Library Love Fest

ALA 2021 is calling...Library Love Fest has answered!

Check out our schedule for ALA 2021!

TUESDAY, JUNE 22

11:30-1:00 ET

Adult Library Marketers Assn. (ALMA) Book Buzz—Live!
Hear about upcoming books from various publishing houses! RSVP here.

 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23

12:30-1:00 ET

Kaia Alderson, author of Sisters in Arms: A Novel of the Daring Black Women Who Served During World War II
Featured Speaker on the Chapter One Stage: Debut Authors

Kaia Alderson discusses her historical debut novel, Sisters in Arms, the true story of the Six Triple Eight, the only all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corp, who made the dangerous voyage to Europe to ensure American servicemen received word from their loved ones during WWII.

 

THURSDAY, JUNE 24

11:00-12:00 ET

LIBRARY LOVE FEST TEAM LIVE IN-BOOTH CHAT! 

 

1:15-2:15 ET

Jeffrey Archer, author of Over My Dead Body
United for Libraries Gala Author Tea 

Hear the #1 New York Times bestselling author discuss his new, unputdownable story of murder, revenge, and betrayal!

 

2:15-2:25 ET

BOOK BUZZ BITES HarperCollins Buzzes Upcoming Adult Books from the Fall 2021/Winter 2022 Seasons!

Nothing can stop the LLF Team from Book Talking...We’ve buzzed in person.
Zoomed it, too.
Three cans and a string?
Any way will do!

Join the Library Love Fest Team for a bite-sized* look at some of our favorite reads coming in Fall 2021 and Winter 2021! More info here.

*CHECK OUT OUR SUPERSIZED BOOK BUZZ ON JULY 13, 1:00-3:00 ET
The Library Love Fest Team is back with another World-Famous Book Buzz, presenting Fall 2021/ Winter 2022 Titles on Crowdcast! RSVP here.

 

FRIDAY, JUNE 25

10:30 AM-11:00 ET

COFFEE TALK
The Road to Being Published: Two Perspectives

What does it take to get a book published?
Listen to two emerging authors talk about their publishing experiences!

All Her Little Secrets is a twisty mystery about a Black lawyer who gets in over her head after the sudden death of her boss. This book will resonate not only with Black readers but with all women who’ve sought to find their voice in spaces dominated by the ol’ boys club mentality.

All Black Girls Must Die Exhausted is the first in a three book series about a young Black woman who must rely on courage, laughter, and love to overcome an unexpected setback that threatens the most precious thing she’s ever wanted. Originally self-published, this #OwnVoices novel provides an undiluted perspective for diverse readers hungry for books that reflect their own experiences and viewpoints. 

 

11:00-12:00 ET

LIBRARY LOVE FEST TEAM LIVE IN-BOOTH CHAT! 

 

SATURDAY, JUNE 26

11:30 - 12:30 ET

United for Libraries: It’s a Mystery to Me
Featuring Wiley Cash, author of When Ghosts Come Home 

 

MONDAY, JUNE 28

12:30 - 1:30 ET

United for Libraries: First Book, First Author
Featuring Emily Itami, author of Fault Lines 

 

TUESDAY, JUNE 29

4:00-5:00 ET

SMORGASBOOK: A Food Lover’s Author Panel & Book Buzz!

HarperCollins, Workman, and Hachette are teaming up to bring you a delicious author panel of incredible women chefs: Sabrina Snyder (Dinner Then Dessert), Cheryl Day (Treasury of Southern Baking), and Zoe Adjonyoh (Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen). Virginia, Annie, and Melissa will then present a mini book buzz of additional cookbook recommendations. RSVP here.

 

On Demand Programs

POPTOP STAGE: HarperCollins Presents Tales from Around the World

Take a step back in time and hear three authors’ stories of survival, independence, and resilience: Juhea Kim, author of Beasts of a Little Land, an epic story of love, war, and redemption set against the backdrop of the Korean independence movement; Roxane van Iperen, author of The Sisters of Auschwitz, an unforgettable true story of Holocaust survivors Janny and Lien Brilleslijper—two sisters in the Dutch Resistance who helped save dozens of lives; and Vanessa Riley, author of Island Queen, a sweeping historical novel based on the incredible true life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free woman of color who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies.

THINKFIT@ALA HEALTH AND FITNESS STAGE: Women’s Health and Wellness: Memoirist Gabrielle Union & Novelist Jayne Allen Discuss Women’s Health

Premiering on the live feed Wednesday, 6/23, 11:30 – 12:00 ET

Authors Gabrielle Union and Jayne Allen, together with their editors, discuss their forthcoming publications: one a memoir, one a novel, both dealing with women’s emotional and physical health. Acclaimed activist, actress, and New York Times bestselling author Gabrielle Union is back with You Got Anything Stronger? an intimate, revealing, and powerful collection of essays addressing marriage, motherhood, and her surrogacy journey and the birth of her child. Jayne Allen is the author of Black Girls Must Die Exhausted, the first novel in a captivating three-book series about modern womanhood, in which a young Black woman, faced with an unexpected infertility diagnosis, must navigate her romantic life, her professional ambitions, and complex family matters with the help of her two longtime friends. 

 

See you at ALA!

-LLF

New podcast episode: An interview with Mary Adkins, author of PALM BEACH

On this week's podcast episode, we welcome Mary Adkins back to the podcast for a conversation about her new book, Palm Beach, which publishes August 3, 2021. Palm Beach is a thought-provoking page-turner from the author of When You Read This and Privilege that captures the painful divide between the haves and have-nots and the seductive lure of the American dream. 

Jessica Anya Blau, author of Mary Jane says: "Mary Adkins’ Palm Beach is a rare page-turner that gives you all the fun and decadence of a beach read while exploring the relevant issues around wealth inequity. I opened it up and could not stop reading!"

Listen to the episode below:

We mentioned that we've had the honor of hosting Mary on the podcast twice before, interviewing her for each of her previous publications. 

You can listen to her interview about her debut novel When You Read This:

And her second novel, Privilege:

 

A big thank you to Mary for taking the time to speak with us!

You can download an egalley on Edelweiss+ and NetGalley now. LibraryReads votes are due July 1st!

-Lainey

LLF Guest Post: Tim Fielder, Author of INFINITUM

Today we are thrilled to have a guest post from
Tim Fielder, cartoonist, animator, Afrofuturist, AND author/illustrator of the graphic novel INFINITUM (on sale now)! This epic Afrofuturist tale spans millennia as it follows Warrior King Aja Oba, cursed by immortality, as he navigates through major world events and into the distant future.

Publishers Weekly praised INFINITUM: "Fielder (Matty’s Rocket) digs deep into his pulp toolbox to fuse genre influences in this daring epic, which bristles with action and verve."

And Jerry Craft, New York Times bestselling author of New Kid called INFINITUM 
"[an] amazing tale of one man’s odyssey from African king to ruler of the stars told with breathtaking visuals. INFINITUM is epic in every way! Engrossing! Powerful! Intelligent! Cinematic!"

Keep reading to learn about Tim Fielder's personal connection to Afrofuturism and the history behind INFINITUM. Be sure to check out his website for even more information!

***

My Afrofuturist Origins
by Tim Fielder

I am now, and have always been, an Afrofuturist.  Afrofuturism, the intersection of technology, speculative thought, and philosophy bound together through race, is becoming part of High Culture. Right now my first book as a "debut author" titled INFINITUM: An Afrofuturist Tale published by HarperCollins Amistad holds a unique position. INFINITUM is the first Afrofuturist graphic novel published by a big five company with an original storyline. I am so proud of my book. 

 

As the creator, I’ve been asked to give a little background on my artistic origins.

 

It’s interesting when one takes up the sum total of their artistic life. I have always done some form of Visual Afrofuturism since I was a young boy. I come from the state of Mississippi. I was born in Tupelo, home of Elvis. I was raised in Clarksdale, home of Robert Johnson. My life in the Mississippi Delta was one in which all of the deep-seeded phobias and isms of Black American life existed intertwined with the magical upbringing that is inherent in a rural upbringing. Mixed along with this was my exposure to science-fiction films, comic books, and all sorts of geek-like things that young kids could engage in...minus the estrangement from peers.

 

It wasn’t cool then to be a geek.

 

I would eventually move to New York City. As the saying goes, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Of course there is and isn’t a level of truth to that. Ultimately, like with the 4-color fictional tales read in my rural upbringing, this urban transition was quite dramatic. Life in the late 1980s NYC was an energetic fusion of early hip-hop culture blended with it’s more alternative sibling, Black Rock culture. I dove head and spirit first into the lifestyle change like a comic book character changing into a superhero costume. Within a matter of weeks I went from a mild mannered young African-American male unsure of himself, to a radicalized "all black" wearing mohawk dreadloc-wearing Afropunk. I would take this new identity and use that to explore cartooning, that thing that I love, and merge that into African religious modalities, science-fiction concept design, and expansive panel to panel storytelling.

 

I was in a grimy urban metropolis, but heaven nonetheless.

 

Jump forward 30 years, I am much more comfortable in my skin then I was in my youth. My art has advanced further then I could have imagined. Through INFINITUM, I wanted to produce a book that would look expansive visually, push the limits of what comics were allowed to do narratively, and bring some level of epic scale to the Black speculative experience. However, it was important for me to do it in a way that audiences of all races, genders and ethnicities would be able to relate to the story. The story is, after all, essentially about the human experience. I hope that librarians will be willing, as individual readers and guides for readers, to take a chance on my book, take a chance on my vision, and enjoy having your mind expanded (hopefully) into the farthest reaches of time.

 

INFINITUM: An Afrofuturist Tale can be purchased where all fine books are sold.

 

***

Thanks so much, Tim! 

 

INFINITUM is on sale now. We can't recommend enough this expansive, one-of-a-kind reading experience. If you want to learn more, check out the replay of our Door to Door episode featuring Tim and Jonny Sun, author of Goodbye, Again!

 

 

To highlight this wonderful book, we are giving away finished copies to the first 10 librarians who email librarylovefest@harpercollins.com.

 

-Chris

LLF Staff Suggestions for the August LibraryReads List

Hello, librarians. 

Welcome to summer! May these warmer months bring you rest, relaxation, and much reading fulfillment. We hope our staff suggestions for the August LibraryReads List will prove to be perfect pool-side partners, beach-side buddies, and hammock-hanging helpers.  

