Newsletters Dev – Page 49 – getting it done!

Historical Romance for Cozy Season

Post author By Rachel Brittain
Post date October 31, 2023

Sponsored by

Hi historical fiction fans!

I’m writing today’s newsletter with a hot chai latte in hand and way too many things on my to-do list. Who can relate? I always associate fall with coziness, but there’s so much to do this time of year. So many big holidays are just around the corner, and life is in full swing. But we just have to get on with it, don’t we?

That said, I’m talking historical romance novels this week because I feel like we could all use a nice dose of coziness to combat the cold and busyness of the season.

We’re here to enrich your reading life! Get to know the world of books and publishing better with a subscription to The Deep Dive, Book Riot’s staff-written publication delivered directly to your inbox. Find a guide to reading logs and trackers, hear about why the bestseller list is broken, analyze some anticipated books, and more from our familiar in-house experts. Get a free subscription for weekly content delivered to your inbox, or upgrade to paid-for bonus content and community features connecting you to like-minded readers.

Bookish Goods

Book Outline Necklace from Witting Craft

A stylish accessory that also shows off your love of reading? I think we’ve found it! $33

New Releases

The Glutton by A.K. Blakemore (October 31, 2023)

During the French Revolution, a boy with a voracious appetite begins down a path that will bring him fame and infamy, alongside the name “The Glutton of Lyon.” Tarare wasn’t always like that, but by the time he lay dying in a Versailles hospital under the watchful eyes of a young nun, he must be monitored at all times to control his great and terrible appetite.

The Liberators by E.J. Koh (November 7, 2023)

Across four generations of two Korean families, the voices of perpetrators and liberators, victims and victors tell the story of turbulent times. From the height of the South Korean military dictatorship to the Sewol ferry accident, Koh explores what it means to love and live in a time of war.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendation

The temperature is dropping, the blankets and hot drinks are coming out, and that means all I want are some good, cozy reads. These historical romance novels should do the trick.

The Marquis Who Mustn’t by Courtney Milan

A fake engagement based on a real engagement between two people with secret agendas of their own in late 19th century England? Yes, please! When a young woman with dreams of taking an “ambulance class” for first responders is told the man in charge of her must sign off on the class, she claims the handsome Chinese nobleman she just met is her fiancé. Kai has reasons of his own to agree to this arrangement, not least of which is the fact that he and Naomi really were betrothed as children.

A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles

A new earl fending off claims to his positions from all sides finds a surprising ally in one of his enemies, a smuggler who also happens to have the secretarial skills and scheming brain he needs to succeed. Despite their growing feelings and romantic entanglement, can a relationship really work between two men whose motives—and allegiances—are at odds?

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on Goodreads, Instagram, and Litsy, my favorite bookish social media.

Right now, I’m reading The Dancing Plague by John Waller. What about you?

Unusual Suspects

The Best Mystery of 2023 Lists Have Begun

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date October 31, 2023

Sponsored by

Hello mystery fans! Happy Halloween-candy-is-half-off day! Related: my brain is not computing that it is, in fact, already November.

Bookish Goods

cat reading funny book sticker by StickEmUpDE

Please teach me your ways! ($10––on sale for $3 until Nov 3)

New Releases

Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie

For fans of procedurals, archeologist leads, and MCs returning home to solve a mystery!

Syd Walker studied forensic anthropology but works instead for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Rhode Island branch, trying to preserve Indigenous history. She doesn’t return home often, having left behind her parents, a sister with addiction issues, and her childhood, where she witnessed her childhood friend and parents’ murders. But she has to leave her pregnant wife and head back to Oklahoma when an old badge of hers is found in a skull, and her sister is now missing.

This is a great procedural––with a strong character voice right from the start––about being haunted by the past, struggling with the present, and the history of real atrocities towards Indigenous people, especially Indigenous women and Two-Spirit.

I really enjoyed the audiobook, narrated by Carolina Hoyos and Erin Tripp, and will absolutely read any future books if this becomes a series.

(TW addiction, past survived overdose/ mentions past child abuse/ graphic child harm)

Kill for Love by Laura Picklesimer

For fans of satire, a-hole women on a killing spree of men, and readers who maybe want a gender-swapped American Psycho!

