Category: New Books

Happy Tuesday, book lovers! It’s perfect reading weather these days. Jk, it’s perfect reading weather every day. And there are great new books out every week! I can’t wait to get my hands on the new Beastie Boys memoir (600 pages!) and also Toddler-Hunting: And Other Stories by Taeko Kono. (I would be lying if I said I didn’t become interested based on the title alone.) I’m going to share a few great books I read below, and you can hear about more exciting new reads on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Rebecca and I talked talked about The Proposal, Family Trust, Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts), and more great books.

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Sponsored by Graphix Books, an Imprint of Scholastic.

From the creator of the acclaimed graphic novel The Witch Boy comes a new adventure set in the world of magic and shapeshifting — and ordinary kids just trying to make friends.

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OH! And don’t forget to enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library.

Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves by Glory Edim

Congratulations to Glory Edim – I am so excited her book is here! Founder of Well-Read Black Girls, a book club, she has turned WRBG into a festival – and now a book! It’s a wonderful collection of essays from such incredible writers as Jesmyn Ward, Jacqueline Woodson, Gabourey Sidibe, Morgan Jerkins, and Tayari Jones, on the importance in seeing your experiences in literature.

Backlist bump: We Inspire Me: Cultivate Your Creative Crew to Work, Play, and Make by Andrea Pippins

The White Darkness by David Grann

It’s not exactly a new book, but a bound edition of Grann’s story on Henry Worsley, a British special forces officer who attempted to recreate Shackleton’s journey with two descendants of the Shackleton expedition in 2008, and to walk to Antarctica alone in 2015. This book will make a great gift for Grann fans, so grab it now before everyone else finds out about it!

Backlist bump: The Old Man and the Gun by David Grann

The Darkest Star by Jennifer L. Armentrout

When Evie Dasher meets Luc during a raid at a nightclub, she assumes he’s a Luxen, one of the aliens now residing on Earth after the devastating war. But Evie learns that Luc is something much more powerful. And as she falls for him, she is drawn into a world she never knew existed. (Note: I have not read the Lux series, so I don’t know anything about the characters or places outside this book, but I really enjoyed it regardless!)

Backlist bump: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

That’s it for me today – time to get back to reading! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Thanks so much for visiting me here each week! Y’all are the best.

xoxo,

Liberty

How is it already Tuesday again??! Good news for us, I guess–it means it’s time for more new books! I can’t wait to get my hands on Everything Under, the new Daisy Johnson. Graywolf moved the pub date up because it was nominated for the Man Booker Prize. I also kinda want to read the biography about Friends. (Don’t @ me.) I’m going to share a few great books I did read below, and you can hear about more exciting new reads on this week’s episode of the All the Books! María Cristina and I talked talked about Marilla of Green Gables, Little, Friday Black, and more great books.

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Sponsored by Epic Reads

Six years ago, sisters Evelyn and Philippa Hapwell were swept away to a strange and beautiful kingdom called the Woodlands, where they lived for years. But ever since they returned to their lives in post-WWII England, they have struggled to adjust. Ev desperately wants to return to the Woodlands, and Philippa just wants to move on. When Ev goes missing, Philippa must confront the depth of her sister’s despair and the painful truths they’ve been running from. As the weeks unfold, Philippa wonders if Ev truly did find a way home, or if the weight of their worlds pulled her under.

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OH! And don’t forget to enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library.

Useful Phrases for Immigrants: Stories by May-lee Cha

Chai’s stories make sharp, thoughtful observations about the world and navigating the Chinese diaspora in America. A historian reunites with an old lover, a young woman discovers her mother is cheating, and a shocking discovery is made at a shopping mall. These stories and more make up this beautiful collection. It’s timely and it shines.

Backlist bump: A Thousand Years of Good Prayers: Stories by Yiyun Li

Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater by Dana Simpson

Phoebe and Marigold Heavenly Nostrils are back in their second graphic novel. This time, Phoebe is headed to theater camp. She assumes Marigold will accompany her as always, but Marigold instead spends all her time with her visiting sister, Florence Unfortunate Nostrils. Phoebe feels left out and wonders if their friendship has reached the end. As always, this is an adorable book, and perfect for any age. I highly recommend reading all the collections when you need to escape the world.