As a reminder, votes for the August LibraryReads List are due July 1st.

Happy reading!

-The LLF Team (Virginia, Chris, and Lainey)

***

Vortex by Catherine Coulter
For fans of: The Big Kahuna by Janet Evanovich
In the latest installment in Catherine Coulter’s #1 New York Times bestselling FBI Thriller series, agents Sherlock and Savich find themselves dealing with powerful pieces of the past that could have dire consequences in the present.

Praise for Catherine Coulter:
"Catherine Coulter is one of the bonafide rockstars of the thriller genre."
—The Real Book Spy

"The things you can count on in a Catherine Coulter book are a complex storyline with plenty of action, intrigue, and unexpected twists and turns."
—Fresh Fiction

Request the egalley on Edelweiss+
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

Bombshell by Sarah MacLean
Also from the author: Daring and the Duke 
and Brazen and the Beast
New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with a blazingly sexy, unapologetically feminist new series, Hell’s Belles, beginning with a bold, bombshell of a heroine, able to dispose of a scoundrel—or seduce one—in a single night.

Praise for Sarah MacLean: 
"Sarah MacLean's books are fierce."
—Julia Quinn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Bridgerton series

Previous LibraryReads Selections:
Brazen and the Beast (July 2019)
Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover (November 2014))
No Good Duke Goes Unpunished (December 2013)

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So
For fans of: A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum
and Lot by Bryan Washington 
A vibrant story collection about Cambodian-American life—immersive and comic, yet unsparing—that offers profound insight into the intimacy of queer and immigrant communities.

"So (1992–2020) conjures literary magic in his hilarious and insightful posthumous debut, a collection that delves into a tightly knit community of Cambodian-American immigrants in California’s Central Valley…. After this immersive introduction to the Central Valley community, readers won’t want to leave."
—Publishers Weekly ⭐ review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
For fans of: The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs
and The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick
An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter and a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people—a lonely London widower and a troubled teenager.

"If you love books, read this. If you love people, read this. If you love crying with sadness, crying with happiness, and feeling like you have been wrapped in the blanket of someone else's life, read this."
—Debbie Johnson, bestselling author of Maybe One Day

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

Palm Beach by Mary Adkins
For fans of: The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward
A thought-provoking page-turner from the author of When You Read This and Privilege—a powerful novel that captures the painful divide between the haves and have-nots and the seductive lure of the American dream, for readers of Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney and Emma Straub.

"Mary Adkins' Palm Beach is a rare page-turner that gives you all the fun and decadence of a beach read while exploring the relevant issues around wealth inequity. I opened it up and could not stop reading!"
—Jessica Anya Blau, author of Mary Jane

Request the egalley on Edelweiss+
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson
For fans of: Code Girls by Liza Mundy and
Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly
Kaia Alderson’s debut historical fiction novel reveals the untold, true story of the Six Triple Eight, the only all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps, who made the dangerous voyage to Europe to ensure American servicemen received word from their loved ones during World War II.

"Sisters in Arms is heartwarming but fierce, a novel brimming with camaraderie and fire, starring women you’d love to make your friends.... Kaia Alderson’s debut is a triumph!"
—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code

Going to ALA Annual? Kaia Alderson is the featured speaker on the Chapter One Stage: Debut Authors on Wednesday, 6/23, from 12:30 - 1:00pm ET. Click here to add to your ALA schedule!

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park
For fans of: The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai
From the author of the "genuinely funny" and "delightful" Loathe at First Sight (NPR), a young Korean American woman’s journey to finding a new career and new love means learning to embrace the awkward and unexpected—exploring familial expectations, finding your voice, and unimaginably falling for your childhood rival.

"Some books just feel like an old friend, their first pages embracing you with an instant familiarity and warmth you can’t help but sink into. Suzanne Park’s So We Meet Again is that kind of book.... A cinematic, charming heart-squeeze-of-a-book that has found its way to my Ultimate Comfort Reads shelf."
—Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

The Sisters of Auschwitz by Roxane van Iperen
For fans of: The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz
by Jeremy Dronfield
The unforgettable story of two unsung heroes of World War II: sisters Janny and Lien Brilleslijper who joined the Dutch Resistance, helped save dozen of lives, were captured by the Nazis, and ultimately survived the Holocaust.

"Offering fascinating insights into Amsterdam’s Jewish Quarter, the fate of the Frank family, and the bonds of sisterly devotion, this standout history isn’t to be missed."
—Publishers Weekly ⭐ review

Going to ALA Annual? See Roxane van Iperen on the "HarperCollins Presents Tales From Around the World" author panel, available on demand starting Wednesday, 6/23! Click here to add to your ALA schedule!

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

Down Range by Taylor Moore
For fans of: Hunter Killer by Brad Taylor
In this action-packed debut thriller for fans of C. J. Box, DEA agent Garrett Kohl fights to protect his home on the Texas High Plains when a vicious criminal enterprise threatens his family.

"Combining the suspense and intrigue of a Tom Clancy thriller with the action and grit of a hard-hitting western, Taylor Moore's Down Range is sure to entice fans of both genres, as he weaves a wild tale of betrayal, vengeance, and death on the Texas High Plains."
—Philipp Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Son

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen
For fans of: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
A haunting novel about a Black woman who returns to her hometown for a plantation wedding and the horror that ensues as she reconnects with the blood-soaked history of the land and the best friends she left behind.

"LaTanya McQueen's When the Reckoning Comes is so deliciously uncomfortable there were moments where I had to put the book down, take a deep breath, and like Mira, its protagonist, urge myself to go further. This is a novel, like Octavia Butler's Kindred, that reminds its readers that as long as people don't acknowledge how much of the past still shapes the present, it will bring its whips, its hatchets, and fists to make us learn."
—Megan Giddings, author of Lakewood

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

Listen to a podcast interview between LaTanya McQueen and LLF's Lainey Mays!

Edge Case by YZ Chin
For fans of: Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
When her husband suddenly disappears, a young woman must uncover where he went—and who she might be without him—in this striking debut of immigration, identity, and marriage.

"Edge Case is a beautifully subtle novel about precarity and dislocation. YZ Chin writes with wisdom, precision and humor, tracing the routes by which we become strangers to each other and ourselves."
—Katie Kitamura, author of A Separation

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

Ramadan Ramsey by Louis Edwards
For fans of: Swing Time by Zadie Smith
The Whiting Award-winning author makes his long-awaited comeback with this epic tale, spanning from the Deep South to the Middle East, that bridges four countries, two cultures, and three families who struggle to love and survive in the face of war, natural disasters, and other calamities beyond their control.

"New Orleans music industry veteran and Whiting Award winner Edwards (Oscar Wilde Discovers America) returns after almost two decades with an ambitious globe-trotting epic as luscious and musical as the city he calls home."   
—Publishers Weekly ⭐ review 

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

Battle Royal by Lucy Parker
For fans of: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
Beloved author Lucy Parker pens a delicious new romantic comedy that is a battle of whisks and wits, where two bakers learn they will be fighting for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bake a cake for an upcoming royal wedding.

"Lucy Parker’s books are marvels of wit and warmth and empathy, and Battle Royal is no exception. It’s as delicious as the cakes baked by Sylvie and Dominic, from first page to last."
—Olivia Dade, bestselling author of Spoiler Alert

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

Then She Vanishes by Claire Douglas
For fans of: Have You Seen Me? by Kate White
A twisty, compulsive thriller full of jolting shocks and startling secrets involving two sisters, a disappearance, a double murder, and a reporter determined to find the truth from the bestselling author of Local Girl Missing, Last Seen Alive, and Do Not Disturb.

"Then She Vanishes lifts the stone on a cold case disappearance and asks chilling questions about friendship, loyalty, love, and obsession."
—Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of 
What She Knew and The Nanny

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

Breathe by Joyce Carol Oates
For fans of: Monogamy by Sue Miller
From the bestselling and award-winning author comes a deeply personal novel following a desperate woman's final days with her dying husband: part intimately detailed love story, part horror story rooted in real life.

Praise for Joyce Carol Oates: 
"Timely, monumental.... Yet another piercing examination of American culture by the writer this reviewer considers our country's greatest living novelist.... It is brilliant. How blessed we are to have her as a novelist in our chaotic, confusing times."
—Star Tribune on Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars.

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

The Sister-in-Law by Pamela Crane
For fans of: The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan
From the USA Today bestselling author of Little Deadly Secrets comes a gripping story about the frailty of family and a battle of wills between a wife and a sister-in-law, bent on revenge.

Praise for Pamela Crane:
"Crane succeeds at painting families and friendships in vivid detail; women will see their tussles and triumphs in these pages, and will relish the twists and moments of brave camaraderie and bold revenge.... A satisfying read that has echoes of Liane Moriarty and of Emily Giffin’s All We Ever Wanted."
—Booklist on Little Deadly Secrets 

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

In Polite Company by Gervais Hagerty
For fans of: Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews
This luminous and captivating debut novel sneaks the reader inside the private lives of Charleston’s aristocracy, following the journey of a former debutant who forges a path from tradition to seize a future meant for her all along.

"Peek behind the veil of Charleston’s cobbled streets, Southern charm and pedigreed society. In Polite Company offers a nuanced look at birth and death, privilege and discrimination at odds between generations. Gervais Hagerty is an author to watch!”
—Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author of The Islanders

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

Her Turn by Katherine Ashenburg
For fans of: Good Karma by Christina Kelly
A delightful debut novel in the vein of Younger and 
The Unbreakables, with a hint of Nora Ephron, about a journalist who stumbles into an unusual relationship with the woman married to her former husband.

"What a gem this novel is. Hilarious, wise, and humane, Her Turn follows one woman’s twisting path through a maze of love and betrayal and forgiveness. It is infused with the joyful spirit of Nora Ephron and lit with a charm all its own."
—Elizabeth Renzetti, author of Shrewed

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

The Quiet Zone by Stephen Kurczy
For fans of: How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell 
In this riveting account of an area of Appalachia known as the Quiet Zone where cell phones and WiFi are banned, journalist Stephen Kurczy explores the pervasive role of technology in our lives and the innate human need for quiet.

"What a fascinating book! This corner of America is unique for its electromagnetic silence—but once Stephen Kurczy starts looking he finds that it's unique in other ways too. The Quiet Zone will live on in your memory."
—Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

 

The Last Debutantes by Georgie Blalock
For fans of: The Queen's Secret by Karen Harper
Fans of The Kennedy Debutante and Last Year in Havana will love Georgie Blalock’s new novel of a world on the cusp of change...set on the eve of World War II in the glittering world of English society and one of the last debutante seasons.

