your radar as among the next to coordinate book banning campaigns. This link will not give their page views. Many of their marching orders look like they’ll come from Take Back the Classroom (written about here and worth an update about).

Summer Scares is back for its seventh year of highlighting and celebrating all things horror. Here's this year's Spokesperson and timeline.

The Horror Writers Association (HWA), in partnership with Booklist, Book Riot, iREAD, and NoveList®, a division of EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO), is proud to announce the eighth annual Summer Scares, a reading program that provides libraries and schools with an annual list of recommended horror titles for adult, young adult (teen), and middle grade readers. Summer Scares is proud to announce the 2026 spokesperson, New York Times Bestselling author Jennifer McMahon: When I was a kid, I checked a book out of my local library that had a spell in the back to become a werewolf. I was a freaky, monster-loving girl, not sure how I fit into the world. I thought it would be easier to grow fangs and claws than to deal with all the messy human stuff. I cast the spell, not missing a single step, and was profoundly disappointed when it didn’t work. But there was other magic on those library shelves: doors to other worlds; worlds where ghosts and monsters and terrible things waited for me and taught me not just to face my own fears, but to come out on the other side stronger and maybe with a better understanding of myself. Turns out I don’t need to go full-on werewolf to feel changed—I just need to lose myself is a great spooky story. So I’m thrilled to be here with Summer Scares, inviting you to come on this reading journey with me—transformation into a werewolf not guaranteed! McMahon, along with a committee of six library workers, will select three recommended fiction titles in each reading level, totaling nine Summer Scares selections. The program aims to encourage a conversation at libraries worldwide about the horror genre across all age levels and ultimately attract more adults, teens, and children interested in reading. Official Summer Scares designated authors will also make themselves available to public and school libraries. The committee’s final selections will be announced on February 14, 2026, Library Lover’s Day. McMahon, along with some of the selected authors, will kick off Summer Scares at the 10th Annual HWA Librarians’ Day (Friday, June 5, 2026) during StokerCon® 2026 at the Westin Pittsburgh. Click here for more information. Additional content, including podcast appearances, free webinars with Booklist, and lists of suggested titles for further reading, will be made available by the committee and its partners beginning early in 2026 and continuing through the Spring and Summer. Of special note is the annual Summer Scares Programming Guide, courtesy of HWA Library Committee Co-Chair Konrad Stump and the Springfield-Greene County Library: The 2026 guide, developed by the HWA’s Library Advisory Council, is packed with everything library workers need to engage their communities with these great titles, including an iREAD partner title in each age group” states Stump. “From ideas for author events, partner programs with University of Pittsburgh Library Systems, book discussion groups, and much more, this guide is the library worker’s roadmap to creating exciting and meaningful experiences for their patrons through Summer Scares that they can use as a jumping off point for future horror-themed programming. The guide will be available beginning March 1, 2026, on the Summer Scares Resource page here. To see past year’s Summer Scares titles, spokespeople, and programming guides, please visit the program archive here. Keep your eyes peeled for more updates coming soon from Booklist, Book Riot, iREAD and NoveList®, as well as at the HWA’s website: www.horror.org and RA for All Horror: https://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/p/summer-scares.html. Questions? Reach out to HWA Library Committee Co-Chairs Becky Spratford and Konrad Stump via email: libraries@horror.org. Summer Scares 2026 Committee Members: Jennifer McMahon is the New York Times bestselling author of twelve suspense novels including The Winter People, Promise Not to Tell, and My Darling Girl. She’s written about ghosts, serial killers, shape shifting monsters, an evil fairy king, a kidnapping rabbit, a terrifying swimming pool, and more. She lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida with her partner, Drea. When not writing, she spends a lot of time exploring and seeking out haunted places, real and imagined. Becky Spratford is a library consultant and the author of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, third edition which was released in September of 2021. She reviews horror for Booklist magazine, is the horror columnist for Library Journal and runs the Readers’ Advisory blog, RA for All: Horror. She is the author of Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature (Saga Press/S&S, September 2025). Konrad Stump works for the Springfield-Greene County (MO) Library, where he coordinates the long-running “Oh, the Horror!” series, profiled in The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, third edition. He also created the Donuts & Death horror book discussion group, featured in Book Club Reboot: 71 Creative Twists (ALA), and co-created the Summer Scares Programming Guide. His work has appeared in Library Journal, NoveList, and Booklist. Carolyn Ciesla is an academic library director in the Chicago suburbs and is serving as the 2025-26 Illinois Library Association President. She has worked as a teen librarian and reference librarian and has reviewed horror titles for Booklist magazine. She’s currently teaching horror to first-year college students. You can find her all over the internet as @papersquared. Kelly Jensen is senior editor at Book Riot, the largest independent book website in North America. She covers all things young adult literature and has written about censorship for nearly ten years. She is the author of three critically acclaimed and award-winning anthologies for young adults on the topics of feminism, mental health, and the body. She was named a person of the year in 2022 by Publishers Weekly and a Chicagoan of the Year in 2022 by the Chicago Tribune for her anti-censorship work. She has twice earned commendation from the American Association of School Librarians for her censorship coverage. Prior to her work at Book Riot, she was a public librarian for children, teens, and adults in several libraries in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. She is currently enrolled in a clinical mental health counseling master’s program to bolster her work with mental health. Julia Smith is a senior editor at Booklist, where she works in the youth books department and harbors a deep love of middle grade literature. Prior to her career at Booklist, she worked at an independent children’s bookstore and in the Chicago Public Library system. Yaika Sabat (MLS) comes from a background in public libraries and now works at NoveList as the Manager of Reader Content and Services, where she creates genre and reader focused content and services. As a Horror Writers Association’s Library Advisory Council member, she aims to help librarians understand and embrace the horror genre. Her other passions include writing, film and media, and folklore.

This collection of 52 short and micro stories is a haunting indictment of misogyny in popular culture and society.

Metafiction? Inanimate objects as narrators? Micro stories? Sign me up! That’s just a tiny part of Aoko Matsuda’s newest collection of short stories in The Woman Dies, which collects 52 of her short and micro stories. Some stories span several pages, while others are only a few sentences long. The thread that pulls through these short stories is an indictment of the misogyny of popular culture and society. The Woman Dies by Aoko Matsuda, translated by Polly Barton I really loved her past story collection Where the Wild Ladies Are where she retold Japanese folktales with a feminist lens. Here she draws on advertising, slogans, turns of phrase, and even artwork in haunting and sometimes very cheeky ways. I tend to have a high threshold for short stories and Matsuda always manages to find really unexpected ways to surprise me. I never quite know how any of the stories are going to end, even if they start off more conventionally. And this story collection is even more twisty and turny than those in her prior collection. This content is for members only. Visit the site and log in/register to read.

These stories put an exciting new spin on the creatures we all think we know, from vampires and zombies to sirens.

While it sometimes doesn’t seem that way, there is still plenty of opportunity within the monster genre. I want more books that use the classic Haitian zombie, that draw from the beliefs and stories of the Caribbean that developed alongside voudou, a tradition rooted in West Africa. I want more books that investigate the grief side of vampirism: the Balkan dead rising, a brother who just died coming home, the need to try and trick him back to lay him to rest. (Or vampire books that investigate the wilder vampire superstitions, like that if you throw rice on the ground, they’ll have to count it grain-by-grain before they come after you again.) I want modern-day Frankenstein tales that jive on chronic illness and wellness culture and plastic surgery, want werewolf stories like Indra Das’ The Devourers that explore shape-shifters as they exist across cultures, want mermaids that reflect the absolute terror that is the deepest parts of our oceans. These five books give you a hint of all those wishes. They take the creatures we all think we know and give unusual and exciting spins on those monsters for some fantastic late-night autumn reading. Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant Victoria Stewart has always known that the footage of her sister’s research ship showing monsters was not a hoax. Now, she and a group of fellow scientists are going to the site of the Atargatis to try and figure out what happened, and prove that the monsters—sirens—really do exist. Did warming waters force a deep-sea predator up towards the surface? Grant (also known as fantasy author Seanan McGuire) takes a deep-ocean, hard sci-fi take on mermaids in this fast-paced, action-film-like novel full of reveals, suspense, and of course, some very scary mermaids. Night’s Edge by Liz Kerin Saratov’s Syndrome is a fairly new problem for the world when Mia’s mother contracts it. Her mom now needs blood to survive, and she doesn’t trust the centers where vampires are being institutionalized, surveilled, and supported. So Mia becomes her mother’s support system instead, drawing blood so her mom can survive. She barely questions it for 13 years, giving her mom everything she has—her time, her social life, her ambitions. But then she meets a girl who makes her feel some kind of way, and she starts to wonder how long she can give her mother everything she has. Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones Jones has quickly become the king of Indigenous horror, and in this 2016 novel, he took on werewolves, bringing in fun takes on werewolf daily life and what it might actually look like to be a lycanthrope in the modern world. He tells the tale in a constellation novel format, a series of chapters centering on the young protagonist and his aunt and uncle as the trio tries to survive on society’s margins. This is a gritty werewolf tale complete with coming-of-age energy and a look into the early work of an author who has become a modern, persistent phenomenon. Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler Shori wakes up in a cave, battered and bruised, and doesn’t know where she came from or who she is. But she quickly learns some crucial things. That she’s thirsty for blood, for instance, and that she heals at a rapid pace. As she digs into the mystery of her past, she learns about the Ina, a species that lives in an unusual relationship with the rest of humanity. This take on vampires is refreshing, and like all good Butler, the science-fiction world-building and powerful protagonist take center stage. Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist, translated by Ebba Segerberg Well-known for authoring Let the Right One In, a haunting spin on vampires, this is Lindqvist’s take on the undead. In this story, zombies aren’t ravenous horrors. Instead, they’re upsettingly familiar. People’s wives, parents, and children begin to rise from the grave in Stockholm. They aren’t fully here, but they’re still back, somehow, and they all find their way home. Three families have to try and figure out how to deal with this phenomenon, as does the government. And it turns out the way the zombies act might have to do with our own feelings towards them. Can’t get enough monsters? There’s much more where that comes from. Great books about monsters, from demons to fungi creations. Monster girls in YA, from werewolves to reapers. And even romances featuring much…sexier versions of the monsters you know.

The model we call “good reading” is neurotypical reading. It assumes a brain that can sustain focus in long, quiet stretches.

I spent a lot of years thinking I wasn’t a real reader. The irony was that books were my whole life: I collected them, stacked them by my bed, carried them around like talismans. But the amount of time I spent, and the way I actually read, never seemed to match what counted as “real.” I would start one book and abandon it after twenty pages, not because I didn’t like it, but because my attention snagged on something else. I would pick up three new books and rotate between them, half-forgetting what had happened in each. Other times, I would fall into hyperfocus and stay up until two in the morning, tearing through hundreds of pages without stopping, only to crash into a reading slump the next week, where nothing seemed to stick. For a long time, I thought this meant I was failing at reading. That image of the “good reader” had been drilled into me since childhood: sitting still for long stretches, turning pages steadily from beginning to end, never skipping, never faltering, and finishing every book before moving on to the next. When I became a teacher, I saw those same systems play out in real time. Reading logs and tests were supposed to measure progress, but what I saw was kids shrinking under the weight of them. Instead of building a love of reading, the metrics turned it into a performance for some and a chore for others. To students whose brains didn’t line up with those expectations, the message was clear: you’re doing it wrong. When I became a librarian, I started hearing the same stories echoed back from my students at my new school. Kids would whisper apologies about only reading manga. Teens would say they weren’t “real readers” because they liked audiobooks. Adults confessed that they just reread romance novels instead of trying new books. Over and over, people framed their reading life as a failure, because it didn’t look like the neat, linear version we’ve all been sold. That’s when I realized I had to spread the word: the problem isn’t with the readers. It’s with the rules. I decided audiobooks absolutely counted, not as cheating, but as reading in a different key. The model we call “good reading” is neurotypical reading. It assumes a brain that can sustain focus in long, quiet stretches. It assumes a taste for certain genres and formats over others. It assumes a clean memory and a steady pace. It does not account for wandering attention, or sensory overwhelm, or the comfort of repetition. It doesn’t make room for audiobooks or fanfiction, or the way a comic book’s art carries half the story. It doesn’t acknowledge the stop-and-start rhythm of someone reading through depression, or the compulsion of someone who can’t move on until they’ve reread the same passage enough times to feel sure they’ve “gotten it right.” It excludes more readers than it includes. When I realized this in my early diagnosis days, I stopped trying to fix myself to fit the rules. I gave myself permission to quit books whenever I needed. I decided audiobooks absolutely counted, not as cheating, but as reading in a different key. I embraced rereads as a form of care, not a waste of time. I let myself read out of order, skip around, skim, and double back. The strange part is, when I stopped holding myself to those old standards, my reading life expanded. I fell back in love with books—not as assignments, not as tests of discipline, but as companions I could meet on my own terms. Now I’m thrilled to be able to let my students give themselves permission to read wildly and without judgment. When someone tells me they’re not really a reader, I get to tell them they already are. Reading manga counts. Listening to audiobooks counts. Picking up a stack of picture books in high school counts. Taking three months to finish one fantasy novel counts. Every way of engaging with stories is real and valuable, whether it looks like the stereotype or not. Reading isn’t about discipline or performance. It isn’t about how many books you finish or whether you’re caught up on the year’s prizewinners. It’s about connection. And once you let yourself dismantle the idea of neurotypical reading, you get to build a relationship with books that is joyful and sustaining, not shame-filled. If you need a guide to start, here are three things I hold on to: All formats count. Audiobooks, graphic novels, ebooks, fanfiction—if it gives you story, it’s reading. You don’t have to finish. Skim, skip, reread, quit. Books don’t expire if you leave them half-read. Joy matters more than rules. If your way of reading brings you back to books instead of pushing you away, then it’s the right way. Books are not judging you. They’re companions, waiting for you in whatever way you’re able to meet them. However you read, and however often, you are already a reader.

Here were the five most read books on Goodreads in October! These are the buzziest books of the moment, from romances to thrillers.

What makes for a good October read? You need some pumpkin spice romance in there, but also some thrillers or horror novels to get your heart racing. Adding in werewolves and vampires doesn’t hurt, either. That’s just about the shape of the top five most read books of October on Goodreads, though I think it’s a shame that horror doesn’t make an appearance on even the top 50 list. Before we get into the top five, let’s talk about some new releases that came out in October that deserve more attention. 4 New Books of October That You Should Know About Unfortunately, the most read books on Goodreads tend not to be diverse by any definition of the word. So, here are a few new books out in October that deserve wider readership. Hole in the Sky by Daniel H. Wilson A single father in the heart of Oklahoma’s Cherokee Nation discovers something strange is happening in the atmosphere. His findings are confirmed by a Texas astrophysicist—something big is barreling towards Earth. It seems to be a spacecraft. But is the world really ready for first contact? — Liberty Hardy Female Fantasy by Iman Hariri-Kia Equal parts satirical, steamy, and swoony, Female Fantasy is a romance novel tailor-made for book lovers who can’t resist a meta twist. Joonie, a copywriter by day and fanfic writer by night, knows no real guy can measure up to her ultimate book boyfriend—a merman hero named Ryke. But when she learns Ryke is based on a real person, she sets off to track him down, dragging along her brother’s infuriating best friend as an unwilling road-trip companion. What follows is a hilariously chaotic, self-aware journey through romance tropes that doubles as a genuine story about finding love where you least expect it. This is a joyful reminder of why readers fall in love with the genre in the first place. — Nikki DeMarco The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri Here’s a new sapphic fantasy from the award-winning author of the Burning Kingdoms series! A witch and a knight fated to fall in love and be torn apart over and over must find a way to halt the cycle of their story. Meanwhile, a mysterious assassin is on the prowl, looking to permanently destroy anyone with a story like theirs. — Liberty Hardy The Unveiling by Quan Barry The Unveiling is a literary survival horror novel that takes place on a luxury Antarctic cruise. Striker is a Black film scout who has joined the cruise in the hopes of capturing locations for a big-budget movie. But nothing about the cruise goes according to plan, and when an excursion goes terribly wrong, Striker and a small group of survivors find themselves stranded in the middle of the Antarctic. As things grow more dire, hostilities and people’s true nature come to the surface. — Emily Martin The Most Read Books on Goodreads in October #5: The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore It’s pumpkin spice reading season! Apparently, a whole lot of people have been saving this to read in fall. This promises to be a “cozy romantic mystery for fans of Gilmore Girls, with a grumpy x sunshine dynamic, a small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed.” This is the first in a series that continues in The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, The Christmas Tree Farm, and The Strawberry Patch Pancake House. It was read by almost 62,000 Goodreads users in October and has a 3.4 average rating. #4: Hot for Slayer by Ali Hazelwood For Halloween season, Amazon has released a series of six original romance short stories called Scared Sexy, including this one and My Boyfriends Are All Monsters by Kimberly Lemming. Ali Hazelwood is one of the biggest names in romance at the moment! Hot for Slayer is about a vampire, Ethel, and vampire slayer, Lazlo, who have been not-so-mortal enemies for centuries. When Lazlo loses his memories, Ethel finds herself in the strange position of having to help him remember who he is. It was read by 65,000 users this month and has a 4.0 average rating. #3: Mate (Bride #2) by Ali Hazelwood The second Ali Hazelwood title on the most read books on Goodreads list this month is the companion novel to Bride. This paranormal romance came out on October 7th. It is about Serena, the first Were-Human hybrid, who finds herself a political target of Humans, Vampyres, and Weres alike. Her safety depends on the protection of the Alpha Were Koen. It was read by almost 75,000 users in October and has a 4.2 average rating. #2: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden This is the first book in Freida McFadden’s Housemaid series, followed by The Housemaid’s Secret and The Housemaid Is Watching. It’s about a housemaid who cleans for a wealthy family, takes care of their child, and lives in their attic bedroom. She’s soon pulled into the family’s dangerous secrets, but her employers may have underestimated what she’s capable of. A movie adaptation is coming out in December. This was read by 78,000 Goodreads users this month and has a 4.3 average rating. #1: The Intruder by Freida McFadden Freida McFadden also has two books in the top five this month. This is her newest thriller, which came out October 7th. It’s about Casey, who is weathering a hurricane in her rundown cabin in the woods when she sees a girl outside her window. She is covered in blood and clutching a knife. “The girl has a dark secret. One she’ll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.” 93,000 users read it in October, and it has a 4.0 average rating. If you’re looking for more buzzy books, check out The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists. Keep up with all the latest book news by signing up for the Book Riot Newsletter.

Rocky Horror is turning 50, and we're celebrating with a list of must-read books for fans of the cult classic.

Oh, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Whether you love it or hate it, this campy musical has had its Transylvanian claws around the hearts of queer kids and misfits the world over. Now, Rocky Horror is turning 50, and we’re here to look back on its enduring popularity — and give you a list of must-read books for fans of Richard O’Brien’s cult classic. Rocky Horror began life as The Rocky Horror Show, a stage musical, which premiered at London’s Royal Court Theatre in June 1973. In it, Tim Curry originated the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter — the “sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania.” It was a role he would go on to reprise in the Los Angeles stage production in 1974, on Broadway in 1975, and in the film. The Rocky Horror Picture Show premiered in London in August 1975, and in the U.S. the following month. And so, a cult classic was born. Over the last 50 years, thousands, if not millions, of people have seen Rocky Horror at midnight movie screenings, often accompanied by a shadow cast: actors who dress up as the characters and act out the film as it plays in the background. It’s been a touchstone for queer kids and other outcasts drawn to its campy, gothic style. The BBC calls it “the film that’s saved lives.” And it continues to endure today. Below are eight books all Rocky Horror fans should read ASAP. Image via Tom Barrett on Unsplash Shiver With Anticcccc-ipation: Rocky Horror at 50 We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film by Tre’vell Anderson Hailed as “a personal history of trans visibility since the beginning of moving images,” We See Each Other should be at the top of any Rocky Horror fan’s TBR. In it, Tre’vell Anderson contextualizes seminal trans films like Rocky Horror, walking readers through the history of trans representation on screen. Absolute Pleasure: Queer Perspectives on Rocky Horror, edited by Margot Atwell 27 queer writers — including Sarah Gailey, Carmen Maria Machado, and Madeline Visaggio — came together to produce Absolute Pleasure: a collection of essays exploring Rocky Horror‘s relevance to queer communities today. Does the outdated language in “Sweet Transvestite” undermine Rocky Horror‘s contemporary appeal, or is the film still as empowering today? The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Stephen Chbosky’s 2009 YA novel may well be where a generation of kids first learned of the existence of Rocky Horror. Here, Charlie and his friends gather together to form their own shadow cast for the film, which plays in the backdrop of his letters — letters that explore sex and sexuality, drugs, and growing up. Vagabond by Tim Curry Obviously, we have to include Vagabond on the list. Tim Curry’s long-awaited memoir traces his life from his childhood in Plymouth to today. The book takes readers behind the scenes of Curry’s most recognizable roles, including Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, and Spamalot‘s King Arthur. Savage Blooms by S.T. Gibson The first book in a planned trilogy, Savage Blooms follows will-they-or-won’t-they couple, Adam and Nicola, who find themselves waylaid on a trip to Scotland and wind up at an eccentric kinkster’s manor house. Sound familiar? The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery by Clarence A. Haynes This campy ghost story centers on the eponymous Gwendolyn, who learns from an old friend that the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is thinning. But as secrets from her past begin to pop up in truly grisly ways, Gwendolyn must face the skeletons in her closet before it’s too late. Strange Bedfellows by Ariel Slamet Ries Living on a terraformed planet in the deep reaches of space, trans dropout Oberon Afolayan isn’t having a great time. But when he wakes up with the ability to conjure dreams into reality, it seems as though his life might be turning around. Enter Kon: Oberon’s high-school crush, now his spirit guide to his newfound powers. Oberon might be falling in love with his — literal — dream boy, but Kon has secrets he isn’t sharing… ones that could derail Oberon’s life. House of Frank by Kay Synclaire Finally, there’s House of Frank, a cozy book with perhaps the most fitting name for this list. In it, a witch who has lost her powers searches for a way to carry out her late sister’s final wish, and winds up finding the family she didn’t know she needed. It’s warm and welcoming, and if Rocky Horror is your comfort movie, you need to read it. Want more Rocky Horror Picture Show-adjacent content? Check out this podcast episode and this retrospective on The Worst Witch.

The death throes of the comics distributor giant Diamond Comics show exactly why monopolies are so dangerous.

In June of 2020, the comics industry underwent a seismic shift that many readers probably didn’t notice at all: DC Comics announced that it would no longer be distributing its products via Diamond Comics. What is Diamond Comics? Founded in 1982, Diamond is a distributor primarily of comics and graphic novels, but also other geeky pop culture stuff, like toys, games, and clothing. Diamond grew rapidly in the 80’s and 90’s, buying out other distributors to corner an ever-larger slice of the comics pie. In 1996, they acquired their main rival, Capital City Distribution, and by 1997, they had signed exclusive deals with Marvel and DC, as well as other larger indies like Image and Dark Horse. There is, of course, a word for when there’s only one company providing a service: monopoly. The Department of Justice actually launched an antitrust investigation in 1997, but the investigation was closed three years later, with the DoJ determining that while Diamond had a monopoly on comics distribution, it didn’t have a monopoly on books distribution…which, of course, no one was claiming they did. Alas. Diamond became very much a bogeyman of the industry. Shrinking sales and the failure to reach new readers, particularly young readers, was blamed partially on the fact that kids simply couldn’t access comics—at least, not the affordable, bite-sized floppy kind—anywhere but comic book stores, which had developed a reputation for being hostile, racist, sexist, and generally gatekeepery. Retailers complained about having to work with Diamond, but had no other option if they wanted to carry…well, anything. And then the pandemic happened. Like almost everyone else, Diamond shut down their services, shipping no comics between April 1 and May 20, 2020. Less than a month later, DC and Diamond parted ways, with DC announcing that they would now be distributing their comics via UCS Comic Distributors and Lunar Distribution, and their books via Penguin Random House. They cited the need to grow their audience as a reason for the change: “The change of direction is in line with DC’s overall strategic vision intended to improve the health of, and strengthen, the Direct Market [sales to comic book shops] as well as grow the number of fans who read comics worldwide.” The following year, Marvel followed suit, moving both comics and books distribution to Penguin Random House. Considering that DC and Marvel together comprise about 60% of the industry’s entire market share, this was bad news for Diamond, which continued to bleed clients. This January, Diamond filed for bankruptcy. This was followed by a bonkers succession of legal twists and turns as various buyers stepped forward—and then stepped back. Meanwhile, Diamond decided to just…liquidate their inventory without paying publishers. Nearly 130 publishers, some of whom they owed over a million dollars to. The legal details are still being hammered out, but what does this mean for you, the comics reader? Well, DC and Marvel will be just fine, with their new distribution deals and massive parent companies. But the small publishers are struggling. Some are crowdfunding; others are in danger of not being able to pay their employees. They will probably never see what they are owed by Diamond. Diamond was unquestionably a monopoly, and it needed to go. But its death throes are showcasing one of the reasons why a monopoly is bad that we don’t often hear about: that when one goes down for unpredictable reasons, like a global pandemic, it risks destroying everyone who was forced into depending on it. If there’s a comic you love that’s being published by a smaller press, I urge you to take a look at that company’s website and see if they need support. Preorder some books, or throw a few bucks at a Kickstarter. Small presses are where innovation happens and careers get started, and if we want a healthy industry, we want these companies to survive.

This is a moderated subreddit. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage in-depth discussion about all things related to books, authors, genres, or publishing in a safe, supportive environment. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook.