Tiffany isn’t winning any kind of decent human award: she grew up being awful to her younger sister, is awful to her sorority sisters, and is basically spoiled and behaving as such. And now she’s found something to actually make her feel something and open her appetite: killing men! Quickly realizing––and even checking with a lawyer for advice––that she’ll quickly be suspected if she continues killing frat guys, she expands her killing spree to random prey. But satisfying her murderous desires isn’t enough when copycat killers begin. The boyfriend she’s trying to make “the one” won’t stop grieving, and the relationship starts to show cracks…

(TW fatphobia, diet culture, eating disorders, disordered eating/ mentions past parent cancer death/ date raper, drink drugging/ hidden camera to record sex/ domestic abuse)

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

I was working on lists for January 2024 releases and noticed that there are a few mysteries where a group of people are trapped somewhere (on a cruise, on a train, in a villa), so I thought I’d do a couple isolated/remote mysteries.

Breathless by Amy McCulloch

Trapped on a snowy mountain!

On the eighth-highest peak in the world, Manaslu, you’ll find Cecily Wong. Why is she suddenly climbing to the summit? Because to get the career she wants, she needs to interview a famous mountaineer, Charles McVeigh, and he will only let Cecily interview him if she makes it to the summit with him. But when people start dying, Cecily may need to focus on staying alive over getting that interview…

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita

Trapped in a town where all the residents live in the same building!

After a teenager finds severed body parts in the remote Point Mettier, Alaska, Anchorage detective Cara Kennedy gets snowed in by a blizzard in the town where all 205 residents live in the same high-rise building. Now partnered with local officer Joe Barkowski, she’s going to have to figure out what happened, even though the residents of this community have no desire to talk.

The audiobook has a great multicast: Aspen Vincent, Shannon Tyo, and Anna Caputo.

(TW questions suicide as cause for case/ past child deaths/ recounts domestic abuse, murder/ recounts child abuse)

News and Roundups

Taron Egerton to Star in Feature Adaptation of Jordan Harper Crime Thriller She Rides Shotgun

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Series in Development at Amazon MGM Studios Sets Veena Sud as Showrunner (EXCLUSIVE)

14 Best Detective Films for Solving a Mystery

They May Not Be The Most Targeted, But They’re Still Banned

Publishers Weekly put out its Best Mystery/Thriller of 2023 list and placed two of the crime novels under the fiction category, separate from mystery.

Ending Censorship Applies to Prison, Too

For mystery lovers, five new novels for your nightstand

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See 2023 releases and upcoming 2024 releases. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations!

Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy — you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

Read This Book

Read This Book…

Post author By Kendra Winchester
Post date October 31, 2023

Sponsored by

Welcome to Read This Book, a newsletter where I recommend one book that needs to jump onto your TBR pile! All throughout November, I’ll be sharing some books written by Indigenous authors from across Turtle Island (North America).

And Then She Fell: A Novel by Alicia Elliot

Alicia Elliott, a Tuscarora writer from Six Nations of the Grand River, writes about Alice, a young Mohawk writer trying to write a novel about her people’s creation story while also caring for her young daughter.

From the outside, Alice seems to have the perfect life. Her white husband is wonderful. He’s kind, caring, and quick to take over caring for their daughter so she can have a break. But there’s something just off about him. He downplays the racism Alice experiences from her husband’s colleagues. Her husband doesn’t want her family around to help with the baby because he feels that they should be able to parent on their own.

Disconnected from her Nation, her community, Alice feels like she’s losing her mind. The trees are sending her pictures of their memories. Pocahontas, the Disney version, keeps talking to her, describing how Disney got her story all wrong. Alice keeps seeing cockroaches all over the house. And Alice can’t help but think that her half-white newborn daughter hates her.

Elliott uses horror elements to communicate Alice’s different experiences of the world. Alice experiences visions and voices that she knows can’t be really there…or can they? Alice spirals, and we, as readers, aren’t sure what’s real and what’s not either. As Alice experiences more and more microaggressions from the white people in her “well-to-do” neighborhood, her husband continues to gaslight her. Alice wonders if she, with all of her intergenerational trauma, is too “damaged” to continue with her “perfect” life with her husband in their white neighborhood.

I loved the suspense of this novel. As Alice moves through her everyday life, we can’t help but feel with her that she’s fallen down the rabbit hole into a white world that is more than happy to remind her that she doesn’t belong. What is real? What is not? Is she going to wake up and realize that this was all a dream, just like her namesake in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?

That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.

Happy reading, Friends!