Backlist bump: Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson

A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl by Jean Thompson

This is a poignant novel about three generations of women in the Wise family—Evelyn, Laura, and Grace—who are trying to learn from the mistakes made by their mother before them and live their lives differently. But they each experience their own set of difficulties. Spanning from WWII to present day, it is a moving look at mothers and daughters.

Backlist bump: The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson

That’s it for me today – time to get back to reading! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Thanks so much for visiting me here each week! Y’all are the best.

xoxo,

Liberty

Happy Tuesday, book lovers! It’s time for another round of “Welp, There Goes My TBR.” I’m looking forward to getting my hands on Gmorning, Gnight! by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jonny Sun, and Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay by Phoebe Robinson. And there’s a new Katie O’Neill – it’s called Aquicorn Cove! And a new Barbara Kingsolver.

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Sponsored by Epic Reads

Nathan Bird doesn’t believe in happy endings. An ultimate film buff and aspiring screenwriter, Nate’s seen the demise of too many relationships to believe that happy endings exist in real life. Playing it safe to avoid a broken heart has been his MO ever since his father died and left his mom to unravel—but this strategy is not without fault. His best-friend-turned-girlfriend-turned-best-friend-again, Florence, is set on making sure Nate finds someone else. And someone does come along: Oliver James Hernández, his childhood best friend. Can Nate find the courage to pursue his own happily ever after and tell Ollie his true feelings?

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TL;DR: Sooooo many amazing books out today! I’m going to share a few below, and you can hear about more exciting new reads on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Jenn and I talked talked about Heavy, The Library Book, A Very Large Expanse of Sea, and more great books.

And who is doing the Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon this weekend? I’ll be running their Litsy account, so be sure to pop over and say hello!

OH! And don’t forget to enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library.

Girls Write Now: Two Decades of True Stories from Young Female Voices by Girls Write Now

Wonderful collected writings about teenage-girl life in the United States over the past twenty years, talking about love, sex, identity, family, racism, bullying, immigration, and more. Interwoven with these stories are pieces by authors such as Roxane Gay, Gloria Steinem, Alice Walker, Zadie Smith, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Backlist bump: Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World by Kelly Jensen

Destroy All Monsters: The Last Rock Novel by Jeff Jackson

A dark, chilling book about a rash of killings: musicians being murdered onstage during their performances. Like a 45 record, this book has two sides: you can start with the story of a young woman drawn to the mystery of the violence, or flip it over and learn more about the motivation behind the crimes. Either way, it is also a stinging commentary on the world we live in now.

Backlist bump: Mira Corpora by Jeff Jackson

I’m Ok by Patti Kim

With Ok Lee’s father gone, he and his mother are sinking under the weight of bills. His mother works three jobs already, so Ok brainstorms a way to contribute: a hair braiding business. The girls at school can’t pay him much, but Ok is sure it will help at home, and hopefully be enough so that his mother won’t decide to date their pastor, who has been trying to win her over. This is a charming, heartfelt story about family and responsibility.

Backlist bump: Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

We Can’t Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Art of Survival by Jabari Asim

In eight thought-provoking essays, Asim creates a portrait of a community and culture that has resisted, survived, and succeeded despite centuries of racism, violence, and trauma in America. These essays are not about their oppression, but rather about a community telling their stories in their own voices.

Backlist bump: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Riddance: Or: The Sybil Joines Vocational School for Ghost Speakers & Hearing-Mouth Children by Shelley Jackson

Jackson’s first novel in 12 years! It’s an illuminated novel about a school for children who have trouble speaking, which is run by a woman who believes in life after death. Annnnd she might be the reincarnated version of her past self, and there are a couple of strange deaths that occur on the grounds of the school. It’s partly presented as research about the school, and filled with journal entries, documents, and newspaper clippings. But there’s so much more going on! Its layout is designed by Zachary Thomas Dodson, who wrote Bats of the Republic, which I LOVE.

Backlist bump: Half Life by Shelley Jackson

That’s it for me today – time to get back to reading! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Thanks so much for visiting me here each week! Y’all are the best.

xoxo,

Liberty

Welcome to Tuesday – you made it! You should get some new books as your reward. Just so happens, I do have some wonderful books to recommend today. And happy pub day to Rioter Steph Auteri and A Dirty Word! I am also looking forward to the new Joe Ide, and the new one from K Arsenault Rivera. And the new Sherlock book from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!

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Sponsored by Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep. Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice–save the woman he loves, or everyone else?–while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she’s capable of.