"A fascinating portrayal of London high society overshadowed by the threat of World War II.... Atmospheric, moving and compelling, The Last Debutantes is a must read!"
—Christine Wells, author of Sisters of the Resistance

Request the egalley on Edelweiss+
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LibraryReads Votes Due: July 1, 2021

Click here for more great August reads!

 

The deadline to submit your votes is July 1!

***

We hope you enjoy the books! For more information about LibraryReads, visit their website. Remember: Vote early! Vote often!

-Chris

New Podcast Episode — Editors Unedited: Elle Keck interviews Cat Sebastian, author of THE QUEER PRINCIPLES OF KIT WEBB

This week on the podcast, we are featuring a conversation between critically acclaimed historical romance author Cat Sebastian and Elle Keck, Editor at Avon and William Morrow. They discuss Cat's new book (her paperback debut), The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, a stunning historical romance about a reluctantly reformed highwayman and the aristocrat who threatens to steal his heart. This conversation was fantastic! You will hear more about Cat's journey to publishing her first book, the writing process, and why it's important to feature many different kinds of relationships throughout history.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb was a LibraryReads selection for June 2021!

Check out some of the other praise for this book:

"Sebastian’s prose is entertaining and delightful, with many steamy scenes...It’s also full of intelligent and thought-provoking political debates...An irresistible story of love and adventure that will delight both newcomers and regular readers of queer romance."
—Kirkus Reviews ⭐ review

 

“Kit Webb will surprise and delight not only fans of Sebastian and queer historical romance but also readers who are new to both.”
—BookPage ⭐ review

 

“Wielding a rapier-sharp wit and displaying an exceptional gift for insightful characterization, Sebastian fashions another fiercely romantic, fabulously sexy m/m love story that not only delivers a delicious surfeit of slow-burn sexual chemistry but also deftly illustrates the true complexity of all human relationships.“
—Booklist

“Great fun for the reader.... The book does not so much tear down class boundaries as dynamite the very idea of class itself, which is becoming a satisfying theme in Sebastian’s work. Laws that exist only to hurt people are unjust; systems that depend on people’s misery should be subverted and dismantled at every chance. The right to love and be loved as we are is a compass that always points toward justice.”
—The New York Times Book Review

 

Listen to the podcast episode here:

 

Cat also spoke at our diversity panel at ALA Midwinter 2021. You can watch the replay of that conversation here.

 

Download an egalley on Edelweiss+

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-Lainey

LLF Guest Post: J.B. MacKinnon, author of THE DAY THE WORLD STOPS SHOPPING

Today, we welcome a guest post from J.B. MacKinnon, author of The Day the World Stops Shopping—a thoughtful and surprisingly optimistic book that investigates how we may achieve a world without shopping. 

Check out some of the praise for the book:

“A well-researched and provocative analysis offering hope and optimism for our future."
—Kirkus Reviews, ⭐ review

 

“Witty and erudite…. Expertly showing the complex relationship between consumer culture and nature, this insightful account offers a starting point for change (and optimism).”
—Library Journal

 

“Well-researched and stimulating. Readers will be galvanized to make changes in their own buying habits.” 
—Publishers Weekly

***

“Libraries have always been models for a lower-consuming society.” So goes a line from my new book, The Day the World Stops Shopping, which roams the world in an attempt to answer a surprisingly difficult question: What would the world look like if we consumed a little less stuff? One answer is, there would probably be a lot more libraries.

This book began when, after writing for years about nature and the environment, I came face to face with what I think of as the “consumer dilemma”: We must stop shopping, but we can’t stop shopping. On the one hand, consumerism is now the world’s greatest driver of climate change and other eco-crises—even more so than the world’s rising population. On the other hand, whenever consumers slow their spending, it throws the economy into a tailspin. What’s the solution?

So began a search for people and places that could show me what life after shopping could be. To find out who we might become in a post-consumer world, I spoke to psychologists who study what happens when we give up materialism, spent time with hunter-gatherers in Namibia who live with minimal possessions, and explored a London borough that is trying to turn its residents from consumers into “participants.” To learn how business might change, I visited centuries-old companies in Japan that don’t worry whether they grow or not, and new start-ups that are trying to get back to making things that last. I kept chasing down these paths until I began to see a way past the consumer dilemma.

Then something extraordinary happened: The world really did stop shopping. The COVID-19 pandemic emerged, and the global economy locked down. It was a chance, however grim, to see whether my predictions of how a world without shopping might change were on target or off by a mile.

They were on target—only more so. We witnessed shifts away from materialist values at speeds that shocked even the experts. Emissions dropped, skies cleared, and wildlife retook the quieted landscape. Digital and virtual consumption replaced the real thing, brands began to drift toward buy-less-buy-better business models, and people began to rethink everything from time to work to keeping up with the Joneses.

A pandemic world isn’t what we want, of course. It’s not only a world without shopping, but also one without the human relationships we need so badly. Right now, I think we’re all looking forward to a little more consumer culture than we’ve seen in a while. We won’t stop there, though. Already there are clear signs that we’ll roar out of the pandemic with a record-setting consumption binge that pushes aside the new priorities many of us have set for ourselves, and pushes the planet back to the breaking point.

As that happens, a lot of us will question what it means to get back to “normal.” The Day the World Stops Shopping will be there for them. And what better place to read it than the library?

—J.B. MacKinnon

***

Thank you, J.B.! The Day the World Stops Shopping is on sale today, May 25th! In celebration, we are giving away finished copies to the first 10 librarians who email librarylovefest@harpercollins.com.

-Lainey

The June LibraryReads List Is Here!

Hello, librarians!

You voted, they counted, and the winners have finally been announced!

This month, we are thrilled to share that The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin, Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams, and The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian have been selected for the June LibraryReads List! We're also excited to announce that LibraryReads Hall of Fame authors Laura Lippman / Dream Girl and Susan Elizabeth Phillips / When Stars Collide were also selected!

Want to hear how our authors reacted to the big news? Listen to our latest episode of The Library Love Fest Podcast below to hear their responses!

Click here to see the full June LibraryReads List!

***

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
by Marianne Cronin: A charming, fiercely alive and disarmingly funny debut novel in the vein of John Green, Rachel Joyce, and Jojo Moyes—about the unexpected friendship between 17-year-old Lenni, living on the Terminal Ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital, and Margot, an 83-year-old, purple-pajama-wearing, fruitcake-eating rebel, who transforms Lenni in ways she never imagined.

"Cronin has just struck the right balance between sensitivity and sentimentality, making her one of those admirable writers who does exceptionally fine work both celebrating life and addressing death."
—Booklist

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Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams:
The New York Times bestselling author of Her Last Flight returns with a gripping and profoundly human story of Cold War espionage and family devotion that proves again why Elin Hilderbrand says Beatriz Williams "is writing the best historical fiction out there."

"Williams sharply observes the inequities women faced at the end of WWII and the simmering suspense of the Cold War. Historical fiction fans will be riveted by the complex family relationships and the intriguing portrayal of espionage."
—Publishers Weekly

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Watch Beatriz Williams on Door to Door!

 

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian: Critically acclaimed author Cat Sebastian makes her trade paperback debut in a stunning historical romance about a reluctantly reformed highwayman and the aristocrat who threatens to steal his heart.

"Sebastian’s prose is entertaining and delightful, with many steamy scenes.... It’s also full of intelligent and thought-provoking political debates.... An irresistible story of love and adventure that will delight both newcomers and regular readers of queer romance."
—Kirkus Reviews ⭐ review

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Watch LLF's Lainey Mays interview Cat Sebastian
on ALA's Diverse Characters Panel!

Dream Girl by Laura Lippman: Following up on her acclaimed and wildly successful New York Times bestseller Lady in the Lake—one of the top selling books of her career—Laura Lippman returns with a dark, complex tale of psychological suspense with echoes of Misery involving a novelist, incapacitated by injury, who is plagued by mysterious phone calls.

"My dream novel. I devoured this in three days. The sharpest, clearest-eyed take on our #MeToo reckoning yet. Plus: enthralling."
—Megan Abbott, Edgar Award-winning author of Dare Me and The Fever

Previous LibraryReads Selections:
Lady in the Lake (July 2019)
Sunburn (March 2018)
Wilde Lake (May 2016)
After I'm Gone (February 2014)

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Watch Laura Lippman on Door to Door!

 

When Stars Collide
by Susan Elizabeth Phillips:
#1 New York Times bestseller Susan Elizabeth Phillips returns to her beloved Chicago Stars series with a romance between a Chicago Stars quarterback and one of the world’s greatest opera singers—and a major diva.

"Re-entering the world of the Chicago Stars is like a beloved friend come to call."
—Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Virgin River series

Previous LibraryReads Selections:
Dance Away with Me (June 2020)
First Star I See Tonight (August 2016)
Heroes Are My Weakness (August 2014)

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***

Thanks to all who participated and submitted votes for the June LibraryReads List! Be sure to submit your votes for the July LibraryReads List by June 1st. Click here to find out what we're recommending!  

Click here to learn more about LibraryReads.

-Chris

 

Podcast Episode: New Rockin' Audiobooks (Feat. Bethany Johnsrud, National Accounts Rep)

Hey podcast listeners! Since audiobooks are so popular in libraries, we wanted to give you an overview of some new audiobooks from HarperCollins on the podcast this week. We are joined by Bethany Johnsrud, National Accounts Rep, for a conversation about her favorite new audiobooks—be sure to stay tuned for some clips! 

Listen to the episode here:

Find a list of titles discussed and audio clips from each book below. All are available now unless otherwise noted.