~ Kendra

Uncategorized

103123-OctEACPushes-2023-Giveaway

Post author By Vivek Patel
Post date October 31, 2023

We’re teaming up with HTP Books to give away a pair of AirPods Pro to one lucky winner!

Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!

Here’s a bit more about our partner: HTP Books newsletter celebrates books and popular culture, connecting readers, booksellers, librarians, and book clubs with relevant content and resources.

Giveaways

103023-OctEACPushes-2023-Giveaway

Post author By Vivek Patel
Post date October 30, 2023

We’re teaming up with HTP Books to give away a pair of AirPods Pro to one lucky winner!

Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!

Here’s a bit more about our partner: HTP Books newsletter celebrates books and popular culture, connecting readers, booksellers, librarians, and book clubs with relevant content and resources.

The Kids Are All Right

Cats, Art, And More!

Post author By Margaret Kingsbury
Post date October 30, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Tuesday and happy Halloween, kidlit friends! What’s everyone dressing up as for Halloween? My daughter decided to go as Hello Kitty dressed as a witch, and to go with her costume, I’ve decided to be Chococat. I chose Chococat primarily because he’s the easiest Hello Kitty character to dress as.

Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

Holographic Reading Cat Sticker by RobotDanceBattle

These holographic cat stickers are mew-tastic! $3

New Releases

On the Tip of a Wave by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Cátia Chien

This stunning picture book biography tells the story of activist and artist Ai Weiwei in Ho’s trademark lyrical free verse. Ai Weiwei was born in China in 1957 and spent much of his youth living in a Chinese labor camp. This picture book particularly focuses on his “Safe Passage” art installation in Berlin, which is comprised of discarded lifejackets from refugees. Refugee stories inspire many of Weiwei’s pieces. Chien’s gorgeous illustrations nod to his “Safe Passage” piece with pops of orange in every page spread. I would read this to accompany discussions on art, activism, and refugees.

Winter’s Gifts by Kaitlin B. Curtice, illustrated by Gloria Félix

There aren’t many picture books about Winter Solstice traditions, and this one written from an Indigenous Potawatomi perspective is lovely. Dani’s family teaches her about the many gifts winter brings, like resting and the time to tell stories. She’s excited to study the moon’s phases at school and celebrate Grandmother Moon and the sun’s birthday with her family. But when she tells her friends at school about her family’s celebrations, they laugh at her. At first, this makes her sad, but her supportive family helps her to move past her classmates’ mockery and enjoy winter’s gifts. Her friends are more open-minded in the end.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

Since both my daughter and I are dressing up as some variation of a cat for Halloween (my daughter has dressed as a cat almost every year), I thought I would recommend some new cat children’s books!

Purring, Rolling, Stretching by Chihiro Ishizu, illustrated by Nanako Matsuda

This adorable board book follows a day in the life of a white cat. Each page has one action sentence—”The cat slurps a drink of water”—followed by the action repeated three times—”slurp, slurp, slurp.” Pages are mostly black and white with pops of vibrant color. My daughter particularly likes the page where the cat poops.

The Kitten Story by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Brittany Cicchese

This adorable picture book based on a true story would also make a great winter read. A family has decided to adopt their first kitten, and everyone has different ideas about what to name the kitten. Surprisingly, they agree on Nigel, but when the youngest member of the family and the mom arrive at the shelter, they find it’s shut down. The next day, the mom goes to another shelter alone, but instead of bringing home a kitten, she brings home a cat, and she’s named him something completely different. This is such a sweet story.

Ethan and the Strays by John Sullivan, illustrated by Hatem Aly

Ethan walks to school with his older brother, and one day, he sees stray kittens and ends up naming them. He worries about them when the weather turns cold. He and his brother take the kittens to a local vet clinic where they’re spayed and neutered. Ethan and his brother are also given boxes with straw to help the kittens stay warm. Ethan ends up bringing one of the kittens home. There are a lot of stray cats where my mom lives, and she converted a shed into a heated barn for them during the winter (and she also captures them to be spayed and neutered). It’s great to see practical stories about how to help the feral cat population like this.

My Cat Does Ballet by Robert Heidbreder, illustrated by Matt Schu

Now for a completely different kind of picture book. A boy chronicles all the amazing ballet moves his cat performs—glissades on slippery floors, pas de deux with the new puppy, en pointe while staring out the window. His friends also have cats capable of amazing feats, like stealing stuffed animals, riding vacuum cleaners, and sliding down banisters. Worried that his friends don’t believe that his cat does ballet, the boy invites his friends and their cats to a party at his house. What follows is a most improbable ballet performance.