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Also: how excited are you for The Witch Elm, the new Tana French?!? You can hear me talk about it on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Rebecca and I talked also talked about All You Can Ever Know, Bitter Orange, and more great books.

OH! And don’t forget to enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library.

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Real-life BFFs Albertalli and Silvera teamed up to write this meet-cute about two boys who first encounter each other at the post office (where one is mailing back his ex-boyfriend’s things), and who can’t decide if the universe is trying to tell them they should be together or steer clear of one another. Charming, funny, and oh-so clever.

Backlist bump: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

November Road: A Novel by Lou Berney

I have been anxiously awaiting for a new Berney and it finally happened! This is a crime novel about a street lieutenant to a New Orleans’ mob boss who knows the truth of JFK’s assassination. Just hours after the President’s death, he must run for his life, or wind up dead. Along his journey, he picks up another passenger down on her luck, and together they hope to reach California and disappear into the sunset.

Backlist bump: The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney

Odd One Out by Nic Stone

A fantastic YA novel that examines the intersections of sexuality, gender, and race, through the story of three teen friends who might also want to more from one another, romantically, and are also dealing with social injustice. This feels very timely and honest, and Martin seems to have real insight into the situations teens face every day in contemporary America.

Backlist bump: Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Krosoczka is known for his funny Lunch Lady comic series and Star Wars Academy, but this is his personal story about growing up with addiction in his family. It’s heartbreaking but also a very important story for kids to read and understand, especially kids going through something similar. I saw him talk about this a few weeks ago, and everyone was crying by the end. It’s so good. It’s also on the National Book Award longlist this year!

Backlist bump: Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (You’ll need something light after Hey, Kiddo.)

That’s it for me today – time to get back to reading! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Stay rad,

Liberty

Happy first Tuesday! I feel like every Tuesday is a holiday because of all the new books. OMG WE SHOULD GET CAKE. Who can I talk to about this??? But back to books – you can hear about several of today’s new books on this week’s episode of the All the Books! María Cristina and I talked about a few amazing books we loved, including The Oyster Thief, Sawkill Girls, On a Sunbeam, and more.

(And like with each megalist, I’m putting a  next to the books that I have read and loved. But there are soooo many more on this list that I can’t wait to read!)

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Sponsored by Kensington Publishing Corp.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Rebecca Zanetti is back with the first book in a new romantic suspense series featuring operatives in a secretive Homeland Defense department. Fans of action and alpha males will flock to Pippa and Malcolm’s sexy adrenaline pumping journey in Hidden.

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All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung  

The Hollow of Fear (The Lady Sherlock Series) by Sherry Thomas

Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Under My Skin by Lisa Unger

Under the Knife: A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations by Arnold van de Laar

Full Disclosure by Stormy Daniels

Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker

What If This Were Enough?: Essays by Heather Havrilesky

The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai  

A Spark of Light: A Novel by Jodi Picoult

Wild Milk by Sabrina Orah Mark  

Movers and Shakers: Women Making Waves in Spirits, Beer & Wine by Hope Ewing

Moon of the Crusted Snow: A Novel by Waubgeshig Rice

Impossible Owls: Essays by Brian Phillips  

My Father’s Words by Patricia MacLachlan

The Wish Child: A Novel by Catherine Chidgey

The Taiga Syndrome by Cristina Rivera Garza  

Priest of Bones (War for the Rose Throne) by Peter McLean

(Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health by Kelly Jensen  

Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger by Rebecca Traister

The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

Zero Sum Game by S. L. Huang

The Ambassador of What: Stories by Adrian Michael Kelly

Kill the Queen (A Crown of Shards Novel) by Jennifer Estep

Heresy by Melissa Lenhardt  

History vs Women: The Defiant Lives that They Don’t Want You to Know by Anita Sarkeesian and Ebony Adams

The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher

9 From the Nine Worlds (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard) by Rick Riordan

An Easy Death (Gunnie Rose) by Charlaine Harris  

Bluecrowne: A Greenglass House Story by Kate Milford

Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart by Alice Walker  

The Stranger Game by Peter Gadol

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor  

Anaphora by Kevin Goodan

Virgil Wander by Leif Enger  

Consumed by JR Ward

The Truly Brave Princesses (Egalité) by Dolores Brown and Sonja Wimmer

We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet’s Culture Laboratory by Christine Lagorio-Chafkin

Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman  

Hey, Marfa: Poems by Jeffrey Yang

The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism by Steve Kornacki

The Lumberjack’s Dove: A Poem by GennaRose Nethercott

Rock Manning Goes for Broke by Charlie Jane Anders  

The Silver Scar: A Novel by Betsy Dornbusch

Spell (Penguin Poets) by Ann Lauterbach

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography by Eric Idle

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand  

And Fire Came Down (Pushkin Vertigo) by Emma Viskic

There Will Be No Miracles Here: A Memoir by Casey Gerald  

Jean Harley Was Here: A Novel by Heather Taylor Johnson

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee  

Southern Discomfort: A Memoir by Tena Clark

The Chaos of Now by Erin Jade Lange

The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry  

Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden  

Mutiny at Vesta (Shieldrunner Pirates) by R. E. Stearns

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: An Oral History by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally  

Devil’s Day by Andrew Michael Hurley  

Crosslight for Youngbird by Asiya Wadud

Scribe: A Novel by Alyson Hagy

Things to Make and Break (Emily Books) by May-Lan Tan  

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

True Indie: Life and Death in Filmmaking by Don Coscarelli

The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London by Christopher Skaife  

Liza Jane & the Dragon by Laura Lippman and Kate Samworth

Grim Lovelies by Megan Shepherd  

Book of the Just: Book Three of the Bohemian Trilogy by Dana Chamblee Carpenter

Glitter Bomb (A Scrapbooking Mystery) by Laura Childs and Terrie Farley Moran

A Dream Called Home: A Memoir by Reyna Grande

After the Fire by Will Hill

Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug

Star Wars: Lando’s Luck (Star Wars: Flight of the Falcon) by Justina Ireland and Annie Wu

Exit Strategy: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells  

The Best American Short Stories 2018 (The Best American Series) by Roxane Gay and Heidi Pitlor

The Best American Food Writing 2018 (The Best American Series) by Silvia Killingsworth and Ruth Reichl

The Best American Travel Writing 2018 (The Best American Series) by Cheryl Strayed and Jason Wilson

Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s by Leslie S. Klinger  

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow by Alyssa Palombo

Girl Squads: 20 Female Friendships That Changed History by Sam Maggs and Jenn Woodall

False Calm: A Journey Through the Ghost Towns of Patagonia by María Sonia Cristoff, Katherine Silver (Translator)

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold  

Gone So Long: A Novel by Andre Dubus III

Honeybee Hotel: The Waldorf Astoria’s Rooftop Garden and the Heart of NYC by Leslie Day

The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis

The Rhythm Section: A Stephanie Patrick Thriller (Stephanie Patrick Thrillers) by Mark Burnell   

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics by Donna Brazile, Yolanda Caraway, Leah Daughtry, Minyon Moore, Veronica Chambers

The Dream Daughter: A Novel by Diane Chamberlain

The Corset by Laura Purcell

Coldwater Canyon by Anne-Marie Kinney

That’s it for me today! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Stay rad,

Liberty

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Don’t forget to enter our giveaway for a custom book stamp for your personal library!

Happy Tuesday, book lovers! You are going to be so excited when you see what is out today. The new V.E. Schwab! The new Ben Fountain! The sequel to The Vanderbeekers, from our own Karina Glaser! And so many more. (You can check the show notes for All the Books each week for an even bigger list.) I have some wonderful books to recommend today, and you can also hear about several more great titles on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Jenn and I talked about Grand Theft Horse, Rosewater, Transcription, and more.

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Sponsored by Mulholland Books

When Billy, a troubled young man, comes to private eye Cormoran Strike’s office to ask for his help investigating a crime he thinks he witnessed as a child, Strike is left deeply unsettled. Trying to get to the bottom of the story, Strike and Robin Ellacott—once his assistant, now a partner in the agency—set off on a twisting trail that leads them through the backstreets of London, into a secretive inner sanctum within Parliament, and to a beautiful but sinister manor house deep in the countryside.

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A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney

This is a badass retelling of Alice in Wonderland set in Atlanta, where Alice is a warrior who fights monsters in the dream world of Wonderland. When her mentor is poisoned, she must travel deep into the heart of Wonderland for the antidote, but can she retrieve it before she loses her head? I thought I was tired of Alice retellings but this one changed my mind. It’s awesome.