Hi everyone! What are you reading? What have you recently finished reading? What do you think of it? We want to know! We're displaying the books found in this thread in the book strip at the top of the page. If you want the books you're reading included, use the formatting below. Formatting your book info Post your book info in this format: the title, by the author For example: The Bogus Title, by Stephen King This formatting is voluntary but will help us include your selections in the book strip banner. Entering your book data in this format will make it easy to collect the data, and the bold text will make the books titles stand out and might be a little easier to read. Enter as many books per post as you like but only the parent comments will be included. Replies to parent comments will be ignored for data collection. To help prevent errors in data collection, please double check your spelling of the title and author. NEW: Would you like to ask the author you are reading (or just finished reading) a question? Type !invite in your comment and we will reach out to them to request they join us for a community Ask Me Anything event! -Your Friendly /r/books Moderator Team submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

Hello readers and welcome to our Weekly FAQ thread! Our topic this week is: What book made you fall in love with reading? At some point in our lives we weren't readers. But, we read one book or one series that showed us the light. We want to know which book made you fall in love. You can view previous FAQ threads here in our wiki. Thank you and enjoy! submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

I run into this with so many fantasy books. I love fantasy in theory, but I often struggle with the writing style or I feel like it's just "not my type" of fantasy. I am currently struggling with "Nightfall in the Garden of Deep Time" by Tracy Higley. I have seen hundreds of people recommend this title and the synopsis felt like it was going to be just right for me, but I'm having trouble getting into it. Does this ever happen to you? Do you end up feeling like the problem is you, that you aren't doing something right or your mindset must be messed up somehow? 🤣 submitted by /u/notquitenerds [link] [comments]

Yesterday, I took a train and sat next to another family. The kids were on their phones almost the entire ride, watching one flashy Tiktok video after another I couldn’t help but notice how glued they were to their screens. Not once did they look out the window or talk to each other. Keep hearing people say that kids today especially Gen Alpha have shorter attention spans and can’t focus on reading books anymore. Some teachers and parents claim that even when kids want to read and they lose interest after just a few pages. Are Gen Alpha kids really losing their ability to focus on reading, or are we just overreacting to a new media culture like our parents did with us? For me, I think you cannot compare short videos and social media to TV because they are totally different things. Short videos and social media can harm attention spans sometimes even watching movies feels productive, let alone reading books. I’ve noticed that the people who read in public or in libraries are mostly older. I hardly ever see kids reading books anymore. submitted by /u/Delicious_Maize9656 [link] [comments]

I first listened to the audiobook of The Long Walk a little over a year ago. I then subsequently bought my best friend an 8$ copy for Christmas, and one for myself too. I picked it up in February, and it's hardly left my arms reach since. I've never had a book affect my life in such a way, up until early October of this year I was in what I can only describe as a trance. Maybe I was having some sort of depression and using the long walk as a sort of escape or coping mechanism, I stopped doing everything I loved, and even a lot of the things I needed to do. I stopped listening to or creating music, drawing, writing, watching tv or movies, or really consuming or reading ANYTHING besides The Long Walk. I neglected a lot of my own responsibilities, and relationships. I've been through both the audiobook and the physical copy probably two dozen times total, engaged in hours of discussion, fantasizing, and just mulling over every single word and character in my head, all day every day. It's fundamentally impacted me in a way I can't even put into words. I genuinely fell in love with a character from this book, something I never thought could actually happen. I became completely enamored, I saw his face when I closed my eyes and heard his voice in my dreams. I planned a week long trip to somewhere I've never been, and I'd be lying if I said he had nothing to do with my desire to travel there. I listened to certain parts of the book over and over just to hear him. I think I'm out of my trance now, but even still, I keep my copy next to my bed at all times, I flip through the pages every day and read snippets like my own fucked up little bible. I still regard it as the greatest thing I've ever read and I imagine it will stay that way for years. I lost the good majority of my 2025 to this book. I don't regret it, but looking back I've never had a time like this before in my whole life. submitted by /u/beestw [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/Knotfloyd [link] [comments]

Approximately twenty years ago I purchased the book titled “Tales of Alhambra” by a Washington Irving at my local library book sale. The book details Irving’s travels through southern Spain, specifically around the city of Granada. He provided sketches and essays related to the traditions of both Moores and Spaniards. He did such a great job describing the city and its people that I added visiting the Alhambra to my bucket list. I just got back from the Alhambra, and despite the fact that it’s changed alot from the mid-1800s, which is when the book was written, it lived up to my expectations. During the 1800s, the region was in decline, and local historians credit traveling artists and authors like Washington Irving with increasing world interest in the area. This demand encouraged for preservation projects to take place, which is why the Alhambra is still here. During my stay, I partook in a tour to The Alhambra palace, which was a Moor fortification. It satisfied me to see that right at the main entrance to the historical site, there is a huge monument honoring Washington Irving and his contribution to the preservation of this site. It’s amazing how written words can resist time and keep on changing people’s lives. I want to imagine that somewhere, somehow, Irving smirked as I walked through the main gates of the Alhambra. submitted by /u/Bichobichir [link] [comments]

Currently listening to the audiobook. Here's something nagging me so far. I find there to be a somewhat regressive underlying message on the role of women in caregiving. Atul brings his Indian grandfather as an ideal in aging. However he doesn't go into the fact that the women, and really only the women, of the family would cook and clean and care to keep his 100+ year old grandfather going. And this message continues in his examples. The "role" of daughters in caring is mentioned but not the role of sons. Then the book goes into how dual income families have made it harder for women to care for the elderly. I found this somewhat disturbing. Women don't cherish these roles but are expected into them without options. The truth is that there is no good solution. Majority of humans are scared to die and want to keep living even when it's hard to do so for them and for others. It's core instinct and cannot be overridden. Humanity will never really be able to accept death as good. It shouldn't fall on women alone to stave off this fear and keep people going. My 2 cents. submitted by /u/anybodyscat [link] [comments]

Hey everyone 👋 I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately — with so many books being released every day, it’s harder than ever for new authors to stand out. When you’re scrolling through Kindle Unlimited or a bookstore shelf, what actually makes you stop and click “Read more”? Is it the cover, the first line, the premise, or just a gut feeling? As someone who just went through their first publishing experience, I’m genuinely curious what draws readers in now — especially for young adult or adventure stories. Would love to hear your thoughts! 💬 submitted by /u/Me-Money-Rich [link] [comments]

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Welcome to our weekly recommendation thread! A few years ago now the mod team decided to condense the many "suggest some books" threads into one big mega-thread, in order to consolidate the subreddit and diversify the front page a little. Since then, we have removed suggestion threads and directed their posters to this thread instead. This tradition continues, so let's jump right in! The Rules Every comment in reply to this self-post must be a request for suggestions. All suggestions made in this thread must be direct replies to other people's requests. Do not post suggestions in reply to this self-post. All unrelated comments will be deleted in the interest of cleanliness. How to get the best recommendations The most successful recommendation requests include a description of the kind of book being sought. This might be a particular kind of protagonist, setting, plot, atmosphere, theme, or subject matter. You may be looking for something similar to another book (or film, TV show, game, etc), and examples are great! Just be sure to explain what you liked about them too. Other helpful things to think about are genre, length and reading level. All Weekly Recommendation Threads are linked below the header throughout the week to guarantee that this thread remains active day-to-day. For those bursting with books that you are hungry to suggest, we've set the suggested sort to new; you may need to set this manually if your app or settings ignores suggested sort. If this thread has not slaked your desire for tasty book suggestions, we propose that you head on over to the aptly named subreddit /r/suggestmeabook. The Management submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

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Hi All. I am a public librarian. A huge part of my job involves buying library materials with tax-funded dollars. Choices are made according to our collection development policy, which among other things takes into consideration the reputation of an author and publisher. AI-gen content is intrinsically of no reputable value. AI-gen content is rapidly changing how myself and other librarians in my network purchase eBooks and eAudiobooks. If you look in my comment history, you'll see some information about Hoopla and reasons why some libraries are cancelling their subscriptions. A huge factor is the amount of AI-gen content, or suspected AI-gen content, that is added to hoopla without any consideration for its quality. However, this doesn't just affect digital content. AI content is popping up in all material formats. Where this affects authors and readers: hoopla, Overdrive, and libraries rely on publishers Disclosing what AI is used in the creation of a product. Publishers, especially small publishers, don't always want to disclose this information. Librarians handle an incredible volume of ordering and do not have time to scrutinize every page of every book to look for AI-gen content. To simplify, an increasing number of us are building lists of disreputable publishers and simply not buying from them at all. This means that authors like Katee Roberts who publish through Draft2Digital might be caught up in this block. What you can do about it: Don't buy AI. Pay someone real money for real creative labor. Don't use AI. Smarter people than I have outlined how unethical it is. As a wise person once told me: "Everyone has skills. [This] isn't one of yours." Develop your own strengths. Pressure publishers and authors to label AI-gen content and tools used in an item's creation. Use your library's "Suggest a Purchase" feature if they don't have something you want. It really makes a big difference submitted by /u/Your_Fave_Librarian [link] [comments]

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A couple of hours ago, I finished the novel A Treacherous Tale by Elizabeth Penney (published over here under the title The Risky Plot), the second book in her Cambridge Bookshop Series of cozy mysteries. In the story we follow the further adventures of Molly, a young former librarian from Vermont, who has moved to England with her mother to help her aunt with the old family bookshop in Cambridge. While visiting the popular author of a beloved children’s book in a nearby village, Molly and her mother become witnesses to a murder at her property. Soon, the author’s daughter, an inspiration for one of the characters in her book disappears without a trace, complicating the mystery even more. Like the first book, this one was also very cozy and nicely written. It has a vibe from the stories of the Golden Age of detective fiction. Once again Molly, her boyfriend Kiran and her relatives, are investigating the complicated mystery, trying to save the author’s reputation and family. There are certainly more stakes than in the first book, and you can tell the author feels surer about her characters and plotlines. We also get the chance to read the fictional book surrounding the case, as its narrative is intertwined with the main story, a book within a book. We also follow the growth in the relationship between Molly and Kiran, as the latter wants to introduce Molly to his aristocratic parents. I believe this is a perfect sequel to an already great book. It’s a very classic detective story, and an amazing treat to all bookworms out there, since again the references to books, authors and bookstores run abound. I cannot but recommend it! submitted by /u/A_Guy195 [link] [comments]

Just finished reading The House in the Cerulean Sea(2020) by TJ Klune a tender, heartwarming fantasy about a bunch of sweet unrelated individuals coming together to operate as a family. It follows a lonely caseworker whose quiet life changes when he is sent to evaluate an orphanage for magical children living on a distant island. What he finds there is a home filled with love, acceptance and the unexpected which challenges everything he thought he knew about rules, duty and belonging. The novel shines in its warmth and optimism. Klune created a cast of endearing, eccentric characters whose quirks add humor and heart to the story. The seaside setting feels like a place you would want to escape to and the book’s message, that compassion and understanding can reshape the world, resonates strongly. This book is very often described as “a warm hug” by many of its fans, now the thing about a hug is that its only appreciated when its needed. Similarly when you are not in a mood for a sweet, whimsical, escapist fantasy, the same endearing elements hold the potential to rub you the wrong way. The plot is predictable, conflicts resolve neatly and heavy themes like prejudice and institutional control are handled with a fairytale softness. So state of mind and expectations have to be tuned accordingly to get the best experience from this book. The vibe of the book cinematically feels like a Pixar movie in X-men setting, with the kids from Bob's Burgers and adults from Paddington. Overall, The House in the Cerulean Sea is a cozy, uplifting read that trades complexity for comfort. Its not a story that surprises you, but one that gently reminds you why kindness and acceptance still matter. 7/10 submitted by /u/Zehreelakomdareturns [link] [comments]

Boo! readers, Halloween is almost here and that means we're discussing scary books! Please use this thread to discuss your favorite horror books and authors. If you'd like to read our previous weekly discussions of fiction and nonfiction please visit the suggested reading section of our wiki. Thank you and enjoy! submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]

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A novella with a mediocre retold fairy tale I've always loved the idea of retold fairy tales, especially those with a modern twist. So the premise of "Once More Upon a Time" immediately appealed to me. The main characters are King Ambrose and Queen Imelda, and joining the cast of good guys is an enchanted cloak that thinks it is a horse. The first part of the story is a play on the classic tale of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", with Imelda being one of the lesser known princesses. Imelda and Ambrose have just had a fairy tale wedding. But when Imelda is in danger of being poisoned, Ambrose accepts a deal from a witch: in exchange for her life, he must forget his love for her. Due to the terms of "Love's Keep" where they live, the entire kingdom is now at stake, and for one year they're resigned to living a loveless marriage. But can their love be rekindled? Unfortunately the execution doesn't live up to the intriguing concept. For a relatively short work where the plot should be crystal clear, things get surprisingly confusing about the exact terms of the deal, and who is forgetting what, and why, and for how long. The style also disappoints. I've read part of Chokshi's popular Pandava Quintet, which was marred by trying too hard to be relevant to today's pop culture and at times used cheesy language. Similar flaws were evident in this work, and "Once More Upon a Time" gets incredibly cringeworthy at times. It's not helped by several instances of sexual innuendo and mature content that definitely put this outside the YA market and into adult territory. What could have been an unique and engaging romantic fairy tale just fell very flat, and felt more confused than charmed. I won't be reading more from this author. submitted by /u/EndersGame_Reviewer [link] [comments]

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I’ve just finished reading Steven Erikson’s latest Malazan book No Life Forsaken, the second book in his new Malazan series called Witness. I found it to be more of a sequel to that favoured and long ago discovered, by me at least, book Deadhouse Gates, which, in part, tells the story of The Chain of Dogs, than a few other books in The Malazan Book of the Fallen series. As such, it has me pondering on the other books in the series, in particular Deadhouse Gates and the other Malazan books set on the same continent, and talking the ears off any friend foolishly enough to entertain my enthusiasm. Unfortunately I have no friends who have read the books, so the reasons for my unbridled enthusiasm requires explanation. One friend, when describing to them the importance of The Chain of Dogs plot line, to the series as well as the fans, remarked that they had never heard of a book that involved a, so called by its fans, rite of passage. To my surprise, I couldn’t think of another example either. For those who don’t know about the Malazan epic fantasy book series, it is seen as quite the experience to actual read a specific plot line in the second book Deadhouse Gates and is known amongst fans as walking The Chain of Dogs. There are a few reasons as why it is considered to be of such import to fans of the series. For many it is the point when they finally fall in love with the books and/or finally understand what Erikson is going for in terms of the sheer scope of the story and themes. Another is that, whilst considered utterly brilliant by its fans, especially the ending, it is often seen as quite the ordeal to actually read, being that the story and way it is written can be harrowing to experience. It would take a heart of stone (or simply one not gelling with the book) to not be affected by it. I, whilst admit to being someone apt to being emotionally affected by books, I was left stunned after finishing Deadhouse Gates in a way unlike any other experience I have had. Now that I’ve explained what The Chain of Dogs is, although my wish not to spoil maybe has left my explanation a little vague, can anyone think of another book series with a book, plot line or just a moment that would considered a rite of passage like walking The Chain of Dogs is seen to Malazan fans? submitted by /u/Born-Captain7056 [link] [comments]

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From the article: Award winning inclusive children’s publisher Knights Of is to close, The Bookseller understands, with accountancy firm Hart Shaw instructed to place the company in liquidation, pending a vote of the shareholders. The company – which as of 16th October ceased trading – is expected to go into liquidation during the week of 10th November. Shareholders include co-founder and MD Aimée Felone, co-founder Dee Stevens, and authors Robin Stevens and Sophie Anderson. No reason has been given for the collapse, though it is understood that KO had been talking to publishers about a potential sale for sometime. Knights Of would not comment when contacted by The Bookseller, except to confirm its closure. This week its offshoot bookshop Round Table Books – which is a separately run Community Interest Company – launched a fund-raising initiative to move into bigger premises. Knights Of was founded in 2017 by two former Scholastic employees, Aimée Felone and Dee Stevens. The company name is a reference to the Knights of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, which offers everyone an equal voice and an equal say in all matters. At the time, Felone said: “Knights Of was born out of a frustration with the lack of representative voices and narratives in children’s fiction. With Knights Of we can publish uniquely, putting our differences first and celebrating them, making it central to our business.” Knights Of was named Children’s Publisher of the Year at The British Book Awards in 2022, where it was described as “small but mighty, and full of integrity and purpose”. It followed a year in which Elle McNicoll’s A Kind of Spark scooped both the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and the Blue Peter Best Story Book Award, with Jason Reynolds taking the CILIP Carnegie Medal for Look Both Ways. An open letter signed by more than 20 independent publishing houses – including Bluemoose Books, Tilted Axis Press and Influx Press – was published in October, claiming that small presses face an “existential crisis”. It cited production, paper supply and energy costs; a challenging retail landscape; lack of review coverage; and a reduction in the number of distributors available for small presses, and arts-funding cuts. However, it is not known if these were significant contributory factors in the closure of KO. Concerns have also been expressed about the sector’s commitment to inclusive and representative publishing, with KO’s closure likely to raise further questions. I thought this was interesting in light of the recent announcement that The Children's Booker Prize will be awarded from 2026. Authors have been talking about concerns within the middle grade book industry for a while, and I'm wondering what this press closure might say about the status of children's literature in a climate where small presses with a focus on inclusivity and diversity in narrative are increasingly struggling to survive, and in an era of book bans. submitted by /u/melonofknowledge [link] [comments]

The author, Christine Webb, is a Harvard primatologist who is writing about scientific and philosophical issues regarding non-human minds. I listened to the audiobook, which the author reads herself (not the worst reader I've ever listened to but it's good that she has a successful day job). The book was published in September of 2025. To start, although the title (in full, The Arrogant Ape: The Myth of Human Exceptionalism and Why It Matters) is a semi-accurate description of the book's theme--namely, scientists err when they assess the intelligence of non-humans in anthropocentric terms and find it wanting by comparison--I think it does the book a slight disservice by not adequately expressing how much of the discussion regards non-human life. The book engages in a fair amount of, in my opinion, deserved bashing of the European scientific and philosophical traditions that promote human intellectual exceptionalism, but it does this with a wide-ranging exploration of examples of non-human intelligence that is quite rewarding to read. If you already have an interest in the minds of animals, some of the examples of non-human intelligence will likely be familiar to you. What makes the book worthwhile is how she uses these examples to show how time and again, going back to the Greeks, western thinkers have erred in their assessment of the inner lives of non-humans because of the conviction that humans are obviously superior. Being a primatologist, the author starts off showing how we err in assessing primate intelligence by, among other things, testing them at activities that they would never encounter in the wild, like at computer tablet activities; or testing them in environments that are likely to hinder their success, like isolated in laboratory cages instead of in natural environments with fellow members of their own species. From there, the book expands to other mammals, and then birds and fish, crustaceans and insects, plants and slime molds. Along the way she discusses primate-centrism and neuro-centrism. She also shows the interplay between all these ideas and those of racism and colonialism. Eventually she dabbles a little in panpsychism, Native American religious attitudes to non-human life, and Gaia theory. The end goal is to show how the dominant paradigms regarding non-human minds do a disservice not only to non-human life but to us as well (full disclosure: I am a human), and are at the root of the ecological crises of our times. The scientific and philosophical level of discussion is geared toward all readers. Trigger Warning: Those of you who hate "woke" might have an aneurysm while reading this. I enjoyed the book because I love animals, have an interest in the philosophy of mind, and think we need a major course correction in our relationship with the natural world. I, personally, didn't learn a ton I didn't already know (Edit: I'm old and have read a fair number of books about this subject, others might learn a lot) but it was a good recap and it helped me put together my various thoughts about these subjects into a cohesive philosophy. submitted by /u/mindbodyproblem [link] [comments]

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Books any time any day.

Book Review Author :Delia Owens Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher : GP Putnam’s Sons Year of Publication: 2019 Number of Pages: 368 My Rating : 4 out of 5 I picked this up with a bit of hesitation. In spite of the great reviews that it got, I must say the title made me expect something … Continue reading Where the Crawdads Sing →

Book Review Author :Delia Owens Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher : GP Putnam’s Sons Year of Publication: 2019 Number of Pages: 368 My Rating : 4 out of 5 I picked this up with a bit of hesitation. In spite of the great reviews that it got, I must say the title made me expect something quite different from what it was. I expected a book filled with scientific details about marshes and birds that would be difficult to read. I was genuinely surprised and pleased to get drawn into the story and to find that it was not an exposition on the science of the marsh masquerading as a novel but a well written, enjoyable and easy to follow story. The story is about Kya a young girl born in the marshes of North Carolina, USA who is left to fend for herself by her family from the tender age of 7. The town people consider her strange and refer to her as Marsh Girl. She somehow manages to take care of herself all alone in the Marsh with only the occasional journey into town to get supplies. She is lucky enough to make a friend who teaches her how to read and helps her make use of her knowledge of the marsh to make a respectable living. When one day, Chase Andrews, the son of one of the town’s most prominent families is found dead in the swamp, the town people cannot help but suspect that the strange Marsh girl had something to do with his death. This is an interesting book about survival and overcoming all odds to make a good life in the face of extreme hardship and hostility. Though I must admit at times I found it difficult to believe that such a young child could survive alone in such difficult circumstances and that none of the residents of the town bothered to do anything about this situation, the story is touching in many ways. It would be amazing if anyone could actually survive such a childhood and manage to turn their life around as Kya did. I also enjoyed learning about the marsh and the different species to be found there and seeing the beauty in nature through Kya’s eyes, as she explored her marsh and got to know it better than anyone else. I rate this book 4 out of 5. If you enjoy reading coming of age historical fiction stories and are a lover of nature, you will absolutely love this book. If you are the skeptical and cynical type, you might find it a bit implausible. Happy reading!

Classics Book Review Author : Elizabeth Gaskell Genre : Literary Classic Fiction Original Publisher : Chapman and Hall Year of Publication : 1854 Number of Pages : 396 My Rating : 5 out of 5 My most recent read is this gem of a book by Elizabeth Gaskell, based in Victorian England. Margaret Hale is … Continue reading North and South →

Classics Book Review Author : Elizabeth Gaskell Genre : Literary Classic Fiction Original Publisher : Chapman and Hall Year of Publication : 1854 Number of Pages : 396 My Rating : 5 out of 5 My most recent read is this gem of a book by Elizabeth Gaskell, based in Victorian England. Margaret Hale is the daughter of a parson. At age nine, her parents sent her away from the sleepy hamlet known as Helstone, where her father serves as the Parish Priest, to go live with her maternal aunt in London’s Harley Street so she could get an education along with her cousin Edith. Nine years later, aged eighteen, she returns to the village home of her parents and is longing for a quiet, peaceful life walking in the forest and spending her days tending to the needs of her father’s congregation. “She took a pride in her forest. Its people were her people. She made hearty friends with them; learned and delighted in using their peculiar words; took up her freedom amongst them; nursed their babies; talked or read with slow distinctness to their old people; carried dainty messes to their sick; resolved before long to teach at the school, where her father went every day as to an appointed task, but she was continually tempted off to go and see some individual friend–man, woman, or child–in some cottage in the green shade of the forest.“ When her father suddenly announces that he is moving the family North to the manufacturing town of Milton-Northern, she is shocked and grief stricken and wonders how this change will affect her family, most especially her mother. Life in Milton is as different as expected – the air is heavy with smoke, the streets are bustling and the people are rough. Margaret tries her best to ease her mother’s worries and anxieties. With time, she gets to meet some of the people of Milton and make friends with them, in spite of the differences in behaviour, customs and mannerisms. She manages to get herself embroilled in the politics of the town and finds herself in the middle of a strike. She also manages to draw the attention of Mr. Thornton, a mill owner and one of the wealthiest manufacturers in the town, who is also her father’s pupil. John Thornton finds Margaret haughty and thinks she treats him with contempt while Margaret finds him hard and unfeeling and only interested in getting wealthy at the expense of his poor workers. Yet the two are brought together time and time again by fate. Will they be able to overcome their differences and find common ground? “If Mr. Thornton was a fool in the morning, as he assured himself at least twenty times he was, he did not grow much wiser in the afternoon. All that he gained in return for his sixpenny omnibus ride, was a more vivid conviction that there never was, never could be, anyone like Margaret; that she did not love him and never would; but she –no! nor the whole world –should never hinder him from loving her.“ This story is engaging and well written. It demonstrates what happens when there is a clash of cultures. Margaret and her family are used to Southern mannerisms and she struggles to understand the industrial town and its people. She has also had a privileged life at the her aunt’s London home which is very different from the life her own family leads. Through the eyes of the other characters, we get to experience the industrial revolution and the inevitable clashes between the mill owners and their workers as each strives to protect their interests. I loved how the author presented us with different view points of the lives of the people of Milton – that of the owners, workers and outsiders in the form of the Hale family. “After a quiet life in a country parsonage for more than twenty years, there was something dazzling to Mr. Hale in the energy which conquered immense difficulties with ease; the power of the machinery of Milton, the power of the men of Milton, impressed him with a sense of grandeur, which he yielded to without caring to inquire into the details of its exercise.“ This was my first Elizabeth Gaskell book to read as part of my 50 classics in 5 years’ challenge. Having gotten used to Jane Austen books where the biggest differences in social class were as a result of inheritance and the sort of family that one came from, it was refreshing to read about self-made characters who were not trapped in the lives that they were born into. Adaptation North and South has been adapted for TV three times. I watched the above 2004 BBC adaptation. It was a four episode production featuring Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe. I absolutely loved it and found the characters very fitting for their roles, save that the ending was to me a bit too different from the actual ending in the book. I would have loved to see that ending played out here, though I must admit that it did not come out very nicely in the last episode of the 1975 adaptation that I managed to find on YouTube! I enjoyed every part of this book and recommend it to all lovers of classics. I rate it 5 out of 5.

Author : Marian Keyes Genre : Family Drama Publisher : Michael Joseph -an imprint of Penguin Year of Publication : 2020 Number of Pages : 633 My Rating : 4 out of 5 I totally fell in love with Marian Keyes after reading Sushi for Beginners. It led me to her other books which I … Continue reading Grown Ups →

Author : Marian Keyes Genre : Family Drama Publisher : Michael Joseph -an imprint of Penguin Year of Publication : 2020 Number of Pages : 633 My Rating : 4 out of 5 I totally fell in love with Marian Keyes after reading Sushi for Beginners. It led me to her other books which I also absolutely loved. I know it says ‘gloriously funny’ on this book’s cover – a quote from the Sunday Times – but it was more of drama than humor to me. This is especially so when I compare it with some of her other totally hilarious ones, like Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married and Rachel’s Holiday. The book is based on the Casey family, complete with a family tree, so we know who fits where – and once you tally all the children, they are quite a number. The three Casey brothers are close and spend a lot of time together, despite their estrangement from their very cold and distant parents. The family is fairly well-to-do (or at least Johnny and his wife Jessie are) so a good portion of the book features them at elaborate dinners or on holidays in picturesque destinations. We see the usual family dynamics play out, as the different characters encounter their own unique challenges. The book is quite voluminous at over 600 hundred pages. It took me a while to get into the story, I suppose due to the many characters, each with their own backstory and peculiarities. In fact, this felt more like several stories told together. Thankfully, once the story got going, I found myself pretty much drawn into it and I was easily able to follow the different story lines. I enjoyed the way that Marian expertly combined them into one tightly woven tale and, towards the end, I could not put the book down. Whilst the story was not ‘laugh out loud’ (at least not for me), there was a lot of humor in it together with all the family drama. The characters felt pretty familiar to me. I loved the interactions between them, as I got to know them and watch as they evolved. Marian explores some pretty serious themes in the book as she reveals the characters’ strengths and weaknesses. There was no part of this story that I did not like and I would recommend it to anybody who enjoys warm family stories about relationships and the trials and tribulations that we all have to deal with in every day life. I especially loved that this story does not take itself too seriously and none of the characters is reflected as being perfect. I rate this heartwarming story as a 4. The only reason why it did not get a 5 is because I enjoyed some of Marian’s books so much more and actually laughed out loud!