I am sadly very allergic to cats and don’t have any. They’re my daughter’s favorite animal, however, so we have at least a dozen cat stuffed animals. My daughter missed school this week due to strep, and we ended up pretend-playing vet clinic for much of the week. I’m sad to say Jiji fell and broke a leg, but thankfully, Doc McStuffins was able to help.

If you’d like to read more of my kidlit reviews, I’m on Instagram @BabyLibrarians, Twitter @AReaderlyMom, and blog irregularly at Baby Librarians. You can also read my Book Riot posts. If you’d like to drop me a line, my email is kingsbury.margaret@gmail.com.

All the best,

Margaret Kingsbury

New Books

Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date October 30, 2023

Sponsored by

Hello, star bits! Somehow, it is already the last day of October. (Probably through the passage of time, idk.) And that means it’s Halloween! For today’s newsletter, to celebrate the holiday and because it’s a small new release day, I’ve decided to share my five favorite scary books of 2023! You know me, I like to read horror all year long, but today it is especially relevant.

As far as new releases, at the top of my list of today’s books that I want to buy are The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters, A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather, and Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond by Henry Winkler. You can hear about more of the fabulous books coming out today on this week’s episode of All the Books! Kelly and I talked about great books we loved that are out this week, including The Reformatory, The Space between Here & Now, and Edith Holler.

And now it’s time for everyone’s favorite game, “Ahhhhhhh, My TBR!” Here are today’s contestants!

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

This first pick is actually out today! It’s almost 600 pages from one of the greatest horror writers of our generation. It’s set at the segregated Gracetown School for Boys during 1950 in the Jim Crow South. Robbie is a 12-year-old Black child who is sentenced to six months at the “school” for kicking a white child. The school is legendarily violent and terrifying, and from the start, he sees the haints (ghosts) of several boys who died there, usually at the hands of the adults who work there. Meanwhile, his sister is fighting to try and get his release, but it may already be too late for Robbie. It’s a frightening novel, not just because of the ghosts, but because this is based on real schools and events.

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez, Pablo Gerardo Camacho (Illustrator), Megan McDowell (Translator)

And this is a giant novel of horror upon horror upon horror! When young Gaspar’s mother dies, his father agrees to bring him to his wife’s family. But holy cats, the family is so scary and effed up. They think they need the boy for their disturbing cult, in which the members commit atrocities in their search for immortality. Can Gaspar’s father save him from his fate? This reminded me a bit of Clive Barker and a bit of The Passage by Justin Cronin. It’s a doorstopper of upsetting fun from a fabulous author.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle

Brad Pitt voice: Awwwww, what’s in the box??? From the author of The Changeling comes this historical horror novel. It’s 1915, and Adelaide Henry is making her way from California to Montana to hopefully claim a piece of land for herself as part of the Homestead Act. But things are not easy for a Black woman by herself. Luckily, she has a trunk she keeps with her at all times that contains…something. And as she forges a new life for herself, she’s going to need to open it.

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

And this is an excellent debut about a mother’s love. When Magos loses her young son, her grief drives her to do something disturbing: She cuts a piece of her son off and keeps it in a jar. She heard an old tale about people being reborn this way. And imagine her surprise and joy when the thing in the jar starts to grow and move…but then it also needs to feed. Magos will have to figure out just how far she’ll go to have a second chance with her son.

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

And last but not least, a scary book about apples, worthy of a Stephen King comparison. In the small town of Harrow, an apple orchard has yielded the most delicious apples the residents have ever had. So delicious they will do anything to have more. But not everyone is sure that this new apple craze is healthy. As the residents grow stronger (and more dangerous), will someone step in and put a stop to the madness? As disturbing as you think it is, I promise it’s worse.

Honorable mentions include The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw, Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones, Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison, The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown, and Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele.

This week, I am reading Ours by Phillip B. Williams and Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra. In non-book things, I watched the Muppets Haunted Mansion special, which turned into watching The Muppet Show. I’ve rewatched half of the first season so far (after I watched the Alice Cooper episode from the third season, of course), and it’s a trip. I haven’t seen it since I was little, and I didn’t fully appreciate just how weird it was back then. (“I’ve never known a toothache this bad before…”) The song stuck in my head this week is “Toxic” by Britney Spears. And here is your weekly cat picture: Zevon is going as taffy for Halloween.