Backlist bump: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino

Jilly’s sister, Emma, is born deaf, something Jilly doesn’t understand. Emma is African American and Jilly is white, and Jilly realizes that they will be treated differently by the world. So she turns to Derek, a deaf, African American ASL user, to help her better understand her sister’s perspective, and to help her see her own mistakes. Gino’s new middle grade novel is about the importance of learning – and learning from our mistakes – and how being open to change and learning about experiences outside our own can make the world a better place.

Backlist bump: George by Alex Gino

The Shape of the Ruins: A Novel by Juan Gabriel Vásquez

A literary mystery set in Colombia that starts with an attempted theft of a bullet-riddled uniform at a museum, and turns into an epic filled with conspiracies, secrets, assassinations, and history. It slyly resonates with our present-day behaviors and situations. This is Vásquez’s most ambitious novel – and it’s a success.

Backlist bump: The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner

Who doesn’t love a “danger in the woods” story??? Liba and Laya live in their cozy family home in a remote village surrounded by vast forests on the border of Moldova and Ukraine. Raised on their parents’ delicious food and tales of caution, they still disregard the danger of strangers (because it wouldn’t be an exciting story if they didn’t) and suddenly find the dark forest closing in on their home. But a family secret may be the key to their salvation.

Backlist bump: Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

That’s it for me today – time to get back to reading! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Stay rad,

Liberty

Welcome back, book fans! Reading anything wonderful these days? I know I am. September continues to be an amazing month for books. There’s a new Deborah Harkness out today, and a new Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I have some more wonderful books to recommend today. I couldn’t decide which ones I wanted to talk about today because I enjoyed so many, so I have a little bit about each of them. And on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Rebecca and I talked about several of our favorite books of 2018 so far, including There There, Stalking God, The Great Believers, and more.

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Just for Book Riot readers: sign up for an Audible account, and get two audiobooks free!

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Here to Stay by Sara Farizan

Bijan Majidi becomes a hero at his school when he makes the winning shot for the team. But anonymous cyberbullying calling him a terrorist brings him a lot of unwanted attention. Farizan has written a timely, important book about fighting prejudice.

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

A retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Brooklyn! Do I need to say more??? Okay: Zuri Benitez wants nothing to do with the Darcy family boys who move in across the street, especially Darius, but then her sister, Janae, falls for the charming Ainsley. Can Zuri fight the rapid gentrification of her neighborhood?

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh

This hard-hitting memoir of working-class poverty in the American Midwest just made the National Book Award longlist. Smarsh details her own childhood growing up in Kansas while  examining the class divide in our country and its treatment of people who struggle to earn a living.

Rosewater (The Wormwood Trilogy) by Tade Thompson

The author of The Murders of Molly Southbourne returns with the exciting start of a new trilogy, about a community in Nigeria built around an alien biodome.

The Bus on Thursday by Shirley Barrett

A darkly comedic horror novel about a woman who escapes to a small town after finishing her cancer treatment, the creepy commune where she stays, and its unstable inhabitants.

How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler by Ryan North

A humorous, fascinating guide at how to survive in any time period, in case you happen to travel back in time and your time machine breaks. I’m being completely serious.

Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini

A powerful picture book about a father’s love for his son, inspired by the current refugee crisis. The author proceeds from this book go to the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation.

The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish by Katya Apekina

Two teen sisters are forced to move in with their estranged father after their mother must enter a hospital. Their difference of opinion over loyalty to their mother causes a rift in their relationship.

The Infinite Blacktop by Sara Gran

I LOVE SARA GRAN SO MUCH. This is the third in her amazing Claire DeWitt series. If you like mysteries with fantastic writing and seriously flawed private investigators, run, don’t walk.

Costume Quest by Zac Gorman

Adorable middle grade graphic novel about monster friends who must visit the human world to find candy on Halloween. Perfect for fans of Over the Garden Wall and Gravity Falls.

Snazzy Cat Capers by Deanna Kent,‎ Neil Hooson (Illustrator)

Cute story about a literal cat burglar named Ophelia von Hairball V who wants to get into the Furry Feline Burglary Institute, so she sets her sights on stealing the giant Himalayan diamond to impress them.