• The Rose Code by Kate Quinn, read by Saskia Maarleveld
  -See Kate's Instagram takeover here.
  -Listen to a clip from the audiobook here.
• The WIndsor Knot by SJ Bennett, read by Jane Copland
  -Listen to a clip from the audiobook here.
• Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams, read by Nicola Barber and Cassandra Campbell (on sale June 1, 2021)
  -Listen to the Advanced Listener Copy on Edelweiss+ or NetGalley
• How to Kidnap the Rich by Rahul Raina, read by Riz Ahmed (on sale June 22, 2021)
• Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson, read by Marin Ireland
  -Listen to a clip from the audiobook here.
• Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, read by Marin Ireland
  -Listen to a clip from the audiobook here.
• Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy, read by Val Toomey, George Newbern, Marin Ireland, and Joel Froomkin
  -Listen to a clip from the audiobook here.
• The Light of Days by Judy Batalion, read by Mozhan Marno
  -Listen to a clip from the audiobook here.
• Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi, read by Mozhan Marno
  -Listen to a clip from the audiobook here.
• How Y'all Doing by Leslie Jordan, read by Leslie Jordan
  -Listen to a clip from the audiobook here.
• Little and Often by Trent Preszler, read by Matt Bomer
  -Listen to a clip from the audiobook here.
• Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard, read by Joyce Maynard (on sale July 13, 2021)
• Impostor Syndrome by Kathy Wang, read by Lauren Fortgang (on sale May 25, 2021)
  -Listen to a clip from the audiobook here.
  -We mentioned Chris' interview with Kathy:
  

• Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau, read by Caitlin Kinnunen
  -Listen to a clip from the audiobook here.

We also mentioned the last podcast episode we did on audiobooks with Senior Audio Marketing Associate Andrew Kaberline. Listen to that episode here:

We recently launched an Advanced Listener Copy program on Edelweiss+ and NetGalley where you can listen to audiobooks in advance of their publication. 

Thank you for coming on the podcast, Bethany! You always bring lots of laughs and thoughtful conversation!

-Lainey

LLF Guest Post: "Lessons the library taught me on creativity" by Kate White, author of THE FIANCÉE

Today, we would like to welcome New York Times bestselling author Kate White for a guest blog post. Her upcoming book, The Fiancée, is a riveting psychological thriller about a captivating woman who joins a family and threatens to upend their picture-perfect lives. 

Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest and The Girl from Widow Hills said:
“A tense, simmering, fast-paced mystery, Kate White’s latest captivating thriller explores the secrets that lurk just under the surface of a picture-perfect façade. I raced through this story about a close-knit family’s annual gathering at an idyllic estate that quickly turns deadly. The Fiancée kept me guessing until the very end, never sure who to trust—or where the danger was hiding.”

***

I’m so pleased to have the chance to tell you a little about myself and my new (fifteenth!) suspense novel, The Fiancée.

First, the book. It opens with Summer Redding heading to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Gabe, and young stepson for an annual get-together at her in-laws’ sprawling estate. Summer, a struggling actress, is looking forward to a break from hustling for work in Manhattan. On the agenda are leisurely gourmet meals, tennis matches, and plenty of poolside relaxation.

It turns out that Gabe’s brother Nick has invited his new flame Hannah, whom Summer immediately recognizes from a few years before. Oddly, Hannah claims not to know her. Yet she charms the other family members, and after Nick announces that he’s proposed to Hannah, Summer decides to grin and bear it.

But the reunion is soon rocked by tragedy when a family member dies. Though the doctors attribute the loss to natural causes, a grieving Summer fears that the cunning-seeming Hannah is involved, even as Gabe dismisses her suspicions. Before long Summer begins to fear that the first death might only be the beginning.

The Fiancée is for anyone who enjoys suspense, and since it’s a “locked-room” mystery, it’s an especially good fit for fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley. What I love about locked-room mysteries is that the reader can be pretty darn sure that the killer is right there on the property with the protagonist, perhaps even sitting at the same dinner table. Kind of terrifying, right?

As a librarian I hope you’ll also get a kick out of the fact that two key turning points involve a book!

Now a little about me. I’m the former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, who left about nine years ago to write fulltime while I still had the chance. It was tough to say goodbye to the Cosmo beauty closet, but I adore my new life as an author.

I was inspired to be an author in part by my mom (a librarian!!!) and also the endless hours I spent as a book-ish kid in libraries. Some lessons those library hours taught me about creativity:

1. You don’t necessarily need a whole room of your own to work in, but you must find a private nook or cranny.
2. Shhhh. Quiet really is important. 
3. But it doesn’t have to be utterly quiet. Sometimes hushed footsteps and murmuring can act as a nice white noise. Now that I do have a home office, I create my own white noise with moody instrumental music on my Amazon Echo!

***

Thank you, Kate! 

Be sure to watch the replay of our Door to Door featuring Kate here:

The Fiancée goes on sale June 29, 2021. There will also be a Library Hardcover edition!

Download an egalley on Edelweiss+
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-Lainey

LLF Staff Suggestions for the July LibraryReads List

Hello, librarians. Happy May! Random fact: the UK celebrates National Smile Month beginning May 17th. Why do we bring this up? Well, nothing makes us smile more than a great book...and with our staff suggestions for the July LibraryReads List, there are plenty of smiles to go around. Keep reading to learn (and smile) more! Remember to submit your votes by June 1st.

Happy reading!

-The LLF Team (Virginia, Chris, and Lainey)

***

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
For fans of: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett and 
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
The award-winning poet and essayist makes her fiction debut with this magisterial epic—an intimate yet sweeping novel with the freshness and forcefulness of Homegoing, The Turner House, and The Water Dancer—that chronicles the journey of one American family from the centuries of the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our own tumultuous time.

"Themes of family, class, higher education, feminism, and colorism yield many rich layers. Readers will be floored."
—Publishers Weekly ⭐ review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

The Women's March by Jennifer Chiaverini
Also from the author: Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters and
Resistance Women
New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini returns with an enthralling historical novel of the woman’s suffrage movement inspired by three courageous women who bravely risked their lives and liberty in the fight to win the vote.

Praise for Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters:
"Through meticulously researched historical detail and sympathetic portrayal of each character, including Mary herself, Chiaverini provides a fascinating glimpse into the women of an influential family on the front lines of some of the most important moments of that indelible time."
—Booklist

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

False Witness by Karin Slaughter
Also from the author: The Last Widow and The Good Daughter
From the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her and The Silent Wife, an electrifying standalone thriller about a successful defense attorney whose latest case has chilling ties to a decades-old secret.

"Slaughter shines an intense spotlight on a new normal laced with COVID-19 protocols and a cast of survivors battling a ruthless pandemic, a serial sadist, and a lifetime of unbeatable odds.... Equal parts hyperrealistic thriller and epic tragedy, Slaughter’s latest is pitch-perfect storytelling."
—Booklist ⭐ review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

Appleseed by Matt Bell
For fans of: Recursion by Blake Crouch and 
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson
In the vein of Neal Stephenson and Jeff VanderMeer, an epic speculative novel from Young Lions Fiction Award–finalist Matt Bell, a breakout book that explores climate change, manifest destiny, humanity's unchecked exploitation of natural resources, and the small but powerful magic contained within every single apple.

"The reason you’ve never read a book like Appleseed is that there’s never been a book like Appleseed. The scary thing, though, is this is a world you might recognize. This premise, this content, this form, this language—only Matt Bell could have given us this novel."
—Stephen Graham Jones, author of The Only Good Indians

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

Listen to a podcast interview between LLF's Chris Connolly and Matt Bell!

 

The Minister Primarily by John Oliver Killens
For fans of: Baracoon by Zora Neale Hurston
A major literary event—the eagerly anticipated publication of a long-lost novel from legendary writer and three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee John Oliver Killens, hailed as the founding father of the Black Arts Movement and mentor to celebrated writers, including Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Arthur Flowers, and Terry McMillan.

"Killens (1916–1987), a member of the Black Arts movement and author of And Then We Heard the Thunder, cleverly satirizes 1960s American politics in this sharp thriller.... Killens maximizes the potential of his plot with outrageous humor. Readers will be glad to find this gem unearthed."
—Publishers Weekly

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

The Stranger in the Mirror by Liv Constantine
For fans of: When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica
A diabolically twisty, psychologically unsettling novel about a woman with no recollection of her past from the authors of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Last Mrs. Parrish and 
The Wife Stalker.

"Gripping! Equal parts character study and domestic thriller, The Stranger in the Mirror makes for a perfect weekend read—a highly enjoyable page-turner where you race to the end, breathless to discover the shocking truth."
—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When You See Me

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

Nobody, Somebody, Anybody by Kelly McClorey
For fans of: Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan
A moving and darkly comic debut novel about an anxious young woman who administers a self-made "placebo" treatment in a last-ditch attempt to rebuild her life.

"I read Nobody, Somebody, Anybody the way I watch horror films: half-hiding behind my fingers, both worried for the anxious young protagonist and eager to know what trouble she’d find herself in next. Kelly McClorey’s voice is funny, heartbreaking, and singular—unlike anything I’ve ever read. This is a book for anyone who’s ever been sad or stuck, or longed to be somewhere or someone else. I loved it."
—Rachel Khong, author of Goodbye, Vitamin

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

Island Queen by Vanessa Riley
For fans of: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
and The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
The mainstream breakout book for acclaimed African-American romance novelist Vanessa Riley: A remarkable, sweeping historical novel based on the incredible true life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free woman of color who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies.

"Island Queen is what you would get if you were to drop Olivia Pope and all the men who lusted after her into the 18th Century Caribbean.... With prose that reads like poetry, Vanessa Riley expertly steers the reader through Dolly’s heartbreaking lows all the way into her triumphant emergence as the richest free woman of color in the islands." —Kaia Alderson, author of Sisters in Arms

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton
For fans of: We Must Be Brave by Frances Liardet and 
The Baker's Secret by Stephen P. Kiernan
From the internationally bestselling and beloved author of the critically acclaimed Boy Swallows Universe, a mesmerizing, uplifting novel of adventure and unlikely friendships in World War II Australia—calling to mind The Wizard of Oz as directed by Baz Luhrmann.

"Achingly beautiful and poetic in its melancholy, All Our Shimmering Skies is a majestic and riveting tale of curses and the true meaning of treasure."
—Booklist ⭐ review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

I Couldn't Love You More by Esther Freud
For fans of: Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley
and Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
A sweeping story of three generations of women, crossing from London to Ireland and back again, and the enduring effort to retrieve the secrets of the past.

"Beautiful and insightful.... As Freud delves into the three women's lives, the reader is taken on a journey of heartbreak as desperate actions taken to protect loved ones are revealed. This eloquent exploration of the ineffable ties between mothers and daughters delivers the goods."
—Publishers Weekly ⭐ review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

London's Number One Dog-Walking Agency
by Kate MacDougall
For fans of: Everybody Died, So I Got a Dog by Emily Dean
The irresistibly charming memoir of a young woman who started her own business as a dog walker for London’s busy, well-heeled dog lovers. A true love letter to London, dogs, and growing up.

