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Taylor Jenkins Reid returns with a 1980s set love story amid NASA's Space Shuttle program while YA author Renée Ahdieh makes her adult debut with a novel about young lawyer Jia Song and the wealthy Park family.
Winners of the Goodreads Choice Awards and shortlists for the Nero Book Awards are revealed. NYT releases its selections for the year’s best graphic novels and SFF. CrimeReads shares its picks for the best psychological thrillers of 2024. The Internet Archive has decided not to appeal its copyright case to the Supreme Court. Plus, Page to Screen and an interview with Jacqueline Woodson.
Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits wins the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction. The winners of the Christianity Today Book Awards and the longlist for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize are revealed. Susannah Dickey’s ISDALwins the inaugural PEN Heaney Prize for poetry published in the UK or Ireland. Spotify Wrapped now includes audiobook listens; Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses was the most-streamed audiobook of 2024. Audiofile shares its lists of the best audiobooks of the year.
Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.
Oprah selects Claire Keegan’s novel Small Things Like These for her book club and launches a new podcast. Read with Jenna picks Mary Oliver’s Devotions. Joya Chatterji wins the Wolfson History Prize for Shadows at Noon. Best of 2024 booklists arrive from The Atlantic, The Guardian, NYT, LitHub, Bill Gates and ELLE. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson. Netflix nabs film rights to Callie Hart’s fantasy romance Quicksilver, and Alan Moore’s The Great When will be adapted for television.
A stand-alone fantasy from Tan’s world of the Celestial Kingdom provides all of the beautiful worldbuilding and heart-wrenching emotions of her previous books.
This quirky, humorous romance is well-written and plotted, and readers will quickly fall in love with its interesting characters. Fans of Olivia Dade’s “Spoiler Alert” series will especially fall for this superfan homage from Danan.
The NYT announces the 10 best books of 2024. Reese Witherspoon selects City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim for her December book club. The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall is GMA’s pick. Target’s pick is Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet by Samantha Allen. Liza Minnelli’s forthcoming memoir, due out in 2026, will be adapted for television. Peter Mackay has been named Scotland’s national poet, and Kate Beaton wins the Jan Michalski Prize for Literature. Marian Keyes’s “Walsh Sisters” books will be adapted for TV in Ireland and the UK. Plus, Oxford University Press selects “brain rot” as its word of the year.
Brandon Sanderson’s Wind and Truth leads holds this week. People’s book of the week is Trial by Ambush: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth About the Case of Barbara Graham by Marcia Clark. Jon Ransom wins the Polari Book Prize. LJ's Best Books 2024 arrives,NYT names 100 Notable Books of 2024, and NPR releases their 2024 Books We Love. Costco announces it will stop selling books year-round in stores. Plus, LJ’s December starred reviews.
Sea dwellers, fortune tellers, tricksters, faeries, roving robots, and other fantastical creatures inhabit the pages of these out-of-this-world novels.
These volumes’ lyric and reflective lines cry out against oppression, war, and annihilation and praise the complexity and absurdity of human existence.
As much as LJ editors love to read, we also hold deep admiration for book and cover design. Each year we gather to debate how image, text, and color help create the mood of a book and invite readers into the story. These 10 choices represent the standout covers from our best books and highlight trends in jacket design, arresting imagery, and just how important the aesthetics of book art can be.
Frampton (Her Adventures in Temptation) starts a new series with this Victorian-set novel that stresses friendship, being true to oneself, and finding appreciation.
Thompson fuses lyrical reflections on his childhood with a thoughtful exploration of economic and cultural exchange to create a poignant meditation on labor, family, and the many ways in which global and personal endeavors intertwine, often unexpectedly. A visually rich, emotionally resonant work of true ambition and sophistication from one of the most sensitive storytellers currently working in any medium or genre.
The glimpse inside the opulent world of a Russian oligarch is fascinating, with international intrigue ripped from the headlines. Creating compelling apprehension, this suspenseful thriller keeps readers off-balance and unsure whom to trust. Finder achieves a perfect one-sitting read.
