Books

A mystery told through iPhone voice transcripts, Jacqueline Winspear’s first standalone novel in nine years and the very first release from Gillian Flynn’s new imprint: 2023 will be a year for the record books when it comes to mystery and suspense.  The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett Atria | January 24 Janice Hallett’s debut mystery,

Have you seen Glass Onion yet?? It is a delightfully fun, weird, and silly mystery film, in which Daniel Craig reprises his Knives Out role as the genteel Southern detective Benoit Blanc. If you were comparing him to famous detectives, I’d say he’s a more humble and colorful Sherlock Holmes. A little bit Columbo, a

“Finn was in a horrible mood. Grandpa wanted to talk about it. Finn did not.” So begins author-illustrator Cori Doerrfeld’s picture book that captures what we truly need when we’re not ready to talk about what is happening underneath the surface.  When we first see Finn, the child is little more than a lump, sitting

It’s January, which means it’s out with the Best Books of 2022 lists and in with the Most Anticipated Books of 2023 lists! Goodreads has gathered up the new releases already getting the most buzz in a variety of genres, including horror. They note that horror has increased in popularity in recent years, and that

Among these 33 nonfiction books we can’t wait to read, you’ll find gems from old favorites and delights from debut authors who just might become your new favorites. B.F.F. by Christie Tate Avid Reader | February 7 If you haven’t yet read Christie Tate’s 2020 memoir, Group, let me begin by saying that you are

It might be blustery out, and it might be cold and darker out than you’d prefer, but there is something to be celebrated about January. In addition to feeling the refreshment of a new year of possibility, there is excitement to be had with a whole slate of new books hitting selves. This winter 2023

Thanks to new releases from Colson Whitehead, Lauren Groff, Abraham Verghese, Mary Beth Keane, Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Acevedo and more, we can’t wait for 2023 reading to begin. The Faraway World by Patricia Engel Avid Reader | January 24 When it came out in 2021, Colombian American writer Patricia Engel’s fourth novel, Infinite Country, got

Readers of De’Shawn Charles Winslow’s award-winning debut novel, In West Mills, a multigenerational saga spanning the 1940s through the ’80s, will be thrilled to return to the titular small town in Decent People. It’s 1976, and the town’s only Black physician, Dr. Marian Harmon, has been found dead from a gunshot in her West Mills

Because New Year’s was on a Sunday this year, we’re taking today off to recover. But don’t worry, we’ll be back tomorrow. In the meantime, we wish you luck in your 2023 reading goals, and we hope your year is filled with a fireworks display worth of five-star reads.

As The Winter Bird opens, author Kate Banks cleverly invites young readers to put their inference skills to work as she describes the change in seasons. “It was the time of year when the sun went to bed early,” she writes. “The big brown bear lumbered off to its winter den. . . . And

Brandon Sanderson’s vast worlds, surprising plots, and wonderful characters have taken the sci-fi fantasy world by storm. However, even more authors like Brandon Sanderson are out there waiting for you to pick them up and read without delay. As a decade-long Sanderson fan, I have been recommending his books in the Cosmere, the Cytoverse, and

Shubeik lubeik translates from the Arabic to “your wish is my command,” an iconic fairy-tale phrase that’s also the title of a brilliantly original graphic novel from Egyptian comics creator Deena Mohamed. Her richly detailed drawings imbue contemporary Cairo—and its all-too-familiar atmosphere of bureaucracy, rigid laws and class-based bias—with the magic of wishes, dragons, flying

I am a huge fan of entertainment, so I don’t like to play the game of pretending that books are better than television or vice versa. Stories can be told in many different ways and formats and personally I think the more the merrier — although all the streamers are really starting to test this

If you’ve ever set foot in an occult shop with genuine interest in its offerings, you’ve probably experienced the wooziness of information overload: What is all this stuff, and where do I start? There is no shortage of books on spellwork, tarot, astrology, witchcraft, Wicca, herbalism and more, but we all know it’s hard to