"It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me long for a dog! Incredibly moving, very funny and wonderfully wise, this is a brilliant debut memoir and a beacon of hope when we need it most. I shall be recommending it to everyone I know, dog-loving or otherwise."
—Annie Lyons, bestselling author of The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

It Happened One Summer
by Tessa Bailey
For fans of: Beach Read by Emily Henry
Tessa Bailey is back with a Schitt’s Creek-inspired rom-com about a Hollywood "It Girl" who’s cut off from her wealthy family and exiled to a small Pacific Northwest beach town...where she butts heads with a surly, sexy local who thinks she doesn’t belong.

"Bailey delivers on her usual trifecta of sharp banter, instant chemistry, and high-heat sex scenes, but they are coupled with intense soul-searching for both Piper and Brendan... Another winning romance from an author at the top of her game."     
—Kirkus Reviews ⭐ review 

Previous LibraryReads Selections:
Tools of Engagement (Sept. 2020)
Love Her or Lose Her (Jan. 2020)
Fix Her Up (June 2019)

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

Vessel by Cai Chongda
For fans of: Where the Past Begins by Amy Tan
An unprecedented and heartfelt memoir that illuminates the lives of rural Chinese workers, offering a portrait of generational strife, family, love, and loss that crosses cultures and time.

"Chongda paints a tantalizing portrait of a changing China in his dazzling English-language debut.... Looking back on his life, he concludes, 'I have lived in the gap between worlds.' It's in this space that his writing glows, juxtaposing the beauty of both small-town living and urban life. [Vessel] shines with the bright talent of an excellent storyteller."
—Publishers Weekly

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev
For fans of: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert 
The author of Recipe for Persuasion—"not only one of the best but one of the bravest romance novelists working today" (Shelf Awareness)—adds an Indian American twist to Jane Austen's classic Sense and Sensibility in this delightful retelling that is a feast for the senses.

"Incense and Sensibility is a tender, well-crafted novel, as much about finding purpose as it is about falling in love. Dev writes with such rare empathy and humor that I often found myself holding my breath on one page only to be giggling by the next. This is the kind of book you finish with a whole-body, happy sigh and a warm ache in your chest where the characters will live on."
—Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas
Also from the author: Chasing Cassandra and Devil's Daughter
New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas returns with an enthralling and steaming romance between a widowed lady and a Scot on the run—who may have connections to one of London's most noble families.

Praise for Devil's Daughter:
"Long-time fans of RITA Award-winning Kleypas will relish the cameo appearances of so many of her beloved characters, while readers new and returning alike will revel in her stylish prose, sharp wit, and swoon-worthy sensuality as she successfully merges the worlds of her Wallflower and the Ravenels series in a splendid Victorian-set historical romance."
—Booklist ⭐ review

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

The Comfort of Monsters by Willa C. Richards
For fans of: Long Bright River by Liz Moore
Set in Milwaukee during the "Dahmer summer" of 1991, a remarkable debut novel for fans of Mary Gaitskill and Gillian Flynn about two sisters—one who disappears, and one who is left to pick up the pieces in the aftermath.

"On its face, The Comfort of Monsters is a riveting page-turner that begs to be read quickly, compulsively. But page by page, this electrifying debut by Willa Richards weaves an increasingly complicated and dark tale of guilt, fury, and the danger of building stories on that shakiest of foundations, memory. Every sentence is a delight in this taut and thrilling debut...."
—Elizabeth Wetmore, New York Times bestselling author of Valentine

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

The Stranger Behind You by Carol Goodman
Also from the author: The Sea of Lost Girls and 
The Night Visitors
In the tradition of Daphne du Maurier, Michelle Richmond, and Shari Lapena, comes the newest mystery thriller from Edgar Award–winning, bestselling author Carol Goodman—a twisty, chilling story set in a former Magdalene Laundry in Manhattan that explores today’s #MeToo complexities.

"Carol Goodman’s The Stranger Behind You is at once a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, a powerful meditation on the deep bonds and power of female friendship, and a colorful glimpse of New York City old and new."
—Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Confessions on the 7:45

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

Lights Out in Lincolnwood by Geoff Rodkey
For fans of: Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta
A mordantly funny, all-too-real novel in the vein of Emma Straub about a suburban American family who have to figure out how to survive themselves and their neighbors in the wake of a global calamity that upends all of modern life.

"Lights Out in Lincolnwood is an instantly addictive, high-velocity tale of domestic tumult set against the beginning of the end of the world. Teeming with suburban pathos, crackling humor, and disarming tenderness, this novel brilliantly reveals that nothing—not even the impending collapse of civilization as we know it—imperils us more than our own weaknesses and desires."
—Cassidy Lucas, author of Santa Monica

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LibraryReads Votes Due: June 1, 2021

 

Click here for more great July reads!

 

The deadline to submit your votes is June 1!

***

We hope you enjoy the books! For more information about LibraryReads, visit their website. Remember: Vote early! Vote often!

-Chris

From the Door to Door archives: Recommended anti-racism reads with very special guests

Watch our past Door to Door episode from June 11, 2020 where we featured recommended anti-racism reads. We were joined by Wendy Bartlett, the Collection Development Manager/Book Buyer for the Cuyahoga County Library in Ohio, K.C. Boyd, Library Media Specialist at Jefferson Academy in the District of Columbia Public Schools System, and Tracy Sherrod, Editorial Director of Amistad at HarperCollins.

Find a list of the titles discussed (both published by HarperCollins Publishers as well as other publishers) here.

Watch the replay on Facebook to see comments from librarians who tuned in here.

 

-LLF

 

Come See Us at Library Journal's Day of Dialog on Thursday, 5/6!

Hello librarian friends!

Who's going to Library Journal's Day of Dialog on Thursday, May 6th? If you haven't yet registered for this free event, there's still time!

Register for Library Journal's Day of Dialog

Whether it's the incredible author panels, egalley giveaways, or in-booth author chats, you'll be in book-lover's heaven! You can check out all the HarperCollins happenings below! Be sure to come say hello! For full details on Library Journal's Day of Dialog, visit the official event page. 

 

In-Booth Author Chats

11:00 - 11:20am ET

Karin Slaughter, author of False Witness
About False Witness: From the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her and The Silent Wife, an electrifying standalone thriller about a successful defense attorney whose latest case has chilling ties to a decades-old secret.

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1:00 - 1:20pm ET

James Han Mattson, author of Reprieve
About Reprieve: A chilling and blisteringly relevant literary novel of social horror centered around a brutal killing that takes place in a full-contact haunted escape room—a provocative exploration of capitalism, hate politics, racial fetishism, and our obsession with fear as entertainment.

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3:00 - 3:20pm ET

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers,
author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois
About The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois: The award-winning poet and essayist makes her fiction debut with this magisterial epic—an intimate yet sweeping novel with the freshness and forcefulness of Homegoing, The Turner House, and The Water Dancer—that chronicles the journey of one American family from the centuries of the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our own tumultuous time.

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Author Panelists

Literary Fiction, Here and Abroad
9:30 - 10:10am ET

Bernhard Schlink, author of Olga
About Olga: A sweeping novel of love and passion from author of the international bestseller The Reader about a woman out of step with her time, whose life is witness to some of the most tumultuous events of modern age.

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History and Culture
10:15 - 10:55am ET

Matthew Pearl, author of The Taking of Jemima Boone
About The Taking of Jemima Boone:In his first work of narrative nonfiction, Matthew Pearl, bestselling author of acclaimed novel The Dante Club, explores the little-known true story of the kidnapping of legendary pioneer Daniel Boone’s daughter and the dramatic aftermath that rippled across the nation.

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Literary Fiction, Crossing Boundaries
12:15 - 12:55pm ET

Wiley Cash, author of When Ghosts Come Home 
About When Ghosts Come Home: The eagerly awaited novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Land More Kind Than Home, This Dark Road to Mercy, and The Last Ballad—a tender and haunting story of a father and daughter, crime and forgiveness, race and memory.

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Gregory Maguire, author of The Brides of Maracoor
About The Brides of Maracoor: Multimillion-copy bestselling author Gregory Maguire unveils the first in a three-book series spun off the iconic Wicked Years, featuring Elphaba’s granddaughter, the green-skinned Rain.

Find out more on Edelweiss+

 

Memoir Matters
12:15 - 12:55pm ET

Tabitha Lasley, author of Sea State
About Sea State:A stunning and brutally honest memoir that shines a light on what happens when female desire butts up against a culture of masculinity in crisis.

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Mystery
3:30 - 4:10pm ET

Wanda M. Morris, author of All Her Little Secrets
About All Her Little Secrets: The HarperCollins Lead Read Pick for Fall 2021! In this fast-paced thriller, Wanda M. Morris crafts a twisty mystery about a Black lawyer who gets in over her head after the sudden death of her boss—a debut perfect for fans of Attica Locke, Alyssa Cole, Harlan Coben, and Celeste Ng, with shades of How to Get Away with Murder and John Grisham’s The Firm.

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World War II Fiction
4:15 - 5:00pm ET

Kaia Alderson, author of Sisters in Arms
About Sisters in Arms:Kaia Alderson’s debut historical fiction novel reveals the untold, true story of the Six Triple Eight, the only all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps, who made the dangerous voyage to Europe to ensure American servicemen received word from their loved ones during World War II.

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We are so excited to see all of these wonderful authors! The Library Love Fest Team will also be in the HarperCollins booth all day to chat, catch up, and help you with egalleys, book club suggestions, virtual author events, reading recommendations, and so much more. Be sure to click below to register for Library Journal's Day of Dialog event on Thursday, May 6th!

Register for Library Journal's Day of Dialog

-LLF

An Interview with Matt Bell, Author of APPLESEED

Hello, librarians. We're very excited to share our latest episode of The Library Love Fest Podcast, featuring a conversation between LLF's Chris Connolly and Matt Bell, author of Appleseed, on sale July 13th.

If you're a fan of Neal Stephenson, Blake Crouch, or Jeff VanderMeer, then you're going to love the ambitious, sweeping arc of Appleseed. It takes place over the course of more than a thousand years, with three distinct but interconnected storylines: two brothers seeking riches and glory in eighteenth-century Ohio as they plant apple seeds in the vast, untamed wilderness; a group of resistance fighters in a ravaged near-future Earth who are plotting to topple a mega-corporation before it enacts a vast geo-engineering project; and, finally, a mysterious sentient being roaming an ice-covered North America a thousand years in the future who goes on a daring quest to track a homing beacon after centuries of solitude. 