The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang

Cora Lee is a resurrectionist in Manhattan in 1850, meaning she finds bodies for medical schools, no questions asked. But Cora Lee has two hearts, making hers the one body that scientists would pay the most to dissect. And someone doesn’t want to wait any longer…

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

The Man Booker-nominated novel about an eleven-year-old field slave on a Barbados sugar plantation and his journey to freedom. (Psst, read Half-Blood Blues, too.)

Sharky Malarkey: A Sketchshark Collection by Megan Nicole Dong

Based on the popular webcomic. There were cartoons in here about cats that made me literally spit my drink out. SO FUNNY.

These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore

Lepore dissects America’s history and over five centuries of events, and discusses whether the nation has delivered and upheld political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people, or “these truths,” as Jefferson called them.

That’s it for me today – time to get back to reading! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Stay rad,

Liberty

Happy Tuesday, book lovers! As always, I am delighted to be writing this, and I am delighted you are reading this. Books are just so heckin’ swell! (Yes, I am a human exclamation point.) I have some more wonderful books to recommend today, and you can also hear about several more great titles on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Rebecca and I talked about Dactyl Hill Squad, Rage Becomes Her, The Dinosaur Artist, and more.

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And The Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness

With harpoons strapped to their backs, the proud whales of Bathsheba’s pod live for the hunt, fighting in the ongoing war against the world of men. When they attack a ship bobbing on the surface of the Abyss, they expect to find easy prey. Instead, they find the trail of a myth, a monster, perhaps the devil himself…

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Patrick Ness comes a richly illustrated and lyrical tale, one that asks harrowing questions about power, loyalty, obsession, and the monsters we make of others.

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P.S. Don’t forget we’re giving away a 6-month subscription to OwlCrate Jr! Enter here!

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Rumi Seto had her whole life planned out, and everything involved writing music with her beloved younger sister, Lea. But when Lea dies in an accident, Rumi’s mother sends her to stay with family in Hawaii. Helping Rumi process her grief are her neighbors, a surfer boy and an eighty-year-old man. With their help, she will find a way back to the music she and Lea made. Like Starfish before it, this is a powerful and moving novel.

Backlist bump: Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman

The little-told real life crime story that influenced Nabokov’s famous novel: the 1948 kidnapping of eleven-year-old Sally Horner. Using the facts of the case combined with history and investigative reporting, Weinman has written the first full account of the kidnapping, including uncovering Nabokov’s own efforts to hide the fact that he knew of the crime.

Backlist bump: The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett

She Would Be King: A Novel by Wayétu Moore

An exhilarating debut novel about the beginning of Liberia, told through the lives of three characters who meet in the settlement of Monrovia. Moore mixes magical realism with history to produce a beautiful story of a new nation.

Backlist bump: This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa’s First Woman President by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time by José Andrés

The true story of a group of chefs who fed hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Chef José Andrés spent his days there with other cooks, helping create meals that would feed many people at a time. This is his inside take on the crisis. With a forward from Lin Manuel-Miranda and his father, Luis A. Miranda, Jr. (Note: This is one of the last books being published by Anthony Bourdain’s imprint.)

Backlist bump: Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico by Gail Simone, Rosario Dawson, Ruben Blades, and more

That’s it for me today – time to get back to reading! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Stay rad,

Liberty

Hold on to your pumpkin spice-flavored hats – here comes fall reading! The season is kicking off with an AMAZING number of great books this first Tuesday new release day, and I can’t wait for you to see the big list below. Two words: WOW. ZA.

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Sponsored by LITTLE COMFORT by Edwin Hill

Follow a brilliant amateur investigator as she unravels the truth behind two grifters preying on Boston’s elite—perfect for fans of The Talented Mr. Ripley.

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You can hear about several of today’s new books on this week’s episode of the All the Books! María Cristina and I talked about a few amazing books we loved, including Small Fry, Cats vs. Robots, Terra Nullius, and more.

(And like with each megalist, I’m putting a  next to the books that I have read and loved. But there are soooo many more on this list that I can’t wait to read!)

Oh, and don’t forget that Book Riot wants to hear about the ins-n-outs of your reading life – come share them with us in our Fall Reader Survey!

