Books

Tom Straw—the writer behind the bestselling real-life versions of TV character Richard Castle’s mystery novels—is kicking off a thrilling new espionage series with The Accidental Joe. Rockstar chef Sebastian Pike’s cooking travel show is the perfect cover for a covert CIA mission, even if Sebastian himself is less than thrilled with the idea. At least

In one of the most interesting takes on the “best of” lists for 2023 is the just-released list of books Goodreads staff members called their top of the year. The people asked include not only Goodreads’s Managing Editor and Senior Editor, but also their Visual Editor, Risk Manager, CEO, and more. Another aspect that makes

Every holiday season for the last 10 years, my Book Riot Podcast co-host Jeff O’Neal and I have answered listener requests for holiday gift book recommendations. It’s fun, challenging, and a good chance to get creative with picks people might not find on their own, and I’ve noticed a few patterns that pop up year after year

Danger, intrigue and a hell of a lot of blood are splashed across the pages of Carissa Broadbent’s gripping fantasy romance, The Serpent & the Wings of the Night. The first entry in Broadbent’s Crowns of Nyaxia duology, The Serpent & the Wings of the Night grants more nuance than usual to vampires, casting them

The end of the year is a time to reflect back, and what better thing to reflect on than our reading lives? Almost every major publication puts out their own annual Best Books of the Year list, from The New York Times to Barnes and Noble to NPR and so much more. The latest addition

Alice Nuttall (she/her) is a writer, pet-wrangler and D&D nerd. Her reading has got so out of control that she had to take a job at her local library to avoid bankrupting herself on books – unfortunately, this has just resulted in her TBR pile growing until it resembles Everest. Alice’s webcomic, writing and everything

CJ Connor is a cozy mystery and romance writer whose main goal in life is to make their dog proud. They are a Pitch Wars alumnus and an Author Mentor Match R9 mentor. Their debut mystery novel BOARD TO DEATH is forthcoming from Kensington Books. Twitter: @cjconnorwrites | cjconnorwrites.com View All posts by CJ Connor

The son of a librarian, Chris M. Arnone’s love of books was as inevitable as gravity. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Missouri – Kansas City. His novel, The Hermes Protocol, was published by Castle Bridge Media in 2023 and the next book in that series is due out in

Lucas Maxwell has been working with youth in libraries for over fifteen years. Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, he’s been a high school librarian in London, UK for over a decade. In 2017 he won the UK’s School Librarian of the Year award and in 2022 he was named the UK Literacy Association’s Reading For

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She’s the editor/author of (DON’T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. View

Alex Luppens-Dale won the “Enthusiastic Reader Award” all four years of high school. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Her favorite genres are memoir, witches, and anything with cults. She lives in New Jersey. You can keep up with Alex’s latest work

A couple of weeks ago, we covered the bestselling audiobooks of 2023. Now, the 30-plus-year-old bimonthly magazine AudioFile has released its annual list for the best audiobooks of 2023. This year’s list includes 53 titles spread out over nine categories: Fiction, Nonfiction & History, Biography & Memoir, Mystery & Suspense, Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror, Children

Carolina Ciucci is a teacher, writer and reviewer based in the south of Argentina. She hoards books like they’re going out of style. In case of emergency, you can summon her by talking about Ireland, fictional witches, and the Brontë family. Twitter: @carolinabeci View All posts by Carolina Ciucci Carolina Ciucci is a teacher, writer

Ann-Marie Cahill will read anything and everything. From novels to trading cards to the inside of CD covers (they’re still a thing, right?). A good day is when her kids bring notes home from school. A bad day is when she has to pry a book from her kids’ hands. And then realizes where they

Book Riot and the EveryLibrary Institute have released the results of their latest survey on parental perceptions of library workers. The survey, which took place in October and November 2023, asked over 1,500 parents and guardians with children under the age of 18 to provide insight on their thoughts and experiences with library workers. Among

Author Ying Chang Compestine mixes a smart, clever heroine into her own take on the Rapunzel story, inspired by Chinese culture and food as well as Compestine’s own childhood. In a world of myriad fairy-tale retellings, Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu stands out as delightful, energetic and unique: a fairy tale you will

Last week, the New York Times released its 100 Notable Books of 2023. That wasn’t their only contribution to this year’s Best Books of Year list landscape, though: today, they posted their 10 Best Books of 2023. These are the five fiction and five nonfiction books that the staff of the New York Times agree

Yesterday, it was announced that 2023’s Booker Prize winner was Irish writer Paul Lynch. His book that won, Prophet Song, is a Dublin-set dystopian novel in which a mother struggles with her country’s totalitarianism. On writing the book, Lynch said, “This was not an easy book to write. The rational part of me believed I

After decades of being a largely underserved area of scientific study, fungi are finally having their moment. The phenomenon feels not unlike the overnight appearance of a mushroom; all it took were the right conditions for the right fruiting body. The conditions: a reading public amid COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020, aching for connection. The

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She’s the editor/author of (DON’T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. View

Happy Singh Soni is not, well, happy: He is longing for more. And, given his condition at the outset of Celina Baljeet Basra’s debut novel, why wouldn’t he be? His home, a Punjabi farming village that is being steadily encroached upon by an expanding theme park, is no place for a young man with ambition—of

Lyndsie Manusos’s fiction has appeared in PANK, SmokeLong Quarterly, and other publications. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has worked in web production and content management. When she’s not nesting among her books and rough drafts, she’s chasing the baby while the dog watches in confused amusement.

Mara (They/Them) has accidentally on purpose made their entire life about books and stories. Mara graduated with a B.A in creative writing and theatre and is halfway through an MFA in Creative writing. In addition to writing for Book Riot, Mara also has written for The Independent Book Review, Wargamer, and The Other Half, to

CJ Connor is a cozy mystery and romance writer whose main goal in life is to make their dog proud. They are a Pitch Wars alumnus and an Author Mentor Match R9 mentor. Their debut mystery novel BOARD TO DEATH is forthcoming from Kensington Books. Twitter: @cjconnorwrites | cjconnorwrites.com View All posts by CJ Connor

Elisa Shoenberger has been building a library since she was 13. She loves writing about all aspects of books from author interviews, antiquarian books, archives, and everything in between. She also writes regularly for Murder & Mayhem and Library Journal. She’s also written articles for Huffington Post, Boston Globe, WIRED, Slate, and many other publications.

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She’s the editor/author of (DON’T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. View

It’s Black Friday, which means there are a lot of deals to sort through! We’ve gathered up some of the best Black Friday deals on Amazon for readers, including sales on ereaders, reading lights, bookish games, reading chairs, bookshelves, headphones for audiobook listeners, and even a KitchenAid mixer to pair with a good cookbook.

Courtney has been reading and collecting books almost as long as she’s been alive. She holds a B.A. in Theatre and Creative Writing. Courtney has been writing with Book Riot since 2019, and is a Bibliologist with TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations. She’s currently brainstorming for her next creative project. You can follow her on Instagram.

Gia R. is from Phoenix, Arizona. She graduated with two business degrees. While studying, her short nonfiction story was published in 2018 in Write On, Downtown, an ASU journal. Since then, she taught preschool students abroad. Now back in AZ, you’ll find her writing, reading, and adoring digital art. View All posts by Gia R.

‘Tis the season for best books lists, and NPR’s is a huge one. It also has an interface that is a bit different from the others. To the left of NPR’s “Books We Love” main page are categories that range from “Staff Picks” to “Realistic Fiction” to the spicy “The Dark Side.” Readers can choose