Make no mistake, this is very much an environmental novel, and approaches the issue in a fresh, unique way that feels particular to the best of speculative fiction. Matt Bell seamlessly combines myth, fairytale, science, and the very real issues facing our planet while keeping the reader totally engrossed with beautiful prose, a breakneck pace, and carefully rendered characters.

You can listen to the interview below. And keep reading to see some of the praise for Appleseed!

"The reason you’ve never read a book like Appleseed is that there’s never been a book like Appleseed. The scary thing, though, is this is a world you might recognize. This premise, this content, this form, this language—only Matt Bell could have given us this novel."
—Stephen Graham Jones, author of The Only Good Indians

"Woven together out of the strands of myth, science fiction, and ecological warning, Matt Bell’s Appleseed is as urgent as it is audacious."
—Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble

"This is a fiercely original book—at once intimate and epic, visceral and philosophical—that sent me scurrying for adjectives, for precedents, for cover. Matt Bell commands the page with bold, vigorous prose and may well have invented the pulse-pounding novel of ideas."
—Jess Walter, New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins and The Cold Millions

 

Download an egalley of Appleseed on NetGalley and Edelweiss+ now.

Appleseed publishes on July 13th, 2021. LibraryReads votes are due June 1st!

-LLF

LLF Guest Post from Lawrence Lessig, author of THEY DON'T REPRESENT US

Today we welcome a guest blog post from Lawrence Lessig, author of They Don't Represent Us, on the day of the paperback release. They Don't Represent Us argues with insight and urgency that our democracy no longer represents us and shows that reform is both necessary and possible. The paperback includes a new afterword about the 2020 election as well as a guide to HR1, the major voting rights bill currently in the Senate. 

 

 

 

 

There's so much praise for They Don't Represent Us, including:

“Lessig is a modern-day Paul Revere with a warning we must heed: Our representative democracy no longer represents us.... This urgent book offers not only a clear-eyed explanation of the forces that broke our politics, but a thoughtful and, yes, patriotic vision of how we create a government that’s truly by and for the people.”
—David Daley, bestselling author of Ratf**ked and Unrigged

“An impassioned call to all Americans to fight for equal representation.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“A thoughtful, illuminating, nonpartisan, and pragmatic analysis of the changes needed to restore power to the public… this a must-read and a much-needed wake up call.”
—Booklist

Now, a note from Lawrence:

***

“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil,” wrote Henry David Thoreau, “to one who is striking at the root.” What is, for us, and for our democracy, that root? 

In this book, I show how a single idea explains the rest. That a core promise of any democracy — that it be “representative” — is broken by the institutions of our democracy. Whether through gerrymandering, the suppression of the vote, the Electoral College, the Senate, or, certainly most extremely, the way money dominates the attention of politicians, we have allowed this, “the greatest democracy in the world,” as our leaders style it, to be corrupted because we have allowed this democracy to become radically unrepresentative.

And not just our government: even worse, we have allowed us, the people, to become unrepresentative. “We, the People” speak in our democracy. But how we get rendered, by the institutions of modern media, is deeply unrepresentative as well. 

This point, I fear, most are missing. For much of human history, “the people” were invisible, because, for most of human history, there was no such thing as scientific polling. Polling was born less than a century ago, and when it grew up, we were living in a historically strange media environment. From roughly the middle of the 1950s through the middle of the 1980s, we lived within, as Princeton political scientist Marcus Prior names it, a “broadcast democracy,” where most were focused on a common story, grounded in a common set of facts. That point of view was not unbiased, or even necessarily true, but it made democracy possible in the age of a legible public. 

That common ground has fallen away. And not just through accident, or temporarily. Rather, as I argue in this book, the business model of modern media, from cable television to the dominant Internet platforms, is set against the nurturing of any common ground. Instead, our media profits the more they render us as crazy. The business model of hate is not just what politicians do. Rather in the details of the incentives that make modern media profitable, they profit more the more they tribalize us. 

That argument seemed clear enough to me when this book was first published in November 2019. Everything that has happened since only confirms its worst fears. Not surprisingly, the first Impeachment of President Trump got rendered in a tribal way. But astonishingly, even to me, so too did a global pandemic, and then the reporting and understanding of whether a clear and certain presidential election had in fact been “stolen.”

History will look back at us and wonder how this was possible. I am proud to look back at this book and to see in it the first answers to that question. We have an extraordinary challenge before us, not just to render them—the government—representative if not again, then for the first time, but also, and more difficultly, us. 

How they get fixed is easier to see. The “For the People Act,” aka HR1, now being considered in the Senate, and summarized in an appendix to this edition, would be a critical first step. How we get fixed, or more precisely, how we fix how we get represented, is a much greater challenge. First steps are sketched here, but there are many more that we need to invent. 

***

Thank you so much for taking the time to write for the blog, Lawrence!
Get a copy of They Don't Represent Us here.

-Lainey

Editors Unedited: Katy Hamilton interviews Propaganda, author of TERRAFORM

We're back with another wonderful podcast episode! This week, we welcome Katy Hamilton, Senior Editor at HarperOne, to the podcast to speak with Propaganda—author, musician, speaker, and activist. He also has a podcast of his own! He co-hosts The Red Couch Podcast with his wife, Dr. Alma Zaragoza-Petty.

On this podcast episode, Katy and Propaganda spoke about his upcoming publication Terraform, a debut collection of essays and poetry that inspires us to create a better, more equitable world. Listening to this discussion is the perfect way to celebrate Earth Day—the book looks at the ways in which our world is broken and Propaganda uses the metaphor of terraforming—creating a livable world out of an inhospitable one—to show how we can begin to reshape our homes, friendships, communities, and politics.

Listen to the episode below: 

Terraform goes on sale June 8, 2021. LibraryReads votes are due May 1st. Download an egalley on Edelweiss+ or NetGalley. Be sure to check out some of the interior spreads on Edelweiss+ here. 

-Lainey

LLF Guest Post: "...the best place to live inside lost time was the library." by Maryanne O'Hara, author of LITTLE MATCHES

Today, we welcome Maryanne O'Hara, author of Little Matches, to the blog. Little Matches published today, April 20th. It is an emotionally raw and inspiring memoir that illuminates a mother’s grief over the loss of her adult child and considers the hope of soulful connections that transcend the boundary of life and death. We were so fortunate to have Maryanne on our Door to Door episode to speak about this special book and learn more about Caitlin and their relationship. Read a note from Maryanne below.

 

 

***

today i went to the british library with my mom
and there were all kinds of exhibits
and i saw the original lyrics written for
In my life by john lennon
   Caitlin O’Hara, texting a friend in 2012

One of the delights of being a mother was realizing that I was going to have a second childhood. All of the things I had loved, outgrown, and forgotten—the toy trains and fingerpaints, the chubby books and blue popsicles—I could enjoy anew, made even better this time around because I would experience everything with an exquisite little child.

Life became Proust’s madeleine. It was like living inside lost time. And the best place to live inside lost time was the library.

I don’t remember exactly when I first discovered the children’s room at my own library, growing up, but I remember my wonder. A room in this big, important-looking building just for kids? Full of kids’ books? Could there be anything better?

I read to Caitlin from her earliest days. I wanted language and stories to be second-nature so that she would easily become a reader herself. When she was two and diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a disease that would mean she would spend much of her life in the hospital, books meant she was never really trapped in a room. Suitcases packed for two-week inpatient stays always included a pile of new books. Inside of them, she could be anywhere she wanted to be. Reading whet her appetite for real adventure. She loved traveling, and her father and I brought her on every trip we ever planned.

Caitlin’s health declined as she grew older, but she was able to attend college and work and live mostly independently through much of her twenties. We were close and when apart, kept in constant touch via text. Those texts are long scrolling records of the random and wonderful moments of the everyday:

there is a brush fire in the fens

so im going to the dr at 220

are you making dinner Sunday?

i was driving home thinking how much i love 'in my life' love john lennon

did you book the st john tickets yet?

For every three trips we planned, we usually canceled at least one. The year she was a junior in college, we booked a springtime visit to Cambridge, England. A week before our flight, her cough worsened, her pulmonary function numbers went down, and instead of boarding that British Airways jet, she checked into the hospital for two weeks.

But 2012 was a magical summer. A novel I’d been writing for ten years was about to be published by Viking. Caitlin had begun to take a new gene-modifying drug that helped her feel well enough to rent an apartment in Paris, something she’d long fantasized about, for a few weeks. And before she left for Paris, she and I were able to spend a week in London.

One day we visited the British Library. Its exhibits were as enchanted as objects in any fairytale. There was Charlotte Bronte’s hand-written fair copy manuscript of Jane Eyre. Right there in front of our eyes, the sentences as neat and orderly as Jane herself. And over there, look—Kazuo Ishiguro’s handwriting, ideas for a book that would become one of my ever-favorites, The Remains of the Day. I read the accompanying notes, which pointed out that he liked to lock himself away, for days, to write undisturbed. “Just like you,” Caitlin said.

Her attention drifted over to another case and she called me over, delighted, her eyes shining. Behind the glass, perched on a plinth, sat a heavily scratched-out version of the original lyrics to In My Life, in John Lennon’s handwriting from 1965.

In one of Lennon’s final interviews, he described the song as a remembrance of people of the past. In the original draft, he connected that love of people to concrete places. He wrote about Penny Lane, and tramsheds with no trams, and the “circle of the Abbey” where he had seen happy hours, all glimpsed from the number 5 bus into town.

Place grounds us, connects us. And libraries do that better than anywhere. With their books and their inherent reverence for words, and for records of what was, they connect us viscerally to the past and the future while immersing us utterly inside the present. That immersion stops time. It’s magic.

Recently I found a photo from that day, of Caitlin’s smiling self posing in front of the library. Until the end, her disease was invisible. Looking at that photo you would never know that her lung function was thirty percent of normal. You would never know that she only had a few years left to live. You see only her joy in the moment.

The next time I am in London, I plan to make a trip to the British Library. It will be painful and poignant and it will also be comforting. I am grateful for our human ability to remember, and grateful that humans maintain libraries. I will immerse myself inside lost time, look upon that John Lennon manuscript, and imagine my daughter beside me. I will conjure the memory of her utter delight.