Book Review Author : Colleen Hoover Genre : Romance Publisher : Simon & Schuster Year of Publication : 2016 Number of Pages : 384 My Rating : 5 out of 5 Lily Bloom is upset following her father’s very emotionally draining funeral and just wants to be alone on a rooftop where she can breathe … Continue reading It Ends With Us →

Book Review Author : Colleen Hoover Genre : Romance Publisher : Simon & Schuster Year of Publication : 2016 Number of Pages : 384 My Rating : 5 out of 5 Lily Bloom is upset following her father’s very emotionally draining funeral and just wants to be alone on a rooftop where she can breathe in the fresh air and unwind. She does not count on meeting handsome Ryle, a neurosurgeon with whom she makes an instant connection. During their brief chat, they tell each other some ‘naked truths’ about their lives. Lily is trying to overcome complicated feelings around her father’s death and the life that she left behind when she moved to Boston. Ryle is struggling with his own demons that plague him. After their initial rooftop encounter, Lily doubts she will ever see Ryle again, as they want different things from life. When they reconnect several months later, she finds herself unable to resist him. In addition to starting a new business, and settling her mother in Boston, she reminisces about her first love, Atlas. She met Atlas as a teenager, at a time when he was lost, and she saved his life. When she unexpectedly bumps into him again, she believes she will finally get the closure she needs to be able to move on with her life. This is a love story, but not just the usual love story. It is a love story that almost made me cry in some parts and left me frustrated in others. Colleen Hoover is a bestselling author of romance, young adult, thriller and women’s fiction. “And maybe a ghost story soon,” as she says in her Goodreads Bio. It is no wonder then that this was not just a romance story, even though romance is at the heart of the book. I really rooted for Lily and Ryle and the twist caught me by surprise. I honestly did not see it coming. As it turns out, this is a tale about life and relationships – and how complicated both can get. I found the story gripping, even as it took an unexpected turn. The author uses first person to narrate the story, so I felt all of Lily’s emotions intensely, as I followed her thoughts and experiences. I loved Lily as a character and wish I had her strength. The other characters were also well developed and easy to relate to. This story seemed so familiar to me, yet the author managed to show me that some circumstances in life are not as they seem at first glance. She shows how easy it is to judge people unfairly when we do not fully understand what they have been through and what makes them act the way they do. Ultimately, this is a story about one woman’s journey and her quest to overcome her past and build a fulfilling, meaningful life for herself. It tells us that we are not bound by our past – or even our present circumstances and we can make the decision to break patterns. No matter what path we take, there is always time and space to course-correct. This may not always be easy and it requires a lot of reflection to recognize where we went wrong and the right path. It also requires the courage to do what is right as opposed to what is easy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and rate it 5 out of 5. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good story with romance and a bit of a lesson.

Book Review Author : A. J. Finn Genre : Psychological Thriller Publisher : Harper Collins Published : January 2018 Number of Pages : 390 My Rating : 5 out of 5 The Woman in the Window is a psychological thriller by A. J. Finn. The main character, Dr. Anna Fox, suffers from severe agoraphobia and … Continue reading The Woman in the Window →

Book Review Author : A. J. Finn Genre : Psychological Thriller Publisher : Harper Collins Published : January 2018 Number of Pages : 390 My Rating : 5 out of 5 The Woman in the Window is a psychological thriller by A. J. Finn. The main character, Dr. Anna Fox, suffers from severe agoraphobia and is unable to leave her house. From the windows in her living room and her bedroom, she observes her neighbors. She knows all their goings and comings and sees everything that happens on her street. One day, she witnesses something shocking through her window. Unfortunately, no one believes her because of her condition. Dr. Anna Fox is an unreliable narrator. She has a severe anxiety disorder. At times, she either forgets to take her medication as prescribed, or takes double dosses after forgetting that she has already taken the medicine. She takes copious amounts of wine, even though she lies to her doctor that she will not take alcohol. She spends days and nights in her house, watching old thrillers shot in black and white. It is no surprise, therefore, that no one believes what she says. After a while, she even starts to doubt herself. I was drawn into this story from the beginning and it kept going at the same enthralling steady pace. It was full of twists and turns and a lot of suspense. At some point, I figured out part of the main character’s back story, but the main twist still caught me by surprise. I loved the way the author was able to clearly show us what Anna was going through, though at times, even Anna was confused and unclear about some of the events. I do not know anybody who suffers from agoraphobia, but I was able to feel the intensity of Anna’s fears, as they were set out so vividly. The characters were well developed. Most of the story is focused on Anna, but there is a good mix of supporting characters, who help to build the story. At the beginning, I thought this would be just a story about a nosy woman at a window spying on her neighbors – especially given how the story started. It turned out to be so much more. I’m glad I picked this as my last read of the year as I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I rate it 5 out of 5 and recommend it to anyone who loves psychological thrillers. A film based on the book, starring Amy Adams and Julianne Moore, is currently under production and is expected to air in 2020. I’m looking forward to watching it and hope it remains faithful to the book, as I could not bear the disappointment if they mess it up.

Book Review Author : Margaret Atwood Genre : Literary Fiction/Science Fiction and Fantasy Publisher : Penguin Random House Year of Publication : 2019 Number of Pages : 401 My Rating : 5 out of 5 This book is a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. It is set fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid’s … Continue reading The Testaments →

Book Review Author : Margaret Atwood Genre : Literary Fiction/Science Fiction and Fantasy Publisher : Penguin Random House Year of Publication : 2019 Number of Pages : 401 My Rating : 5 out of 5 This book is a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. It is set fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale. The author, Margaret Atwood, is an accomplished author whose work has been published in more than forty-five countries. An adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale is now an award-winning TV series. Though I haven’t read The Handmaid’s Tale, I caught a few of the episodes which gave me some background into Gilead. The Testaments still reads well as a Standalone and prior knowledge of Gilead is not really necessary to follow the story. Atwood was selected as a joint winner of the Booker Prize in 2019 for The Testaments. Margaret Atwood This book takes us back to Gilead, a dystopian society that can only exist in one’s worst nightmare. It is a country set up after the so called ‘Sons of Jacob’ overthrow the US Government. They are deeply unhappy with a country bedeviled by numerous ills and want to make it better. I didn’t know there was a place in the Bible known as Gilead, but it makes total sense that the country would be named after a biblical place. Or maybe it was named after another actual town in the US called Gilead. The Sons of Jacob set up a theocratic government that has retrogressive views on the role of women in society, deeming them unsuitable for any positions of power. All steeped in religious bigotry. Women are not allowed to do any professional work. They can only be Wives, Aunts, Marthas or Handmaids. Marthas are domestic workers for the elites whilst the sole role of Handmaids is to get impregnated and carry babies for couples who are sterile. The world has a severe fertility crisis and most adults are sterile. Many babies are born with serious genetic defects and do not survive. As in many such societies, it is the women who are assumed to be infertile, hence the Handmaids are meant to bear children on their behalf. This makes the Handmaids extremely valuable and they are forced to perform their role with no escape. Handmaids wearing their ‘white wings’. The story is narrated through the voices of three women, whose connection becomes evident as it progresses. These are Aunt Lydia, who featured prominently in The Handmaid’s Tale and two young girls, Agnes and Daisy. Aunt Lydia is one of the founding women of Gilead. She is extremely resourceful, powerful and greatly feared. To ensure her own survival, she maneuvered her way into being placed in charge of all the women. She runs the revered Ardua Hall where Handmaids are trained and no men are allowed. She protects her position by ensuring she has incriminating information on all the senior members of Gilead’s governing council. Agnes is a fifteen year old girl, born after Gilead was formed. She is the daughter of a high ranking Commander. Through her story, we get an insider’s perspective of how life in a Commander’s house is and the sort of upbringing that Gilead girls have. She lets us in on life at school and the transition from being a girl to becoming a Wife. Eventually, she ends up at Ardua Hall under Aunt Lydia and gives us a front seat perspective of the lives of recruits selected to become Aunts. Daisy is a sixteen year old girl living with her parents in Canada. She only knows of Gilead through what she learns in school or sees on the news. She gives us an outsider’s perspective of Gilead, through the eyes of a young girl. She eagerly participates in anti-Gilead matches and disdains the Gilead Pearl Girls, who walk around her neighbourhood looking for fresh recruits to take to Gilead, thinking them ignorant. This is a story of horrific treatment meted out to others in the name of religion. Those in charge take it upon themselves to decide the fate of others with rigid oppressive laws, rules and guidelines. Spies are everywhere. Disobedience is severely punished and life in Gilead is full of fear, violence and death. Serious crimes by powerful men – such as pedophilia – are, for the large part, ignored and victims are more likely to be punished for speaking out than the perpetrators. Handmaids occasionally gather to carry out a horrific execution. Whilst this is not a story that one can call at all enjoyable, it was an intriguing look into what could happen when there is unchecked power. I loved the style that Atwood used to tell the story as I got a clear, firsthand view of events from different angles as represented by the three main characters. Whilst I really hated Aunt Lydia in the TV series, she somehow comes out as sympathetic in this book and I found myself empathizing with her, in spite of my better judgement. I suppose that is what happens when you are able to see a character’s motivation articulated so clearly. The book has quite a number of characters. Though many of them are totally unlikeable, they play a vital role in showing us the treachery, deception and vindictiveness pervading in Gilead. Some of them are heroes, working to end the tragedy that is Gilead. A few are even unsung heroes. All in all, what I loved most about this tale of woe was the ending. It gets a well deserved 5 out of 5. I recommend it to anyone who loves literary fiction.

A Classic’s Club Book Review Author: Henrik Ibsen Genre : Realistic Problem Play Publisher: T. Fisher Unwin Year of Publication: 21st December 1879 Number of Pages: 101 My Rating: 5 out of 5 I picked a Doll’s House as the next book to read for my Classics Club ’50 books in 5 years challenge’ because … Continue reading A Doll’s House →

A Classic’s Club Book Review Author: Henrik Ibsen Genre : Realistic Problem Play Publisher: T. Fisher Unwin Year of Publication: 21st December 1879 Number of Pages: 101 My Rating: 5 out of 5 I picked a Doll’s House as the next book to read for my Classics Club ’50 books in 5 years challenge’ because my son is reading it for school and I thought it would be cool to discuss it with him and share ideas on the themes. This exceptional read is a three-act play written by Henrik Ibsen, who was a leading Norwegian playwright. It features Nora Helmer and her relationship with her husband, Torvald. The play takes place just before Christmas. Nora is overjoyed because her husband has been appointed Manager of the local bank. He is to start at the beginning of the coming year. The family has been experiencing financial problems and Nora is looking forward to having more money than she can spend. Torvald believes his wife wastes money, calling her extravagant and a spendthrift who cannot save, even as she says that she really does save all that she can. His opinion of her is also evident in the way that he addresses her, calling her ‘a little squirrel’, ‘a little lark’, ‘a little skylark’ and ‘a little featherhead’. Ugh! When he says something that seems to upset her, he gives her money to cheer her up. Unknown to Torvald, Nora is not as helpless as he thinks, as she reveals to her old school friend, Mrs. Linde. She has had to work hard as well to support the family. Soon after their marriage, Torvald had overworked himself and fallen ill. The doctors had recommended that he travel south. The trip had to be taken, even though the couple did not have money to finance it. As far as Torvald knew, Nora borrowed some money from her father to pay for the trip. But Nora’s father had also been ailing at the time and she did not want to bother him. So she did the unthinkable and borrowed money from an unsavory man known as Nils Krogstad, without telling anybody else about it. Since then, Nora has saved what she can and worked long hours on whatever job she can get in order to repay the loan and the interest charged. When Mr. Krogstad realizes that Torvald is planning to fire him from his position at the bank because of a fraud that he committed, he attempts to blackmail Nora. He threatens to reveal that she borrowed money from him (and committed a fraud in the process) if she does not get her husband to retain him in his position. Nora is distressed by this as she knows Torvald detests loans and any impropriety. This play is a very insightful look into the way that women were regarded in society at the time. Torvald thinks his wife is a feather head and constantly refers to her as ‘little’. It is clear that he has all the authority in the home and does not regard his wife as an equal. Eventually, Nora realizes that her husband does not really love her, as he even refuses to do a favor for her. He implies that he would do anything for her, but when she faces condemnation, he turns on her and blames her for ruining him. All he cares about is himself. As appearances mean a lot to him, he is happy to keep her in his house but proclaims that she must not have any contact with her children, lest she infects them with her immorality. She also realizes that she does not love him anymore. She feels that she has been treated like a doll, first by her father, then by her husband. Her opinion does not matter. Torvald does not understand her and he has no respect for her. She decides to do the unthinkable and put herself first, for once, and look after her own interests. I found this play very thought – provoking. The characters were so well developed that I felt like I knew them and what drove them, within such a short period. Their obsession with societal expectations was evident as they place this above all else. I thought it was fascinating how they believed that a parent’s immorality or indiscretions would inevitably lead to the ruin of the children. And how Nora was astonished by the realization that altruistic intentions could not forgive a crime! The play shows us how damaging secrets can be. It also demonstrates how unreasonable it is to expect that others will always be grateful for what you do for them, especially when you cut some corners in the process. I found it hilarious that Torvald was quick to forgive his wife after he realized that no harm was to come to him and how he attempted to make her forget what he had said before when he thought he was going to be ruined. The only thing that puzzled me was how a mother can walk out on her children, especially when they had such a good relationship and the kids kept on insisting on spending more time with her. In as much as I understand the need to put herself first, this seems a bit extreme to me! It therefore does not surprise me that Ibsen was made to write an alternate ending to this play (which he called ‘a barbaric act of violence’) for a staging in Germany where Nora eventually decides to stay, as audiences of the time could also not fathom such an ending. All in all, A Doll’s House was an interesting take on life and marriage in particular in the 19th century and I give it 5 out of 5 stars! I also greatly enjoyed hearing my son’s take on the themes in the play, so that’s an added bonus. Adaptations This play was first performed at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 21, 1879. Since then, it has been performed numerous times and adapted for TV, radio and cinema. I didn’t really enjoy watching the adaptations. I think this is because an adaptation of a play follows the script very closely, so I just felt like I was re-reading the play again! 1992: Part of the British “Performance” series, with Juliet Stevenson as Nora and Trevor Eve as Torvald. Directed by David Thacker. 1973 : Claire Bloom as Nora and Anthony Hopkins as Torvald. Directed by Patrick Garland. If you love plays or classical literature, I recommend that you check this one out!

Book Review Author : Heather Morris Genre : Biographical Fiction Publisher : Echo/ Bonnier Publishing Australia Year of Publication : 11th January 2018 Number of Pages : 194 My Rating :4 out of 5 The Tattooist of Auschwitz has been on my ‘to-be-read‘ list for a while. To be honest, it has stayed so long … Continue reading The Tattooist of Auschwitzt →

Book Review Author : Heather Morris Genre : Biographical Fiction Publisher : Echo/ Bonnier Publishing Australia Year of Publication : 11th January 2018 Number of Pages : 194 My Rating :4 out of 5 The Tattooist of Auschwitz has been on my ‘to-be-read‘ list for a while. To be honest, it has stayed so long on my TBR list because I really did not want to read a story about the horrors of the Holocaust, having never read one before. The movies and documentaries I watched on the subject gave me quite a chill! I still kept coming across it everywhere, so my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to read it. This is Heather Morris’ debut novel, originally written as a screenplay before being reworked as a novel. The book has received international acclaim with four million copies sold worldwide (according to Amazon). In the midst of all this success, there has also been some controversy surrounding the book. This is the story of Lale Sokolov, originally known as Ludwig Eisenberg. It is April 1942 when Lale leaves his home in Slovakia. The German government has demanded that each Jewish family provide an adult child to work for them. Failure to do this will lead to the whole family being sent to a concentration camp. To save his family from this fate, Lale presents himself to the Germans for service, believing his family back home will be safe. On the gate at Auschwitz are the words ‘Work will make you free’. Lale ponders the meaning of this phrase. A number is tattooed on his arm. He soon learns the true nature of life at Auschwitz where a simple misstep can lead to the loss of a life. Fortunately for Lale, he gets appointed as a Tätowierer, whose job is to tattoo other prisoners. This puts him in a protected and advantaged position but also at risk of being considered a collaborator, since he now works for the political wing of the SS. He meets Gita as he tattoos her arm and immediately feels a connection with her. They start a relationship that endures until they separately leave Auschwitz and find each other back home in Slovakia. Heather Morris wrote Lale’s and Gita’s story from Lale’s recollections, more than sixty years after the events had transpired. Lale told her the story after Gita had passed away. Gita and Lale I liked the author’s writing style. The story is well written and easy to follow. I was able to easily picture the events as they happened and follow Lale’s thoughts as he lived through the traumatic events. The horror of life at the concentration camp – fear, devastation and suffering – are laid bare in a manner that made me feel like I was watching the events unfold through the characters’ eyes. Yet in the midst of all that is a powerful story of the resilience of human beings, their ability to survive brutal events and remain hopeful, even when surrounded by suffering and death. Their ability to fall in love and trust that they can build a relationship. It would have been easy for the characters to just give up but throughout the book, the desire to overcome their circumstances was evident. It amazed me how Lale and Gita were able to find one another and develop such a close bond in such restrictive and devastating surroundings when their future was so uncertain. Although I really doubted the authenticity of some of their encounters given my (admittedly limited) knowledge of concentration camps, I rooted for them and admired Lale’s determination to be with his beloved. Most of all, I marveled at his courage and ingenuity. I rate this book 4 out of 5 and recommend it to anyone who loves stories about overcoming adversity. It would have been a 5 but for some discussions I came across online, which resonated with me, given some of my misgivings about the book. Controversy Given the historical significance of the Holocaust, any story that is centered on it is bound to attract a lot of attention. Some researchers have questioned the accuracy of some of the details in the book and have stated that some of the events that have been described could not have happened. Critics have been concerned that readers may take the story as a source of knowledge about life at Auschwitz – Birkenau. In as much as the author clearly states that she changed some facts to further the plot, the story is described as being ‘based on a true story’ and a lot of readers connected with the story because of this. When questioned about this, the author stated that she wrote “a story of the Holocaust, not the story of the Holocaust.” She told the New York Times that ;- “The book does not claim to be an academic historical piece of non-fiction, I’ll leave that to the academics and historians.” My Take on this This made me ponder on whether writers of historical fiction have an obligation to accurately depict historical events in their books. Is it not true that inaccuracies can mislead and leave readers with a wrong impression of events? Is it enough for authors to state that their stories are fictional and expect readers not to assume all the historical events are as they happened? What is the line between the fictional and the historical bit? And what is biographical fiction anyway? I think critics here were so concerned because this is described as a book about real people in a real place at a real time in history. A very sensitive time and place. This would therefore lead most readers to expect the story to be mostly true. And it should be. How much artistic license do you think an author has when they claim that a novel is based on a true story? Shouldn’t they at the very least get the actual known historical events correct? Let me know!

Book Review Author : Lola Shoneyin Genre : Literary Fiction Publisher: Serpent’s Tail Date of Publication: 2010 Number of Pages: 245 My Rating : 5 out of 5 Yes, I somehow ended up with two copies of this book. I think I bought the first one and whilst it was still on my ‘to read’ … Continue reading The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives →

Book Review Author : Lola Shoneyin Genre : Literary Fiction Publisher: Serpent’s Tail Date of Publication: 2010 Number of Pages: 245 My Rating : 5 out of 5 Yes, I somehow ended up with two copies of this book. I think I bought the first one and whilst it was still on my ‘to read’ list I came across it again and bought a second copy! Lola Shoneyin is a Nigerian poet. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives was her debut novel published in 2010. Lola was nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2010 for this book. She won the PEN Oakland 2011 Josephine Miles Literary Award and the 2011 Ken Saro-Wiwa Prose Prize. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives features the Alao family, made up of Ishola Alao (Baba Segi) and his four wives – Iya Segi, Iya Tope, Iya Femi and Bolanle. Iya is the Nigerian term for ‘mother of’ so they are named after their respective first born children. Baba Segi is, of course, named for the oldest child of the first wife. The book opens with Baba Segi contemplating a problem that he has had to deal with before. The latest addition to his family, his wife Bolanle, has not yet conceived a child. The last time he faced this problem, he found the solution at Teacher’s shack, where men gather and discuss different topics over whiskey. Teacher recommended a visit to a herbalist. Not long after taking the prescribed powder, his first wife got pregnant and Segi was born. Now with seven children from his three wives, he is again concerned because Bolanle has not yet conceived, after almost three years of marriage. Bolanle is different from the other wives. She has gone to university and is educated, whereas they are not. She refuses to see a herbalist. Teacher advises Baba Segi to take her to a hospital. Bolanle married Baba Segi against the wishes of her family and friends, who do not understand why she would marry an uneducated polygamist. Baba Segi’s other wives resent her because she is educated. As a result, they refuse to let her in on the secret that they all share, hoping to get rid of her. When Baba Segi decides to visit the hospital with Bolanle, he sets in motion a course of events that will change their lives in unimaginable ways. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It gives us a good view of life in a polygamous family and the power dynamics that influence it. The role of the first wife and how it evolves as the husband gets more wives is explored. I enjoyed seeing the different personalities of the characters and how they affect their relationships. Baba Segi believes he is fully in control of the family and tries as much as he can to be fair to all his wives. Iya Segi is cunning, wise and controlling. Iya Femi is spiteful and vengeful. Iya Tope is lazy and not so bright, yet she is also kind. Bolanle is lost and carries deep-seated pain. Lola tells this story in an engaging way. She lets the main characters tell us their backstories and show us their feelings by using a first person narrative. In other places, she uses the third person to further the story. These characters are well developed and authentic. I empathised with them, even when I did not like their actions. The book tackles themes such as polygamy, violence, infertility, prejudice and other social injustices. It is a beautiful narrative that both entertains, questions and challenges. It is a tale of how far people will go to get what they want and to maintain their livelihood. It shows how easy it is to misjudge people and not appreciate their strengths. How our prejudices can make us blind to what should be obvious. Perhaps the most important lesson of all is – always be wary of karma! I rate it 5 out of 5 and recommend it to lovers of African literature.

Book Review May contain spoilers….. Author : Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Genre: Literary Fiction Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers Date of Publication: 2004 Number of Pages: 307 My Rating : 5 out of 5 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (Best Debut Fiction Category) in 2004 and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book in 2005 … Continue reading Purple Hibiscus →

Book Review May contain spoilers….. Author : Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Genre: Literary Fiction Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers Date of Publication: 2004 Number of Pages: 307 My Rating : 5 out of 5 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (Best Debut Fiction Category) in 2004 and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book in 2005 for Purple Hibiscus. Purple Hibiscus is Chimamanda’s debut novel, published in 2004. I read it after reading Americanah which resonated with me because of all the stories I had heard about the lives of immigrants in the US. Purple Hibiscus is a heartbreaking story about fifteen year old Kambili and her family. Kambili’s father, Eugene, is a wealthy Nigerian businessman. He is also a religious fanatic who does not allow any dissent in his family. Everything has to be done his way. He exercises tight control over their lives, planning and intricately scheduling every minute including family time, reading time, eating time and prayer time. There are prayers before and after meals, with a prayer before meals taking twenty minutes. Any dissent is met with horrific acts of violence. Eugene is fastidious about rituals and prayers but fails in kindness and compassion, yet he is blind to his many faults. Typically, he blames others for his wrongdoing and makes them go for confession when they have done nothing wrong. There are a lot of lessons to be glimpsed from the book. Chimamanda shows us how violence begets violence. Eugene was exposed to violence for behavior that was deemed ‘sinful’ by a priest he lived with while in school and metes out similar punishment to his family. Whilst this is no excuse, it helps us get a better understanding of his character. His family lives in silence and fear. This has greatly affected Kambili who rarely talks. When she does it is in a voice that is barely audible. Their mother, Beatrice, tries to prevent the violence by deflecting Eugene’s attention when she sees his temper rising, though she rarely succeeds. When Kambili and her brother, Jaja, visit their Aunt Ifeoma at the University campus in Nsukka where she works and lives with her family, they are surprised at how different life in her house is. Though Ifeoma’s family lacks the abundant resources that Kambili’s family has, they enjoy cheerful banter during meal times. Ifeoma’s house is full of music and laughter, which is alien to Kambili and Jaja. To their surprise, their aunt tells them that there is no need to follow their father’s strict schedule while they are at her house. At Nsukka, Kambili meets Father Amadi, a young catholic priest whose amiable behaviour is unlike anything her father would approve of. Father Amadi quickly notices that Kambili is different and pays her special attention. Kambili develops a crush on him. Though we do not see any inappropriate behaviour on Father Amadi’s part, he manages to draw Kambili out of her shell. She is able to open up and relax due to the way he treats her. Eventually she falls in love with him, even though she knows nothing can come out of this relationship (sigh………). Another theme that is explored in this book is how the wealthy are allowed to get away with ghastly behavior. Eugene is extremely generous. He is the main benefactor of his church. This gives him the confidence to stand in judgment of other worshippers, regarding those who missed communion on two consecutive Sundays as ‘having committed mortal sin’. Villagers flock to his rural home when he goes there and he gladly dishes out money. He is a highly regarded member of society, even though he permits his children only fifteen minutes to visit his own father whom he regards as a ‘heathen’. He refuses to have anything to do with his father. When they fail to report that they spent time with their grandfather at Aunt Ifeoma’s house, Kambili and Jaja are punished for knowingly being in the same house with a heathen. This in spite of the fact that their grandfather is only brought to Nsukka due to his deteriorating health. Eugene is not even moved when his father dies, his only comment is that a priest should have been called to pray for him and convert him. This does not stop him from sending a lot of money for the funeral, though he doesn’t bother attending it. Neither the villagers nor Father Benedict are shown as being at all concerned about the way he treats his family, though it must be clearly evident that something is off as others easily pick up on this. The only person who dares defy him is his sister, Ifeoma, who goes as far as to refuse his financial assistance because he tries to control her life in exchange for his support. Another theme that Chimamanda brings out is how society tends to turn a blind eye to things that make us uncomfortable. Nobody asks Kambili how she got hurt when she lands in hospital after her father repeatedly kicks her, not even Father Eugene or the doctor. The only person who dares broach the subject is her cousin, Amaka, who mentions it in a way that makes it obvious that she is already aware of what happened. How long can people really survive such treatment? Kambili’s mother, Beatrice, seems weak and helpless, as victims of domestic abuse often appear to be. She tries to protect her children but seems trapped by circumstances. She goes back to her abusive husband even after Ifeoma begs her not to go. Ifeoma often tries to talk some sense into her brother, although ultimately, she concludes that he is broken, perhaps beyond redemption. Jaja is wracked with guilt because of his inability to protect his mother. He is eventually able to take a stance against his father, and we see his character begin to develop. Unfortunately, the cycle of violence is doomed to continue as victims of violence often retaliate. All in all, this book was a poignant look at religious fanaticism and domestic violence. It is heartbreaking and distressing. It made me mad and frustrated. I wished I could enter into the book and shake some sense into some of the characters. I found the story well-paced and superbly written. The characters are well developed and easy to understand, even those that I did not like – Eugene and Father Benedict. I felt sorry for Kambili, celebrated Jaja’s growth into manhood, and empathized with Beatrice. I understood Ifeoma’s anger and frustration with her brother and even Amaka’s attempt at rationalizing her uncle’s behaviour. The story is told against the background of political instability and a military coup in Nigeria, which provides some useful information on what is going on in the characters’ lives. I love how Chimamanda uses the blooming of the newly planted and rare purple hibiscus to depict a new beginning for the family and how the characters are at last able to move on. The story is told from Kambili’s point of view and her emotional turmoil is brought out beautifully. I appreciated the way Chimamanda contrasts religion as depicted by Ifeoma’s family and Father Amadi, as opposed to Eugene and Father Benedict. The same religion expressed very differently. We see how Kambili feels isolated from her religion because of her father’s fanaticism, whereas her cousins embrace their religion and have a friendly and casual relationship with their priest, free from judgment. Even though a lot of violence is depicted, and I could clearly see how inhumane and traumatic this is for the characters, I did not find it at all graphic. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even when it made me sad, and rate it 5 out of 5. I recommend it to lovers of African literature.