As a huge fantasy fan, I always love when authors mix fantasy stories with other genres. Particularly when you get what I call magical mystery books! This sub-genre offers some of the most delightful and escapist stories you’ll read. Plus, they’re just plain fun with their mix of suspense, adventure, and magic. We’ve covered some

Back at the end of October, I attended an event called The RRAW Experience — in which the RRAW stood for Romance Readers And Writers (I love a good double entendre!). It was a day-and-a-half affair including author panels, workshops, fun and games, and a closing gala awarding some of the legends of romance. It

As readers, it can be a constant struggle to find space to store our book collections. And if you’re in a smaller space (or your books are housed in a smaller room) it can be difficult to make the best use of the space, or to find book storage solutions for small spaces that actually

Whether or not you believe in the power of a new year to change your life or your habits, there’s something to be said about the flipping of a calendar year to help you take stock in what is important to you and where and how you wish to grow in the coming year. As

In So Much Snow, author Kristen Schroeder and illustrator Sarah Jacoby take readers through the days of the week by exploring the joys of a big winter snowfall in the woods.  “On Monday, it starts to snow,” the book opens as a tiny mouse watches huge three snowflakes fall to the grass. “How high will

I just finished a YA novel that I really enjoyed, and I went over to Goodreads to leave a rating. One of the top reviews said it was unreadable because of the amount of pop culture references in it, something I hadn’t noticed at all. Who do authors keep doing this, the review said; don’t

There’s only so much of the sweet stuff to go around, and in The Sugar Jar: Create Boundaries, Embrace Self-Healing, and Enjoy the Sweet Things in Life, wellness expert Yasmine Cheyenne helps readers consider their own sugar reserves. Sugar is “all the sweet parts of you—your time, your energy, your attention, your money, your expertise/education,

December is just about over and we’re in the final week of the year, and for many, that means curling up inside under the covers with as many books as you can get your hands on. And if you really want to escape the snow and cold weather, transporting yourself to whole new worlds can

Bradley Graeme and Celine Bangura used to be best friends. Then Brad joined the popular football crowd, leaving Celine to lean into nerd culture and her TikTok account. Though Celine has no shortage of self-confidence, she’s always resented Brad for choosing popularity over loyalty. Their friendship fallout feels especially painful since Celine and Brad are

It’s almost the new year, and if you’ve been waffling about whether you want a wall calendar in 2023, or which calendar it should be, let this post be your guide. Not only do these calendars help you keep track of important dates, they also are a fun piece of art/entertainment that changes every month.

When Anna Hunt starts eighth grade at East Middle School, she soon realizes there’s something strange going on. Rachel Riley, once a key member of the popular crowd, is now shunned by everyone. When Anna casually inquires about why, she’s met with awkward silences and angry looks. An aspiring journalist, Anna decides to investigate What

My favorite part of any new year is taking the time to set up my new reading log to track my reading for each year. It’s always a joy to craft and refine this Sheets-based log for better reading tracking, and it seems like no matter how happy I am with the log at the

Last year, Rachel Riley was the most popular girl at East Middle School in Madison, Wisconsin. This year, she’s persona non grata with the entire eighth grade class—except for Anna Hunt.  Anna, the new kid in town, is an aspiring journalist who loves listening to podcasts, reading and emailing her grandmother, Babcia, who lives in

You’ve likely heard of the dystopian novel 1984 and maybe even Animal Farm. Sure, you might have known the author was British writer George Orwell, but maybe you’ve asked: Who was George Orwell, actually? In this article, we’ll explore George Orwell’s life and work so you have all the facts about this important and influential

As Aanchal Malhotra’s debut novel opens, it’s 1938 in the old walled city of Lahore, Hindustan (now Pakistan), and Samir Vij has just turned 10. He’s about to join the family perfume business as an apprentice; like his uncle Vivek, Samir has an unusually perceptive nose. On the other side of the walled city, 8-year-old

In Ronan and the Endless Sea of Stars, author Rick Louis tells the story of losing his baby son to a rare neurological illness in 2013. “This is not a story about grief,” Louis writes. “It is just the story of a little boy who was only here for a short while and what he