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SFF titles that offer out-of-this-world charm.

Encourage environmentally friendly living with a display full of books that offer ideas on wasting less and helping the planet.

Offer some home decorating inspiration with a display full of beautiful books on how to adorn one’s abode.

Two books that explore the talent, creativity, and deep appeal of the Fab Four.

This genre of feel-good fiction has been a hit in Japan and South Korea. Share these English-language translations with patrons on a display shelf.

The daughter of Mama Cass Elliot of the Mamas & the Papas and Blondie guitarist Chris Stein share life stories centered in sound.

National Library Week is celebrated during April, and these multitalented authors have also worked in libraries. Recognize them with a display!

Collections to celebrate National Poetry Month. Slip into blossom season and savor sound, lyric, and line.

In recognition of Arab American Heritage Month, formally established by the Biden administration in April 2021, this reading list celebrates the varied cultures, achievements, and contributions of Arab American people. Through poetry, cooking, short stories, memoirs, and more, the following books reveal many facets of Arab American communities, histories, and experiences. These titles, and those selected from previous years, are available as a downloadable spreadsheet.

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book. 

Autism Acceptance Month recognizes the deliberate shift away from the stigmatized term “autism awareness” toward an inclusive attitude of acceptance, respect, listening, parity, and empowerment. With romance, literary fiction, memoirs, and more, the following reading list honors the many experiences and voices of people within the autistic community. These titles, and those selected from previous years, are available as a downloadable spreadsheet.

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

These contemporary romances by Emily Henry, Jenn McKinlay, and KJ Micciche all feature librarians falling in love.

Feature these genre-spanning reimaginings of fairy-tale favorites.

Captivate with these culinary-themed memoirs, featuring favorite famous chefs and humble home cooks.

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.

These biographies of Candida Royalle and Anna May Wong explore 20th-century feminism, the film industry, sex, race, and gender.

These performing arts memoirs feature Judi Dench’s insights, personal experiences, and knowledge about Shakespeare’s plays and RuPaul baring his soul about his dysfunctional family and the battles he has fought.

Memoirist and poet Michelle Porter offers a groundbreaking debut novel that's an unforgettable, enchanting listen, while an anthology of Indigenous horror stories offers something for every listener, from quietly unsettling tales to gruesome body horror.

A brief, quietly gorgeous audiobook of Yalie Saweda Kamara's poetry reveals new meaning with every listen, and a groundbreaking and deeply passionate poetry collection from Mikeas Sánchez celebrates language and feminine power.

In 1987, Women’s History Month was formally recognized by presidential proclamation as a monthlong celebration to honor women’s contributions, accomplishments, and voices throughout United States history. The following books spotlight extraordinary women from the distant and not-so-distant past—women both imagined and real, famous and little-known, and from varied cultures, countries, and continents.

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

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.

New graphic novel series include a fantastic space opera, an intriguing sci-fi adventure, and an occasionally shocking, sometimes nightmarish, completely unpredictable satire of modern masculinity.

Jazz up performing arts collections with a compulsively readable book about the making of Kind of Blue and the illuminating diary of legendary saxophone great Sonny Rollins.

The month’s baseball books include a wonderfully distinctive and intriguing history with something of a New York bent and a fascinating exploration of the unfulfilled dreams of MLB players.

Dive into Elizabeth Taylor’s filmography with these books about Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Cleopatra.

These guides to parenting neurodivergent children cover behavior, well-being, bullying, and social justice with empathy and expertise.

Savor these contemporary romances featuring a sous-chef at a Michelin-starred Maine restaurant and a hotshot NYC cook who has just relocated to Spunes, OR.

Turn the page into 2024 and explore the books filling the year. Across fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, here are titles, authors, and subjects to note, from future best sellers, to gems readers will treasure, to works destined for award attention.

See the titles LJ's book review editors have on their TBR lists this upcoming season. 

In 1926, Carter G. Woodson envisioned a weeklong commemoration to increase awareness of Black history and culture. In the 1960s, protests against racial injustice transformed it into a monthlong celebration, but Black History Month wasn't formally recognized by the U.S. until 1976. This celebration is a collective part of American history, which this list spotlights. 

These novels span multiple genres and offer bookish delight as they capture the joy of reading, the allure of bookstore and library settings, and the power of books to connect people.

The start of a fresh year is a great time to try something new. Create a shelf full of inspiration.

Future selves will be so happy if they try out this tempting array of meal prep cookbooks.

Readers looking for some romantic, magical escape will appreciate this shelf full of cozy fantasy.

This shelf offers some SFF full of hope and care.

It might be known as a place for fake marriages, but these two novels make love real in Sin City.

Fascinating, complex, imaginative, and scholarly, these two books aid readers interested in exploring spirituality and social activism in art.

An exploration of 1970s Blaxploitation films and a memoir from a legendary actor.

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

Comics seem uniquely equipped to educate about health and medicine, as these stories of sickness and medicine demonstrate.

Many memoirists are dipping their writing tools into the waters of self-disclosure about their feelings and issues ranging from immigration and illness to work and witchcraft. These selections deliver raw honesty, poetic language, and sharp prose.

These photography books illuminate the downtown NYC art scene of the ’70s, an innovator in color photography, peripatetic contemporary street photographers, and Black American studio photographers from the 1850s to the present.

Nora Roberts, Elin Hilderbrand, and Stephen King are just some of the names topping the charts.

Curl up with a cozy mystery!

Inspire some delicious baking fun with these cookbooks featuring cookies.

A story steeped in Irish folklore and mythology, a romantic fantasy quest, a goth-tinged speculative novel, and an entertaining series starter that combines galactic and personal stakes round out this list of first fiction.

