Related

As LJ approaches its 150th year helping librarians curate collections, we offer modern reviews of titles published decades and centuries ago. These reviews highlight iconic works and provide professional assessments of classics that have appeared on banned-book lists.

LitBase is a quality resource that provides access to critical, well-respected literary resources. The breadth of the content is outstanding, making this well worth considering for programs supporting undergraduate literary studies.

This groundbreaking work allows users to investigate and consider the intricate relationships between artists, institutions, galleries, and collectors. A unique and thoughtfully curated collection that is highly recommended for researchers and students in the humanities.

Ayelet Tsabari wins the Association of Jewish Libraries Jewish Fiction Award for her novel Songs for the Brokenhearted. Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced her forthcoming memoir, A Different Kind of Power, which arrives in June. Vanessa Bryant will publish Mamba & Mambacita Forever in August. Also buzzing are memoirs from Rick Astley, Neko Case, Keeonna Harris, and Lola Kirke. Anne Allan’s royal biography Dancing with Diana will become a feature documentary, while John Ridley is developing Isaac Asimov’s The Caves of Steel for the big screen. And Pulitzer Prize–winning cartoonist and playwright Jules Feiffer has died at the age of 95. 

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.

This delightfully magical historical fantasy combines creatures out of folklore (including the lake-dwelling monster Jenny) with a desperate quest, a sad tale of magic leaving the world, and a soul-quaking battle between quiet good and vast evil, all set in a beautiful story of sisterhood and found family among the most disparate of creatures.

Lavine turns many of the common romance novel tropes on their heads in this stunning debut. Top-notch banter will have readers laughing out loud as they root for Margot to finally achieve her own happily-ever-after.

McCluskey’s gripping debut features an isolated island with a brooding, storm-tossed atmosphere, reminiscent of Ann Cleeves’s “Shetland Island” mysteries. The violence and collusion lead to a shocking conclusion.

“Don’t trust the sanitized versions of history…We’ve got to get to the roots,” writes rapper Chuck D in the foreword to The Transatlantic Slave Trade, a new title from SelectBooks highlighted in this feature. That viewpoint is the guiding compass behind new Black history books on publishers’ lists for spring 2025.  

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros leads holds this week. People’s book of the week is Mothers and Sons by Adam Haslett. The Novel Prize shortlist is announced. Elizabeth Gilbert and Rebecca Ross announce forthcoming fall titles. Plus, this week’s new releases.

“Self-help had a bad rap in the past,” says Olivia Peitsch, marketing manager at Baker Publishing Group. “But a new generation is coming into the reading space, and self-help is becoming more widely accepted. It isn’t considered gimmicky anymore; it’s bravery.” 

The Canada Reads 2025 longlist arrives. Poets & Writers publishes its 20th annual look at debut poets. Longlists are announced for the Republic of Consciousness Prize, United States and Canada, which honors books published by small presses. Sustainable Marketing: The Industry’s Role in a Sustainable Future by Paul Randle & Alexis Eyre wins the Leonard L. Berry Marketing Book Award. Harlequin is eliminating its Canary Street Press and Graydon House imprints. Plus, Page to Screen and interviews with Neko Case, Pagan Kennedy, and Charles Baxter.

Brighten winter by poring over a shelf with books full of green and growing things.

Trying Veganuary or resolving to eat less meat? Here are dozens of new cookbooks to check out.

The winter edition of Life+Style showcases wonderful reads across cooking, crafts, gardening, self-help, travel, and more.

Kirkus publishes its spring 2025 preview. Mystery Writers of America names Laura Lippman and John Sandford as its Grand Masters for 2025. Matt Bomer will narrate a new audiobook of Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life. Melville House plans to publish a paperback version of the Jack Smith report shortly after Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Fantasy Magazine will be relaunched this spring. Plus new title bestsellers and interviews with Mike Mignola, Scott Turow, and Pico Iyer.

George Lichman fights crime and reads it too.

She has a wonderful talent for situating books within larger contexts and discourses, allowing librarians to understand how different works might fit within their communities.

In reviews that showcase his enjoyment and knowledge of speculative fiction, Matthew accurately and expressively describes plot details and thoughtfully conveys the reading experience, along with offering apt comparisons and read-alikes.

In every review, TJ’s storytelling ability reflects his exceptional talent to capture each book’s premise and get to its core.

Nat Cassidy is a playwright of off-off-Broadway speculative works and an established actor of stage and television, where he usually plays monsters and villains. He is also the author of the horror novels Mary, Nestlings, and the forthcoming When the Wolf Comes Home. He talks with LJ about the horror genre, his theater background, and indie publishing.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.