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This literary pas de deux from the veteran author and Pulitzer winner Butler is ostensibly set in Paris in 2020. That’s where novelist Amanda Duval and literary scholar Howard Blevins had hoped to revisit the places they first met in 1968—before they married, divorced, and remarried back in the U.S. But with Covid forcing everyone indoors, the novel largely takes place in their rented apartment, and more precisely in their memories. To pass the time, they encourage each other to write and share stories about their courtship, split, and reconciliation. Litigating the past is fraught for the two—an infidelity, acknowledged but not discussed in detail, prompted their divorce—but Butler’s goal is more subtle than staging he-said-she-said debates. Rather, by having them write out their recollections, Butler plays with their distinct styles—Amanda more literary, Howard more bluntly factual—to show that while a couple might agree on the facts, their meaning and the intensity of feelings they evoke can differ substantially. There are silly moments that feel forced, like Howard’s tryst with a fellow modernist scholar determined to precisely reenact the closing pages of Ulysses, but Butler’s approach is generally sober, built on less explosive vignettes about the couple’s past romances and relationship with their daughter. While the overall mood is generally tender and affectionate—the two are in their 70s and disinclined to fly solo again—Butler also adds enough tension to suggest that a marriage involves navigating and reconciling a lot of miscommunication, regardless of the couple’s stage in life.

Tragedy strikes on the eve of Rosa’s 15th birthday: Rosa’s beautiful 18-year-old sister, Julia, is killed by Kike, her jealous boyfriend who’s a member of Mara Salvatrucha, the gang also known as MS-13. After Kike, who’s 28, stabs Julia and Julia’s friend Herman right in front of Rosa and her little brother, Juanito, the siblings are forced to flee; as witnesses, their lives are in danger. The pair set off for the home of their Aunt Hilda in Guatemala, where they plan to wait for Mamá to join them. But when Hilda’s husband announces a plan to force Rosa into prostitution, Hilda tells her to run to her Aunt Teresa in Houston, a journey that involves life-threatening risks. This fast-paced story provides a stark reminder of the senselessness and terrifying impact of gang violence, but the narrative moves at a breakneck speed, jerking readers from one harrowing situation to the next without allowing enough time to pause for real reflection. Some statements feel unsuited to the intended audience, as when Pablo, the father of a family Rosa travels with, observes that she’s at risk because she “has nothing but her youth and beauty. And tragedy is a companion of beautiful women.”

Thanks to her best friend and crush, Blake Abrams, who performs CPR, 16-year-old Altagracia “Grace” Martínez is revived. While she’s recovering, Grace, who’s a bisexual filmmaker and musician, finds her world forever altered when she begins seeing the dead everywhere. Most notably, a ghostly teen named Mohammad Ahmadi, who died in 1987, appears in her bedroom wearing a noose. Grace, who’s grieving her mother’s suicide two years earlier, starts investigating Mohammad’s death. She faces skepticism from her friends, self-absorbed father, and judgmental stepmother, all while decoding Mohammad’s messages, which he delivers via retro song lyrics. Her search for the truth uncovers buried family secrets, political corruption, and even La Llorona herself. The author offers an original premise with cultural depth, high emotional stakes, and intriguing themes of grief, family legacy, and identity, which ground the supernatural elements. However, deeper exploration of fewer plot points would have led to a richer reading experience. The key relationships, especially that between Grace and Blake, would also have benefited from more depth. The cast of characters, which is diverse in both ethnic background and sexuality, adds richness to the narrative. Grace presents Mexican American, Blake is Jewish, and Mohammad is Afghan American.

This book begins with some personal comments from authors Fern (a trauma and relationship expert and psychotherapist) and Cooley (a professional restorative justice facilitator and diversity awareness trainer) explaining where the ideas for the titular “Shame Triangle” originated. Fern recalls an anecdote from her personal life in which her “competing needs” reminded her of how often she thinks about herself in terms of “parts” that seem to have their own “concerns, priorities and desires.” What follows is a breakdown of the authors’ views on the key components of shame and its impact on people and relationships. They posit that shame is viewable through a triangular framework based on psychiatrist Stephen Karpman’s Drama Triangle, which includes the roles of Victim, Persecutor, and Rescuer. Fern and Cooley’s Shame Triangle, however, includes slightly different roles, as it applies to both internal and external conflicts; these roles are the Inner Critic, Shame, and Escaper. The authors detail the strategies and behavioral impacts of each part of the triangle: Where do they come from? Why do they exist? How can we begin to address them? Each of these ideas is effectively supported by humanizing personal anecdotes and peer-reviewed academic literature. Fern and Cooley have prepared this book with accessibility in mind, seeking to ensure that even readers with limited knowledge of psychology and medicine will be able to use these strategies to start the journey toward self-understanding. They make it clear that the goal is not necessarily to change the self, but rather to work with natural inclinations to find healthier ways to resolve conflicts, both within and outside the mind. This book will be appreciated by anyone searching for new ways of understanding shame and trauma, especially for the purpose of enhancing mental stability and relationships.

Bridget Higgins is only 7 when she loses her mother and her stepfather in an explosive fire at an Arkansas law firm. Thirtysomething Claire Foster’s parents died in the same fire, which she survived, although her memory of the night is foggy, and her suspicious cop boyfriend is certain that she’s faking her amnesia to hide her culpability. Sometime later, Claire has a fateful run-in with successful wellness media influencer Barbara O’Malley, just after the latter killed a man who was stalking her. As a result, the pair shares a dark secret. Tech-savvy Claire becomes Barbara’s assistant; it’s a “job of a lifetime,” but Claire’s growing envy of her wealthy, glamorous boss eventually sullies it. As the years pass, Bridget aspires to be a brand influencer, which she hopes to jump-start by sharing her original horror stories online. She idolizes Barbara, whom she one day gets the chance to meet—although not in a way that readers will anticipate. Fontainne and Emmes’ narrative features a good deal of murky backstory, including the largely mysterious fire. Nevertheless, the novel’s engaging character development, which builds over more than a decade, makes the wait for big reveals worthwhile. The three main characters, who alternate first-person narration, are all fascinating in their own ways, and more than one of them dabbles in blackmail. The story opens on a somber note and somehow gets gloomier as it goes along, with character-centric chapters highlighting a variety of pitfalls, including resentment, vanity, and a craving for fame. The authors maintain a steady pace until the sensational final act, which is drawn out to great effect and closes the novel with a satisfying punch.

After a meteor crashes near Vincennes, Indiana, a cockroach-like, gigantic kaiju crawls out and starts causing mayhem; the U.S. military dubs it the Palmetto Bug Monster. A second behemoth soon appears in Alaska—a massive creature akin to a gecko, which surfaces in a dormant volcano. It’s the latter kaiju—regrettably referred to by authorities as “He-Knew-Pat-Sajak,” an ignorant mispronunciation of an Unangax̂ term—that catches the attention of TV news reporter Eve Sanderborn, self-proclaimed cryptozoologist Usotsuki Shirinigatsuku, and retired U.S. Army Gen. Buchanan Richardson. The second kaiju heads towards an unpopulated peninsula; it will soon face the Palmetto Bug Monster, which flies to Alaska, intent on battle. An alien android comes to Alaska in a silver droplet-shaped spaceship, claiming that the titanic lizard is a specifically designed “countermeasure.” These aforementioned Earthlings, along with local innkeeper Gustav Bishop and teenage bellhop Bugsy Morton, can help the android establish a link with the creature and take down the other kaiju. Sumac’s tongue-in-cheek story tends to focus on the cast’s quarrels and heated discussions. The various characters are an unusual bunch: Eve’s cameraman, Bernie, may have a drinking problem; Usotsuki, who has ties to organized crime, likely derives his expertise from Godzilla movies; and Bugsy fights off bullies with his martial arts skills. Even the giant monsters prove distinctive, as one is ridiculously ferocious while the other, which ultimately has a voice (of sorts), may be the humans’ ally. The satire, though overt, is never overwhelming, with barbs that target a largely incompetent U.S. military and presidential administration. The unraveling story takes some surprising turns, including an unexpected character death and a surprising missing-person subplot.

This monograph of wet-on-wet watercolor paintings features dynamic urban scenes in which light operates without conventional logic: “Broad swaths of light sweep and swoop down and across and up and away,” lending skyscrapers, bridges, and monuments “a friendly but fierce and almost otherworldly energy.” The artist’s loose, gestural approach offers a refreshing departure from the rigid linear representations that typically characterize urban landscapes. LePan’s “mind’s-eye painting” philosophy—in which visual perception mingles freely with emotion and memory—is reminiscent of artists like David Hockney, Raoul Dufy, and Oskar Kokoschka. The approach yields consistently vibrant results; outstanding examples include his breakthrough Chicago (1994), in which the Sears Tower and Merchandise Mart pulse with raw metropolitan energy, and New Orleans (2007), which captures both post-Katrina devastation and the city’s irrepressible vitality through bold color contrasts and flowing forms. While the majority of works depict North American cityscapes and baseball stadiums—the artist’s twin passions—the collection also includes more intimate European city scenes and occasional bucolic landscapes that demonstrate his range beyond urban subjects, though the author’s text accompanying the images proves uneven. It provides valuable historical context about urban development and architectural history, enriching readers’ understanding of landmarks from the Woolworth Building to Calgary’s Petro-Canada Centre, and its insights into the artistic process offer genuine illumination for those interested in watercolor technique. However, the autobiographical framework grows repetitive, with frequent accounts of conference travels and hotel stays. Compelling personal details—family relationships, career tensions, emotional responses to urban environments—rarely cohere into insightful reflections. Readers will want to learn more about how the artist sees his personal life and experiences reflected in his work.

This fourth installment of a series finds Farrell’s main characters, part-time private investigator Eddie O’Connell and his Uncle Mike, once again caught up in horse racing, bookmaking, and the mob. Mike, a retired cop, is the owner of O’Connell’s Tavern in Chicago, where Eddie acts as bar manager. As the novel opens, Eddie’s girlfriend, Nicole Nicoletti, gets a surprise visit from Jessie Rivera, who’s part of a “power couple” in Chicago horse racing. Jessie’s partner is Sal, Nicole’s horse trainer father, who is accused of doping his steeds. He maintains he’s being framed, but nevertheless, he faces a serious suspension. The mere hint of the crime initially chills Eddie’s sympathies, since he has grown up around the racing world and hates the idea of drugging horses. “I’d heard of other trainers being suspended for juicing, and all I had to say was ‘good riddance,’ ” he thinks. “Horses had suffered, and some had died during a race.” Eddie and Nicole begin to investigate Sal’s situation, which gets much darker almost immediately when Jessie is found shot dead. Eddie, Nicole, and Mike naturally suspect Jessie’s brother, Ramon, fresh from a stint in prison for drug running for a major cartel (“A proud man,” an exercise rider describes him. “And a proud man is the worst kind of man”). The murder also draws the attention of the local mob boss Rosario Burrascano (“If you’re the mob’s gambling boss and a murder occurs at the last race track in town,” Mike says, “you get a handle on it”). The heroes are soon neck-deep in a complex web of conflicting motives.

As in the previous volumes in this thriller series, Farrell once again strikes the perfect pace for this tangle of narrative threads. He dispenses with the usual exposition baggage that dogs later books in an ongoing series by gradually and subtly working background and context into the dialogue, which makes up by far the largest part of the novel. Readers see everything through Eddie’s eyes, and since he’s once again the least developed of the story’s characters, the effect is very close to impersonal narration. He’s convincingly emotional about the turmoil Nicole is going through, and when the strain of her father’s scandal and Jessie’s murder starts to fray the edges of her relationship with Eddie, the interpersonal stuff feels real. Farrell is adept at continuously complicating his narrative without leaving his readers behind; it’s a good bet that even newcomers to the series could start with this volume and get along just fine. And as usual, Mike steals the show, always both the voice of experience and the fountain of rough humor. “Uncle Mike had worked murder cases that could pull the heartstrings to the breaking point, yet he was still able to maintain his sense of humor,” Eddie marvels at one point. “His skin was thicker than cowhide.” The heroes’ bleak sentiments fill the gripping book’s darker second half. “We lived in a world where fentanyl could be cooked up in a kitchen in Mexico by first year chemistry students,” Eddie thinks at one point. “Chasing new drugs was like playing whack-a-mole.”

In a prologue, Peter Jay uses the key given to him by his recently deceased father, John, to access a manuscript that “looks beneath the record” with margins “crowded with a single name, written over and over—Mr. Smith.” The narrative then continues in chapters that jump back and forth in time to share the saga of the Doctrine, a covert agency led by Smith, that spans from the run-up to the American Revolutionary War to Andrew Jackson’s rise to the presidency. This latest series installment introduces a new fictional main character called Cyrus, a foundling brought by Smith—whose origin story was covered in Phantom Patriot (2025)—to John Jay and his wife, Sarah, in Spain in 1780. The couple were residing in the country during Jay’s ambassadorship there. Cyrus is raised as part of the Jay family, eventually moving back with the clan to the United States. Meanwhile, he receives secret instructions on how to become a Doctrine asset. By the age of 16, he begins his assignments, with Cyrus and others traveling the globe to perform such tasks as switching shipping manifests. A watershed moment involves Cyrus meeting the alluring Camille, soon revealed to be a French intelligence agent, with the two drawn to each other despite differing missions. Both Smith and Cyrus elude assassination attempts thanks to surprising saviors. Then, by 1829, the Doctrine itself is in jeopardy with “Jefferson’s shadow fading fast” and “half the old norms...being stripped for sport” in the new Jackson era.

“If this story sends you back to the footnotes others skim—if you pause when the archive goes too quiet too quickly—then it has done its work,” notes Gosselin in his afterword, objectives well met in this intriguing imagining of an Illuminati-type force operating on behalf of the emerging U.S. on the world stage. The author points to his discovery of a notation for “payment rendered for intelligence” to a “Smith” in a 1786 ledger found in the Library of Congress as inspiration for his series. Gosselin’s love of documentation is evident throughout this latest installment, with the Doctrine’s work often involving forging or misdirecting papers and Peter Jay left puzzling over a final code in that unlocked manuscript, setting the stage for a possible fourth volume in this series. Unfortunately, the author can focus a bit too much on Doctrine mechanics and minutiae (the secret meetings, even those with Founding Fathers, become somewhat repetitive) while not always providing enough background on the actual historical events covered. Many readers will likely stop and consult external sources to better understand the context of this novel’s references to the Chesapeake-Leopard affair, the Shays’ Rebellion, U.S. concerns in Haiti in 1802, and more. Scenes featuring Doctrine operatives other than Cyrus and Smith also distract from the compelling duo. Still, the most striking takeaway of this engaging work is how fraught the U.S.’s beginnings were, with the issues faced by the young nation—including disagreements about trade embargoes and how to enter others’ wars—still resonating today.

Joey Carpenter is an insular, gay teenager navigating life in a homophobic town. After a friend’s uncle grooms him, leading him into a creeping relationship that culminates in sexual assault, Joey is eager to escape the explosive aftermath that hangs over him at school and home. As an attendee of the summer getaway Kamp Kromwell, Joey comes out of his shell to defend twins DJ and Lily Foster from bullies alongside newfound friends Kenny Louve and brothers Paul and Asia Demarco. The six misfits form the Kromwell Krew, “bound together, joined like links in a chain.” But as the burgeoning friendships solidify, a frightening local legend surfaces on Folklore Night: The murderous John Tate, “who had butchered countless women” in the 1960s, buried his unfortunate victims on the grounds of the then under-construction Kamp Kromwell. When “bodies began to spring up like dandelions” and a mistrial set Tate free, the townsfolk of Jasper Mill took justice into their own hands, bringing the story to a horrifying conclusion. The arrival of Jasper Mill exile Floppy Mossy (accompanied by “a flood of ravens”) interrupts a talent show performance; her prophetic dreams signify the return of a terrible spirit that the Kromwell Krew must confront before the night is over.  The chapters alternate between third- and first-person perspectives, with Joey’s narrative unfolding alongside the dark history of Jasper Mill and its inhabitants. Grea crafts a twisty page-turner populated with characters that feel well drawn, no matter how small their parts in the overall plot. (Even those who tip the story’s delicate balance of good and evil toward darkness are given detailed biographies contextualizing their actions.) While summer camp-themed slashers are familiar territory to horror readers, Grea’s twist on the typical tropes and LGBTQ+ characters refresh the genre with compelling ease.

López’s deceptively simple premise unfolds with perfect pacing as a snake suggests that Croco wrap his body around a tree trunk, birds recommend that he flap his (nonexistent) wings, and monkeys encourage him to leap out—all techniques that work brilliantly for the advisers but prove useless for a crocodile. Translated from Spanish by Maude, this Mexican import builds suspense through repetition and escalating frustration until Croco’s tears become the key to his salvation. The visual storytelling is extraordinary; López employs compositional dynamics that create tension and release. Croco’s position at the bottom of each spread emphasizes his predicament, while the helpful animals perch safely above, creating a clear visual hierarchy between the trapped and the free. The palette—dominated by jungle greens, vibrant oranges, and sunny yellows—practically pulses with tropical energy. The scaly orange endpapers immediately establish texture and tone, while brushy, organic illustrations give weight to every leaf and blade of grass. The tactile quality of the vegetation contrasts beautifully with Croco’s red scales. The story captures both individual character and collective community effort, showing failed collaboration giving way to successful self-reliance without undermining the value of the friends’ attempts to help. This is picture-book creation at its finest—creators who understand their audience completely, crafting a tale that works equally well for storytime groups and one-on-one sharing. Publishes simultaneously in Spanish.

Newman begins her latest with a quote from Nora Ephron: “Death is a sniper. It strikes people you love, people you like, people you know—it’s everywhere. You could be next. But then you turn out not to be. But then again, you could be.” It sets an appropriate tone for a story that is just as full of death and dread as it is laughter. Two years after the events of Sandwich, Rocky is back home in Western Massachusetts and happily surrounded by family—her daughter, Willa, lives with her and her husband, Nick, while applying to Ph.D. programs; her widowed father, Mort, has moved into the in-law apartment behind their house. When a young man who graduated from high school with Rocky’s son, Jamie, is hit by a train, Rocky finds herself spiraling as she thinks about how close the tragedy came to her own family. She’s also freaking out about a mysterious rash her dermatologist can’t explain. Both instances are tailor-made for internet research and stalking. As Rocky obsessively googles her symptoms and finds only bad news (“Here’s what’s true about the Internet: very infrequently do people log on with their good news. Gosh, they don’t write, I had this weird rash on my forearm? And it turned out to be completely nothing!”), she also compulsively checks the Facebook page of the accident victim’s mother. Newman excels at showing how sorrow and joy coexist in everyday life. She masterfully balances a modern exploration of grief with truly laugh-out-loud lines (one passage about the absurdity of collecting a stool sample and delivering it to the doctor stands out). As Rocky deals with the byzantine frustrations of the medical system, she also has to learn, once more, how to see her children, husband, father, and herself as fully flawed and lovable humans.

Opening during the spring of 2020, this book refracts the early days of the pandemic with the acuity of a laser, not unlike Straight’s previous novel, Mecca (2022). But if this is the situation of the narrative, its story is the complexity of love and longing, the edgy insistence of the human heart. Straight begins by focusing on three Covid nurses—Cherrise, Larette, and Marisol—who for the safety of their families have been moved to a small trailer park erected near the hospital where they work in the ICU. “They say we’re gonna get it under control. I’ll be back to get you in August,” Cherrise tells her 15-year-old daughter, Raquel, after leaving her with relatives. And yet, it is impossible to read this exchange without recalling the fear and trembling of that moment, in which time felt as if it had lost its shape. Straight makes this idea explicit by reintroducing Highway Patrol officer Johnny Frias, a major character in Mecca, who comes to play a significant role in this new work after Raquel disappears. Don’t be misled, though: This is no mere sequel, but what we might imagine as a parallel text, an adjacent set of stories taking place in a world where linearity, chronology, have become words from a different lexicon. This simultaneity makes the relationship between the novels nuanced and compelling, a broadening rather than a lengthening. It’s an astonishing move, one that feels true both to the moment of the action and the moment in which we are reading, the aftermath of a crisis, or a series of crises, that has not fully gone away.

Fervor fuels this impressionistic celebration of basketball’s greatest performers. Serrano, the author of bestsellers about sports and pop culture, sticks with what’s made him successful, peppering this collection of essays about LeBron James, A’ja Wilson, and others with go-for-broke adjectives and references to rappers and action movies. You might not agree that Kobe Bryant’s final game was “monumental” or that the Golden State Warriors’ record 73 wins was a “godly” achievement, but Serrano is irresistibly passionate, a fan-writer who greets each game as a chance to be awed. Its title notwithstanding, this effervescent book isn’t about player contracts or billion-dollar revenue streams. To the author, “expensive” is synonymous with virtuosity. Ray Allen’s textbook jump shot was expensive. Though Serrano quotes William Carlos Williams in a chapter about WNBA all-timer Sue Bird, he’s more apt to cite blockbuster films, prestige TV, and hip-hop. Often, this works nicely. His inspired paean to Giannis Antetokounmpo is probably the first time that a streaky free-throw shooter has been likened to “cool-as-fuck” Helen Mirren’s unlikely appearance in The Fate of the Furious. Conversely, Serrano’s long list of memorable rap lyrics adds little to his Stephen Curry chapter. The author is appealingly self-effacing—a footnote calls attention to his “dorkiest” sentence—and watchful for manifestations of unbridled athletic joy, like the gleeful “little jump-skip thing” Dwyane Wade did after tossing an alley-oop pass. His support of the WNBA is just as strong as his love of the men’s game. DeWanna Bonner, Brittney Griner, and Diana Taurasi “are sledgehammers covered in scorpions.” Wilson “is a goddamn basketball obliteration monster.” Serrano is great at exploring how fans’ memories of their favorite players intermingle with important events from their lives. That’s the subject of his affable chapter about former San Antonio Spur Tim Duncan.

Nana no longer knows how to braid challah for Shabbat, and she no longer dances with her grandchild, Sarah, the way they used to. Distressed, Sarah seeks ways to release Nana from the grip of the Memory Thief. With love and compassion, Sarah tries to lift the curtain on the memories stolen from Nana and help her rediscover the magic of dancing on the stage. After grabbing Nana’s cell phone and playing music from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Sarah reaches through the past to reconnect Nana to her days as a ballerina. Nana leaves her present difficulties behind and once again soars in the spotlight as she rediscovers her love for ballet. The book is gracefully infused with Jewish concepts and traditions: Nana tells Sarah that they are “braided together, just like challah,” the two of them dance like the “flickering flames on a Hanukkah menorah,” and when Nana can’t find the right words, Sarah suggests that they’re hiding, “like the afikoman at Passover.” Lewkowicz’s gentle and evocative text shimmers with the language and symbolism of ballet, while Garland’s sweeping strokes and bold colors effectively show the contrast between Nana’s former triumphs and her new reality. Nana and Sarah are light-skinned.

When Santa Monica therapist Sarah Newcomb hypnotizes her patients, most of them remember past lives, decades or centuries ago. Not Marigold Chu. The young software engineer is a receptive patient, but under hypnosis, she describes another life that seems to be in the future—or even the present. That leads to two problems. One is information from Marigold’s other self about a coming industrial explosion, which Sarah feels compelled to report (anonymously) to the authorities. The other is the realization that, instead of being a garden-variety case of reincarnation, Marigold is somehow sharing a soul with a very much alive middle-aged Denver police detective named Brian Huntley. Those two issues soon bring an FBI agent to Sarah’s door: Grant Lukather from the agency’s Predictive Analytics unit. As the trio tries to figure out what’s going on, it quickly becomes clear that Brian is in jeopardy from a serial murderer nicknamed the Ash Killer, because of a substance he smears on his victims’ foreheads—an ash whose source police forensics can’t identify. Even stranger, the man identified as the Ash Killer is already in prison. Sarah, Marigold, and Grant dash off from California to Colorado to save Brian, sparks flying—Sarah is sort-of engaged to a good-enough boyfriend, Grant reeling from a tragic romantic loss, but it doesn’t take a clairvoyant to see they’re falling for each other. The book, the first novel by an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, does little to explain the phenomenon of Marigold and Brian’s tie other than some sketchy ideas about the exploding human population outrunning the supply of souls, but it’s used to good effect in relation to the Ash Killer. Sarah and Grant toss pretty much every protocol about how therapists and law enforcement officers are supposed to behave right out the window; if you’re willing to suspend disbelief about that and communal souls, this is a suspenseful and fast-paced tale.

During the dinner date they’re finally going out on, Chicago area therapist Gwendolyn Lord shares with English professor Cameron Winter a story she’s just heard from forensic psychologist Livy Swain, an old school friend, of an impossible crime. Owen McKay, arrested six months ago for killing his wife and son and crying, “It’s still there! Still there!,” was shot to death with a nail gun inside his closely watched prison cell. Though his initial reaction is idle curiosity, Winter resolves to show off his prowess to Gwendolyn by solving the mystery. Dr. Billy Whitefield, the pathologist who conducted the postmortem on McKay, shares with Winter a monstrous revelation that he’s been blackmailed into concealing: He removed a spidery attachment from McKay’s brain whose existence was deleted from the official report. After a friend at his college links the implant to Thaumatix—a company whose motto is “We’re in the business of miracles”—Winter learns of another case that sounds eerily similar: the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a Connecticut high school student by a previously inoffensive carpenter who’s killed before Winter can question him. Surrounded by assassins and amoral corporate overlords, Winter leans more and more into his relationship with Gwendolyn, though the person he most wants to talk to is the Recruiter, the nameless boss he trusted to make life-or-death decisions when he worked as a contract killer. Miraculously, the Recruiter, who’s vanished, returns to Winter’s life. But what if he can’t be trusted any more than everyone else?

