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With its mix of astute cultural analyses, quippy personal anecdotes, and deeper dives into sociopolitical and theoretical factors, this book does more than show disabled and chronically ill people that they belong. It also serves as a reminder that it matters how one shows up on dating apps and in relationships, in order to counteract the systems that try to render invisible the people whose bodies don’t conform to social norms.

Collecting one of the most popular, beloved, and influential comic strips ever created, this volume and the four preceding it are essential purchases for all libraries.

This brief, potent book offers a fresh understanding of diaspora; readers of contemporary poetry will seek it out.

An incredibly helpful guide for beginners, but readers who just want a refresher on crocheting techniques will appreciate this title too.

This touching, funny, sexy novel from Simone (Ravaged) is a joy to read and is sure to be popular where contemporary sports romances and multicultural fiction circulate well.

This highly entertaining and fun book is especially recommended for educators and caregivers of school-age kids.

Speaking to Jew and Gentile, believer and nonbeliver, this poetry collection makes our hungers radiant. Highly recommended.

Based on extensive primary research, this detailed case study will magnetize readers interested in U.S. Civil War history and politics.

A most moving, memorable memoir that expertly incorporates sensory details. Readers will be able to easily envision de Bastion’s grandfather, his love of music and great talent for it, his strength and resilience during the war, and the power of his music to keep him alive.

Will draw fans of redemptive family sagas that cross time and space, such as Amanda Dyke’s Set the Stars Alight and Heidi Chiavaroli’s Hope Beyond the Waves. Cox (He Should Have Told the Bees) is fast becoming an auto-buy for library collections.

Featuring wonderfully developed characters and fluid, well-paced writing, Roberts’s (Text Appeal) latest is highly recommended for fans of small-town and supernatural romances.

The summer edition of Life+Style features outstanding reads across cooking, crafts, fashion, gardening, interior design, self-help, travel, and more.

Librarians and educators will find this thorough and outstanding resource about misinformation highly useful for community activists and students.

Take the deadly mystery and vicious academic politics of The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older, stir in the magic and the romance of the “Emily Wilde” series by Heather Fawcett (but make it sapphic), add several drops of the political shenanigans of epic fantasy, and stir with a sharp, prickly thorn of a main character to get this fraught enemies-to-lovers fantasy. YA author Saft’s (A Fragile Enchantment) adult debut is highly recommended.

The devastating crime novel will appeal to readers who appreciate tragic family stories and fans of Julia Keller’s Bell Elkins books.

Fans of Patricia A. McKillip’s The Forgotten Beasts of Eld or Marie Brennan’s Driftwood will be in awe of Berry’s (The Manual of Detection) wonderfully odd ode to language, story, and family.

Soria’s newest book will wrap readers into a cozy world that they won’t want to leave. This fantasy romance is sure to enrapture readers looking for an atmospheric and lovable read, much like Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett.

Slip into the evocative pleasures of language with stellar works of revelation, confrontation, and grace.

Ranging from performing arts memoirs to craft books to philosophy, this large section of the Book Review featured a number of outstanding titles in the first half of 2024.

Tread a faithful path through tribulations, relationships, and self-growth in novels that emphasize happy endings.

Stir up something tasty with guides to getting dinner on the table, explorations of regional foodways, and weekend bake-off inspiration.

Journey into imaginary realms full of wonder, chaos, comfort, and adventure.

Illustration, design, color, and text combine to create multisensory reading experiences in these extraordinary titles.

From World War II to the Renaissance to 1177 BCE, these works of nonfiction are time machines to the past.

Inspiration blooms in titles covering gardening and interior design, each a redolent invitation to beauty.

Sharks and whales, the planet and plants, trees, astronomy, and volcanoes are just a few of the topics covered in this wide-ranging list, which also includes pets, health, and medicine.

Give in to terror with tales of fear, exploration, confrontation, and all manner of haunts that hide under the bed—and in the mind.

Solve the clues and witness order being reestablished in standout stories of detectives, villains, and deadly deeds.

Love wins, feelings are affirmed, and swoony scenes unfold in these fantastic happily-ever-after titles.

Explore the near present and the far future in spectacular works of rational imagination and inquiry.

Change, anxiety, happiness, coping—these subjects and more are addressed in books that help readers achieve their best lives.

Explore the varied landscape of social sciences publishing via LJ’s top picks in anthropology, parapsychology, parenting, economics, memoir, and more.

High-octane pacing, twisty plots, seething, subterranean emotions, and plenty of danger are hallmarks of the genre; here are some super suggestions.