Caitlin O'Hara

***

Thank you, Maryanne, for this beautiful piece and for all of your insight on our Door to Door episode. Watch the replay below:

Thanks for writing and sharing this wonderful book.

-Lainey

Looking ahead to Summer!

Check out these upcoming Summer reads that were featured in the April issue of Booklist:

• Palm Beach by Mary Adkins
• Capture the Crown by Jennifer Estep
• Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard
• The Fiancée by Kate White
• Maps for the Getaway by Annie England Noblin
• Sunrise by the Sea by Jenny Colgan
• Imagine Summer by Shelley Noble
• Painting the Light by Sally Cabot Gunning
• Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson
• Her Heart for a Compass by Sarah Ferguson
• So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park
• Island Queen by Vanessa Riley
• Vortex by Catherine Coulter
• Lights Out in Lincolnwood by Geoff Rodkey
• Love on the Line by Laura Castoro
• Battle Royal by Lucy Parker
• It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
• Love for Beginners by Jill Shalvis
• The Cellist by Daniel Silva
• False Witness by Karin Slaughter
• Her Turn by Katherine Ashenburg
• I Couldn't Love You More by Esther Freud
• Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin
• Home Stretch by Graham Norton
• Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron by Julia Quinn, illustrated by Violet Charles
  
  

More Summer titles not included in the ad:

• The Mothers by Genevieve Gannon
• Kingdom of Bones by James Rollins
• Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane
• Lost and Found Family by Jennifer Ryan
• Three Words for Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
• All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton
• The Last Goodbye by Fiona Lucas
• The Last Debutantes by Georgie Blalock
• The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
• Should We Stay or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver
• A Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams
• Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor
• The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
• Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
• Dream Girl by Laura Lippman
• The Godmothers by Camille Aubray

-LLF

The May LibraryReads List Has Arrived!

Hello, librarians!

You voted, they counted, and the winners have finally been announced!

This month, we are thrilled to share that Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau has been selected for the May LibraryReads List! We're also excited to announce that Alyssa Cole officially joins the LibraryReads Hall of Fame with the selection of How to Find a Princess!

Want to hear how our authors reacted to the big news? Listen to our latest episode of The Library Love Fest Podcast below to hear their responses!

Click here to see the full May LibraryReads List!

***

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau:
Almost Famous meets Daisy Jones and the Six in this funny, wise, and tender novel about a fourteen-year-old girl’s coming of age in 1970s Baltimore, caught between her straight-laced family and the progressive family she nannies for—who happen to be secretly hiding a famous rock star and his movie star wife for the summer.

"Blau’s intelligent, witty novel captures the essence of the '70s with humor and immensely appealing characters. Highly recommended."
—Library Journal ⭐ review

Request the egalley on Edelweiss+
Request the egalley on NetGalley
Listen to the Mary Jane playlist on Spotify

Watch Jessica Anya Blau on Door to Door!

 

How to Find a Princess
by Alyssa Cole: New York Times and USA Today bestseller Alyssa Cole’s second Runaway Royals novel is a queer Anastasia retelling, featuring a long-lost princess who finds love with the female investigator tasked with tracking her down.

"An impressive ending to a series featuring an international cast of complex, multicultural characters balancing their royal responsibilities with their modern lives and loves."
—Booklist ⭐ review

Previous LibraryReads Selections:
How to Catch a Queen (Dec. 2020)
When No One Is Watching (Sept. 2020)

Request the egalley on Edelweiss+
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***

Thanks to all who participated and submitted votes for the May LibraryReads List! Be sure to submit your votes for the June LibraryReads List by May 1st. Click here to find out what we're recommending!  

Click here to learn more about LibraryReads.

-Chris

Bookreporter's Carol Fitzgerald interviews Nadia Hashimi, author of SPARKS LIKE STARS

We have a new interview from Carol Fitzgerald, President of the Book Report Network! She recently interviewed Nadia Hashimi, author of Sparks Like Stars—on sale now. Nadia is the bestselling author of The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, The House Without Windows, and When the Moon Is Low. In her latest book, Sparks Like Stars, an Afghan American woman returns to Kabul to learn the truth about her family and the tragedy that destroyed their lives. NPR said: “Suspenseful…emotionally compelling. I found myself eagerly following in a way I hadn’t remembered for a long time, impatient for the next twist and turn of the story."

You can watch Carol's video interview or listen to the audio on Carol’s podcast!

Be sure to visit The Book Report Network and Bookreporter.com for more great content! 

Watch Nadia's Door to Door episode:

-Lainey

Great July Titles Available Now on NetGalley

The Minister Primarily by John Oliver Killens: A major literary event—the eagerly anticipated publication of a long-lost novel from legendary writer and three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee John Oliver Killens, hailed as the founding father of the Black Arts Movement and mentor to celebrated writers, including Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Arthur Flowers, and Terry McMillan.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

Appleseed by Matt Bell: A "work of incandescent imagination" (Karen Russell) from Young Lions Fiction Award–finalist Matt Bell,
a breakout book that explores climate change, manifest destiny, humanity's unchecked exploitation of natural resources, and the small but powerful magic contained within every single apple. 

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

Nobody, Somebody, Anybody by Kelly McClorey: A moving and darkly comic debut novel about an anxious young woman who administers a self-made "placebo" treatment in a last-ditch attempt to rebuild her life.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

The Stranger in the MIrror by Liv Constantine: A diabolically twisty, psychologically unsettling novel about a woman with no recollection of her past from the authors of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Wife Stalker.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers: The 2020 National Book Award–nominated poet makes her fiction debut with this magisterial epic—an intimate yet sweeping novel with all the luminescence and force of Homegoing; Sing, Unburied, Sing; and The Water Dancer—that chronicles the journey of one American family, from the centuries of the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our own tumultuous era. 

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

The Comfort of Monsters by Willa C. Richards: Set in Milwaukee during the "Dahmer summer" of 1991, a remarkable debut novel for fans of Mary Gaitskill and Gillian Flynn about two sisters—one who disappears, and one who is left to pick up the pieces in the aftermath.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

Vessel by Cai Chongda: An unprecedented and heartfelt memoir that illuminates the lives of rural Chinese workers, offering a portrait of generational strife, family, love, and loss that crosses cultures and time.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

 

False Witness by Karin Slaughter: From the New York Times bestselling author of Pieces of Her and The Silent Wife, an electrifying standalone thriller about a successful defense attorney whose latest case has chilling ties to a decades-old secret.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

The Women's March by Jennifer Chiaverini: New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini returns with The Women’s March, an enthralling historical novel of the woman’s suffrage movement inspired by three courageous women who bravely risked their lives and liberty in the fight to win the vote.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

Island Queen by Vanessa Riley: A remarkable, sweeping historical novel based on the incredible true life story of Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, a free woman of color who rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies. 

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

An Irish Hostage by Charles Todd: In the uneasy peace following World War I, nurse Bess Crawford runs into trouble and treachery in Ireland—in this twelfth book in the New York Times bestselling mystery series.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

 

London's Number-One Dog Walking Agency by Kate MacDougall: The irresistibly charming memoir of a young woman who started her own business as a dog walker for London’s busy, well-heeled dog lovers. A true love letter to London, dogs, and growing up. 

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey: Tessa Bailey is back with a Schitt’s Creek-inspired rom-com about a Hollywood “It Girl” who’s cut off from her wealthy family and exiled to a small Pacific Northwest beach town... where she butts heads with a surly, sexy local who thinks she doesn’t belong. 

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

I Couldn't Love You More by Esther Freud: A sweeping story of three generations of women, crossing from London to Ireland and back again, and the enduring effort to retrieve the secrets of the past. 

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton: From the internationally bestselling and beloved author of the critically acclaimed Boy Swallows Universe, a mesmerizing, uplifting novel of adventure and unlikely friendships in World War II Australia—calling to mind The Wizard of Oz as directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

Lights Out in Lincolnwood by Geoff Rodkey: A mordantly funny, all-too-real novel in the vein of Tom Perotta and Emma Straub about a suburban American family who have to figure out how to survive themselves and their neighbors in the wake of a global calamity that upends all of modern life.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev: The author of Recipe for Persuasion—"not only one of the best but one of the bravest romance novelists working today" (Shelf Awareness)—adds an Indian American twist to Jane Austen's classic Sense and Sensibility in this delightful retelling that is a feast for the senses.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

Three Words for Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb: From Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, the bestselling authors of Meet Me in Monaco, comes a coming-of-age novel set in pre-WWII Europe, perfect for fans of Jennifer Robson, Beatriz Williams, and Kate Quinn.  

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

Lost and Found Family by Jennifer Ryan: If you love Jill Shalvis, Lori Wilde, and Susan Mallery, then you won't want to miss New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Ryan’s riveting new novel about family, secrets, and a woman ready to embrace who she really is by facing down her past.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

 

The Stranger Behind You by Carol Goodman: In the tradition of Daphne du Maurier and Shari Lapena, comes the newest mystery thriller from New York Times bestselling author Carol Goodman—a twisty, chilling story set in a former Magdalen Laundry in Manhattan that explores today’s #MeToo complexities.

Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: 6/1/2021

LLF Staff Suggestions for the June LibraryReads List

The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker
For fans of: Inland by Téa Obreht and 
Transcription by Kate Atkinson
In this enthralling historical epic, set in New York City and the Middle East in the years leading to World War I—the long-awaited follow-up to the acclaimed New York Times bestseller The Golem and the Jinni—Helene Wecker revisits her beloved characters Chava and Ahmad as they confront unexpected new challenges in a rapidly changing human world.

"A blend of romance, Mary Shelley-esque horror, and folklore…. Wecker skillfully combines the storylines of Chava the Golem and Ahmad the Jinni and numerous other players, good and evil, in an enchanting tale that pleases on every page."
—Kirkus Reviews ⭐ review

Request the egalley on Edelweiss+
Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2021

Listen to a podcast interview between LLF's Chris Connolly and Helene Wecker!

 

Impostor Syndrome by Kathy Wang
For fans of: Followers by Megan Angelo and 
American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
From the critically acclaimed author of Family Trust comes a new Silicon Valley satire, exploring the cutthroat world of women in tech through the lens of a thrilling tale of foreign espionage and secrets.