Bourdain, notes editor Witherspoon, “had wanted to be a writer all his life.” His fame as the host of several television travel series, she adds, was accidental: The gigs were someone else’s idea, but as long as he got to write, it was fine. Some of the pieces assembled here are near-transcripts from those shows, and longtime fans will hear Bourdain’s voice in every word, as when he eats a street taco in the Mexican city of Puebla: “You quickly shove one of the tacos into your mouth, wash it down with a big pull from a can of cold Tecate—which you’ve previously rubbed with lime and jammed into a plate of salt, encrusting the top—and you can feel your eyes roll up into your head.” Elsewhere, alcohol being a constant, Bourdain celebrates a Sardinian wine made by “an old man sitting in the corner reading a soccer magazine, a cigarette dangling from his lips,” and declaring that he wouldn’t trade a trunkful of big-ticket vintages for the rustic red; offers lessons on how to drink vodka in Russia (“knock back your entire shot in one gulp”); and populates his fictions with woozy, boozy characters (“Naturally, work like this required alcohol”). There are other drugs aplenty as well, befitting Bourdain’s longtime worship of Hunter S. Thompson and the culture of restaurant work in the golden 1970s and ’80s: “We thought ourselves dangerous, trend-settingly debauched, and, of course, in no time at all, had made a serious botch of it all.” But whatever his topic, absent a few forgettable pieces of juvenilia, Bourdain delivers whip-smart, mot juste, and funny pronouncements on the world. And never mind that he condones putting ketchup on a hamburger.

Lulu Gardner is a rule follower. As a high school business teacher and single mom to toddler Zoe, the 33-year-old has little time for risk-taking. There was a time when Lulu would sneak out late with her high school boyfriend, Tyler Demming, to play tennis after dark on Washington’s Bainbridge Island. But that was then, before her parents died and she abandoned her dreams of going pro. It’s been years since she last heard from Tyler, since he didn’t show up to her parents’ funeral and later became a pro pickleball star. And while she attributes some of her current prudence to that heartbreak, she doesn’t know if she can ever reclaim her past adventurousness. That is, until an inappropriate speech-to-text incident lands Lulu in hot water at school and she’s suspended. With her job in limbo, Lulu decides to join her godparents on their weeklong Costa Rican pickleball vacation, with Zoe in tow. There, Lulu is presented with the offer of a lifetime: Join a trial pickleball adventure tour through the Costa Rican wilderness for free! Hoping to regain her old spark, Lulu says yes—what could be more fun than pickleball with a sprinkling of zip lining and bat caves? Then a surprise celebrity guest is announced: Tyler Demming. Suddenly, Lulu is thrust into the great unknown with a group of pickleballers and her ex-boyfriend, who’s just as damn charming as she remembers. Can Lulu forgive Tyler for the past and conquer her fears, or will she forever be too afraid to take chances? Long’s second pickleball romance is a score, full of heart, excitement, spice, and shenanigans. Lulu and Tyler aren’t afraid to be vulnerable and their chemistry is undeniable, with just the right amount of a sizzling slow burn. Fans of Pickleballers (2024) will enjoy the perfect mix of sports and romance that proves to be Long’s specialty.

In this imaginative book, the author taps into a poetic style that calls to mind the work of Shel Silverstein, entertaining young readers with silly scenarios and magical beasts. It opens with a poem about a “Pocket Unicorn,” purchased from a friend, which raises suspicions in its new owner. A gigantic bubble wand provides a peaceful escape from reality for a girl—until her mom bursts it. “Heart of Stone” explores how a child attempts and fails to feed, talk, and bond with a round, gray “animal” found outside. “F…Unfair!” depicts a fair with faulty rides, spoiled food, broken toilets, and mean-spirited clowns. Readers meet curious creatures, such as a cranky ore-eating “Snoor” and a hair-thieving “Gare” to unique characters like “Uncle Snood,” who eats blue food in solitude, or the filthy “Klank,” who lives inside a sewage tank. A recurring topic is plans going awry, from a pirate ship that accidentally ends up in arctic waters to a monster trap that inadvertently catches its inventor. Food is another common theme, as in poems about a child whose indecision turns an epic ice cream cone into a melted mess in “Everything Soup” to a child who makes “Junk Salad,” loaded with excessive toppings. Throughout, the works are enhanced with expressive, playful illustrations that bring their bizarre subjects to life. Overall, Allen employs deft wordplay and tongue-twisting rhymes to depict absurd situations in a poetry collection that demands to be read aloud. Occasional terms, such as aristocrat, may require additional explanation for younger readers; however, the childlike language is simple, accessible, and relatable in stanzas such as “To remember is hard: / I forget lots of stuff. / And my brainpower sometimes / just isn’t enough.” Each rhythmic line builds on the next, gaining momentum until it reaches an often ridiculous end. Everyday occurrences, such stepping on something gross or missing an essential item on a to-do list, get Allen’s wacky treatment, leading to sight gags or hilarious jokes.

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Hold on to the edge of your seat as we hunt for clues and solve the case with these exciting new mystery and thriller books for the week! There are so many bestselling authors with new novels for you to dive into this week including Marian McCarthy, John B. Marek, M....

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Literary fiction readers are in for a treat. This week’s latest releases list is full of intriguing reads you won’t want to miss! The new releases list includes so many bestselling authors like Alice McVeigh, Jonathan Epps, Jonathan Satterlee, and more. Enjoy your new literary fiction books. Happy reading! Sign up for...

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Set off on an adventure to new worlds this week! This selection of new science fiction and fantasy books will surely please! Science Fiction fans should be excited about the latest from bestselling authors Brian Roberts, Dustin Lee, Sandra Boyle, and more. If Fantasy is what your library needs, you’ll be able...

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Romance book reviews. Reviews of books that make my heart race, have a beautiful love story, and a happy ending.

After a decade of reading and reviewing books, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to take a step back from blogging. Running this book blog has been such a huge and wonderful part of my life. I’ve written over 600 book reviews and loved the experience of getting to share my love of reading ...Read More  >

After a decade of reading and reviewing books, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to take a step back from blogging. Running this book blog has been such a huge and wonderful part of my life. I’ve written over 600 book reviews and loved the experience of getting to share my love of reading with so many other readers from around the world. Blogging was quite an unexpected journey for me though as I never set out to “start” a blog at all. Back in 2011, I simply began reading so much that I wanted a way to remember which books were my most favorites… and that’s when I started writing reviews. At first, my reviews were written more for my own sake than anyone else’s. They began as a way for me to keep track of the books I enjoyed and remember what I loved most about each one. You see, I was quite picky about the types of books I wanted to read and had a hard time finding anywhere specifically recommending what I was looking for. I was drawn to romantic books that made my heart race, but I also strongly preferred no stupidity powering the storyline or eye-roll-enducing drama, and of course I needed a happy ending as I’ve always been quite allergic to cliffhangers. At that time, there weren’t many romance book review sites out there in general and none that focused on the particular type of books I personally wanted to read so my reviews were a way for me to catalogue the books I’d found that fit within the criteria I was looking for. At first, I really didn’t expect anyone else to read my reviews, but as I began to realize that my reviews were actually helping other readers find books they loved as well, I decided to officially begin blogging and started this website to hold all my reviews. Writing reviews was also quite cathartic for me because, after reading a truly wonderful book, I was often overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings so writing my thoughts down in reviews helped give me closure from a story and highlight/remember what I loved most about a book. I also found that I genuinely loved helping other readers find new books. So my blog began and I continued reading and reviewing books for it for almost a decade. However, the truth is that in the last while, I found myself falling in love with fewer and fewer books — I don’t know if it’s because I started to feel like I’d basically read every plotline within the types of stories I loved so many times over, or maybe if the other parts out my life just became too busy and I began having less time to read, but, regardless of the reason, I was falling in love with fewer and fewer books. And here’s the thing – this blog has always been a passion project for me so if I genuinely wasn’t falling in love with as many books, I didn’t want to continue to review books just for the sake of reviewing them. That was never what this blog was about so I just felt myself naturally drifting away from reviewing and blogging. A few months ago, I decided to try taking a break from blogging and honestly I have really been enjoying the mental freedom that came from that decision. So, least for the immediate future, I’m going to officially step away from my blog. I may begin reviewing books again one day – and that might be in a month, a year, or never… I can’t say for sure, but that door will always remain open. My blogging goal was always to put a spotlight on the wonderful books I loved and to share them with other readers. So even though I’m not reviewing new books at this time, I will leave this whole website up in the hope that it will continue to help new readers find new favorite books to fall in love with. I have 630 reviews and recommendations of books I’ve personally loved and would love for other readers to fall in love with too and I can see through my analytics that, even though I’m not actively blogging, readers continue to come to my blog every day and read my older reviews so it makes me happy to know that my reviews are still connecting readers with awesome books. I also want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to the thousands of amazing readers who’ve followed my blog over the years, and THANK YOU to the wonderfully talented authors who’ve written the beautiful stories that we’ve all fallen in love with. You’ve all given me so much joy and I’m so very grateful for all of it. I may return to blogging one day, and I may randomly post a surprise review/recommendation every now and again, but for now I wanted to officially make a statement that explains why my blog hasn’t been updated in a while and why it won’t have new content for the foreseeable future. If I ever start reviewing again, I will announce it by email, so please subscribe to my email list if you’d like to get a notification should that day come. I will not be sending emails out via that list until then though. In the meantime, if you’re looking for my top recommendations, here’s a list of my standout favorite books: The Bronze Horseman Trilogy by Paullina Simons (My Review) – this will always and forever by my #1 fav! The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay (My Review) – one of the most powerful endings ever! The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel (My Review) – incredibly unique love story with all the feels! Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah (My Review) – this has possibly my favorite epilogue ever! Archer’s Voice by Mia Sheridan (My Review) – gorgeous, heart-warming romance! Slammed & Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover (My Review) – one of my first reviews, and still a top fav! Devney Perry books: reading list – heart-warming, gorgeous romance perfection every single time! Kristen Ashley books: reading list – badass alpha romance – pure epic, great families, much variety! Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon: reading list – addictive paranormal romance, my fav PNR world! On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves (My Review) – just a truly beautiful story! The Starcrossed series by Leisa Rayven (My Review) – the best purely angsty romance I’ve read! A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole (My Review) – ugly cry romance perfection! Crossfire series by Sylvia Day (My Review) – hot sexy romance but deeply emotional and addictive! Addicted series by Krista & Becca Ritchie – great romances and one of the best family dynamics ever! Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind (Series Overview) – fantasy, fantastic morals and world building! Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost (Series Overview) – action-packed vampire romance fun! Mists of the Serengeti by Leylah Attar (My Review) – an ugly cry favorite! Becoming Calder & Finding Eden by Mia Sheridan (My Review) – another ugly cry favorite! Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward: reading order – badass/epic paranormal vampire romance! The Girl He Used To Know by Tracey Garvis Graves (My Review) – second half of the book hit me so hard! In The Stillness by Andrea Randall (My Review) – the feels… literally all the feels! Wallbanger by Alice Clayton (My Review) – most I’ve ever laughed reading any book! The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (My Review) – stunning wartime story! A full list of all my reviews can also always be found at this link. Happy reading! ~Aestas

BOOKWORM NEWS: Juniper Hill by Devney Perry is now live!! — “Memphis Ward arrives in Quincy, Montana, on the fifth worst day of her life. She needs a shower. She needs a snack. She needs some sanity. Because moving across the country with her newborn baby is by far the craziest thing she’s ever done. ...Read More  >

BOOKWORM NEWS: Juniper Hill by Devney Perry is now live!! — “Memphis Ward arrives in Quincy, Montana, on the fifth worst day of her life. She needs a shower. She needs a snack. She needs some sanity. Because moving across the country with her newborn baby is by far the craziest thing she’s ever done. But maybe it takes a little crazy to build a good life. If putting the past behind her requires a thousand miles and a new town, she’ll do it if it means a better future for her son. Even if it requires setting aside the glamour of her former life. Even if it requires working as a housekeeper at The Eloise Inn and living in an apartment above a garage. It’s there, on the fifth worst day of her life, that she meets the handsomest man she’s ever laid eyes on. Knox Eden is a beautiful, sinful dream, a chef and her temporary landlord. With his sharp, stubbled jaw and tattooed arms, he’s raw and rugged and everything she’s never had—and never will. Because after the first worst day of her life, Memphis learned a good life requires giving up on her dreams too. And a man like Knox Eden will only ever be a dream.” The Girl in the Mist by Kristen Ashley is now live!! — “Renowned author Delphine Larue needs a haven. A crazed fan has gone over the deep end, and she’s not safe. Her security team has suggested a house by a lake. Secluded. Private. Far away. In a beautiful area of the Northwest close to the sleepy town of Misted Pines. It’s perfect. So perfect, Delphine has just moved in, and she’s thinking she’ll stay there forever. Until she sees the girl in the mist. After that, everything changes. Delphine quickly learns that Misted Pines isn’t so sleepy. A little girl has gone missing, and the town is in the grips of terror and tragedy. The local sheriff isn’t up for the job. The citizens are up in arms. And as the case unfolds, the seedy underbelly of a quiet community is exposed, layer by layer. But most importantly, girls are dying. There seems to be only one man they trust to find out what’s happening. The mysterious Cade Bohannan.”” The Summer Proposal by Vi Keeland is now live!! — “The first time I met Max Yearwood was on a blind date. Max was insanely gorgeous, funny, and our chemistry was off the charts. He also had the biggest dimples I’d ever laid eyes on. Exactly what I needed after my breakup. Or so I thought… Until my real date arrived. Turned out, Max wasn’t who I was there to meet. He only pretended to be until my real date showed up. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Before he left, he slipped me a ticket to a hockey game a few blocks away, in case things didn’t work out on my actual date. I tossed the ticket into my purse and went about trying to enjoy the man I was supposed to meet. But my real blind date and I had no connection. So on my way home, I decided to take a chance and stop by the game. When I arrived, the seat next to me was empty. Disappointed again, I decided to leave at the end of the period. Just before the buzzer, one of the teams scored, and the entire arena went crazy. A player’s face flashed up on the Jumbotron. He was wearing a helmet, but I froze when he smiled. You guessed it: Dimples. Apparently, my fake blind date hadn’t invited me to watch hockey with him, he’d invited me to watch him play. And so began my adventure with Max Yearwood. He was everything I needed at the time—fun, sexy, up for anything, and only around for a few months since he’d signed with a new team three-thousand miles away. Max proposed we spend the summer helping me forget my ex. It sounded like a good plan. Things couldn’t get too serious when we had an expiration date. Right? Though, you know what they say about the best-laid plans.” Only One Mistake by Natasha Madison is now live!! — “Two pink lines changed all my plans. So did the guy I had a one-night stand with, a man who made me laugh and smile, a guy who I called to share my unexpected news with, only to find out his number was no longer in service. Once more letdown by the opposite sex, I figured I was doing this on my own. Then one day, I was staring into the eyes of the man I hated, the father of my baby. All it took was only one mistake to change everything.” Baden by Sawyer Bennett is now live!! — “While my injuries are physical, the same can’t be said for the woman I rescued. Suffering from wounds that can’t be seen, Sophie Winters has withdrawn from the world in fear and guilt. I didn’t know Sophie before that fateful night and have only met her once since, but I refuse to let her face her demons alone. Determined to be a friend, I support Sophie in the only way I know how… by simply being there. Through our shared trauma, Sophie and I begin to find peace within one another. As we grow closer, what started as friendship becomes more intimate until our broken pieces become one. But can a love born of anguish endure, or will the pain of our past prove too much to overcome?” Shielding Sierra by Susan Stoker is now live!! — “No one knows she’s been taken. Her missing belongings point to desertion—which means no one is looking for her, either. But someone is. Fred “Grover” Groves never forgot the redheaded spitfire working the chow line on a base in the desert. He’d felt an instant attraction to the petite woman, a connection deep in his bones…which Sierra herself clearly didn’t feel, since she’d promised to keep in touch after his mission ended, only to ghost him—and seemingly her job. But she didn’t. When several contractors go missing from the base, it looks more and more like Sierra didn’t abandon her post. Then a long-lost letter proves she’d followed through on her promise to stay in touch with Grover—and suddenly, all bets are off. He bucks every protocol he’s ever known… If Sierra’s still alive, he’ll find her. Or die trying.” Flame by Helen Hardt (Steel Brothers Saga) is now live!! — “Callie Pike always considered herself the plain sister—stuck in the middle between beautiful Rory and vivacious Maddie—so she still can’t believe gorgeous perennial bachelor Donny Steel has fallen in love with her. She should be the happiest woman on the planet, and she is…but her nemesis from ten years ago seems intent on destroying her newfound bliss. Donny Steel will do anything to protect his family, even sacrifice his ethics and his own happiness. As much as he loves Callie, he knows he can’t be the man she deserves—not until he solves the mysteries of his family’s past and finds out who shot his father. Though the two erupt in flames whenever they’re together, the secrets they both harbor could destroy any chance for a future together.” Wright Rival by KA Linde is now live!! — “No one on this planet pushes my buttons like Hollin Abbey. I don’t know if it’s the rugged, sexy cowboy look or the Harley Davidson motorcycle or the cocky swagger. Or just him. But whenever we’re together we fight like cats and dogs. Now our vineyards are rivals in the annual wine competition, and I’m determined to win. I just have to take out my Wright rival.” WEEKLY NEW RELEASES RECAP Juniper Hill by Devney Perry (small town neighbors to lovers romance, standalone in The Edens series) The Girl in the Mist by Kristen Ashley (romantic thriller, Misted Pines series) The Summer Proposal by Vi Keeland (sports romance, standalone) Only One Mistake by Natasha Madison (surprise pregnancy romance, standalone in Only One series) Baden by Sawyer Bennett (hockey romance, standalone in Pittsburgh Titans series) Wright Rival by KA Linde (enemies to lovers romance, standalone in Wright Vineyard series) Shielding Sierra by Susan Stoker (romantic suspense, standalone in Delta Team Two series) Flame by Helen Hardt (romantic suspense, Steel Brothers Saga) now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase UPCOMING BOOK RELEASES Jan 18 Pre-Order Jan 18 Pre-Order Jan 18 Pre-Order Jan 24 Pre-Order Jan 25 Pre-Order Jan 25 Pre-Order Jan 25 Pre-Order Jan 25 Pre-Order Jan 25 Pre-Order Feb 01 Pre-Order Feb 01 Pre-Order Feb 08 Pre-Order WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? __________________________________ Let me know if there are any other books you’re loving right now too!! LET’S STAY CONNECTED To get these lists sent to you every week, subscribe by email. FOLLOW THE BLOG Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | BlogLovin’ | Google+ | Goodreads

BOOKWORM NEWS: Shelter by Kristen Proby is now live!! — “Remi Carter has survived her fifteen minutes of fame and is putting LA in her rearview mirror. As a former reality show contestant, she’s trading staged expeditions and faked wilderness tours for real adventures. Only one fluke storm in Glacier National Park has her stranded ...Read More  >

BOOKWORM NEWS: Shelter by Kristen Proby is now live!! — “Remi Carter has survived her fifteen minutes of fame and is putting LA in her rearview mirror. As a former reality show contestant, she’s trading staged expeditions and faked wilderness tours for real adventures. Only one fluke storm in Glacier National Park has her stranded with a handsome man, and adventure takes on a whole new meaning. Seth King is as rugged and sexy as he is annoyed to be trapped with Remi. Probably because she ghosted him at the local bar not three days ago. But she’s got her reasons for ditching him, and twenty-four hours in an abandoned Montana cabin with the wildlife biologist isn’t nearly enough time to explain. As tempting as he is by firelight, she’s been burned too many times. Except one day together and suddenly her travel van doesn’t hold as much appeal. The open road feels lonely. Remi’s about to learn that shelter is more than a safe place to weather a storm. Shelter might just be the man himself. If he can give her a reason to stay.” Code Name: Disavowed by Sawyer Bennett is now live!! — “Life works in mysterious ways. Jameson Force Security has just received notice of a disavowed CIA agent in need of rescue in Central America. My blood runs cold when I learn that agent is none other than Greer Hathaway—my former fiancée. Having gone our separate ways more than a decade ago, I still have bitter feelings toward Greer and the demise of our relationship. Those feelings don’t change the fact that I loved her more than anything, so I’m on the next flight out to embark on a rescue mission. Besides, Greer once saved my life, so now it’s time to return the favor and put her firmly in my past. Face-to-face for the first time since ending our engagement, Greer and I are left with not only anger, unanswered questions and regrets, but also the undeniable chemistry we apparently still have. Will the promise of a new future together be enough, or will the same obstacles tear us apart again?” Homecoming King by Penny Reid is now live!! — “Rex “TW” McMurtry’s perpetual single-hood wouldn’t bother him so much if all his ex-girlfriends didn’t keep marrying the very next person they dated, especially when so many of those grooms are his closest friends. He may be a pro-football defensive end for the Chicago Squalls, but the press only wants to talk about how he’s always a groomsman and never a groom. Rex is sick of being the guy before the husband, and he’s most definitely sick of being the best man at all their weddings. Bartender Abigail McNerny is the gal-pal, the wing-woman, the she-BFF. She’s dated. Once. And once was more than enough. Privy to all the sad stories of her customers, ‘contentment over commitment’ is her motto, and Abby is convinced no one on earth could ever entice her into a romantic relationship . . . except that one guy she’s loved since preschool. The guy who just walked into her bar. The guy who doesn’t recognize her. The guy who is drunk and needs a ride home. The guy who has a proposition she should definitely refuse.” My Unexpected Surprise by Piper Rayne is now live!! — “I never thought of myself as dad material. Until my one-night stand showed up in my small Alaskan town five months pregnant. But I don’t shy away from responsibility. First, because I’m a Greene and not to boast but we’re kind of a big deal in Sunrise Bay. Second, I’m the Sheriff. I couldn’t have predicted how protective I’d become for the safety of her and my unborn baby to the point of asking her to move in with me and be my roommate. Just when I think I have the situation under control, another surprise knocks me over, but it only spurs me to double down. I’ll be the first to admit, I didn’t think it through. Somewhere between the dinners, the TV show binging, the doctor appointments, and me walking in on her naked, lines blurred. In what feels like warp speed, my bachelor for life status is in jeopardy and I’m fighting for the most important thing of all—my family.” Dark Alpha’s Silent Night by Donna Grant (Reapers series) is now live!! — “There is no escaping the Reapers. We are elite assassins, part of a brotherhood that only answers to Death. But when Death says it’s our time to live, we are more than happy to obey. We have suffered betrayal, heartbreak, chaos, and even death. Despite another foe lurking around the corner, most of us have found happiness and love. While some still search, there is contentment—a sense of peace and purpose. And with the holidays upon us, it is time to celebrate the family we have made. The one we chose. The season is for revelry, and we intend to take advantage. Whatever may come next will still be there after the last present is unwrapped.” WEEKLY NEW RELEASES RECAP Shelter by Kristen Proby (close proximity romance, standalone in Heroes of Big Sky series) Code Name: Disavowed by Sawyer Bennett (second chance romance/suspense, standalone in Jameson Force Security series) Homecoming King by Penny Reid (small town romance, standalone in Three Kings series) My Unexpected Surprise by Piper Rayne (pregnancy/roommates, standalone in The Greene Family series) Dark Alpha’s Silent Night by Donna Grant (paranormal Christmas tale from Reapers series) now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? __________________________________ Let me know if there are any other books you’re loving right now too!! LET’S STAY CONNECTED To get these lists sent to you every week, subscribe by email. FOLLOW THE BLOG Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | BlogLovin’ | Google+ | Goodreads

BOOKWORM NEWS: Dream Keeper by Kristen Ashley (Dream Team series) is now live!! — “Pepper Hannigan is determined to keep any romance off the table while her daughter Juno is still young. Sure, a certain handsome commando is thoughtful, funny, and undeniably hot, but Pepper’s had her heart broken before, and she won’t let it ...Read More  >

BOOKWORM NEWS: Dream Keeper by Kristen Ashley (Dream Team series) is now live!! — “Pepper Hannigan is determined to keep any romance off the table while her daughter Juno is still young. Sure, a certain handsome commando is thoughtful, funny, and undeniably hot, but Pepper’s had her heart broken before, and she won’t let it happen again. Not to her or her little girl, even if this hero could melt any woman’s resolve. Augustus “Auggie” Hero can’t deny his attraction to beautiful, warm-hearted Pepper or how much he wants to make a home with her and her little girl, but Pepper’s mixed signals have kept him away. That is, until Juno decides to play matchmaker. Her efforts finally bring Pepper into his arms, but they expose the danger Pepper is in. To protect Pepper and Juno, Auggie will have to live up to his last name and prove happy endings aren’t just for fairy tales.” Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander series) is now live!! — “Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall were torn apart by the Jacobite Rising in 1746, and it took them twenty years to find each other again. Now the American Revolution threatens to do the same. It is 1779 and Claire and Jamie are at last reunited with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children on Fraser’s Ridge. Having the family together is a dream the Frasers had thought impossible. Yet even in the North Carolina backcountry, the effects of war are being felt. Tensions in the Colonies are great and local feelings run hot enough to boil Hell’s teakettle. Jamie knows loyalties among his tenants are split and it won’t be long until the war is on his doorstep. Brianna and Roger have their own worry: that the dangers that provoked their escape from the twentieth century might catch up to them. Sometimes they question whether risking the perils of the 1700s—among them disease, starvation, and an impending war—was indeed the safer choice for their family…” Change With Me by Kristen Proby (With Me In Seattle series) is now live!! — “Zane Cooper. Hollywood royalty. Fourth generation superstar. He knows what it is to be one of the biggest celebrities in the world. And how lonely that title truly is. When scandal hits, his career hangs in the balance, and Zane flees LA for Seattle, laying low with his newly married best friend. Things will eventually blow over, and he’ll have his life back soon enough. Aubrey Stansfield arrives in Seattle excited to start a new job, and eager to settle into her new home. But when she arrives at her rental, Aubrey’s sure she’s imagining things because the uber sexy Zane Cooper is unpacking in her new bedroom. Thanks to a rental snafu, and unwilling to relocate on such short notice, Aubrey and Zane are thrust into being roommates…” WEEKLY NEW RELEASES RECAP Dream Keeper by Kristen Ashley (alpha romance, Dream Team series) Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon (latest book in Outlander series) Change With Me by Kristen Proby (novella in With Me In Seattle series) Wrapped in Black by Tiffany Reisz (Christmas novella in Original Sinners series) now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? __________________________________ Let me know if there are any other books you’re loving right now too!! LET’S STAY CONNECTED To get these lists sent to you every week, subscribe by email. FOLLOW THE BLOG Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | BlogLovin’ | Google+ | Goodreads

BOOKWORM NEWS: The Wolf by JR Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, Prison Camp spinoff) is now live!! — “Return to the sizzling glymera’s prison camp in this dark and sexy second novel in the new Black Dagger Brotherhood Prison Camp spin-off series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward. In the next ...Read More  >