The penultimate volume of the “Moonfall” series, after The Cradle of Ice, has some exposition lag, but the fast pace of its action sequences will keep epic fantasy readers engaged.
Fawcett delivers a perfect new entry in this series, which will enrapture readers with fantastic worldbuilding. A great pick for those who are fans of both Marie Brennan’s A Natural History of Dragons and Jane Austen novels.
New York Times publishing-industry correspondent Harris excels at depicting middle-aged people reckoning with their earlier choices and struggling with how they want to live the rest of their lives. Recommended for most fiction collections.
This quirky, humorous romance is well-written and plotted, and readers will quickly fall in love with its interesting characters. Fans of Olivia Dade’s “Spoiler Alert” series will especially fall for this superfan homage from Danan (Do Your Worst).
Wang writes a quiet, introspective novel of relationships, family obligations, and resentments that build over time and what makes a family. Highly recommended.
Lenker (It Happened One Fight) writes a romance novel that also embraces the real struggle of women in the 1930s who wanted a career outside the home. The story balances the trials and tribulations of love, longing, and ultimately, success.
Blake’s (The Atlas Complex) command of morally gray characters and grim humor creates a dramatic, Succession-esque novel about a powerful, dysfunctional family.
Fans of Killers of a Certain Age will enjoy the return of the four senior assassins whose escapades from the past and present are intermixed in a fast-paced, humorous adventure. The books stand out for their wit and unlikely friendships.
Readers who crave a love story between characters with personal and professional goals beyond romance will find Holiday’s (Canadian Boyfriend) measured, thoughtful novel deeply satisfying.
This novel pays homage to the classic with a fresh point of view that will please Gatsby fans and mystery readers. Both Gigi and the novel are clever and breathe new life into one of the definitive novels of the 20th century.
In creating an origin story for the legendary thief, Epstein deftly addresses Oliver Twist’s longstanding “Fagin problem,” not by sanitizing or disowning him, as other adaptations have done, but by lending him a humanity that Dickens’s caricature did not. It’s a lively, finely drawn reimagining and a deeply reverent corrective of a literary monument.
This refreshingly irreverent, fast-paced, and often delightfully silly series is perfect for fans of superhero epics, Love and Rockets–style underground graphic novels, retro storytelling, experimental art comics, and quirky comedy.
There is no shortage of pathos in the heartbreaking stories of Peter’s clients or the accounts of abuse experienced by Ann’s retreat guests. But Haslett’s (Imagine Me Gone) melancholy novel finds some resolution and ends on an uplifting note for its asylum seekers, troubled women, mother, and son.
Newman’s (The Undying of Obedience Wellrest, under the name Nicholas Bowling) adult debut is a stiflingly beautiful blend of the personal apocalypse of Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World with the mysterious introspection of Susan Fletcher’s The Night in Question.
Told with wit and verve, this is the portrait of the old raconteur and rabble-rouser as a young man and will charm readers who enjoyed Marty’s previous outings. It’s also a fascinating portrayal of the early wild and woolly days of Silicon Valley, as seen from the perspective of someone in the trenches at the start of it all. Highly recommended for readers of the series and anyone fascinated by the era.
A robust visually enriched resource that offers detailed lessons about geography, history, and the people who have shaped North America over millennia.
Historical personalities bring this real story to life in a riveting account of the first U.S. murder trial for which there is a transcript. The author of the “Pink Carnation” series leans on that transcript for the trial testimony in a gripping novel that will appeal to true-crime buffs, those interested in Hamilton and Burr, and historical mystery fans.
A compelling blend of science fiction and horror, conceptualized as reality TV with huge consequences. Readers of SF thrillers will be chilled and thrilled.
The wilderness surrounding Haven’s Rock is itself a major character in the book, and Casey’s approaching due date adds urgency to the plotline. For fans of strong women protagonists and Armstrong’s Rockton series, of which “Haven’s Rock” is a spin-off.
A valuable edition to Hurston’s canon that will appeal both to her fans and to new readers of her work. Pair with Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens.
This is complex science fiction for readers who love the compelling political drama of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine more than the lasers and photon torpedoes of The Next Generation.
