Book bans and best-of lists dominated the literary news during this shortened week in the U.S. Here are the highlights.
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I shared a list of queer adult books to vote for in the opening round of the Goodreads Choice Awards with the intention of sharing the YA books to vote for this week…except now the opening round has closed. Whoops! Instead, I have a list of the queer books still available to vote for in the final round, which closes December 1st. (Excluding TJ Klune’s book because I still feel weird about his “cozy” fantasy novel being inspired by the horrific history of residential schools and the ’60s scoop. If you’re interested, this Reddit thread has a good discussion about the topic.)
I’m disappointed The Pairing by Casey McQuiston didn’t make it to the final round because I thought it had the best chance since the author is well-known. It’s also my new favourite romance novel. Alas!
I’ve also included all the queer YA books that were in the opening round, in case you’re curious. Now, onto the queer books in the final round!
Fiction:
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (also in Debut Novel)It’s always nice when one of the biggest literary fiction titles of the year is queer. This is a bestseller that comes highly recommended by authors like Tommy Orange, Lauren Groff, John Green, Clint Smith, and more. It follows Cyrus, a twentysomething queer poet who has been numbing his pain with drugs and alcohol. His mother was killed when her plane was shot down over Tehran in a senseless act of violence by the U.S. military. His father recently died of a heart attack. As he becomes sober, Cyrus goes looking for meaning, and he finds it by researching martyrs. When he hears about an artist dying of cancer in an exhibition at a museum, he is determined to meet her. —Danika Ellis |
Fantasy:
The Lost Story by Meg ShafferInspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lost Story follows two boys who once went missing in the West Virginia woods. Now, 15 years later, one lives as an artist with no memory of what happened in the six months they were gone, while the other works as a missing persons investigator to help other lost children. Rafe has kept Jeremy in the dark for all these years about what happened to them all those years ago in a magical land full of wonder and danger. But now that another girl has gone missing, the two will have to reconnect and face their shared past as they venture into a magical land once again. —Rachel Brittain |
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Black Friday sales have begun, and they include plenty of sales relevant to readers! First, check out our round up of Black Friday sales on hardcovers, paperbacks, and ereaders as well as the best Black Friday sales on ebooks.
It’s not just books that are worth snapping up during Black Friday sales, though. Today, we’ve gathered some of the most exciting sales for readers, from reading chairs to temperate-controlled mugs to reading lights and more. A couple of these deals are for Prime members only, but most don’t require a Prime account. Now, get ready to upgrade your reading life with these sales!
| image from Gritin on Amazon |
You can read anywhere with a reading light like this LED neck reading light! $11
| image from Nextmug on Amazon |
We’ve all been there: you sit down to read with a mug of coffee or tea, and by the time you resurface from the book, it’s gone cold. But what if you could have a reading beverage that was always the perfect temperature? That’s where smart mugs like this one come in. $90
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Shut out the world and listen to an audiobook with these noise-cancelling headphones. $199
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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
Here Comes the Rooster
The Morning News has released the longlist for the 2025 Tournament of Books, which doubles as their recap of the notable fiction of 2024. The 70 longlisted titles will be whittled down to a shortlist of 16 books that will face off in a bracket-style tournament in March. If you’re thinking this is March Madness counter-programming for nerds, by nerds, you’re not wrong.
The ToB always contains multitudes, pulling in some of the biggest books of the year alongside under-the-radar and small press picks. That sounds relatively straightforward, but the ToB vibes tend toward chaos, and that’s part of the charm. The question isn’t so much if things will get weird as it is when and how. For example, the first round of this year’s tournament pitted The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, the unequivocal Book of 2023, against Open Throat by Henry Hoke, a critically acclaimed but much less well-known novel. This was a softer year for big titles all around, so there’s real potential for some surprises and upsets. Let the games begin!
ICYMI: Two of the Best Literary Profiles of the Year
Percival Everett is having a fantastic year, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve had almost as much fun reading about him as I’ve had reading his books. James Yeh wrote a terrific profile of Everett for Vulture earlier this year when James was first hitting shelves, and an updated version of the piece is floating around the bookternet in the wake of Everett’s National Book Award win. It’s worth a few minutes of your time, as is Maya Binyam’s profile of Everett for The New Yorker, which includes the first instance I can recall of an author allowing an interviewer to give them a tarot reading. Rare is the author whose enigmatic persona is literally written into their work, not to mention their book promotion. What a treat.