BOOKWORM NEWS: The Wolf by JR Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, Prison Camp spinoff) is now live!! — “Return to the sizzling glymera’s prison camp in this dark and sexy second novel in the new Black Dagger Brotherhood Prison Camp spin-off series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward. In the next installment of bestselling author J.R. Ward’s Prison Camp series, things get steamy when Lucan, a wolven forced into bartering drug deals for the infamous Prison Colony, meets Rio, the second in command for the shadowy Caldwell supplier, Mozart. After a deal goes awry, a wolf with piercing golden eyes swoops in to save her from certain death. As shocking truths unfurl, Rio is uncertain of who to trust and what to believe—but with her life on the line, true love rears its head and growls in the face of danger.” Next Time I Fall by Scarlett Cole is now live!! — “Love rocks. Heavy guitars, a voice with the burn of pure single malt, and lyrics that distill the meaning of love are the greatest things. If only the man singing didn’t have a temperament as foul as the Michigan winter. Jase sitting in her car while yelling at her to get him out of there is a surprise. Why she hits the accelerator and takes him to her father’s cabin on the lake is an even greater mystery. How was she supposed to know they’d end up snowed in for days? Or that when they got out again, their relationship, and her views on love, would be changed irrevocably?” 14 Days of Christmas by Louise Bay is now live!! — “I hate Christmas. As CEO of my company, I’ve banned decorations from the office, festive music from the lobby and any kind of secret Santa gifts between employees are strictly forbidden. I’m heading to the airport, away from the Christmas lights and the mulled wine, heading for sunshine and margaritas when I get a call from Granny. She’s sprained her ankle and needs my help filling in for her as head of the village Christmas Committee. Snowsly is the Christmas Capital of England and the last place I want to be in the lead up to Christmas. But there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Granny. When I arrive in Snowsly, I’m introduced to Celia Sommers who is Christmas’ biggest fan and therefore my own personal nightmare before Christmas. Worse than that, I have to work with her to make Snowsly’s Christmas market a success. Celia is determined to get me in the festive spirit. It’s not going to work. It doesn’t matter if she’s smart and funny and easy to flirt with—if she doesn’t stop looking at me with her sparkling eyes and pouting her completely kissable lips, Celia is going straight to the top of my naughty list.” The Enigma by Jodi Ellen Malpas is now live!! — “After leaving her fiancé at the altar and quitting her job as a Miami cop, Beau Hayley stumbles through life, feeling only resentment. Injustice. Loss. Her mom’s death was called an accident. She’s not convinced. Grieving, she becomes numb to everything except the constant, biting pain of heartbreak and hate. She can see no light. Until she meets James Kelly, a man who seems as damaged as she is, inside and out. And yet despite his twisted, cold façade, he stimulates feelings. Pleasure. He is a respite from her own flaws. A complete mystery.” The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan is now live!! — “Laid off from her department store job, Carmen has perilously little cash and few options. The prospect of spending Christmas with her perfect sister Sofia, in Sofia’s perfect house with her perfect children and her perfectly ordered yuppie life does not appeal. Frankly, Sofia doesn’t exactly want her prickly sister Carmen there either. But Sofia has yet another baby on the way, a mother desperate to see her daughters get along, and a client who needs help revitalizing his shabby old bookshop. So Carmen moves in and takes the job. Thrown rather suddenly into the inner workings of Mr. McCredie’s ancient bookshop on the picturesque streets of historic Edinburgh, Carmen is intrigued despite herself. The store is dusty and disorganized but undeniably charming. Can she breathe some new life into it in time for Christmas shopping?” Beard in Hiding by Penny Reid is now live!! — “Propositioning the Iron Wraiths’ money man seemed like a good idea at the time… Diane Donner—recently divorced pillar of polite society—is craving danger. She’s tired of playing it safe and she knows just the sexy criminal motorcycle man to proposition for a good time. Problem is, she doesn’t actually know his name. Jason “Repo” Doe never takes risks. So when the queen of local commerce walks into his club, looking to get risky and frisky, Jason knows the smartest thing to do is save himself a headache while saving the new divorcee from her worst impulses. But then one thing leads to another, and the memory of just-one-night doesn’t feel like enough. Theirs is a story with no future, because how can a dangerous criminal win (and keep) a queen?” Head Over Hooves by Erin Nicholas is now live!! — “You know in movies where the big city girl lands in a small town for the holidays and falls for the hunky guy who saves Christmas? This isn’t that story. But this guy does look fantastic in flannel. And out of flannel… Finding true love with his one-and-only soul mate? Drew Ryan’s given up on that. But a hot holiday fling in Louisiana, far from his responsibilities and good guy image back home, is now on the top of his list for Santa. So when he’s knocked on his ass—literally—by a Christmas elf who’s stealing a sleigh full of gifts and using his reindeer to commit the crime, he definitely doesn’t expect to fall head over heels.” The Singles Table by Sara Desai is now live!! — “After a devastating break-up, celebrity-obsessed lawyer Zara Patel is determined never to open her heart again. She puts her energy into building her career and helping her friends find their happily-ever-afters. She’s never faced a guest at the singles table she couldn’t match, until she crosses paths with the sinfully sexy Jay Dayal. Former military security specialist Jay has no time for love. His life is about working hard, staying focused, and winning at all costs. When charismatic Zara crashes into his life, he’s thrown into close contact with exactly the kind of chaos he wants to avoid. Worse, they’re stuck together for the entire wedding season. So they make a deal. She’ll find his special someone if he introduces her to his celebrity clients. But when their arrangement brings them together in ways they never expected, they realize that the perfect match might just be their own.” WEEKLY NEW RELEASES RECAP The Wolf by JR Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, Prison Camp spinoff) Next Time I Fall by Scarlett Cole (rockstar romance, standalone in Excess All Areas series) The 14 Days of Christmas by Louise Bay (CEO/small town holiday romance, standalone) The Enigma by Jodi Ellen Malpas (romantic suspense, Unlawful Men series) The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan (heartwarming holiday novel, standalone) Beard in Hiding by Penny Reid (small town romcom, Green Valley world) Head Over Hooves by Erin Nicholas (holiday fling, standalone in Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild series) Kingdom Come by Aleatha Romig (dark romance, standalone) The Singles Table by Sara Desai (romantic comedy, standalone in The Marriage Game series) now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase LATEST BOOK SALES UPCOMING BOOK RELEASES WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? __________________________________ Let me know if there are any other books you’re loving right now too!! LET’S STAY CONNECTED To get these lists sent to you every week, subscribe by email. FOLLOW THE BLOG Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | BlogLovin’ | Google+ | Goodreads

  BOOKWORM NEWS: Heard It in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves is now live!! — “Love doesn’t always wait until you’re ready. Layla Hilding is thirty-five and recently divorced. Struggling to break free from the past—her glory days as the lead singer in a band and a ten-year marriage to a man who ...Read More  >

BOOKWORM NEWS: Heard It in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves is now live!! — “Love doesn’t always wait until you’re ready. Layla Hilding is thirty-five and recently divorced. Struggling to break free from the past—her glory days as the lead singer in a band and a ten-year marriage to a man who never put her first—Layla’s newly found independence feels a lot like loneliness. Then there’s Josh, the single dad whose daughter attends the elementary school where Layla teaches music. Recently separated, he’s still processing the end of his twenty-year marriage to his high school sweetheart. He chats with Layla every morning at school and finds himself thinking about her more and more. Equally cautious and confused about dating in a world that favors apps over meeting organically, Layla and Josh decide to be friends with the potential for something more. Sounds sensible and way too simple—but when two people are on the rebound, is it heartbreak or happiness that’s a love song away?” Just One Chance by Carly Phillips is now live!! — “As a former Marine, Xander Kingston’s writing keeps him sane. Bonus? His thrillers made him one of Hollywood’s most desired screenwriters—and also introduced him to a fledgling starlet who broke his heart. With his close-knit family in New York, Xander returned home and found peace. Until Sasha Keaton shows up at his Hamptons retreat. Now an A-Lister, she’s as beautiful as he remembers. And just as dangerous to his heart. Sasha learned from watching her mother to never sacrifice her dreams for anyone—only to discover how empty life could be without the man she loved. Now cast in Xander’s latest movie, she needs his insight to play the part, but secretly hopes for a second chance.” My Sister’s Flirty Friend by Piper Rayne is now live!! — “I broke the cardinal rule and slept with my sister’s best friend. Granted, I’d just found out that I was now a single father to a three-year-old little girl and was low on willpower. It should also be noted that there’s been sexual tension between us for years. There’s no way it would be a surprise if anyone in our small town found out. That is if we were telling people, which we’re not. We’re in agreement to keep our affair a secret, especially since neither one of us do relationships. You’ve probably figured it out already, but things didn’t go as planned.” More Than Hate You by Shayla Black is now live!! — “I’m Sebastian Shaw—CFO, pragmatist, and moneymaker. I’ve mismanaged love in the past, but when it comes to business, I’m pure shark, able to cut down any threat to my success…except Sloan O’Neill. We’re vying for the same major client, so I do what any self-respecting cutthroat does to gain the upperhand: spy on the ball-busting piece of work. She may be gorgeous and unnervingly clever, but I have skills. My gutsy roadblock doesn’t stand a chance. Until I realize I’m falling for her. Suddenly, everything from my objectives to my morals is cloudy. Stay loyal to my best friend and boss to win this critical client at any cost…or give my heart another chance? But the more time I spend with my redheaded adversary, the more I realize she’s not just ambitious but kind, vulnerable…and perfect…” Dark Tarot by Christine Feehan is now live!! — “Sandu Berdardi continues to exist only to protect his people. An ancient Carpathian, his entire long life has been dedicated to honor above all else. He knows his time has passed, especially since he has not been able to find his lifemate—the anchor to keep him sane in a world he no longer understands. But just as he truly starts to give up hope, a voice reaches out to him in the night and his world explodes into color. Adalasia enters Sandu’s mind seamlessly, as if she has been a part of him forever. While she can see the shape of things to come in her deck of cards, her gift is both a blessing and a curse. The true course of Sandu’s quest remains unclear, with danger waiting at every turn. She cannot see everything the future holds, but she does know it is a journey they will take together.” The Rhythm Method by Kylie Scott (Stage Dive novella) is now live!! — It all started in Vegas… After a wild and tumultuous beginning to their relationship, Evelyn Thomas and her rock star husband David Ferris have been happily married for years. Nothing needs to change, their life together is perfect. Which means that change in the shape of an unexpected pregnancy is bound to shake things up some. But could it be for the better? WEEKLY NEW RELEASES RECAP Heard It in a Love Song by Tracey Garvis Graves (starting over & second chances, standalone) The Rhythm Method by Kylie Scott (novella in Stage Dive series) Just One Chance by Carly Phillips (second chance romance, standalone in The Kingston Family series) My Sister’s Flirty Friend by Piper Rayne (single dad romance, standalone in The Greene Family series) More Than Hate You by Shayla Black (enemies to lovers, standalone in Reed Family Reckoning series) Dark Tarot by Christine Feehan (paranormal romance, The Dark series) now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? __________________________________ Let me know if there are any other books you’re loving right now too!! LET’S STAY CONNECTED To get these lists sent to you every week, subscribe by email. FOLLOW THE BLOG Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | BlogLovin’ | Google+ | Goodreads

  BOOKWORM NEWS: Indigo Ridge by Devney Perry is now live!! — “Winslow Covington believes in life, liberty and the letter of the law. As Quincy, Montana’s new chief of police, she’s determined to prove herself to the community and show them she didn’t earn her position because her grandfather is the mayor. According to ...Read More  >

BOOKWORM NEWS: Indigo Ridge by Devney Perry is now live!! — “Winslow Covington believes in life, liberty and the letter of the law. As Quincy, Montana’s new chief of police, she’s determined to prove herself to the community and show them she didn’t earn her position because her grandfather is the mayor. According to her pops, all she has to do is earn favor with the Edens. But winning over the town’s founding family might have been easier if not for her one-night stand with their oldest son. In her defense, it was her first night in town and she didn’t realize that the rugged and charming man who wooed her into bed was Quincy royalty. Sleeping with Griffin Eden was a huge mistake, one she’s trying to forget. He’s insufferable, arrogant and keeps reminding everyone that she’s an outsider. Winslow does her best to avoid Griffin, but when a woman is found dead on Eden property, the two of them have no choice but to cross paths. As clues to the murderer lead to one of Quincy’s own, Griffin realizes Winslow is more than he gave her credit for. Beautiful and intelligent, she proves hard to resist. For him. And the killer.” Riggs by Sawyer Bennett is now live!! — “As a professional hockey player, people think I live a charmed life. On the surface, I do. But they don’t know the horrors of my childhood, or the real reason that I have custody of my seventeen-year-old sister, Janelle. And that’s exactly the way I like it. They may think I’m a prick because I don’t like to share, but that’s fine. They don’t know me, and they don’t need to. In an effort to help Janelle get settled in Phoenix and stay out of trouble at school, I set her up with a job at Clarke’s Corner, the local bookstore owned by the girlfriend of a teammate. It’s there that she makes friends with Veronica Woodley, the extremely annoying, arrogant, money-hungry divorcee who I don’t want anywhere near my sister. Janelle insists I’m completely wrong about Veronica, but I refuse to accept that. I have to keep reminding myself that that the gorgeous blond with legs for days is off limits. Through a series of events, I start to see Veronica for what she really is—an amazing woman who has survived her own hell to come out even stronger. I have to admit, we’re more alike than not…” Until April by Aurora Rose Reynolds is now live!! — “With happily ever after being something that happens to other people, April Mayson has decided to put all her energy into her career and living her best life, and things are better than ever. Little does she know that her world is about to be turned upside down when she’s asked to help out a family friend, Maxim Kauwe. Now, she’s dealing with a man unlike any she’s ever met before, her ex—a famous musician who’s decided he wants her back—and a possible serial killer. With all the drama suddenly swirling around her, she will have to figure out if she is brave enough to trust Maxim with her heart and maybe even her life.” Rebel North by JB Salsbury is now live!! — “In a city where image is everything, Gabriella turns heads for all the wrong reasons. The marks that slash across her neck and face turn people away. But I see the beauty that lies beneath, feel a kinship to her pain. I regret the way she found me—mugged and left for dead. I should walk away, follow the rules, but I can’t. I want to see her again. There’s only one problem. My brother convinced her I’m gay. I use that lie to my advantage, persuade her to be my pretend girlfriend, to help protect my fake-sexual identity from my judgmental family. But what starts as a shameless excuse to be near her leads to crossed lines and midnight confessions. I’m not who I led her to believe. I’m sin wrapped in silk. Betrayal masked by beauty. And she’s not the only one with scars…” Inked Devotion by Carrie Ann Ryan is now live!! — “Brenna Garrett watched her best friend fall in love with another woman all the while keeping his darkest secrets from her. Now she’ll have to figure out who she is without him while not letting the rest of the Montgomerys see her break. When her family forces her on a road trip, she finds herself bringing Benjamin Montgomery with her. The problem? He’s her best friend’s twin, so there’s no escaping that familiar face. Benjamin didn’t want to leave his family in a lurch, but Brenna isn’t the only one who needs a break. Only a drunken mistake leads to a night of passion with unintended consequences. When it turns out they can’t walk away, they’ll have to make a choice: remain just friends or start something new and possibly risk everything. Including themselves.” Rules for Heiresses by Amalie Howard is now live!! — “Born to a life of privilege, Lady Ravenna Huntley rues the day that she must marry. She’s refused dozens of suitors and cried off multiple betrothals, but running away—even if brash and foolhardy—is the only option left to secure her independence. Lord Courtland Chase, grandson of the Duke of Ashvale, was driven from England at the behest of his cruel stepmother. Scorned and shunned, he swore never to return to the land of his birth. But when a twist of bad luck throws a rebellious heiress into his arms, at the very moment he finds out he’s the new Duke, marriage is the only alternative to massive scandal. Both are quick to deny it, but a wedding might be the only way out for both of them. And the attraction that burns between them makes Ravenna and Courtland wonder if it’ll truly only be a marriage of convenience after all…” Man For Me by Laurelin Paige is now live!! — “Brett Sebastian is the very best kind of friend. Who else would get me a job at one of the biggest corporations in America? And hook me up with his uber-rich cousin to boot? And let me cry on his shoulder every time said cousin blows me off? Okay, it’s pretty obvious that Brett cares about me in a different way than I do for him, but he seems fine with how things are, and our friendship works. Until one fateful night when I’m mooning over his cousin, and Brett utters four words that should make me happy for him, should make me relieved, should balance out our uneven relationship: “I met a girl.” Suddenly my world is crashing down around me, and I’m forced to ask myself—am I only interested in Brett now that he’s taken? Or have I been looking at the wrong man all along?” Moonstone by Helen Hardt is now live!! — “As Moonstone, she was held captive. Now Katelyn Brooks is starting fresh and is determined to reclaim her life. With the help of the Wolfe family, she’s working toward healing…which doesn’t necessarily include falling for a gorgeous waiter. Luke Johnson is a recovering alcoholic who just wants to fly under the radar. He’s not looking for love, but when Katelyn walks through the doors of the restaurant where he works, he’s struck by her beauty and her meekness. Circumstances throw them together, and neither is able to resist the attraction that sparks between them. But Luke has a secret—a big one—that could spell danger for both of them.” Archangel’s Light by Nalini Singh (Guild Hunter series) is now live!! — “Illium and Aodhan. Aodhan and Illium. For centuries they’ve been inseparable: the best of friends, closer than brothers, companions of the heart. But that was before—before darkness befell Aodhan and shattered him, body, mind, and soul. Now, at long last, Aodhan is healing, but his new-found strength and independence may come at a devastating cost—his relationship with Illium. As they serve side by side in China, a territory yet marked by the evil of its former archangel, the secret it holds nightmarish beyond imagining, things come to an explosive decision point. Illium and Aodhan must either walk away from the relationship that has defined them—or step forward into a future that promises a bond infinitely precious in the life of an immortal…but that demands a terrifying vulnerability from two badly bruised hearts.” Home for a Cowboy Christmas by Donna Grant is now live!! — “Tis the season—for everyone except Emmy Garrett. She’s on the run after witnessing a crime. But when it becomes clear that trouble will continue following her, the US Marshal in charge takes her somewhere no one will think to look–Montana. Not only is Emmy in a new place for her protection, but now, she’s stuck with a handsome cowboy as her bodyguard…and she wants to do more than kiss him under the mistletoe. Dwight Reynolds left behind his old career, but it’s still in his blood. When an old friend calls in a favor, Dwight opens his home to a woman on the run. He tries to keep his distance, but there’s something about Emmy he can’t resist. She stokes his passion and turns his cold nights into warm ones. When danger shows up looking for Emmy, Dwight risks everything to keep her safe.” One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson is now live!! — “Vaughn Miller’s Wall Street career was abruptly ended by a wrongful conviction and two years in prison. Since then, he’s returned to his hometown, kept his head down and forged a way forward. When he is exonerated and his name cleared, he feels he can hold his head up once again, maybe even talk to the beautiful café owner who sets his blood to simmering. Sierra Crane escaped a disastrous marriage—barely. She and her six-year-old goddaughter have returned to the only place that feels like home. Determined to make it on her own, Sierra opens a soup café. Complication is the last thing she needs, but the moment Vaughn walks into her café, she can’t keep her eyes off the smoldering loner.” WEEKLY NEW RELEASES RECAP Indigo Ridge by Devney Perry (small town enemies to lovers romance, The Edens series) Riggs by Sawyer Bennett (hockey romance, standalone in Arizona Vengeance series) Until April by Aurora Rose Reynolds (contemp romance, standalone in Until Him/Her series) Rebel North by JB Salsbury (NA romance, standalone in The North Brothers series) Inked Devotion by Carrie Ann Ryan (roadtrip romance, standalone in Montgomery Ink series) Rules for Heiresses by Amalie Howard (historical romance standalone) Man For Me by Laurelin Paige (friends to lovers, standalone novella in Man in Charge series) Moonstone by Helen Hardt (love after hardship, new series) Archangel’s Light by Nalini Singh (paranormal romance, Guild Hunter series) Home for a Cowboy Christmas by Donna Grant (holiday romance, standalone) One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson (small town holiday romance, Catalina Cove series) now live Purchase now live Pre-Order now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? __________________________________ Let me know if there are any other books you’re loving right now too!! 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BOOKWORM NEWS: Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey is now live!! — “Two weeks before Christmas and all through Manhattan, shop windows are decorated in red and green satin. I’m standing alone in front of the famous Vivant department store, when a charming man named Aiden asks my opinion of the décor. It’s a tragedy in ...Read More  >

BOOKWORM NEWS: Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey is now live!! — “Two weeks before Christmas and all through Manhattan, shop windows are decorated in red and green satin. I’m standing alone in front of the famous Vivant department store, when a charming man named Aiden asks my opinion of the décor. It’s a tragedy in tinsel, I say, unable to lie. He asks for a better idea with a twinkle in his eye. Did I know he owned the place? No. He put me on the spot. Now I’m working for that man, trying to ignore that he’s hot. But as a down on her luck girl with a difficult past, I know an opportunity when I see one—and I have to make it last. I’ll put my heart and soul into dressing his holiday windows. I’ll work without stopping. And when we lose the battle with temptation, I’ll try and remember I’m just window shopping.” Only One Regret by Natasha Madison is now live!! — Him: “My name came with big skates to fill. . At the top of my game, I had everything I wanted, or so I thought. . Being traded to Dallas was not what I was expecting but neither were the divorce papers I was served. . Now I’m a single dad in a city that isn’t my home.” | Her: “Handed my biggest client when I was twenty-two made my dreams come true. . Over time, our work relationship changed, and we grew closer, leaning on each other for support. . He was my rock, my best friend.. Then one drunken night changed everything, and I saw what was in front of me all along. . I just hope that when the dust settles, we won’t regret it.” Promise Me Forever by Layla Hagen is now live!! — “As a divorced single father, I live by three rules: 1. Make sure every day my daughter, Paisley, knows she’s number one in my life. No. Matter. What. 2. Keep contact with my cheating ex-wife to a minimum. 3. Turn Maxwell Wineries into a legacy that keeps Paisley set for life. When I hire Lexi to look after my daughter, I realize I need another rule: don’t pursue Paisley’s nanny. But even if I had that rule it wouldn’t matter. Because I’m breaking it already.” Boyfriend by Sarina Bowen is now live!! — “The hottest player on the Moo U hockey team hangs a flyer on the bulletin board, and I am spellbound: Rent a boyfriend for the holiday. For $25, I will be your Thanksgiving date. I will talk hockey with your dad. I will bring your mother flowers. I will be polite, and wear a nicely ironed shirt… Now everyone knows it’s a bad idea to introduce your long-time crush to your messed-up family. But I really do need a date for Thanksgiving, even if I’m not willing to say why. So I tear his phone number off of that flyer… and accidentally entangle our star defenseman in a ruse that neither of us can easily unwind. Because Weston’s family is even nuttier than mine. He needs a date, too, for the most uncomfortable holiday engagement party ever thrown. There will be hors d’oeuvre. There will be faked PDA. And there will be pro-level awkwardness…” Sealed With A Kiss by Erin Nicholas is now live!! — “What’s a girl to do when faced with a hurricane, her celebrity crush, and a power outage in their shelter? Keep her damned feelings to herself. And her clothes on… Naomi LeClaire is just a small-town girl who loves her quiet, simple life. Donovan Foster is a sexy, charming, wildlife rescuing internet sensation who loves the spotlight. What do these opposites have in common? Only an impossible-to-resist chemistry that, when they’re stuck together in a storm becomes, well, impossible to resist. But the aftermath of the storm gives them something else in common—a rescue mission to help victims. Oh, and a heat-of-the-moment kiss caught on camera by the local paparazzi. Not to mention an offer for a reality TV show documenting them falling in love while saving animals from crazy, dangerous situations…” Well Matched by Jen DeLuca is now live!! — “Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for twelve years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she’s decided to move on from her quaint little town, and asks her friend Mitch for his help with some home improvement projects to get her house ready to sell. Mitch Malone is known for being the life of every party, but mostly for the attire he wears to the local Renaissance Faire—a kilt (and not much else) that shows off his muscled form to perfection. While he agrees to help April, he needs a favor too: she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming family dinner, so that he can avoid the lectures about settling down and having a more “serious” career than high school coach and gym teacher. April reluctantly agrees, but when dinner turns into a weekend trip, it becomes hard to tell what’s real and what’s been just for show…” Serendipity by Kristen Proby (Bayou Magic series) is now live!! — “My sight is a gift and also a curse. It cost me the love of my life. We may have been young, but some things you don’t get over. Like being the cause of the biggest tragedy of your boyfriend’s life. It’s something I’ll never forget, and a reflection of who I am. But now that Jackson’s back in town, with scars and a hero’s badge of honor, it’s time for me to be brave, too. A malevolent evil hell-bent on making my sisters and me pay for rebuffing him is still stalking my family, and some ancient writings portended that the six were the only ones who could defeat him. Jackson Pruitt and I round out that magical number, which means I have to face the evil and the things Jack makes me feel, to save my family and my city…” Infamous Like Us by Krista & Becca Ritchie (Like Us Series: Billionaires & Bodyguards) is now live!! — “22-year-old Sullivan Meadows knew dating Akara & Banks would be complicated, but now that her relationship is public, everything has been put on blast: @HeatherB: Can’t believe Sullivan Meadows is dating TWO men and they’re like all together. Like OMG. Totally didn’t think the rumors were true. @YuiK: anyone know what happened to Sullivan Meadows? News is saying something bad went down. Seems bad. @PaulieP: Why is there no reporting on the thing that “allegedly” happened to that Meadows girl? They aren’t saying whether her boyfriends were there??? @TiffanyW: Y’all I can’t with Sullivan’s boyfriends. They just sandwiched her in PUBLIC to avoid cameras lmao @RiverT: Banks Moretti & Akara Kitsuwon are totally banging. I don’t make the rules @CarlaR: OMGOMGOMG Sullivan Meadows qualified for the Olympics! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! @LacieA: Celebrity Crush is saying ALL the families will be at the Olympics to root for Sullivan. Im dead #HalesMeadowsCobalts @GeorgieO: Dude no way she wins a gold medal. Sulli the Slut is too busy screwing anything that walks @VenusQ: I bet her boyfriends will distract her. Last Olympics, she was single. This one, she’s a MESS. Messiness isn’t getting gold #sorrynotsorry” A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L Armentrout is now live!! — “Born shrouded in the veil of the Primals, a Maiden as the Fates promised, Seraphena Mierel’s future has never been hers. Chosen before birth to uphold the desperate deal her ancestor struck to save his people, Sera must leave behind her life and offer herself to the Primal of Death as his Consort. However, Sera’s real destiny is the most closely guarded secret in all of Lasania—she’s not the well protected Maiden but an assassin with one mission—one target. Make the Primal of Death fall in love, become his weakness, and then…end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot. Sera has always known what she is. Chosen. Consort. Assassin. Weapon. A specter never fully formed yet drenched in blood. A monster. Until him…” House of Shadows by KA Linde (Royal Houses series) is now live!! — “Kerrigan Argon, a half-human, half-Fae, has joined the Dragon Society against almost everyone’s wishes. A year of training is required with her dragon. First she must travel with the dark Fae prince, Fordham Ollivier, back to his home in the House of Shadows. Nothing but slavery and death has ever awaited a half-Fae in their halls. But something is wrong within their wicked world. A thousand year old spell is weakening. Cracks forming in the foundation. And Kerrigan may just be their ruin or their salvation.” WEEKLY NEW RELEASES RECAP Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey (feel-good holiday romance, standalone) Only One Regret by Natasha Madison (single dad hockey romance, standalone in Only One series) Promise Me Forever by Layla Hagen (single dad romance, standalone) Boyfriend by Sarina Bowen (hockey romance, standalone in Moo U Hockey series) Sealed With A Kiss by Erin Nicholas (opposites attract romcom, Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild series) Well Matched by Jen DeLuca (friends to lovers romance, standalone) Serendipity by Kristen Proby (paranormal romance, Bayou Magic series) Infamous Like Us by Krista & Becca Ritchie (Like Us Series: Billionaires & Bodyguards) A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L Armentrout (spinoff of Blood and Ash series) House of Shadows by KA Linde (fae romance, Royal Houses series) now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? __________________________________ Let me know if there are any other books you’re loving right now too!! LET’S STAY CONNECTED To get these lists sent to you every week, subscribe by email. FOLLOW THE BLOG Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | BlogLovin’ | Google+ | Goodreads