This is a satisfying read for those seeking a romance that balances steamy moments with substantial character development and cultural insight. It’s particularly well-suited for readers who enjoy stories of successful women navigating their careers, with a side of love.
This well-written, well-researched, and fast-paced work showcases why so many people love golf. It’s a title to give golf fans or readers looking to get hooked on the sport.
Twists and turns abound in this unique, witchy romance from Crutcher (What Became of Magic), and the writing, with effective worldbuilding and carefully crafted characters, will have readers entthralled. Highly recommended.
Ideal for fans of horror like Darcy Coates’s Dead of Winter, this novel is crime fiction blended with horror and psychological suspense. Mahoney (Ghostlove) has created a work that combines a monster story with the claustrophobia of a massive blizzard while also exploring PTSD and its effects on relationships and individuals.
Those who are drawn to explorations of horrific possibilities of the interconnected world, such as Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca, or apocalyptic stories with a social critique, such as the “Newsflesh” trilogy by Mira Grant, will find much to love here.
Frantz (The Seamstress of Acadie) always provides an exquisitely researched historical setting; here she deals unflinchingly with the controversial legacy of the tobacco lords and the early stages of rebellion in the American colonies. Those who like to read beyond the victor’s perspective in history will also enjoy A River Between Us by Jocelyn Green and The Tea Chest by Heidi Chiavaroli.
This is chock-full of Scalzi’s (Starter Villain) trademark humor, and readers who love humorous science fiction in general and this author in particular are going to be rolling on the floor laughing out loud while reading.
An out-of-the-ordinary treat for serious fiction readers. Distinct in subject matter but not tone, this book echoes Daphne du Maurier’s Gothic novel Rebecca and Poe’s fevered tales.
A beautiful, unsettling, and ultimately touching story about connection, transformation, and the possibility of moving forward in life, despite the burden of an unresolved past.
Readers of the series will enjoy this origin story for an earlier character, while those looking for a place to begin will find this an excellent entry point.
Full of heart and heat, this third “When in Rome” story (after Practice Makes Perfect) is not to be missed and can be read as a stand-alone, with appeal for romance and relationship fiction readers.
In this reimagining of Sweet Home Alabama, Kumar (Say You’ll Be Mine) writes an emotion-filled, second-chance romance, perfect for fans of Kennedy Ryan.
A stirringly soulful action extravaganza, sure to enthrall fans of gundam or military anime and manga, as well as those interested in science fiction with complex characterization and probing questions about human nature.
With cultural interest in Barbie still sky high, this novel is a great choice for historical fiction readers interested in strong, complex women, both in and out of the toy aisle.
In a novel that should be required reading, Miller (The American Queen) movingly explores the aftermath of racial trauma and how resilient people can open their hearts again. Read-alikes exploring Black historical experiences include When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson Browne and Under the Tulip Tree by Michelle Shocklee.
Everett returns in the second “Damsels of Discovery” novel (after The Love Remedy), which could almost serve as the fourth book of her “Secret Scientists of London” series, as the two intersect significantly here. Readers of both series should be thrilled with this entry.
The inclusion of real historical figures (the authors, DCI Wyles) adds to the enjoyment of Limoncelli’s traditional mystery. Fans of Christie or Rhys Bowen will appreciate the details of the gala and the prewar intrigue.
The enemies-to-lovers trope shines in this lush romantasy. Listeners of Sarah J. Maas and Claire Legrand will want to add Warwick’s latest to their shelves.
Listeners desiring a world with a unique identity and a delightfully unexpected twist will want to pick up this novel reminiscent of T. Kingfisher’s A Sorceress Comes To Call and Kerstin Hall’s Asunder.
Highly recommended for libraries looking to expand their contemporary South Asian romance collections and perfect for fans of authors such as Sonali Dev and Uzma Jalaluddin.
Juicy and interesting, this romp of a mystery will have listeners shocked, laughing, and intrigued all at the same time. A purchase for mystery fans who want to enjoy a murder but not take it too seriously.
This evocative literary novel reveals the path of immigration, thwarted attempts to right a wrong, and the recalibration of the meaning of family and love.