The Wonder That Was Ours by Alice Hatcher 

All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo, Michael Meigs (translator)

Open Mic Night at Westminster Cemetery by Mary Amato

The Rule of One (The Rule of One Series) by Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders

Ponti by Sharlene Teo

Gravesend by William Boyle 

The Accidental War: A Novel (Praxis) by Walter Jon Williams

The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

In Her Bones by Kate Moretti

The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King 

Mortals and Immortals of Greek Mythology by Françoise Rachmuhl and Charlotte Gastaut

24 Hours in Nowhere by Dusti Bowling 

Hunting Houses by Fanny Britt and Susan Ouriou

Worlds Seen in Passing: Ten Years of Tor.com Short Fiction by Irene Gallo 

Black Queer Hoe (BreakBeat Poets) by Britteney Black Rose Kapri

Citizen Illegal (BreakBeat Poets) by José Olivarez

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, Viviana Mazza (translator)

Tell Me You’re Mine by Elisabeth Norebäck

Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman 

The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White

The Wildlands by Abby Geni 

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer

Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs 

Santa Bruce (Mother Bruce) by Ryan T. Higgins

Tales of Valhalla: Norse Myths and Legends by Martyn Whittock and Hannah Whittock

The Chrysalis by Brendan Deneen 

Monster City: Murder, Music, and Mayhem in Nashville’s Dark Age by Michael Arntfield

After the Winter by Guadalupe Nettel, Rosalind Harvey (Translator) 

The Parting Gift: A Novel by Evan Fallenberg

John Woman by Walter Mosley 

Leave No Trace: A Novel by Mindy Mejia

Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough 

The Songaminute Man: A Tribute to the Unbreakable Bond Between Father and Son by Simon McDermott

Three Little Lies by Laura Marshall

Hole in the Middle by Kendra Fortmeyer 

Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian by Jacob Sager Weinstein and Vera Brosgol

The Lost Queen by Signe Pike 

Dare You to Lie by Amber Lynn Natusch

I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel

The Boy at the Keyhole by Stephen Giles 

The Reincarnated Giant: An Anthology of Twenty-First-Century Chinese Science Fiction (Weatherhead Books on Asia) by Mingwei Song (Editor), Theodore Huters (Editor)

Lake Success: A Novel by Gary Shteyngart

Business Pig by Andrea Zuill 

Feminasty: The Complicated Woman’s Guide to Surviving the Patriarchy Without Drinking Herself to Death by Erin Gibson

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell 

Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan

Call Them by Their True Names: American Crises (and Essays) by Rebecca Solnit

Never Ran, Never Will: Boyhood and Football in a Changing American Inner City by Albert Samaha

Sadie by Courtney Summers 

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling 

Good Rosie! by Kate DiCamillo and Harry Bliss

American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time by Tracy K. Smith 

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices by Wade Hudson (Editor), Cheryl Willis Hudson (Editor)

Vanishing Twins: A Marriage by Leah Dieterich 

Chicken by Lynn Crosbie

Still Life with Monkey by Katharine Weber 

Check Out the Library Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales (Weenies Stories) by David Lubar

Foe: A Novel by Iain Reid 

My Mother. Barack Obama. Donald Trump. And the Last Stand of the Angry White Man. by Kevin Powell

I Should Have Honor: A Memoir of Hope and Pride in Pakistan by Khalida Brohi

A Room Away From the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma 

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren

The Cats Came Back (Magical Cats) by Sofie Kelly

Lights! Camera! Alice!: The Thrilling True Adventures of the First Woman Filmmaker by Mara Rockliff and Simona Ciraolo

The Crossroads by Alexandra Diaz

And The Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness, Rovina Cai (Illustrator)

The Forbidden Place by Susanne Jansson

Two Dark Reigns (Three Dark Crowns) by Kendare Blake

Hilda and the Hidden People: TV Tie-In Edition 1 by Luke Pearson and Stephen Davies

The End of the Moment We Had (Japanese Novellas) by Toshiki Okada and Samuel Malissa

Click Here to Kill Everybody: Security and Survival in a Hyper-connected World by Bruce Schneier

Human Hours: Poems by Catherine Barnett 

Patient X: The Case-Book of Ryunosuke Akutagawa by David Peace

When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

Oh My Goth (Harlequin Teen) by Gena Showalter

Cats vs. Robots 1: This Is War by Margaret Stohl and Lewis Peterson 

The Piranhas: The Boy Bosses of Naples by Roberto Saviano, Antony Shugaar (translator)

Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird 

The Frangipani Tree Mystery (Crown Colony) by Ovidia Yu

Kickdown: A Novel by Rebecca Clarren

On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope by DeRay Mckesson

The First Prehistoric Serial Killer and Other Stories by Teresa Solana and Peter Bush

Power to the Princess by Vita Weinstein Murrow and Julia Bereciartu 

That’s it for me today! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Stay rad,

Liberty

Happy last Tuesday in August! Who is excited for new books??? I can’t wait to get French Exit by Patrick deWitt, and Ozy and Millie, a comic by Dana Simpson that came before Phoebe and Her Unicorn. I have some more wonderful books to recommend today, and you can also hear about several more great titles on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Rebecca and I talked about City of Ghosts, Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Nothing Good Can Come from This, and more.

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Sponsored by Kensington Publishing Corp.

Join America’s first Lady of Romance – bestselling author Janet Dailey – as she brings readers the lives and loves of a powerful ranching family, the Tylers, to life from their humble beginnings to their promising future in epic Texan saga that exemplifies the American Dream.  In the vein of her iconic Calder novels, long standing feuds, rustlers, and squatters, are constant threat to the Tylers and their beloved Rimrock Ranch and the land it stands on. But these passionate, strong men and women will stop at nothing to persevere their family’s legacy and flourish.

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PS – Don’t forget we’re giving away 16 of the great books mentioned on the Recommended podcast! Enter here by August 31st for a chance to win.

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson

Woodson, the 2018–2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, returns to YA after Another Brooklyn with a powerful story about six students who meet once a week to discuss their lives. Without adult supervision, they are free to express their fears and anger over racial profiling, the deportation and incarceration of family members, and more. And they are also free of judgement, and come to depend on one another for support.

Backlist bump: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Mirage: A Novel by Somaiya Daud

I’m declaring this the big YA fantasy release of August. Inspired by the author’s Moroccan heritage, Mirage is about eighteen-year-old Amani, who is kidnapped and forced to appear as the body double for her country’s hated princess. Amani is torn between her glamorous new life in the palace and the real threat of death that hangs over her every time she appears as the princess in public. This is a wildly imaginative debut!

Backlist bump: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Dim Sum of All Fears (A Noodle Shop Mystery) by Vivien Chien

I am so delighted by this cozy mystery series, and the fact that they are being published so quickly! This time around, Lana Lee is left running the family restaurant business when her parents go to Taiwan, which she does begrudgingly and without any drama…until the owners of the souvenir shop next door are murdered! That totally counts as drama, right? At least it brings that handsome Detective Adam back around. (FYI: The third book is out in March!)

Backlist bump: Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chen

Housegirl: A Novel by Michael Donkor

A powerful debut about three adolescent girls growing up in different circumstances. Teen Belinda takes young Mary under her wing and teaches her the rules of being a housegirl. But then Belinda is sent from Ghana to London to clean for a family, with the hopes that she will be a good influence on their sullen daughter, Amma. Belinda hates to leave Mary behind and wonders if she will be able to get through Amma’s defenses. The writing in the novel is exquisite, and the story is both sad and charming.

Backlist bump: We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

After her family is killed by the bloodthirsty warlord Aric Athair, Caledonia Styx forms a badass crew of women from similar situations, and sets out on her ship to seek revenge against Athair. Helping her get justice is a former crew member from Athair’s team. But can he be trusted? This is a rollicking high seas adventure!

Backlist bump: The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King

Everyday People: The Color of Life–a Short Story Anthology by Jennifer Baker

A wonderful anthology of short stories featuring new work by established and emerging writers of color, including Mia Alvar, Carleigh Baker, Nana Brew-Hammond, Glendaliz Camacho, Alexander Chee, Mitchell S. Jackson, Yiyun Li, Allison Mills, Courttia Newland, Dennis Norris II, Jason Reynolds, Nelly Rosario, Hasanthika Sirisena, and Brandon Taylor, curated by Jennifer Baker.

Backlist bump: The Best American Short Stories 2017 (The Best American Series) edited by Meg Wolitzer

That’s it for me today – time to get back to reading! If you want to learn more about books new and old (and see lots of pictures of my cats, Millay and Steinbeck), or tell me about books you’re reading, or books you think I should read (I HEART RECOMMENDATIONS!), you can find me on Twitter at MissLiberty, on Instagram at FranzenComesAlive, or Litsy under ‘Liberty’!

Stay rad,

Liberty