Thank you, as always, for joining me each Tuesday as I rave about books! I am wishing you all a wonderful rest of your week, whatever situation you find yourself in now. And yay, books! See you next week. – XO, Liberty

Swords and Spaceships

Halloween Vibes Up to 11

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date October 30, 2023

Sponsored by

Happy Halloween, shipmates! Oh, and I guess it’s Tuesday as well, technically speaking. It’s Alex, and I have turned the Halloween vibes up to eleven over here — so be aware that today’s book recommendations are definitely on the dark-to-horror side of SFF. Colorado’s annual Halloween snowstorm managed to miss the mark by a few days, so we might get to see some trick-or-treaters who aren’t wearing their costumes under little snowsuits…here’s hoping! Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I hope you have enough candy on hand! I’ll see you on Friday.

Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here are two places to start: the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, which provides medical and humanitarian relief to children in the Middle East regardless of nationality, religion, or political affiliation; and Entertainment Community Fund, which supports entertainment workers who are striking for living wages and a future where humans can continue to create art for each other.

Bookish Goods

Black Cat Suncatcher by Artixcraft

You can’t expect me to let the official birthday of all black cats go by without one more neat black cat thing! This wooden suncatcher is absolutely gorgeous (and can be personalized). $18

New Releases

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

In June of 1950, 12-year-old Robbie Stephens, Jr., is sent to an infamous reformatory school for the crime of kicking the son of the largest landowner in town for harassing his older sister. But with him, Robbie brings an unusual skill; he can see haints (ghosts). It’s something that once brought him comfort after the death of his mother, but now it reveals the horrifying truth of the Gracetown School for Boys.

A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather

Sarah Davis is a midwife’s apprentice with uncanny secrets that sent her fleeing to London. When unnatural babies begin to be born across the city, ones with webbed fingers and toes and the dark eyes of fish, she well knows what is going on. But she keeps her head down still…until she is hired by the wealthy Lady Wren and discovers that her husband, a famous architect, has his own obsession with the uncanny that might well unmake the earth…

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

This…is…Halloween! And to celebrate, we’re doing a second helping of spooky recent releases, these ones from small and indie publishers!

An Ordinary Violence by Adriana Chartrand

Dawn is forced back to her old home in a tiny prairie city haunted by the pain of her fractured family when her big city life implodes. Worse, her brother Cody, to whom she has not spoken since he was sent to prison seven years ago, is out…and he has a mysterious new friend. Soon, Dawn discovers increasingly sinister evidence that Cody and his friend are reaching into the supernatural world.

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca

Henley’s Edge is a quiet, peaceful small town in Connecticut…one where there’s been a string of mysterious disappearances. For a grieving widower sheltering a dark secret, these draw him into the orbit of Heart Crowley, who wants followers for a dark magic ritual. For local law enforcement, these are ordinary crimes to be solved, and the investigator soon finds a deep well of unbridled hatred and bigotry at the heart of it all.

See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.

Check Your Shelf

Literary It-Girls

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date October 30, 2023

Sponsored by

Welcome to Check Your Shelf. As always, Halloween season has sped by faster than I’d like. I know I can read horror novels and watch scary movies all year, but there’s something special when the entire month is dedicated to all things dark, demented, and disturbing. Now all of the streaming horror movie collections are going to be replaced by movies with cozy Thanksgiving vibes, but I’m not ready to let go of the spooky stuff just yet!

Don’t forget, whether you’re looking for romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Collection Development Corner

Publishing News

The makings of a literary it-girl.

New & Upcoming Titles

Publisher’s Weekly has released their list of the Best Books of the Year!

Tor has acquired three more novels from Seanan McGuire to continue and complete the Alchemical Journeys series.

Chuck Tingle has a new book coming out in July 2024.

Tom Selleck is publishing a memoir, which will be released in May 2024.

20 recent SFF books that will blow your mind.

19 new historical romances to make you swoon.

40 Canadian books to read this fall.

The best new fantasy and historical fiction of the year.

Weekly book picks from Crime Reads, LitHub, New York Times.

The best debut crime novels of October.

Barnes & Noble’s November/December picks for adults, teens, and children.

November picks from Epic Reads.