Decode destiny and manifest magic with these new parapsychology titles, including books on numerology, tarot, and pendulum magic.

Two titles examine the United States' fresh-water crisis.

Two how-to guides for readers interested in alleviating physical or mental stress via a yoga or mindfulness practice.

Two iconic filmmakers have the lens turned on them in these in-depth examinations.

Beautifully atmospheric worlds powered by magic offer readers immersive stories.

Jane Austen’s classic second-chance romance, Persuasion, gets a modern twist, and her Sense and Sensibility is the inspiration for a work with super-sexy scenes, deeply emotional storylines, and strong Black and Indigenous characters.

In these literary mystery cases, two (fictional) best-selling authors die while in front of their adoring fans.

Popular women singers of the 1950s are spotlighted in two volumes that detail their careers, challenges, and critical acclaim. 

Top reference books for building collections.

The latest season of the Great British Bake Off is streaming, and there are enough cookbooks from GBBO alum to fill a display shelf. On your marks, get set, bake!

Anyone needing a little more joy and relaxation in their lives will welcome a shelf full of books on mindfulness and self-care.

Books about cooking meals with ease and excitement, crafting custom sneakers, collecting ties, and enriching the lives of dogs top this fall edition of LJ’s Life+Style section.

These SF novels examine humanity via artificial intelligence.

Meticulous biographies that provide a fresh take on the lives and careers of Lucille Ball and Charlie Chaplin.

Celebrate spooky season with a display shelf of genre-spanning, witchy fiction published in 2023.

A name-dropping memoir by Joan Collins and a massive, vital biography of Madonna.

Romances and wishes, what could be more ideal?

Sometimes a change of scenery results in romance.

Delight is in store when romance hits the road.

Blending mystery with romance, these titles will thrill.

HEAs featuring witches, shapeshifters, and the supernatural.

Sports romance for the win.

Historical romance is always popular, and several upcoming titles are adding new twists to the subgenre.

Readers seeking magical love stories will enjoy these novels featuring a professor of supernatural studies, a guardian angel, a witch, and a half-demon.

Book clubs seeking titles to discuss will appreciate a shelf full of ideas.

These volumes of Hirschfeld’s illustrations and caricatures form a remarkable visual history of Broadway theater in its heyday.

The story of the iconic SF novel gets told through two nonfiction accounts.

Book lovers will delight in a display full of titles that feature books, bookstores, libraries, and writers across both fiction and nonfiction. 

It’s not all sugar plums and stockings in this holiday season’s mysteries.

From bookstores to small towns, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in these novels of charm, kindness, and corgis too.

Books about books get even more meta when narrators read them aloud.

Reading goes to the birds in these excellent works about birds, birding, and vanishing wildlife. 

Two forthcoming natural history titles feature birds and best practices for humans to interact with them. 

SFF takes on well-known tales, including “Aladdin,” “Hansel and Gretel,” The Nutcracker, and Slavic folklore.

Fall in love with Hollywood while reading these romance novels about the film industry.

In 1990 Congress officially passed a joint resolution signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, designating a National American Indian Heritage Month. Since 1994, this monthlong celebration, often referred to as Native American Heritage Month or National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, has been observed during the month of November. With a mix of literary fiction, mystery, history, and even a cookbook, this booklist recognizes the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples and marks their cultures and accomplishments.

The finalists for the 2023 Kirkus Prizes are announced. The finalists for the 2022 Sidewise Award for alternate history are announced. NYT reports on YA novelist John Green’s involvement in ensuring access to books in Indiana libraries. 

Readers can beat the heat (in their minds at least) with these wintry books full of snowy settings that span all genres.

In these Christmas mysteries, the Queen of England investigates, a bookbinder suspects a Scottish librarian, and a Regency-era widow is snowed in with a murderer.

These wintry holiday romances feature Christmas, the winter solstice, Hanukkah, and Ramadan.

Peter Attia, Bill Gifford, Mark Hyman, and William W. Li are just some of the names topping the charts.

While those on Earth continue to contemplate whether life exists elsewhere, there are definitely aliens inhabiting library bookshelves. Gather up these riveting space operas and stories of first contact for an out-of-this-world display.

In two new titles, the film Maurice is examined for the historical and significant role it played in gay cinema, and the TV sitcom Will & Grace gets some much deserved recognition.

Elvis is in two new books that offer a fresh look at the King of Rock and Roll. The books address the man who helped propel him to fame, the song “Hound Dog,” and the wider cultural implications of different streams of pop and rock music.

In these fantasy novels, hexologists track down a blackmailer, an auditor of magic investigates a dangerous ritual, and a 15-year-old ghostalker is caught in a locked-castle mystery.

Soccer players star in a steamy opposites-attract romance from Meryl Wilsner and a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance from Elena Armas.

Whether readers are stocking up for vacation or looking to travel vicariously, these romances, thrillers, memoirs, and histories all feature memorable road trips and would make a great display. 

Prolific playwright, screenwriter, and actor Charles Busch offers a joyful memoir to capture the hearts of theater and movie buffs, and theater critic Patti Hartigan delights with an outstanding biography of the great playwright August Wilson. 

Encounter a trio of dashing dukes in these historical romances featuring plot twists, hijinks, and happily-ever-afters.

Swashbuckling adventures await readers on this display shelf of fictional forays and true tales of the high seas.

Grady Hendrix, Victor LaValle, and Stephen Graham Jones are just some of the names topping the charts.

Go deep into punk history with John Malkin’s oral history about the roots of activism in punk rock and Marie Arleth Skov’s art-historical look at the incendiary artworks created by a “no future” punk art movement.