BOOKWORM NEWS: A Moment For Us by Corinne Michaels is now live!! — “I was totally over Joshua Parkerson. Sure, I had a teenage crush on him way back when—and everyone knew it—but he never saw me as anything but his little brother’s friend, the girl who got tongue-tied any time he walked into a ...Read More  >

BOOKWORM NEWS: A Moment For Us by Corinne Michaels is now live!! — “I was totally over Joshua Parkerson. Sure, I had a teenage crush on him way back when—and everyone knew it—but he never saw me as anything but his little brother’s friend, the girl who got tongue-tied any time he walked into a room. I had long ago accepted the fact that his strong arms would never hold me, his lush lips would never claim mine, and his blue eyes would never see me as anything more than who I used to be. But now he’s back in Willow Creek Valley, and there’s a brand-new spark between us—even he can’t fight it. Our chemistry is explosive, and every time we’re together, I swear I can feel the earth shake. It doesn’t mean anything… how could it? I’m over him. Until I see that little pink plus sign, and the earth stops turning completely. Now I want it all again, a life with him. But Joshua built walls around his heart for a reason, and his secrets haunt him. How can I show him that the ghosts of his past don’t have to define our new family’s future?” Not Without Your Love by Lexi Ryan is now live!! — “Two and a half years ago, I hit rock bottom and lost everything. Since then, I’ve turned my life around—no more booze, no more drugs, no more self-sabotage. With a new business to run and old promises to keep, the last thing I need is smart-mouthed hellcat Veronica Maddox disrupting my world. Veronica’s as beautiful as she is infuriating. She pushes all my buttons. Maybe that didn’t matter before, but now she’s working for me. She keeps this place running. As a business owner, I appreciate that. As the man she hates and the one who can’t forget our wild night together, I’m slowly losing my mind. I told myself I could resist her, but we only get along when our hands are doing the talking. Before I know it, our relationship is anything but professional [and] no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise, what started as two enemies has developed into something neither of us imagined possible. And while Veronica’s a complication I never wanted, she is exactly what I need.” Hold On To My Heart by Bella Andre is now live!! — “Nash Hardwin has been on the road full time since leaving his rough childhood behind when he was sixteen. Beloved by millions of fans around the world, he’s never had a real home and never trusted anyone enough to fall in love. Not until he meets Ashley Sullivan. After she unexpectedly steps in to help him out of a very tricky situation, he ends up having the best day of his life with her in Vienna. Ashley is sweet, beautiful and intelligent…with the biggest heart of anyone he’s ever met. When their perfect day together inevitably turns into an even more perfect night, there’s no denying that they make incredibly beautiful music together. But is there even the slightest chance that the small-town single mom and the road warrior rock star can make things work? Or will the realities of lives that are polar opposites make it impossible to hold on to each other’s hearts?” Fallen Royal by Rachel Van Dyken (Mafia Royals #4) is now live!! — “I grew up knowing it would happen one day. Believing that I would fall into my father’s footsteps… So I fought it. I lived. I loved. I teased. And then one day… I destroyed… She saw my rage, my madness, and tried to stop me from destroying myself, and I hated her for it, pushing her away past the point of no return. She was supposed to be mine. But there are some things people can never come back from. I hurt her, she hurt me, and now I’m living a lie. Telling the ones I love that I’m on one side when for years I’ve been forced to play both. I’m no angel. I’ve fallen… I will win her back… She fell for the bad one. She fell for the sinner. So why does that make me smile?” The Blood That Binds by Madeline Sheehan & Claire C Riley (Thicker Than Blood #3) is now live!! — “Two brothers. A childhood sweetheart. Life has never been easy for this trio, and especially not after the end of civilization as they knew it. Having had their formative years ripped from them, they were thrust into a shattered, savage world, a world where they only had each other. Love and loss. Weary travellers on the brink, there is a storm brewing, a turbulent tempest that has nothing to do with the weather. When tragedy strikes, everything changes in the blink of an eye– facades come undone, and loyalty is pushed to a breaking point. A diamond in the rough. Immersed back into something akin to normal society, a safe-haven in the midst of misery, our travellers are forced to finally confront their demons–long-kept secrets that have been haunting them for nearly a decade. Love is never easy; And love during the end of the world is a hell of a lot more complicated.” The Butler by Danielle Steele is now live!! — “Joachim takes a job working for Olivia as a lark and enjoys the whimsy of a different life for a few weeks, which turn to months as the unlikely employer and employee learn they enjoy working side by side. At the same time, Joachim discovers the family history he never knew: a criminal grandfather who died in prison, the wealthy father who abandoned him, and the dangerous criminal his twin has become. While Olivia struggles to put her life back together, Joachim’s comes apart. Stripped of their old roles, they strive to discover the truth about each other and themselves, first as employer and employee, then as friends. Their paths no longer sure, they are a man and woman who reach a place where the past doesn’t matter and only what they are living now is true.” WEEKLY NEW RELEASES RECAP A Moment For Us by Corinne Michaels (surprise baby/unrequited love romance, standalone) Not Without Your Love by Lexi Ryan (enemies-to-lovers office romance, standalone in The Boys of Jackson Harbor series) Hold On To My Heart by Bella Andre (single mom/rock star romance, standalone in The Sullivans series) Fallen Royal by Rachel Van Dyken (mafia romance, Mafia Royals series) The Blood That Binds by Madeline Sheehan & Claire C Riley (love triangle, Thicker Than Blood series) The Butler by Danielle Steele (women’s fiction, standalone) now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase LATEST BOOK SALES 45% OFF ★ Purchase 65% OFF ★ Purchase under $2 ★ Purchase 50% OFF Purchase 50% OFF Purchase under $1 Purchase under $2 Purchase under $1 Purchase under $3 ★ Purchase under $3 ★ Purchase 50% OFF ★ Purchase under $1 ★ Purchase UPCOMING BOOK RELEASES Oct 13 Pre-Order Oct 18 Pre-Order Oct 19 Pre-Order Oct 19 Pre-Order Oct 19 Pre-Order Oct 19 Pre-Order Oct 26 Pre-Order Oct 26 Pre-Order Oct 26 Pre-Order Oct 26 Pre-Order Oct 26 Pre-Order Nov 02 Pre-Order WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? __________________________________ Let me know if there are any other books you’re loving right now too!! LET’S STAY CONNECTED To get these lists sent to you every week, subscribe by email. FOLLOW THE BLOG Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | BlogLovin’ | Google+ | Goodreads

BOOKWORM NEWS: A Small Hotel by Suanne Laqueure is now live!! — “It’s the summer of 1941. Europe is at war, but New York’s Thousand Islands are at the height of the tourist season. Kennet Fiskare, son of a hotel proprietor, is having the summer of a lifetime, having fallen deeply in love with a ...Read More  >

BOOKWORM NEWS: A Small Hotel by Suanne Laqueure is now live!! — “It’s the summer of 1941. Europe is at war, but New York’s Thousand Islands are at the height of the tourist season. Kennet Fiskare, son of a hotel proprietor, is having the summer of a lifetime, having fallen deeply in love with a Swedish-Brazilian guest named Astrid Virtanen. But the affair is cut short and the young lovers permanently parted, first by Astrid’s family obligations, then by America’s entry into the war. The rigors of military life help dull his heartache, but when Kennet’s battalion reaches France, he is thrown into the crucible of front line combat. As his unit crosses Europe, from the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium to Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, Kennet falls into a different kind of love: the intense camaraderie between soldiers. It’s a bond fierce yet fragile, vital yet expendable, here today and gone tomorrow. Sustained by his friendships, Kennet both witnesses and commits the unthinkable atrocities of warfare, altering his view of the world and himself. To the point where a second chance with Astrid in peacetime might be the most terrifying and consequential battle he’s ever fought…” Wild at Heart by Zoe York is now live!! — “Everyone in Pine Harbour loves Will Kincaid—except the one person he cares about actually impressing. Can grown men have crushes on their frenemies? When Catie joins the small town’s Search and Rescue team, Will finds himself spending every Thursday night swapping glares with the hairdresser while they get in each other’s way. Catie Berton has a long list of reasons why Will is an arrogant jerk. But the more time she spends with him, the more she’s forced to admit sometimes they make a good team. That doesn’t change the fact that Will has always been her right crush, wrong guy. When the SRT goes on a road trip to a competition, she surprises herself by agreeing to ride shotgun in his truck. The long drive could be a chance to repair a shredded friendship, if Catie can get past her complicated feelings for the too-attractive-for-his-own-good school principal.” Mr. Park Lane by Louise Bay is now live!! — “I haven’t seen him in over a decade, but Joshua Luca can still get to me. And I hate it. At twenty-nine, I’m a doctor and I’ve traveled the world, but just the thought of him has me sliding my sweaty palms down my jeans and wishing I could steady my racing heartbeat. Joshua was an almost obsession until, at seventeen, he cost me my future. In one night, I grew up and let go of my silly crush. My infatuation for Joshua is dead and buried. Forever. It doesn’t matter that he’s my new roommate. Or that he still has that same sexy smile. I barely notice how, despite his billions, he’s the kindest man I know. Or that when he touches me, a thousand tiny fireworks explode all over my body. I’m completely over Joshua Luca.” Spark by Helen Hardt (Steel Brothers Saga) is now live!! — “Donovan “Donny” Steel is on a partnership track with a major Denver law firm. He loves his city career and his luxurious downtown loft, and life is going just how he planned it…until his mother, the city attorney for his hometown of Snow Creek, Colorado, asks him to move back and work for her when her assistant retires. Mom asks? Donny goes. Because he’ll do anything for the family who took him in twenty-five years ago. The fact that he can pick up where he left off with gorgeous Callie Pike is simply a fringe benefit. Caroline “Callie” Pike was looking forward to finally beginning law school at age twenty-six, but the western slope fire that destroyed most of her family’s vineyards put that plan on hold. At least she has Donny Steel’s return to look forward to. After she spent an evening with him at a recent party, he hasn’t strayed far from her mind…” Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis is now live!! — “On a snowy evening in March, thirty-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when disaster strikes. With a blizzard closing off roads, she finds herself stranded, alone in her car, without food, drink, or a working charger for her phone. All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger also trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear. The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence.” A Reckless Match by Kate Bateman is now live!! — “Madeline Montgomery grew up despising––and secretly loving––the roguish Gryffud “Gryff” Davies. Their families have been bitter rivals for hundreds of years, but even if her feelings once crossed the line between love and hate, she’s certain Gryff never felt the same. Now, she’s too busy saving her family from ruin to think about Gryff and the other “devilish” Davies siblings. Since he’s off being scandalous in London, it’s not like she’ll ever see him again…” Wild Heart by Laurelin Paige (Dirty Wild #3) is now live!! — “Secrets, surprises, and second chances. This trip down memory lane with Jolie has mended as much as it’s torn up. I promised her I could handle anything. Whatever she was hiding, my wild heart would always belong to her. But I could never have imagined this truth. And she can’t blame me for how this will all end.” WEEKLY NEW RELEASES RECAP A Small Hotel by Suanne Laqueure (military/love/family fiction) Wild at Heart by Zoe York (frenemies to lovers romance, standalone in The Kincaids of Pine Harbor series) Mr. Park Lane by Louise Bay (second chance/roommates romance, standalone) Wild Heart by Laurelin Paige (contemp romance, book #3 in Dirty Wild series) Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis (snowstorm/strangers romance, standalone) More Than Possess You by Shayla Black (romance novella, standalone in More Than series) Spark by Helen Hardt (romantic suspense, Steel Brothers Saga) A Reckless Match by Kate Bateman (historical romance, Ruthless Rivals) now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase now live Purchase WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? __________________________________ Let me know if there are any other books you’re loving right now too!! 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196 countries, countless stories...

I’m very fortunate to receive messages from readers and writers around the world telling me about books I might like to read. Many of the titles I’ve featured on this blog are the result of conversations with people in parts of the planet from which we English speakers rarely hear stories. Examples include: Glimmer of […]

I’m very fortunate to receive messages from readers and writers around the world telling me about books I might like to read. Many of the titles I’ve featured on this blog are the result of conversations with people in parts of the planet from which we English speakers rarely hear stories. Examples include: Glimmer of Hope, Glimmer of Flame, sent to me by Colin after a discussion with a bookseller at Libraria Dukagjini in Pristina, Kosovo; and The Golden Horse, the manuscript translation of which was emailed to me by author Juan David Morgan after it was recommended to me by the Panama Canal on Twitter. (Yes, really.) Sometimes, however, I’m lucky to stumble across amazing stories from elsewhere closer to home. This latest Book of the month is a case in point: a few weeks ago, I spotted a new shop on the Old High Street near where I live in Folkestone, UK. It was, according to a sign in the window, a bookshop, gallery and publisher. Intrigued, I went inside and got talking to Goran Baba Ali, an author and co-founder of Afsana Press, which seeks to publish stories that have a direct relation to social, political or cultural issues in countries and communities around the world. After a pleasant chat, I bought one of their titles, The Last Pomegranate Tree by Kurdish writer Bachtyar Ali, translated by Kareem Abdulrahman, and headed home. I was excited to read the book but also a little nervous. I really hoped it was good. It could be a little awkward the next time I bumped into Goran otherwise… The novel begins with the release of 43-year-old peshmerga fighter Muzafar from a desert prison after 21 years. Yearning to reconnect with his son Saryas, who was only a few days old when Muzafar was arrested, he embarks on a quest to discover what happened to the boy. In so doing, he confronts the horrors visited upon his homeland and compatriots, the truth about love, loss and compassion, and what it means to be human. Magical realism is a term I treat with some suspicion. In certain contexts, it can be used by critics to lump together and diminish anything in stories from elsewhere that doesn’t conform to certain Western norms. It is a term that has been applied to this book by some reviewers and I can see why: the story features many extraordinary creations and happenings. There is a character with a glass heart. There are women with hair that tumbles, Rapunzel-like, from windows down to the ground. The rules of the world are liable to tilt and twist. But in Ali’s hands, these happenings do not feel curious, exotic or strange, but rather expressions of deep truths, ‘that something always remained unexplained’, that when you live in a world where everything can be taken from you nothing is impossible. One of the first things about this book that thrilled me (and there were many), was the beauty of the writing. Ali and Abdulrahman’s prose glitters with exquisite imagery. The pomegranate tree of the title stands on a mountaintop, ‘which rises up above the clouds like an island surrounded by silver waves’. Muzafar’s former friend Yaqub has ‘a strange gentleness in his words, as if you were standing near a waterfall and the wind was spraying the water towards you or you were asleep under a tree and the breeze had awoken you with a kiss’. Upon gaining his freedom, Muzafar ‘felt like a fish that had leapt back into the water from a fisherman’s net, its heart still filled with the recent shock of its probable death’. This beautifully direct, expressive prose carries brilliant insights. Many of them centre on the enmeshment of humanity with all beings, ‘that the earth and life are a single interconnected whole’. Some reveal the mechanisms we use to deny this and insulate ourselves from others’ suffering. One of the sharpest examples of this is a passage in which a character advocating for the marginalised streetseller community is interviewed by a journalist: ‘That night by the fire, the journalist spoke about the wealth of agriculture and the yield of livestock, but Saryas spoke about the neglected and forgotten wealth of the thousands of abandoned children who found themselves on the streets from the age of four. The journalist talked about the charm of the cities, of clean pavements and the right of drivers to sufficient space for cars, but Saryas talked about the lost beauty of those children, himself included, who were forced to wash in filthy swamps because they had no access to clean water. The journalist argued for the return of the villagers to the countryside, Saryas for the return of people to a decent life.’ The writing is so powerful here. You can hear the conversation unfolding. The shift in register between the presentation of the two speakers’ statements shows us how they miss each other, the distance between them, and the way privilege and partisanship deafen those who imagine themselves openminded and fair. Time marches to a beat that will be unfamiliar to some Western readers in this novel. Instead of the clockwatching chronology of many anglophone stories, there is a sense of a larger scope. A kind of deep time is at work, in which individual human destinies are only small parts of a much larger picture. ‘A person is a star that does not fall alone,’ reflects Muzafar. ‘Who knows where the echo will reverberate when we leave this earth? Perhaps someone will rise from our ashes in another time and realise they have been burned by the flame of our fall.’ The storytelling is similarly expansive. Over the course of the novel, it becomes clear that we readers are in the story too, cast as fellow refugees on a ferry Muzafar is taking to England in an effort to complete his quest. We are listening to Muzafar, whose account loops back on and contradicts itself, dented by his preoccupations and fears. The effect is marvellous. This is honestly one of the best books I have read in a long time – so humane, so moving, so engrossing and so beautiful. To me, it is a reminder that we can find extraordinary, underrepresented voices anywhere. I live in a small town on the south coast of the UK and there is someone publishing world-class Kurdish literature a few minutes’ walk from my house. The Last Pomegranate Tree by Bachtyar Ali, translated from the Kurdish by Kareem Abdulrahman (Afsana Press, 2025; US first edition Archipelago Books, 2023)

Perhaps the most extraordinary thing that happened during my 2012 quest to read a book from every country (and there were many extraordinary things) involved the small African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe. Of the 11 or so UN-recognised countries that had no commercially available literature in English translation at the time, this proved by far […]

Perhaps the most extraordinary thing that happened during my 2012 quest to read a book from every country (and there were many extraordinary things) involved the small African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe. Of the 11 or so UN-recognised countries that had no commercially available literature in English translation at the time, this proved by far the trickiest to source a book from. So much so that, as you can read in my original blog post, in the end a team of nine volunteers translated A casa do pastor, a collection of short stories by Santomean-born writer Olinda Beja, especially for me. Now, 13 years later, that collection of short stories, is finally available to buy in English. Edited by leading Spanish and Portuguese translator Margaret Jull Costa OBE, one of the generous nine volunteers who answered my 2012 appeal, it has just been published by new Canadian indie Arquipélago Press. The creation of this translation remains one of the most heartwarming and encouraging examples I’ve encountered of how stories can bring us together. It is wonderful to see these beguiling tales finally available in the world’s most published language. As I say in my foreword to the book: ‘every so often, I receive a message asking if the collection of stories I read for São Tomé and Príncipe back in 2012 is available to buy in English. It is now my great joy to be able to answer: Yes, here it is.’ The Shepherd’s House by Olinda Beja, ed. Margaret Jull Costa, translated from the Portuguese by Yema Ferreira, Ana Fletcher, Tamsin Harrison, Margaret Jull Costa, Clare Keates, Ana Cristina Morais, Robin Patterson, Ana Silva and Sandra Tavares (Arquipélago Press, 2025)

It’s out! My fourth book, Relearning to Read: Adventures in Not-Knowing, officially hits the shelves today. It’s available worldwide in English and can be ordered through all the usual channels and bookshops, as well as directly through my publisher’s website. Drawing on the interactions I’ve had through this blog and through the reading workshops I’ve […]

It’s out! My fourth book, Relearning to Read: Adventures in Not-Knowing, officially hits the shelves today. It’s available worldwide in English and can be ordered through all the usual channels and bookshops, as well as directly through my publisher’s website. Drawing on the interactions I’ve had through this blog and through the reading workshops I’ve been running for the last four years, it explores how embracing not-knowing can enrich our reading of ourselves and our world. Each chapter takes an extract from a different book likely to be outside most anglophone readers’ comfort zones as a launchpad for exploring themes such as how do we read books written from political viewpoints or based on religious views we don’t share? What do we do if we don’t know if a story is funny? And why might taste sometimes lead us astray? I hope it’s playful, mischievous, a bit subversive and thought-provoking. In the spirit of this, the book comes in three slightly different covers, reflecting the fact that there is more than one way of reading. If you order one, you won’t know what you’re going to get! And as a bonus, Renard Press is running a promotion: if you add Relearning to Read and the signed, limited-edition version of my novel Crossing Over to your basket on their website, and use the coupon ‘relearning’, you’ll get the novel half price. The offer runs until the end of October, so hurry if you like the sound of this. Every book will have its pound of flesh – at least that’s my experience. This one certainly had some twists and turns in the early days of developing the idea. Once I had the form clear in my mind, however, the writing process was a joy. There’s been some wonderful feedback. We’ve already had an international rights inquiry from a publisher in another territory. (If you would be interested in translating or publishing the book in another language, please drop Will at Renard Press a line.) Relearning to Read has already been included on the syllabus of a university course in the UK and I’ve been invited to speak about it at festivals in the UK, India and Hong Kong. What’s more, I’ve been particularly thrilled to see writers I admire supporting the book with generous endorsements. These include superstar translator and novelist Anton Hur, who called Relearning to Read ‘a lively discussion on how to read books from around our increasingly fractured world – and how to live within the chaos,’ and novelist, professor, translator and former English PEN president Maureen Freely, who wrote: ‘Living as we do in the golden age of surveillance marketing… it has become ever more difficult to negotiate uncertainty – in life as on the page. With this beautifully imaginative guide, Ann Morgan makes an eloquent case for reading beyond the bounds of our understanding, not just to broaden our horizons, but to better understand ourselves. I shall be taking it to my next book group! I urge you to do the same.’ Not everyone has been impressed, however. When I told my eight-year-old that my fourth book was being published today, she pulled a face. ‘What? You mean you’ve only written four books in your adult life?’ she said. Still, I hope other family members approve. In particular, my Dad. Sadly I can’t ask him: he died unexpectedly as I was preparing to write the final chapter, and this changed the shape of the ending a little. One of the earlier chapters also features the story of how his father, a native Welsh speaker, moved into the English-speaking world. I hope Dad would have enjoyed reading it. Certainly Dad would have enjoyed the international angle. Travelling was one of the things he most wanted to do in retirement. He had renewed his passport a few weeks before he died and was looking forward to several trips. I have dedicated Relearning to Read to his memory. As it sets off around the world, it makes me smile to think that, in a way, Dad is travelling with it too.

One of the lovely things about this project is the interactions I’ve had through it with writers around the world. The Chinese literary master Ning Ken is a great example. After I gave a quote to support Thomas Moran’s English translation of Tibetan Sky, I received a copy of the finished book sent from Beijing, […]

One of the lovely things about this project is the interactions I’ve had through it with writers around the world. The Chinese literary master Ning Ken is a great example. After I gave a quote to support Thomas Moran’s English translation of Tibetan Sky, I received a copy of the finished book sent from Beijing, inscribed with a message of thanks from the author as shown above. His publisher tells me it means: ‘If my humble work surprised you, that is exactly what I hoped for. Rarity makes it all the more precious. Thank you for your poetically concise critique.’ The novel certainly did surprise me. Like the image that its title suggests – of a Tibetan sky burial, in which a dismembered body is left on a stone plinth for eagles to bear aloft – this is a book that turns many accepted (Western) norms upside down. On the face of it, the novel is a love story. The troubled divorcé Wang Mojie, who came to rural Tibet on a ‘Teach for China’ scheme, encounters the alluring and mystifying Ukyi Lhamo, who has spent time studying in France. Both are on a quest for meaning, and they bond over their lack of fulfilment and conviction that answers may be found in mystical Tibet, but as Wang Mojie urges Ukyi Lhamo to satisfy his masochistic fantasies, they find themselves pushed to and beyond the limits of human connection. Through all this run Wang Mojie’s interior monologues and authorial reflections. ‘As the author of this novel, I will interrupt the narrative from time to time with thoughts and comments,’ Ning Ken, or whoever he is positing as the author, informs us near the start. They certainly make good on this promise, filling the text with thought-provoking and sometimes mischievous asides that often undermine and sometimes soften the characters, as well as sharing some of their own struggles with and doubts about the process of writing. Indeed, it’s no spoiler to say that the book ends with a lengthy authorial disquisition on the unreality of endings, bringing in reflections on Virginia Woolf’s The Voyage Out and discussions with the characters in the novel about what would have been a fitting resolution. ‘While fiction is, of course, made up, we should think of it as the art form of the exploration of the possible, fiction imagines different possible lives,’ the authorial voice tells us. In Ning Ken’s hands, fiction can imagine impossible lives too – at least to those of us used to looking from a Western perspective. In Tibet, the novel shows us, rules work differently, and this is partly a question of language. The concept of selfhood remakes itself, ghosts exist and people have very different views on life’s purpose and meaning, partly because the language of the nation fosters other ways of thinking – ‘We place strict limits on what we think is possible and impossible, but Tibetans do not acknowledge these limits. They don’t accept, or one might say their language does not accept, that death exists.’ In its difference and singularity, Tibet provides a brilliant setting in which to bring together Western and Eastern philosophy. Ning Ken does this through the visit of Robert, a Paris-based academic keen to debate his son who has embraced Buddhism. This is done through at times dense but often hearteningly frank and sometimes irreverent discussions – we’re told at one stage that we’re better off skipping Derrida, as he only really has meaning for exceptional intellectuals like Wang Mojie, and he’s an overthinker. For a reader like me, it was fascinating to see this culture clash filtered through a Chinese perspective. Yet even Tibet cannot resist the pull of globalisation. Despite the hunger for authenticity that Wang Mojie and Ukyi Lhamo share, the novel bristles with examples of a trend towards ‘cultural hybridity’. Historic rituals are staged for tourists who look on listening to music played through boomboxes and sipping coke. This performative ‘postcard culture’, we learn, has arisen partly because of the hiatus in Tibetan practices brought about by ‘what we may call, euphemistically, the “intervention of history”.’ Reading lines like this, along with references to people being imprisoned for praying and the events of ‘the Square’, I found myself feeling strangely anxious. Was it safe for an author in mainland China to write about the actions of the government in this way? Then I shook my head and smiled. Whether intentionally or not, Ning Ken was once again turning things upside down for me, forcing my assumptions into the light in the process. Why did I imagine I knew what the Chinese government would or wouldn’t allow? (This is something I examine in the politics chapter of Relearning to Read, where I look at some of the mental labyrinths we go through when we read works written under censorship or in political systems different to our own.) What resonated most for me was how Tibetan Sky explored the experience of not-knowing. In a way I’ve rarely encountered in fiction before, it captured what it’s like to feel bewilderment in the face of cultural artefacts we don’t know how to ‘read’ – books written in scripts we can’t decode, songs in tonal systems to which our ears are not attuned. What’s more, it showed the value of staying with these experiences – exploring them and turning them around in our minds to notice how we respond. Indeed, not-knowing seems to be fundamental in the journey towards enlightenment – when the 29-year-old Buddha began his spiritual quest, we learn, he did so in confusion. This is a book that works on you in ways that it is only possible to articulate in part. ‘Reading in Tibet is really reading,’ Wang Mojie informs us. ‘You feel as if no one else exists, you are outside of time, away from the world. It is a peaceful, dreamlike state. This dreamlike reading, the dreamlike thoughts that came to me while I was reading, made me feel as if I were floating in air, everything around me filled with my own soaring thoughts.’ The experience of reading Tibetan Sky is similar. Tibetan Sky by Ning Ken, translated from the Mandarin by Thomas Moran (Sinoist Books, 2025)