The Dublin Literary Award longlist is announced. Jose Ando and Yui Suzuki win Japan’s Akutagawa literary prize, and Shin Iyohara wins the Naoki prize. The Millions releases its “Great Winter 2025 Preview.” LJ recognizes four reviewers of the year. Neil Gaiman responds to misconduct allegations. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Alice Feeney’s Beautiful Ugly. Interviews arrive with Rebecca Yarros, Aria Aber, Shane Burcaw and Hannah Burcaw, Jinger Duggar Vuolo, and Marie Kondo. Plus, People shares an excerpt from Suzanne Collins’s forthcoming “Hunger Games” novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, due out March 18.

In reviews that offer insight, invitation, and illumination, these four LJ reviewers showcase the life-affirming work of reading and writing about books.

The winners of the Nero Book Awards are announced. Peter Gizzi wins the T.S. Eliot Prize for his poetry collection Fierce Elegy. Kaya Press receives the Constellation Award. Earlyword’s January GalleyChat spreadsheet is out now. The Giller Prize will feature writers longlisted for the 2024 award in a new online book club. Multiple women accuse author Neil Gaiman of sexual abuse in a new Vulture story. CrimeReads shares an excerpt from Ruth Ware’s forthcoming novel, The Woman in Suite 11, due out July 8. Plus, a new £2 coin in Britain will feature George Orwell to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the author’s death.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney leads holds this week. Also getting buzz are titles by Robert Crais, Grady Hendrix, Layne Fargo, and Scott Turow. People’s book of the week is I’ll Come To You by Rebecca Kauffman. The Philip K. Dick Award nominees and the Story Prize finalists are announced. Brooke Shields discusses aging and her new memoir, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed To Get Old. SLJ shares how to help those impacted by the California wildfires. Jim Murphy’s Inner Excellence hits #1 on Amazon after a viral video captured Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown reading it during Sunday’s NFC wild-card game. Plus, NYPL acquires the archive of Jhumpa Lahiri.

Thao Thai’s Banyan Moon wins the Crook’s Corner Book Prize for the best debut novel set in the American South. Winners of the Silvers-Dudley Prizes, for literary criticism, arts writing, and journalism, are announced. Crown, a division of Penguin Random House, has launched Storehouse Voices, a new imprint devoted to elevating Black voices, and Simon & Schuster has announced a new audio-first imprint, Simon Maverick, focused on self-published authors. Publishers Weekly has Barack Obama’s list of his favorite books of 2024. Plus, interviews with Chukwuebuka Ibeh, Stuart Turton, and Tracy Clark.

Winners of the Pacific Northwest Book Awards are announced. The shortlists for the Westminster Book Awards, for political books and books by UK parliamentarians, are revealed. Jenna Bush Hager, host of the Read with Jenna book club, is starting her own publishing venture with Penguin Random House. Plus interviews with Graham Norton, Jean Hanff Korelitz, and Liz Moore.

All the June 2025 Prepub Alerts in one place, plus a downloadable spreadsheet of all titles from every post.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Joy-Ann Reid, Alyssa Cole, Essie Chambers, and more are nominated for NAACP Image Awards. Oprah picks Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose for her 110th book club. Other January book club picks include Kate Fagan’s The Three Lives of Cate Kay (Reese Witherspoon and Target), Emma Knight’s The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus (Read with Jenna and Barnes & Noble), and Karissa Chen’s Homeseeking (GMA and Good Housekeeping). LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for top holds title Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams. Reba McEntire will star in and produce an adaptation of Fannie Flagg’s The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion. Plus, Eliza Kennedy’s forthcoming novel Lucky Night will be adapted for the stage.

For those participating in Dry January or anyone looking to consume less alcohol, here’s a tempting array of cookbooks containing ideas for nonalcoholic cocktails.

Start the new year off with a shelf full of inspiration for honing new habits for health, healing, and even fun.

El-Mohtar’s solo debut is a heart-wrenching fairy tale about the bonds of love and family. It’s a murder ballad in book form that will linger long after the final page is turned.

Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.

Beck and Connie are wonderful, delightful characters, and their romance will keep readers turning the pages of the latest from Stein.

The author of Where They Last Saw Her brings back Cash Blackbear in a tragic, unforgiving crime novel that emphasizes the perils of the foster care system for Indigenous children.

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

LitHub releases the list of its most anticipated books of 2025. New year previews also arrive from Electric Lit, BookRiot, and Vogue. Barnes & Noble announces plans to open 60 new stores in 2025. Meta signals an end to its third-party fact-checking program. Diana Gabaldon shares a new Outlander excerpt. Vox examines: “Are men’s reading habits truly a national crisis?” Bestselling thriller author Andrew Pyper has died at the age of 56.

Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams leads holds this week. Also in demand are titles by James Patterson and Brian Sitts, Fiona Davis, Danielle Steel, and Alafair Burke. People’s book of the week is Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin. Audiofile announces the January Earphones Award winners. Jenna Bush Hager selects The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight for her January book club. The film and TV adaptations for Conclave, Wicked, Shōgun, I’m Still Here, and The Penguin win Golden Globes. Plus, what to read in 2025.