Look for the Helpers
Literary activism comes in all flavors, and this is a very inspiring one. For the second year, author Jami Attenberg, who also runs the popular #1000wordsofsummer communal writing project, has gathered her community to sponsor a Scholastic Book Fair for an entire school. Every last one of the more than 650 students at Schaumberg Elementary School in New Orleans, where Attenberg lives, got to pick out a free book. Attenberg describes it as “the best day of the year,” writing, “I feel so lucky I got to watch these kids run into the school library so excited to pick out a book they could take home and keep “forever and ever,” as a few of them said.” May her efforts continue to succeed.
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As part of an ongoing series of posts to talk about preparing for increased book censorship and attacks on the public institutions of libraries and schools, this week, I’m rerunning one of the most pertinent—and, frankly, important—pieces from this year. Having signed up for and engaged on BlueSky in the last several weeks, there has been an update uptick in the number of people who 1. want to better understand the landscape of book censorship and 2. want to be able to explain it to other people who may not be tapped in. I wrote a guide for just that, and because it was published only a few months ago, it’s as up-to-date as possible.
Book bans aren’t new. That’s true both for the current wave, as well as in a broad, general sense. But the fact of the matter is every single day new people begin to learn about what’s happening, either because they have not been tuned in before, because they didn’t believe it was as bad as presented, or because they’re simply not engaged with the types of media covering the issue. Although there is a basic primer on how to fight book bans and censorship in 2024, distilled into easy-to-do, vital tasks following nearly four years of nonstop coverage of book bans, that kind of guide does not provide clear talking points for engaging in conversations about book banning with those who are unaware or completely new to the discussion.
This is that 101 guide. You can use it in conjunction with this more robust and detailed guide to the myths about book banning that keep being repeated.
Here are several talking points you can and should use with the people in your life who may otherwise not understand the complexity and seriousness of book bans happening in school and public libraries. It will not include everything, nor can it. Instead, this is meant to be for people who are eager to listen and learn but may be overwhelmed with where to even begin.
Top Line: Why You Should Care About Book Banning
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I know I can’t be the only one who loves both comic books and nonfiction! If you’re like me — or if you think you would like to be like me, in which case, I congratulate you on your refined taste — here are some reading comps to get you started.
If You Liked A History of the World in 6 Glasses, You Should Read…
Spices and Spuds: How Plants Made Our World by Andy WarnerThis sarcastic romp explores how humanity harnessed ten plants to change the course of world history — and how those plants, from mutated corn to cloned potatoes, changed us as well. While the book doesn’t shy away from history’s more unsavory aspects, it’s a fun (and kid-friendly) way to view history. |
If You Liked The Book of Five Rings, You Should Read…
The Real Musashi: The Manga Edition by Kozo Kaku, Touru Sugita, and Reiko TakiMiyamoto Musashi is the most legendary and unconventional fighter in Japanese history. After retiring, he wrote The Book of Five Rings to teach others about the art of both outfighting and out-thinking one’s opponents. While his life is shrouded in myths, this manga biography offers insight into this extraordinary individual. (And you can check out the manga version of The Book of Five Rings, too!) |
If You Liked What the Fact?: Finding the Truth in All the Noise, You Should Read…
Killer Underwear Invasion! by Elise GravelMedia literacy is more important than ever, and it’s never too early to start teaching your kids how to separate fact from fiction. This comic is an accessible way to introduce the topic to readers of all ages while providing actionable advice on how to conduct research and how to support organizations and outlets that behave responsibly. |
If You Liked Red Famine, You Should Read…
In the Shadow of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones by Andrea Chalupa and Ivan RodriguesThe prose book devotes a few pages to Gareth Jones, the Welsh journalist who snuck away from his handlers to uncover the truth behind the Soviet-engineered Ukrainian famine of the early 1930s. This graphic novel delves more deeply into his story, which should remind us all of the importance of fearless, truthful journalism. |
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Collins Dictionary named “brat” the word of the year for 2024, and 2024 decidedly belongs to brat. Charli XCX just finished the iconic Sweat Tour with Troye Sivan, and she entered living rooms everywhere earlier this month when she both hosted and performed as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
If you’re reading this and wondering what “brat” means, check out Charli’s SNL monologue. Brat Summer might be over, but brat is sticking with us for the rest of the year.