In this fantastic selection of literary fiction, readers will meet new people, travel next door or across the globe, and sink into stories that place characters in situations both familiar and extraordinary.

The abundance of brilliant books published this year create a galaxy of good reads.

Not to be missed; sure to be one of the best collections of the year.

These historical novels send readers to locations as far-flung as ninth-century Japan, 1930s El Salvador, and Cold War London.

These novels have it all—laughs, chills, romance, family strife, kidnappings, and murders, plus extravagant locales, over-the-top parties, and riotous road trips.

The first half of 2024 has been full of astronomical events—the eclipse, the northern lights, and sublime images of space. Here on Earth, LJ reviewers have discovered 490+ stars of their own, with books that have earned the magazine’s highest accolade, a starred review. To celebrate these dazzling reads, we have gathered their constellation of reviews, with an accompanying downloadable spreadsheet, sortable by subject/genre and BISAC heading.

With an eminently likable group of characters, a generous helping of wine and foodie culture, and an extra steamy and tender love story, YA author Khorram’s (The Breakup Lists) first foray into adult fiction will warm readers’ hearts.

A devastating story of sisterhood, community, and memory, quietly magical and utterly unforgettable.

Essential reading for both general audiences and scholars who are interested in an engaging overview of Japan’s complex history.

Ogawa (The Memory Police), an award-winning novelist both in her native Japan and in the United States, writes with exquisite artistry about the complications of a close-knit household whose members are quietly protective of its wounding secrets, as seen through the eyes of a young girl; the novel is beautifully translated by Snyder.

Wroblewski’s talent dances on the page in a searingly gorgeous novel written with piercing, insightful language.

Titles not to miss across fiction, nonfiction, audio, and reference.

Jones’s deeply personal account of her battle to regain her reputation and combat intolerance in libraries is essential reading and ultimately a clarion call for others to help defend intellectual freedom and democracy.

Beach listens, spooky stories, history, poetry, and more. This summer’s audiobook stars offer something for every taste.

Modern takes on classic mysteries, plus a series finale that intrigues as it fills listeners with joy.

Spanning werewolves and vampires to sizzling sports stars, these alluring audio romances are sure to satisfy.

Speculative worlds come alive in intriguing, playful, and tense audiobooks.

Eldritch horrors from beyond, plus the final pulse-pounding installment in a beloved but bloody trilogy.

Fans of Carmen Maria Machado will find in this debut novelist a new author to follow every bit as voraciously.

Harrow’s breathtaking debut delves deep into the raw emotions of grief and the pure beauty of rediscovering joy in an exquisite tale of second chances, featuring an enemies-to-lovers romance.

Debut author Wood has expertly mixed romance with mystery in a novel that leaves more questions than answers. This fast-paced thriller will work well for book clubs and fans of the unreliable narrator trope.

The top reads from our June issue, ranging across mystery, suspense, romance, fiction, horror, science fiction, fantasy, arts, science, and more.

This sometimes unsettling yet consistently delightful fairy tale feels like a marriage of the clever schemes of Trip Galey’s A Market of Dreams and Destiny and the metaphors of Kelly Barnhill’s The Crane Husband.

In this delightful spy thriller romance, disrespectful kids and mob bosses alike fall victim to special agent Gabby Greene, a stay-at-home mom with the lethal combination of a dart gun, just-dyed roots, and a minivan. Bad guys beware.

Inspired by a real-life crime in Australia, the sixth DI Fawley novel is an intricate, carefully plotted police procedural comparable to the best of Ann Cleeves’s Vera novels or Louise Penny’s mysteries.

Soltani’s debut is perfect for fans of Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive To Survive docuseries and brings a unique subcategory and delightful addition to the sports romance genre.

YA author Kim’s adult debut is an action-filled contemporary fantasy based in Korean mythology, featuring morally gray characters and a little heat.

This powerful, unforgettable historical mystery is for fans of Mary Anna Evans’s Justine Byrne series, and stories with strong women characters.

This sparkling novel is highly recommended for all collections.

The top reads from our May issue, ranging across audio, mystery, suspense, romance, fiction, horror, science fiction, fantasy, arts, science, and more.

The newest edition of Life+Style features key reads across cooking, crafts, fashion, gardening, interior design, self-help, travel, and more.

Coryell’s engrossing bent comedy isn’t afraid to delve into scathing and frank analyses of modern dating culture, American classism, and serial killer fixation, while still being a thrilling read with twists throughout. 