Many of those I interact with about books through this project, both virtually and at my Incomprehension Workshops, are young people. Even now, all these years after I set out to read the world, I sometimes find my inbox flooded with messages from students whose teacher has asked them to write to me recommending a […]

Many of those I interact with about books through this project, both virtually and at my Incomprehension Workshops, are young people. Even now, all these years after I set out to read the world, I sometimes find my inbox flooded with messages from students whose teacher has asked them to write to me recommending a story. A while ago, I received a wonderful video from a young boy in Beijing advising me to read a book that explained why tomatoes can sometimes be quite dangerous. Statistics bear out the enthusiasm for reading internationally that I’ve seen among the young: according to data compiled by Nielsen for the Booker Prize Foundation, ‘book buyers under the age of 35 account for almost half (48.2%) of all translated fiction purchases in the UK‘. So it was a delight to be invited to contribute an essay to a new collection celebrating the importance and joy of reading for children and young people. The Gifts of Reading for the Next Generation is the second such anthology put together by editor Jennie Orchard. Like the first volume, The Gifts of Reading, it was inspired by an essay by the UK nature writer and scholar Robert Macfarlane, who wrote the foreword to this new collection. Other contributors include such household names as William Boyd, Michael Morpurgo, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, Imtiaz Dharker and Horatio Clare, and all royalties go to Room to Read and U-Go. Founded by John Wood, these organisations promote literacy and education for girls and women. Indeed, U-Go’s aim is to fund the university education of 100,000 young women in the world’s lowest income countries. We celebrated the UK publication of The Gifts of Reading for the Next Generation with a launch at London’s Daunt Bookshop. Also published in the US and Australia, the collection is widely available. BUT I have one copy that I am happy to sign and send anywhere in the world. If you’d like it, simply message me or leave a comment below telling me about a book you gave or received that was important to you. Looking forward to hearing your stories! Photos © Amber Melody

This month, a dream came true. I spent two weeks visiting Greenland with my hero, legendary Togolese explorer Tété-Michel Kpomassie, sixty years after he first arrived in the country that became his home from home (an experience recorded in his landmark memoir, An African in Greenland, tr. James Kirkup, and recently rereleased as a Penguin […]

This month, a dream came true. I spent two weeks visiting Greenland with my hero, legendary Togolese explorer Tété-Michel Kpomassie, sixty years after he first arrived in the country that became his home from home (an experience recorded in his landmark memoir, An African in Greenland, tr. James Kirkup, and recently rereleased as a Penguin Modern Classic, titled Michel the Giant, with a new afterword, tr. Ros Schwartz). It will take me a while to process this incredible experience and I am working on several projects to tell the story of it. Watch this space! In the meantime, however, I decided it would only be right to make Greenlandic literature the focus for my latest Book of the month. And, it being #WITMonth, I knew I would feature a book by a female author. If you ask anyone about contemporary Greenlandic literature, one name will dominate: Niviaq Korneliussen, a young Greenlandic writer hailed widely as the leading light of a new generation of voices telling stories on the world’s largest island. Her writing is fresh, daring and confronting, and having started the month reading her novel Last Night in Nuuk, I would have found it an easy choice to feature one of her books. (And she is extremely well worth reading – if you are looking for Greenlandic literature you should absolutely start with her.) But as I try to highlight lesser known voices on this blog, I decided to look further afield. This brought me to Nauja Lynge’s Ivalu’s Color, adapted from the Danish by the author and International Polar Institute Press. Lynge is something of a hybrid writer. Describing herself as a Danish Greenlander, she is the descendant of several figures who were instrumental in establishing Greenlandic identity, including Henrik Lund, author of the national anthem, and Hans Lynge, who promoted independence. At first, given her Danish heritage, I was hesitant as to whether to include her in my reading. But as many of the conversations I have had over the past few weeks have involved the influence of colonialism and other political agendas on Greenland, and the way those stories are woven into the Inuit experience (and, as we have seen over the thirteen years of this project, storytelling is a messy, cross-pollinated business that rarely fits neatly in a single box), I decided to give Ivalu’s Color a try. From the pitch, the novel sounds as though it follows a familiar formula. In 2015, three women are found murdered in the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk. Whodunnit? Yet, the similarities with anglophone crime fiction end with the premise. Even before you turn to the first page, it’s clear that this is a book that marches to a different beat. In place of a blurb, the back cover has a lengthy endorsement from Martin Lidegaard, former Danish foreign minister. And on the inside flaps we are told that the true victim of the crime will turn out to be the Inuit people. This political focus continues in the body of the book. In place of an epigraph, we find an unattributed paragraph appealing for a moderate approach to Greenlandic independence: It’s almost as if there is a chapter in our common history missing. My major concern is that we open the doors to outsiders before we are ready to welcome them. Things take time. This applies to Greenland to such an extent that we might be better off seeing ourselves as a developing country, not co-opted immediately into the international economy. The characters of the book take a similar tone. Indeed, rather than focusing on the grisly fate of the three women whose bodies have been found in a shipping container (two of whom are barely mentioned), most of the dialogue rehearses political concerns, feeding off the fact that Ivalu, the most prominent victim, was a blogger on issues connected to independence. Unlike the traditional anglophone detective novel, there is not one sleuth on the trail of the culprit but many. They include the Chinese agent Hong and the Russian agent Nikolai (both of whom do little to disguise their roles in trying to further their countries’ interests in controlling the Arctic), as well as local figure Else. Like the murder victims, these characters remain relatively faceless. What seems to interest Lynge is not so much the personal stories of the figures she portrays but the bigger forces that drive them. These she explores by choosing to focus on aspects a mainstream anglophone writer would not normally centre, and selecting and ordering details in a way that might seem bewildering or even irrelevant to a Western eye. It is as though the apparatus of a European crime novel has been commandeered and turned to different ends. As a reader, I found this challenging. The old knee-jerk irritation I often feel when I struggle to understand literature that works on other terms rose in me, and I was tempted to dismiss the book as bad. Indeed, there are aspects of Ivalu’s Color that will be deeply problematic for many anglophone readers, particularly when it comes to the presentation of Hong. Lynge describes him and his actions in terms that betray a strikingly different, even shocking, approach to presenting otherness. There is also a challenging discussion of femininity and ‘primal’ womanhood running throughout the book, which at times seems to take a stand against ‘the modern age’s fussily democratic women’. This, when set against Hong’s shocking encounter with Else, raises uneasy questions. However, as I continued on through the pages of this book, I found another Greenlandic title that I was reading in conjunction with it beginning to shift my thinking. Knud Rasmussen’s The People of the Polar North, tr. and ed. G. Herring, features the verbatim accounts of many Inuit myths collected by the great explorer on his expeditions through his homeland. Striking and strange, these tales share some of the hallmarks of Lynge’s writing. There is a similar relative effacement of the individual and focus on bigger forces. Extreme and sometimes shocking acts are presented baldly and with little ceremony. They inhabit a framework that calibrates ideas of community, duty, tradition, physicality and individuality very differently. Perhaps Lynge was fusing the storytelling ethos of the country of her birth with the commercial structures of European literature? Wasn’t that, in itself, thought-provoking and subversive? For me, Ivalu’s Color wasn’t an easy or enjoyable read, but it was a valuable one. It was fascinating to see Nauja Lynge testing the limits of a familiar genre and trying to reshape them to accommodate her aims. It was a reminder that truly reading widely (far beyond the offerings that the mainstream outlets curate for us) requires openness, and a readiness to embrace gaps and questions. There is still so much we don’t know. Ivalu’s Color by Nauja Lynge, adapted from the Danish by the author and International Polar Institute Press (IPI, 2017)

This writer came onto my radar thanks to Keith Kahn-Harris, author of The Babel Message: A Love Letter to Language, with whom I did a musical incomprehension experiment a few years back. He shared some information with me about Llanito, the language of Gibraltar (a British Overseas Territory at the southern tip of the Iberian […]

This writer came onto my radar thanks to Keith Kahn-Harris, author of The Babel Message: A Love Letter to Language, with whom I did a musical incomprehension experiment a few years back. He shared some information with me about Llanito, the language of Gibraltar (a British Overseas Territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula). It was, he told me, an amalgam of Spanish and English with bits of Maltese and Genoese thrown in. In fact, the literary scene in Gibraltar was similarly fascinating, a kind of experiment in answering the question of how small a population you need to establish a literary culture. Yorkshire-based M.G. Sanchez is a key player in this, having co-founded Patuka Press, which publishes anthologies of Gibraltarian writing. Indeed, several of Sanchez’s own books feature Llanito and his most recent has both an English and a Llanito edition. The title that caught my eye on his back catalogue, however, was Diary of Victorian Colonial and other Tales, my latest Book of the month. Originally published in 2008 through Rock Scorpion Books, a now-defunct publishing forum that Sanchez also founded after he struggled to find an outlet for Gibraltarian work, Diary is Sanchez’s second work of fiction. It features one novella and two shorter works that, according to its marketing material centre on ‘themes of emotional and geographical displacement’. The title work is the most ambitious piece. Chronicling the return of ex-convict Charles Bestman to Gibraltar, the land of his birth, in the nineteenth century, it explores what it means to belong and how history can entrap us in many senses. After this comes ‘Intermission’, a stream-of-consciousness account of a UK-based magazine publisher’s snap decision to give up the world and enter a French monastery. Last and, for my money, least is ‘Roman Ruins’, the story of an Italian lawyer’s attempt to save a homeless Kosovan man. Voice is one of the key strengths of Sanchez’s writing. The first two pieces lift off the page thanks to compelling, energetic and distinctive first-person narrators. The diary form is not easy to pull off and sustain for a whole work of fiction, and it’s credit to Sanchez that Bestman’s account is engaging, and peppered with telling observations. Meanwhile, the would-be monk of ‘Intermission’ is often extremely funny. His claim that the notorious British serial killer Fred West looked ‘a bit like an ugly Tom Jones’ had me laughing out loud. Although his spiel is occasionally repetitious and tips over into raw ranting on a few occasions, lines like this meant that I was more than happy to stay with him for the ride. There is a rich, mischievous seam to the writing in the first two-thirds of the book that put me in mind of anglophone authors such as Helen DeWitt and C.D. Rose, as well as the Brazilian writer Machado de Assis. It’s also fascinating to see colonialism and Britishness discussed from fresh angles, as Sanchez does in the first two pieces. There is a Trojan horse element to many of the passages, with certain ostensibly harmless or familiar formulations being used to smuggle in sentiments that challenge the status quo or reframe ideas. Some of these, such as the magazine publisher’s reflections on political correctness gone mad, now feel a little dated, but many are still disconcertingly fresh. There’s a meta element to the title work too. At the end of the text, an editor’s note informs us of the way in which the diary was discovered and praises Rock Scorpion Books for publishing it after it was rejected by many other outlets. Finding a way to be heard and recognised is, it seems, part of the story. Language has a big role to play in this. Llanito and Spanish feature in dialogue in the opening piece, while French appears in ‘Intermission’, and Italian and Serbian ring the changes in the final story. Multilingualism and pluralism are part of the fabric of this literary world, with Sanchez rarely choosing to translate on the page. Bewilderment and codeswitching are de rigueur. All that said, the final story is an odd fit in this collection. Whereas the first two pieces complement each other tonally, stylistically and thematically, ‘Roman Ruins’ feels as though it is out on a limb. From the retail blurb, I see that a story called ‘The Old Colonial’ is listed in its place in the collection, and I wonder if a late need for a substitution has led to this piece being shoehorned in. Certainly, there is a stilted, slightly unfinished quality to it. Characters often seem to exist to make arguments rather than to act in their own right, with several conversations featuring long expositions of the history of the former Yugoslavia and the atrocities committed during and since its collapse (although as I write this, I’m conscious that numerous literary traditions have a much higher tolerance for political and historical discussion than is generally accepted in anglophone literature – it may be that Gibraltarian literature does too). Coming after the mischievous, subversive antics of the first two pieces, the straightness of ‘Roman Ruins’ is hard to take. I also found the female lawyer less convincing than Sanchez’s male creations. All in all, the story felt uneven. But then perhaps evenness isn’t necessarily a virtue, or a quality essential to every work or literary tradition. It may be that Sanchez and his fellow Gibraltarian writers are nurturing a literary culture that works according to other standards – one that has no need to appeal to the sensibilities of a citizen of the country that once colonised their homeland. Sanchez has since published numerous works that may have taken his writing in any number of directions. I’m intrigued to learn more. Diary of a Victorian Colonial and other Tales by M.G. Sanchez (Rock Scorpion Books, 2012) Picture: ‘Gibraltar’ by John Finn on flickr.com

Last Thursday, I had the unusual experience of giving a paper at an academic conference. The event was about the future of English studies, and I was there because of a call for papers put out in association with Wasafiri magazine, a British publication championing international contemporary writing. I suggested that I might speak about […]

Last Thursday, I had the unusual experience of giving a paper at an academic conference. The event was about the future of English studies, and I was there because of a call for papers put out in association with Wasafiri magazine, a British publication championing international contemporary writing. I suggested that I might speak about my work with embracing not-knowing in reading, which forms the basis of my Incomprehension Workshops and forthcoming book, Relearning to Read. The organisers liked the sound of this, and so, last Thursday morning, I found myself joining other speakers and delegates in the gracious surroundings of York’s Guildhall for the start of the three-day event. The University of York’s Professor Helen Smith opened proceedings, saying that she felt the event was about survival and finding positive ways that the field of English studies could continue. As an English literature graduate myself, I was a bit taken aback – surely the subject couldn’t be in so much trouble? But as the discussion opened up and academics from universities across the UK began to speak, it became clear that there are many challenges facing those teaching English literature, language and related disciplines today. From the declaration last year that the English GCSE isn’t fit for purpose and the increased testing of performance all through school, to the encroachment of AI on students’ work practices, the sector seems increasingly restricted and hobbled. The main issue, as several of the people sitting near me said, was a lack of joy in the classroom these days. This made me sad. For me, reading has always been about joy. I was eight when I decided that I wanted to study English literature at university, having been entranced by L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. Reading was magic, it seemed to me. I couldn’t imagine a better thing than spending three years reading stories. How miserable to think of today’s young readers having all that pleasure squashed out of them. Still, when I thought about it, I could recognise what was being said. Last year, I ran an Incomprehension Workshop at a sixth-form college near where I live in Folkestone. It being World Book Day, I started the session by asking participants to write down how they would complete three sentences: Reading is… The world is… Stories are… At the end of the session, I invited students to read out what they’d written. One said this: Reading is boring The world is crazy Stories are exciting It was clear that something of that disconnect the university lecturers were describing had happened for that sixth-former. Although they still felt the power of stories, this had somehow become separated from reading for them. Books were not the source of connection and electricity they had been for me. I hope my panel helped propose some ways in which that gap might be rebridged. Titled, ‘Incomprehension and Living Between’, it opened with Turkish writer and translator Elif Gülez reading from her memoir about the culture clash she experienced growing up. The extract was powerful and resonated with the small but highly engaged audience, showing how personal narrative can cut through barriers and make experience live in other minds. Then, I spoke about incomprehension and how I try to foster a spirit of play in my work with this. I was particularly touched when one audience member said afterwards that the demonstration I had given had taken her back to the wonder of reading like a child once more. Lastly, we were joined remotely by Indian academic Gokul Prabhu, who delivered a fascinating paper on ‘Queer Opacity in Translation’ – considering how the attempt to make things legible and understandable may sometimes work against the spirit of a text, and how translators may sometimes need to leave gaps and jolts in work that does not intend to make its meaning plain. There was a marvellous electricity in the room, and this carried on into the afternoon, in a session on teaching creative writing, chaired by poet Anthony Vahni Capildeo, whose work-in-progress memoir I read as my Trinidadian pick back in 2012. The panel featured four writers who all teach at UK universities: J.R. Carpenter (University of Leeds), Joanne Limburg (University of Cambridge), Juliana Mensah (University of York), and Sam Reese (York St John University). They were honest about the challenges facing the industry and sector, but so full of enthusiasm and powerful insights that it was impossible not to be encouraged. I was particularly struck by Carpenter’s statement that a poem ought to unfold in the same way that it was gathered up, although, as Mensah observed, this idea is faintly terrifying when I think about the chaotic nature of my own creative process! I came away heartened to think that the academic branch of the field I love has such people working in it. And grateful that so many of those labouring under such pressure at the UK’s universities felt it was worth taking three days out of their hectic schedules to consider how better to foster and share a love of reading stories. I also felt a renewed energy for and commitment to the possibilities of embracing not-knowing and incomprehension too. More soon! Picture: ‘Municipal Offices and Guildhall, York, North Riding of Yorkshire, England’ by Billy Wilson on flickr.com

‘I’ve got a book I think you’d like,’ said bookseller Erin when I wandered into my local bookshop, The Folkestone Bookshop, a few weeks back. They were right. Waiting to Be Arrested at Night, translated by Joshua L. Freeman, is a memoir by Tahir Hamut Izgil, one of the leading contemporary Uyghur poets. It tells […]

‘I’ve got a book I think you’d like,’ said bookseller Erin when I wandered into my local bookshop, The Folkestone Bookshop, a few weeks back. They were right. Waiting to Be Arrested at Night, translated by Joshua L. Freeman, is a memoir by Tahir Hamut Izgil, one of the leading contemporary Uyghur poets. It tells the story of his decision to flee his homeland, along with his wife and children, in the late 2010s, following decades of mounting discrimination and persecution of the Uyghur population in Xianjiang, a nominally autonomous region in northwestern China. Through Izgil’s eyes, we live the experience of seeing your world contract to the point where there is no longer space for you to exist. The accounts of the imprisonments of many of Izgil’s friends and associates – often for minor or even unspecified breaches of the ever-shifting rules – are chilling and heartrending, yet it is the cruel absurdity of many of the directives that restrict everyday life that sticks in the mind. The requirement, for example, for Muslim clerics to participate in televised disco dancing competitions (and the brave attempt of one to embrace this insult as good exercise). Or the Looking Back Project, under which ‘many previous legal things had become illegal’, rendering authors vulnerable to being arrested for books that had been published with the censors’ blessing in previous years. Perhaps most horrifying of all is the List of Prohibited Names, a sporadically updated inventory setting out which names may no longer be used. In light of this, anyone may suddenly find themselves banned from using the appellation by which they have been known all their lives. ‘A name is a person’s most personal possession,’ as Izgil, writing through Freeman, reflects. ‘If he cannot hold on to his own name, what hope does he have of keeping anything else?’ The way language is weaponised to curb and control is similarly disturbing. As the Chinese government’s restrictions on the Uyghurs grow ever tighter, seemingly innocuous words turn traitor. People called in for questioning are said to be taking ‘tea’, those removed to the concentration and re-education camps have been sent to ‘study’, if you have a black mark on your record, you are said to carry a ‘dot’. Uyghurs too, learn to bury their meaning to keep safe: ‘A political campaign was a “storm”, while innocent people caught up in mass arrests or in a Strike Hard Campaign were said to be “gone with the wind”. A “guest” at home often meant a state security agent. If someone had been arrested, they were “in the hospital”. Yet, language is also a source of great joy and beauty in this book. As Freeman explains in his introduction, poetry is a way of life in Izgil’s homeland: ‘Verse is woven into daily life – dropped into conversation, shared constantly on social media, written between lovers. Through poetry, Uyghurs confront issues as a community, whether debating gender roles or defying state repression. Even now, I wake up many mornings to an inbox full of fresh verse, sent by the far-flung poets of the Uyghur diaspora for me to translate.’ Poetry is central to this memoir too. Several of Izgil’s poems appear. What’s more, there is a beautiful litheness and directness to the prose, which captures key moments in the story with memorable clarity. When Izgil’s wife, Marhaba, learns that after years of fighting bureaucracy the family have finally received the visas that will enable them to escape to the US, her face opens ‘like a flower’. Because of the quality of the writing, we feel the Izqil family’s bravery and the loss that goes with uprooting yourself from all you know (including necessarily severing ties with those who stay behind for their safety). As the best writing does, the story speaks for itself, urging itself on the reader, making the pages fly past. Nevertheless, as I read, I found a question surfacing repeatedly in my mind. There are many urgent and brilliant stories by writers from persecuted minorities in the world today. Most of them do not find homes with some of the English-speaking world’s biggest publishers as this one has (coming out through Penguin Random House on both sides of the Atlantic). If they make it into English at all, such stories are usually released by small presses, which, as I often say on this blog, are where most of the risky, exciting, boundary-pushing publishing happens these days. (Books like Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse’s The Convoy, translated by Ruth Diver and published in February by Open Borders Press, for example.) So what is it about this story that has enabled it to cut through? I think there are a couple of reasons. The first is that the book paints the West in a relatively flattering light. Although Izgil likens the contempt of the Han Chinese authorities to the attitudes of European colonialists and quotes a friend saying they wish China would conquer the world because the rest of us are so ignorant about the realities they are facing, the US is a place of safety for Izgil. It is where he can finally taste freedom once more and thrive. I think this is a picture that fits with what many of us in the English-speaking global north would like to believe about our homelands. The second is that the story necessarily reinforces certain narratives about China that happen to serve Western agendas. This portrayal of the Chinese authorities as harsh and unpredictable feels familiar and relatively comfortable. In this respect, although it may challenge other preconceptions, this book will resonate with significant aspects of many people’s prevailing world view. This is not to call into question anything Izgil has written: the atrocities he describes are well documented. Nor is it to detract at all from the brilliance of this book. Rather, it is to say that this may be a story to which many in the English-speaking world may be able to listen to more easily than we can to comparable narratives that do not align with Western agendas so neatly. If anything, this may make this book even more important. It may speak more directly and powerfully about the refugee experience to many anglophone readers because it will not invite the sort of resistance that can often arise when we read challenging books from elsewhere. By happening to echo ideas that feel familiar and safe, it may move us to deepen our sense of humanity and connection with those forced to leave their homelands. Waiting to Be Arrested at Night by Tahir Hamut Izgil, translated from the Uyghur by Joshua L. Freeman (Vintage, 2024)

This book came on my radar through fellow international bibliophile Suroor Alikhan, who kindly hosted me at an online event organised by the Hyderabad Literary Festival last year. A few weeks ago, she contacted me saying that she had found a website that she thought I’d be interested in, featuring a list of more than […]

This book came on my radar through fellow international bibliophile Suroor Alikhan, who kindly hosted me at an online event organised by the Hyderabad Literary Festival last year. A few weeks ago, she contacted me saying that she had found a website that she thought I’d be interested in, featuring a list of more than 100 books by Pacific Islanders. I was intrigued. The Pacific Island nations were among the most difficult countries to source stories from during my 2012 quest to read a book from every country. And although the criteria of the list’s compiler were a little different from mine – she included a number of titles by writers with Pacific Island heritage (including herself) – there were many fascinating-sounding works. The book I’ve picked to feature – Is Anyone Out There? And Other Stories by Julian Maka’a from the Solomon Islands – didn’t strike me as the most satisfying of those I read from the list, but I found it interesting for several reasons. The Solomon Islands are hard to source stories from: back in 2012, the best option I could find was The Alternative, a 1980s boarding school novel. So I was curious about what this much more recent short story collection would be like. My interest was also piqued by Maka’a’s statement on the back cover that the collection – which he self-published in 2012, 27 years after his first collection was brought out by the University of the South Pacific – draws on various aspects of his professional life, including efforts to build staff understanding about sexual reproductive health in his capacity as the manager of Wantok FM, part of the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation. This is reflected in frank descriptions of the treatment of and stigmas around sexually transmitted diseases in several of the earlier pieces. As with many of the books I read ‘from’ Pacific Island nations in 2012, the collection seems written with a consciousness of needing to represent its nation. ‘The themes and general messages [of the stories] are different and varied,’ writes Maka’a, ‘but the one thing that is common is they reflect what life is like in Solomon Islands’. To an outsider like me, this manifests itself most tellingly in the glimpses into local beliefs and customs, presented most richly in the title story, in which a legend about a philandering man ritually killed for breaking taboos haunts the narrator. The emphasis on education, so apparent in The Alternative, is also strong in Maka’a’s work. The most ambitious piece in the collection, a three-part story called ‘Is This Fair?’ centres on a teenage pregnancy at a boarding school and makes clear the sacrifices that the nation’s geography and economic situation demand of families keen to give their children opportunities. Some eight thousand students drop out of education every year, we learn, and just getting to school at the start of term often requires many stomach-churning hours in a boat. As is so often the case in books from elsewhere, it is the assumptions and things taken for granted that prove most intriguing. One of the central characters in ‘Is This Fair?’, for example, seems not to bat an eyelid at the notion that her parents will decide her career path, as set out in a letter her mother sends her: ‘In her brief letter which she wrote in language and pijin, she explained that she and dad always discussed about me. About the future that I would give them from my education – benefits to cut a long story short. She said they had differences in the job I should take up after I graduate in form five. My mother said she wanted me to become a nurse – that way I would help her when she gets sick or even my father. My father on the other hand wanted me to be a teacher.’ For all its interest, however, this book is a challenging and occasionally bewildering read. My knee-jerk reaction is to pin this on the fact that it has probably not been through the editorial processes of many traditionally published books in mainstream anglophone literature, with the result that there are structural idiosyncrasies, and spelling and grammatical oddities that are sometimes distracting. There seem to be some inconsistencies in the character names between the different parts of ‘I Am Fair?’ that make it hard to follow. There is also an abruptness to certain emotional shifts and transitions that risk interrupting the flow of the story. But I’m also aware that what I read as errors or idiosyncrasies may in many cases not be considered as such by readers in the Solomon Islands. There, a different form of English is used, one in which certain formulations and word uses that sound odd to me may be customary. Similarly, shifts between registers and emotional states that jar for me may simply reflect different norms or storytelling traditions beyond my experience feeding into this book. Regardless of how I read it, what remains is a sense of urgency. A desire to communicate. A hand stretched out from this place we in the UK rarely hear of, seeking connection and the chance to convey something. This is me, this book says. This is us. This is where we are. Is Anyone Out There? And Other Stories by Julian Maka’a (Xlibris, 2012)