Horror is probably the most brat literary genre, so all horror novels are pretty brat. But how brat are the top-rated horror novels of 2024? Let’s take a look!
The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim (13,507 ratings on Goodreads, 3.88 avg.) — Is it any surprise that the highest-rated horror novel of 2024 is also the most brat? When Ji-won’s appa has an affair and leaves the family, Ji-won doesn’t get mad. She gets to eating eyeballs. Human eyeballs. And she sticks it to a lot of misogynistic, racist white men in the process. 100/100 Club Classics.
What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher (21,720 ratings on Goodreads, 3.84 avg.) — Kingfisher’s sequel to What Moves the Dead is a quick but intense read. Very brat. Alex Easton is back, and this time they’re back at their family hunting lodge, where they find the caretaker dead and potentially a breath-stealing monster on the loose. 20/25 “Apple” TikTok Dances.
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While some new titles have popped up on the weekly lists of the most read books on Goodreads, over all November has been dominated by just a couple of authors: Rebecca Yarros and Freida McFadden. They have two titles each in the top five, with the last spot taken by a seasonal romance. It’s hard to overestimate how popular these two authors are: between these titles, McFadden has roughly 2 million ratings and Yarros has more than 3.5 million ratings.
While these two authors are an anomaly, this top five is a pretty good representation of the most read genres of the moment: most of the full 50-book list of the most read books in November is made up of thriller, romance, and romantasy books.
Whether it’s the long list or just the top five, this most read books on Goodreads are anything but diverse, so I’ve also included a couple of new books by authors of color that came out this month and deserve more attention.
Now, onto the top five most read books on Goodreads in November!
#5:
Iron Flame by Rebecca YarrosBoth of the books by Rebecca Yarros on the list this month are from her Empyrean romantasy series, which is about a dangerous school for dragon riders. Book three, Onyx Storm, comes out in January. This one was read by more than 51,000 users in December and has a 4.4 average rating. |
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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Here are biggest stories from last week.
Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year is….
James is Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year. I had a little fun with this announcement on Instagram, but this is the right selection. I will cannibalize what I wrote about James for Book Riot’s forthcoming Best Books of the Year post:
“James was my most anticipated book of 2024 from the moment I heard that it was coming. A Huck Finn reimagining from the literary Morpheus that is Percival Everett was reason enough to be excited, but add to that the heat around him from American Fiction and his move to Doubleday, and this thing was set up to be major. And it is a modern masterpiece. By turns hilarious, beguiling, provocative, and terrifying, James is virtuosic. It is a miracle of page-turning readerly entertainment paired with god-tier literary experimentation and thematic depth. We don’t get ones like this very often, so when we do it is cause for celebration.”
Orbital by Samantha Harvey wins the Booker Prize 2024
The 160-page Orbital by Samantha Harvey was announced last night as the winner of the 2024 Booker Prize.
From the citation: “Harvey’s novel takes place over a single day in the life of six astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. Compact yet beautifully expansive, Orbital invites us to observe Earth’s splendour, whilst reflecting on the individual and collective value of every human life.”
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Welcome to The Best of Book Riot, our daily round-up of what’s on offer across our site, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels. Not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone. Here is what was most popular with readers from this week.
My Favorite Horror Books of 2024
It’s only November, but I’m ready to call it. These are my favorite horror books of 2024. Yes, we do have another month and a half of reading content to get through, but these books are so good that I’ve already shoved them into many reader’s hands. These books have already ascended to all-time faves. And if you’re a horror lover and you haven’t read these four books this year, it’s time to add them to your TBR! You might have trouble sleeping at night, but you won’t regret it.
The Books Most Likely to Be on THE NEW YORK TIMES 100 Notable Books of 2024 List
On the most recent episode of The Book Riot Podcast, Rebecca and I make our picks for locks, likelies, and would-like-to-sees ahead of the release on Nov 28th of The New York Times’s 100 Notable Books of the Year list (we have this date confirmed, btw).
700+ Books Removed From Florida Schools
If you follow Kelly Jensen’s weekly Censorship News roundups, you’ll likely recognize Texas county Corpus Christi: they have been pushing for book bans in public libraries for quite a while. The newest developments are that they are considering a new “parent/guardian must be present” library card, which would block these minors from accessing self-checkouts and would require them to check out books only while their parent is present, who must show their ID. The updates to equipment would cost about $10,000.