Richly detailed worldbuilding and inspiration from the Persephone myth all lend to a layered, immersive storyline in Sangoyomi’s debut.

The top reads from our April issue, ranging across audio, mystery, suspense, romance, fiction, graphic novels, horror, science fiction, fantasy, arts, science, and more.

A believable, timely, edge-of-one’s-seat thriller involving climate change and a virus...it’s disaster on a grand scale.

Lee’s latest is a tender and sexy romance that foodies will absolutely devour. A great read for fans of commoner-and-royalty storylines, such as Alyssa Cole’s “Reluctant Royals” series.

In Chandrasekera’s newest, the characters’ journey through fantastical worlds across millennia is reminiscent of This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. Recommended for fans of ambitious speculative fiction that tackles systems of oppression in fresh ways.

Check out these starred fantasy debuts about a Trans-Siberian luxury train, an underwater humanity, a department store that sells dreams, and a hotheaded hero with nothing to lose.

In the excellent follow-up to Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Emily’s new research project/adventure is more dangerous and action-packed than her last.

An incredibly written and performed historical horror novel and a spellbinding debut that follows the crew of a paranormal investigations TV show are must-listens.

Well-portrayed performances enhance these suspenseful stories.

The March 2024 Audio in Depth issue features several standout listens, from fiction titles across genres to multiple memoirs, poetry, and more.

Excellent audio productions of three emotional and entertaining romantic comedies.

A thoughtful and compelling story about one robot’s journey through their own version of Dante’s circles of hell, complete with all the other hells they’d rather never have imagined. 

Nonstop sparkling banter and absolutely delicious chemistry make this one of Bellefleur’s best and steamiest rom-coms yet. Truly, deeply fun from page one to the touching happily-ever-after.

This humorous mystery with a touch of romance was auctioned to Fox TV for development as a series, with Mack writing the pilot. For fans of the movie Knives Out or E.J. Copperman’s “Jersey Girl Legal Mysteries.”

A partially submerged Nigeria and a world at the edge of apocalypse, being destroyed by climate disasters and corporate greed, are settings for these starred climate fiction novels.

The top reads from our March issue, ranging across mystery, suspense, romance, fiction, Christian fiction, science fiction, fantasy, arts, science, social science, and reference.

The plot follows the tried-and-true sports romance formula that will please fans, while the love story and the tenacious, hopeful hero at its center will give readers the warm fuzzies.

This romantic fantasy has a great balance of grimness and humor that will appeal to fans of T. Kingfisher’s fantasy titles.

This lyrically written and utterly romantic novel from Siegel will appeal to readers of historical fiction and epic love stories.

Chase debuts his lonesome, reflective lawman with this well-written, complex case. Fans of Craig Johnson’s Longmire will enjoy.

This wildly surprising caper fantasy from Clark will keep readers on the edge of their seats working out who “dunit,” and how and why, as they explore the gritty underbelly of this world of living contracts, dead gods, and legal necromancy, reminiscent of Max Gladstone’s “Craft Sequence” and “Craft Wars” series. This will appeal to all lovers of urban fantasy.

The top reads from our February  issue, ranging across audio, mystery, horror, romance, fiction, science fiction, horror, arts, science, social science, and reference.

Top picks for great reads for cooks, crafters, and those seeking balance, recovery, and connection.

Librarian Westerbeke’s debut is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys armchair travel and stories that open wide to embrace every experience, even the sad ones.

The top reads from our January issue, ranging across mystery, romance, fiction, science fiction, horror, arts, science, and social science. 

Fans of Louise Penny should try this gripping story that combines the best elements of a cold-case investigation with a well-developed suspense novel.

A stellar romance, rich in voice, humor, and expressive writing; a must-read for fans of Emily Henry.

A technothriller with heart that will appeal to fans of Martha Wells’s “Murderbot Diaries” but also to readers looking for more AI-led stories.

From mystery to romance to social science, these are the outstanding listens from our December Audio in Depth issue.

Edge-of-the-seat listens for crime solvers and armchair sleuths.

Imagined realms and future landscapes come alive in audio.

Sparks fly in these engaging, flawlessly voiced audio romances.

Even devoted horror fans may want to listen with the lights on to these tales of haunted houses, cursed media, and severed limbs.  

At turns humorous and heart-wrenching, with a smoldering sensuality that underlies even the most fraught of the protagonists’ encounters, this novel is highly recommended for all library collections.

The top reads from our December issue, ranging across mystery, romance, fiction, science fiction, horror, arts, science, and social science.