"Kathy Wang’s Impostor Syndrome is a smart, ambitious, and hugely original novel that succeeds on every level. It’s part gripping spy thriller, part sharp-eyed Silicon Valley satire, part nuanced character study—and fully, deeply entertaining every step of the way."
—Lou Berney, Edgar Award-winning author of November Road

Request the egalley on Edelweiss+
Request the egalley on NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2021

Listen to a podcast interview between LLF's Chris Connolly and Kathy Wang!

 

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
by Marianne Cronin
For fans of: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
A charming, fiercely alive and disarmingly funny debut novel in the vein of John Green, Rachel Joyce, and Jojo Moyes—about the unexpected friendship between 17-year-old Lenni, living on the Terminal Ward at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital, and Margot, an 83-year-old, purple-pajama-wearing, fruitcake-eating rebel, who transforms Lenni in ways she never imagined.

"With a sensibility that's as compassionate and quirky as those of her two indelible heroines, Marianne Cronin offers a deceptively lighthearted response to life’s heaviest questions. As Lenni and Margot leave their mark on one another, so too does this tearjerker of a book leave its mark on the reader."
—Kathleen Rooney, author of Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk and Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey

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Dream Girl by Laura Lippman
Also from the author: Lady in the Lake 
and Sunburn
Following up on her acclaimed and wildly successful New York Times bestseller Lady in the Lake—one of the top selling books of her career—Laura Lippman returns with a dark, complex tale of psychological suspense with echoes of Misery involving a novelist, incapacitated by injury, who is plagued by mysterious phone calls.

"My dream novel. I devoured this in three days. The sharpest, clearest-eyed take on our #MeToo reckoning yet. Plus: enthralling."
—Megan Abbott, Edgar Award-winning author of Dare Me and The Fever

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Previous LibraryReads Selections:
Lady in the Lake (July 2019)
Sunburn (March 2018)
Wilde Lake (May 2016)
After I'm Gone (February 2014)

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When Stars Collide 
by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Also from the author:
Dance Away with Me and
First Star I See Tonight
#1 New York Times bestseller Susan Elizabeth Phillips returns to her beloved Chicago Stars series with a romance between a Chicago Stars quarterback and one of the world’s greatest opera singers—and a major diva.

"Re-entering the world of the Chicago Stars is like a beloved friend come to call."
—Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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LibraryReads Votes Due: May 1, 2021 

Previous LibraryReads Selections:
Dance Away with Me (June 2020)
First Star I See Tonight (August 2016)
Heroes Are My Weakness (August 2014)

 

An Unlikely Spy by Rebecca Starford
For fans of: The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton
A twisting, sophisticated World War II novel following a spy who goes undercover as a part of MI5—in chasing the secrets of others, how much will she lose of herself?

"Readers will travel breathlessly along with Evelyn as she navigates the treacherous waters of lifelong allegiances and new alliances, foreign dangers and secrets uncovered much closer to home. Starford has penned both a beguiling tale of espionage and a noteworthy commentary on torn loyalties and the unthinkable choices of war."
—Pam Jenoff, author of The Orphan's Tale and The Lost Girls of Paris

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Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams
For fans of: Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
From the author of the "full-throttle thriller" (A. J. Finn) No Exit—a riveting new psychological page-turner featuring a fierce and unforgettable heroine who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth behind her estranged twin sister's supposed suicide. But as her twin’s final hours come into focus, her search turns into a harrowing, tooth-and-nail fight for her own survival—one that will test everything she thought she knew about her sister and herself...

"A shot of adrenaline straight to the heart! Propulsive and unpredictable, Hairpin Bridge will have you on edge from the first page to the last."
—Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Home Before Dark

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The Fiancée by Kate White
For fans of: Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle
The New York Times bestselling author returns with an unsettling but riveting psychological thriller about a captivating woman who joins a family and threatens to upend their picture-perfect lives.

"A skillfully constructed page-turner.... Expert pacing, characters readers can love to hate, and an intelligent heroine make this a winner. White consistently entertains."
—Publishers Weekly

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Watch Kate White on Door to Door!

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
For fans of: The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden and
The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang
In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver, this unforgettable debut— inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant.

"A thought-provoking, thrilling magical twist on the history of religion and politics that I couldn't put down. In her stunningly rendered--and frankly terrifying--forbidden forests, Reid conjures up some of the ghastliest monsters I've ever read, and yet never lets us forget the worst horrors are perpetuated by human hands."
—S.A. Chakraborty, bestselling author of The Empire of Gold

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A Lowcountry Bride by Preslaysa Williams
For fans of: The Summer Deal by Jill Shalvis and 
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
A heartwarming Avon debut of love, forgiveness, and new beginnings set in the beautiful South Carolina Lowcountry about a bridal gown designer returned home and a military veteran and widowed father trying to keep his business afloat. 

"With superb character development and great emotional depth, Afro Filipina writer Williams stitches together a quietly powerful love story that is beautifully enriched by the deft and insightful incorporation of weighty issues such as grief and medical conditions into the compelling plot and brightly enhanced by glimpses into the vibrant culture and history of Charleston."
—Booklist ⭐ review

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How to Kidnap the Rich by Rahul Raina
For fans of: Beijing Payback by Daniel Nieh and 
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
An exhilarating and propulsive debut novel from an emerging talent—a fresh, bitingly hilarious, sweeping satire of modern-day India for fans of Aravind Adiga, Trent Dalton, and Mohsin Hamid.

"Rahul Raina’s voice crackles with wit and the affecting exuberance of youth. His ripping good story grabs you on page one and doesn’t let go, taking you on a monstrously funny and unpredictable wild ride through a thousand different Delhis at top speed. How To Kidnap the Rich roars with brilliance, freshness and so much heart."
—Kevin Kwan, New York Times bestselling author of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy

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The Metal Heart by Caroline Lea
For fans of: The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
In the dark days of World War II, an unlikely romance blossoms between a Scottish woman and an Italian prisoner of war in this haunting novel with the emotional complexity of The Boat Runner and All the Light We Cannot See—a powerful and atmospheric story of love, jealousy, and conscience that illuminates the beauty of the human spirit from the author of
The Glass Woman.

"The story of true innocents caught up in the machinery of war. Exquisitely researched, beautifully told, this tiny corner of Scotland came alive for me in all of my senses and I found myself rooting for the central characters with all my heart."
—Mary Beth Keane, New York Times bestselling author of Ask Again,Yes

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Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams
Also from the author: The Golden Hour and The Summer Wives
The New York Times bestselling author of Her Last Flight returns with a gripping and profoundly human story of Cold War espionage and family devotion that proves again why Elin Hilderbrand says Beatriz Williams "is writing the best historical fiction out there."

"Williams sharply observes the inequities women faced at the end of WWII and the simmering suspense of the Cold War. Historical fiction fans will be riveted by the complex family relationships and the intriguing portrayal of espionage."
—Publishers Weekly

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The Godmothers by Camille Aubray
For fans of: The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams and
Tony's Wife by Adriana Trigiani 
Big Little Lies set in World War II Greenwich Village! From the author of Cooking for Picasso, an irresistible, suspenseful novel about four women who marry into an elegant, prosperous Italian family, and then must take charge of the family’s business when their husbands are forced to leave them during the war.

Praise for Cooking for Picasso:
"With lively characters and a twisting plot, Aubray’s novel is a smart and satisfying tale of family, creativity, romance and intrigue."
—Booklist

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The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian 
Also from the author: Two Rogues Make a Right and 
Unmasked by the Marquess
Critically acclaimed author Cat Sebastian makes her trade paperback debut in a stunning historical romance about a reluctantly reformed highwayman and the aristocrat who threatens to steal his heart.

"Sebastian’s prose is entertaining and delightful, with many steamy scenes.... It’s also full of intelligent and thought-provoking political debates.... An irresistible story of love and adventure that will delight both newcomers and regular readers of queer romance."
—Kirkus Reviews ⭐ review

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Watch LLF's Lainey Mays Interview Cat Sebastian
on ALA's Diverse Characters Panel!

 

Sisters of the Resistance by Christine Wells
For fans of: The Winemaker's Wife by Kristin Harmel
Set in the thick of the Paris Resistance movement during WWII, this exciting novel tells of the deep involvement of Catherine Dior and two young women who risked their lives to support her efforts—perfect for fans of Kate Quinn and Jennifer Chiaverini.

"As dazzling as a Dior gown! Sisters of the Resistance tells the fascinating story of two sisters working with Catherine Dior and the French Resistance during WWII. With a gorgeous blend of fashion, heartbreak, heroism, and love this book will transport you to France..."
—Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Secret 

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The Vixen by Francine Prose
For fans of: The Burning Girl by Claire Messud
 Critically acclaimed, bestselling author Francine Prose returns with a dazzling new novel set in the glamorous world of 1950s New York publishing, the story of a young man tasked with editing a steamy bodice-ripper based on the recent trial and execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg—an assignment that will reveal the true cost of entering that seductive, dangerous new world.

"A rollicking trickster of a novel, wondrously funny
and wickedly addictive."
—Maria Semple, New York Times bestselling author of Today Will Be Different

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Painting the Light by Sally Cabot Gunning
For fans of: Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini
From the critically acclaimed author of Monticello and The Widow’s War comes a vividly rendered historical novel of love, loss, and reinvention, set on Martha’s Vineyard at the turn of the nineteenth century.

Praise for Monticello:
"Gunning’s writing is elegant, the period details exact."
—USA Today

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Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard
For fans of: Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars. 
by Joyce Carol Oates
In her most ambitious novel to date, New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard takes on the story of a family from the hopeful early days of young marriage to parenthood, divorce, and its costly aftermath—to illuminate how the mistakes of parents are passed down through generations to fester, or to be healed.

"How did Maynard know that this is exactly the book we all need now? This exhilaratingly brilliant novel isn’t just an indelible story of the falling dominoes of a family struggling through crisis and through generations, it’s also about the times we live through.... This gorgeous story reminds us that love is always, always worth it."
—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You

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Anne of Manhattan by Brina Starler
For fans of: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
L. M. Montgomery’s classic tale, Anne of Green Gables, gets a romantic, charming, and hilarious modern adaptation, set in New York City.

"Adaptations of beloved children’s books are difficult to pull off, but Starler’s debut—a romantic, modern-day riff on Anne of Green Gables—brings impressive heart and sensuality to a classic."
—Publishers Weekly

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The deadline to submit your votes is May 1!

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We hope you enjoy the books! For more information about LibraryReads, visit their website. Remember: Vote early! Vote often!

-Chris