The Best Of 2024 Mystery Lists Have Begun
Barnes & Noble was first out of the gate with this year’s Best of Books lists, and I have a lot of questions about The Best Mystery & Thrillers of 2024 — all stemming from the list’s one giant problem. To be clear, I don’t have issues with the actual books on the list, I do have all the side eye for what is missing from this list: out of 21 books there is only one author of color. (Not sure why that page has 21 books and their announcement page has 20 but my point stands either way.)
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A couple weeks ago, I shared The Best Queer Books of 2024, According to Publishers Weekly: I looked through their overall Best Books of 2024 list and pulled out all the queer books I spotted to share with you. This week, I’m doing the same thing with the Amazon Books Editors’ Best Books of 2024.
I looked not only at their overall top 20 best books of the year, but also each editor’s top ten and the picks for each of the 12 genres listed, from Literature and Fiction to Children’s Books. All together, that’s hundreds of books, and I was able to find 11 queer titles.
While I’m glad I was able to find some queer books, I wish there were more. I also wish there were more authors of color included; this list is disproportionately by white authors. It’s a shame, because there were excellent queer books by authors of color and Indigenous authors that came out this year, like Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha LaPointe, Thirsty by Jas Hammonds, Toward Eternity by Anton Hur, A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen, Model Home by Rivers Solomon, Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe (that one is out in December), and so many more.
As always, these are just the books that jumped out to me that I recognized as being queer. Let me know if you spotted any I missed!
Content for All Access members continues below.
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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year is….
James is Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year. I had a little fun with this announcement on Instagram, but this is the right selection. I will cannibalize what I wrote about James for Book Riot’s forthcoming Best Books of the Year post:
“James was my most anticipated book of 2024 from the moment I heard that it was coming. A Huck Finn reimagining from the literary Morpheus that is Percival Everett was reason enough to be excited, but add to that the heat around him from American Fiction and his move to Doubleday, and this thing was set up to be major. And it is a modern masterpiece. By turns hilarious, beguiling, provocative, and terrifying, James is virtuosic. It is a miracle of page-turning readerly entertainment paired with god-tier literary experimentation and thematic depth. We don’t get ones like this very often, so when we do it is cause for celebration.”
Reading Rainbow to Get Its Own Channel On Amazon Prime
Buried in this post about some PBS programming coming to Amazon Prime is the news that Reading Rainbow, the univerally-beloved-when-Levar-Burton-was-hosting-it reading show for kids, is getting its own “pop-up” channel. I have no idea what this means, but it will neither require an Amazon Prime membership, nor does it will have ads, as some of the other PBS channels coming to Prime seem to. A shrewd marketing move: once you get people there for the free stuff, you can show them all the stuff they can get that isn’t free. Be curious to know what kinda check PBS is getting for this.
Parul Seghal Returns to The New York Times
Who is our leading literary critic? I don’t think there is much agreement (or even attention around) on this question, but I don’t think I am alone in citing Sehgal as being at the top of my “ooo she is writing about X book” list. Unfortunately for me and others that have such a list, it sounds like she might be writing less about books and more about “ideas” (I didn’t know the NYT had an “Ideas” franchise until just this moment). I presume that she will still be writing about books, but less on their own terms than in larger thinking about life, the universe, and everything. Side note: what percentage of former humanities majors would give up whatever gig they have to be an editor-at-large at the Times to write about ideas? And what percentage, when they read Seghal, realize they don’t deserve it? 1 for 1 over here, at least.
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Barnes and Noble has announced its winner for the 2024 Book of the Year, and it’s James by Percival Everett. The announcement page says, “We’ve bent your ear about James all year, and for good reason. […] You may think you know Huck Finn, but how well do you know Jim? Flip the script on an American classic as Huck Finn steps to the side and Jim takes center stage in a powerful, and often very funny, story of family, home and freedom.”
In response to the win, Percival Everett said, “As my teenagers would say, ‘Cool.’ This honor is unexpected and quite amazing. B&N has already done a remarkable job selling my novel and now this. To have the novel in front of so many readers is what all of us want. Thank you.”
In addition, Barnes and Noble selected two more categories for their book of the year: Best Gift Book of the Year, which went to The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan, and Best Children’s Book of the Year, which went to Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell.
Here were the other The Barnes & Noble Book of the Year 2024 Finalists:
Swift River by Essie Chambers
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