What Your Patrons Are Hearing About

Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever – Matt Singer (LA Times, New York Times, Washington Post)

The Woman in Me – Britney Spears (New York Times, USA Today, Variety)

Organ Meats – K-Ming Chang (New York Times, Shondaland)

The Reformatory – Tananarive Due (LA Times, New York Times)

Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream – David Leonhardt (New York Times, Washington Post)

Julia – Sandra Newman (New York Times, Washington Post)

America Fantastica – Tim O’Brien (Esquire, New York Times)

Let Us Descend – Jesmyn Ward (Guardian, NPR)

RA/Genre Resources

A roundtable discussion on Indigenous horror.

On the Riot

10 great nonfiction books from 2023 that you might have missed.

Recent BIPOC horror and thrillers to give you goosebumps.

The best new weekly releases to TBR.

The social significance of ghost stories.

All Things Comics

On the Riot

Yes, graphic novels can (and do!) win literary awards!

What are poetry comics?

8 witchy graphic novels to spellbind you.

Audiophilia

Michelle Obama will narrate the digital audio version of Where the Wild Things Are.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

Children/Teens

15 dark forest YA books that will keep you up all night in the best way.

Adults

Romance novels featuring protagonists with disabilities.

6 books to get you started with Black horror.

5 indie mysteries that really rock.

34 Halloween books to get you in a spooky mood.

Book suggestions for an evening of spooky reading.

Thrilling retellings of classic horror and gothic tales.

The books that explain California.

16 spooky novellas by women and nonbinary authors.

15 of the best fall books for a cozy season.

On the Riot

9 of the best autumn read-aloud picture books.

YA authors who have made their mark with poetry, too.

9 epic sci-fi books set on generation ships.

20 of TikTok’s favorite nonfiction books.

Fantasy books with a classic magic system.

8 titles to satisfy your pop culture cravings.

20 must-read historical fiction books set in France.

8 of the best English-language and US debuts.

Genre-blending horror novels you need to read.

10 of the best queer books on Kindle Unlimited in 2023.

24 African poets you need to read.

9 books about cities to read for World Cities Day.

8 cozy books for autumn reading.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in Library Reads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen has a guide to discovering upcoming diverse books, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word has created a database of upcoming diverse titles to nominate as well that includes information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.

Dini absolutely conked out in my lap the other night, all stretched out like a 13-pound sausage link. Every time he does this, I resign myself to the fact that I’ll get nothing done while he’s in my lap…but he’s too cute to move!

All right, friends. Have a safe and scary Halloween! I’ll be back on Friday.

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.

The Stack

What a Boo-tiful House You Have

Post author By Eileen Gonzalez
Post date October 30, 2023

Sponsored by

A pun that bad can only mean one thing: Halloween is here! I promise there are only treats and no tricks in this newsletter (or do I???) (of course I do!), so scroll with confidence.

Bookish Goods

Snoopy Pumpkin Bookmark by BookshopByKendra

Keep the spirit of Halloween alive all year long with this magnetic Snoopy pumpkin bookmark! $5

New Releases

Stories of the Islands by Clar Angkasa

In this inventive collection, Angkasa shares three classic Indonesian fairy tales, but with a twist: all of the women in peril, from the princess turned into a snail to the sisters menaced by their own father, get to save themselves.

The Unlikely Story of Felix and Macabber by Juni Ba and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

In the world of monsters, if you’re no good at wrestling, you’re just plain no good. And Felix, a non-confrontational little fellow, is the absolute worst at wrestling! Determined to prove himself as a monster, he follows champion wrestler Macabber on an epic quest to learn what true strength is all about.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Today’s Riot Rec theme is: haunted houses! Is there a better day of the year to go traipsing through a haunted house (comic) than Halloween?

The Nice House on the Lake by James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martino Bueno

This newly-released deluxe edition includes the entire 12-issue series, in which a strange man named Walter invites a group of people to join him at his cabin for the ultimate vacation. But you know what they say: if something seems too good to be true…

The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda

Twins Milly and Billy have always had their parents to rely on. But when they are tasked with cleaning up a house with a grisly past, they find themselves alone for the first time. Can they survive a night in the company of terrifying spirits and dark revelations about their family history? The second book in the trilogy, Her Little Reapers, is available now!

Have an excellent, creepy, and safe Halloween, nerd friends. May your trick-or-treat baskets be devoid of candy corns (unless you like them, in which case, you can have mine)!

~Eileen