Booklist Readerの November 2025 の目次

Horror readers know Stephen Graham Jones is one of the most exciting voices writing today. Drawing on his Blackfeet heritage, he mines the depths of tradition, colonialism, and the horror genre itself in his terrifying and surprisingly hopeful works. His breakout hit, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, tells the story of Good Stab, a Blackfeet vampire who roams the Montana prairie in 1912 looking for vengeance and whose increasingly tense and violent confessions are told through the journals of a Lutheran minister of the time. Tracing the real-life 1870 Marias Massacre, this is a story of heartbreak, revenge, and terror. Readalikes include historical horror and poignant works by Native authors, sure to capture the attention of readers who want to explore more work like Jones’. The Haunting of Room 904. By…

1. Who is Ashley Poston when she is at home? At home, Ashley Poston—just Ash, usually—wanders around her house singing to her three cats. Sometimes she’s painting the walls of her house, other times she’s rearranging furniture, but she’s always thinking about ways to unsnarl plot threads. She gets up in the morning, usually because her eldest cat, Moose, chews on her hair until she feeds him, and fixes herself a pot of coffee. She sits on her back porch until the summer sun gets too muggy, and then she retires into the house to write. She starts with fanfic—always fanfic—before she gravitates over to her own work. Her uniform is sweatpants and a ratty t-shirt, and makeup becomes a lost art whenever she isn’t Ashley Poston. She likes being…

Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results. By James Clear. Read by the author. 2018. Penguin Random House Audio. This is an audiobook that can help transform your life. The focus is on how to create habits to improve yourself. It has taught me to focus on small improvements. I strive to get exercise in and have begun rewarding myself based on my physical-exercise goals on a daily basis. A must-listen! Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. By Gail Honeyman. Read by Cathleen McCarron. 2017. Books on Tape. Eleanor is a quirky loner who loves her routine and has lived under her mother’s control for much of her life. As I listened to this book, I began to connect more and more with Eleanor as I got further into the story. Eleanor…

Older Coldwire. By Chloe Gong. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry. Gr. 9–12. In best-selling Gong’s new dystopian series starter, humanity takes refuge from the deteriorating real world in a virtual reality, where two soldiers get caught up in a cold war between two powerful nations. The House Saphir. By Marissa Meyer. Feiwel and Friends. Gr. 9–12. This forthcoming stand-alone from the commercially successful “queen of fairy-tale retellings” is a romantasy murder-mystery based on the legend of Bluebeard. MindWorks: An Uncanny Compendium of Short Fiction. By Neal Shusterman. Simon & Schuster. Gr. 7–12. This absolute behemoth of a fantastical short-story collection by Shusterman includes a return trip to his best-selling Arc of a Scythe universe as well as some new material. We Fell Apart. By E. Lockhart. Delacorte. Gr. 9–12. Lockhart’s…

There are many benefits to getting kids to help in the kitchen. Apart from the basic value of gaining cooking skills, they can become more open to trying new foods, more aware of where their food comes from, and—if you’re lucky—more capable of pitching in to prepare meals for their families (no guarantees on them helping clean up, though). The world of cookbooks for kids is not as robust as it is for adults, but there are a handful of standout titles, such as Sweet & Salty (see review on p.29) that not only offer kidfriendly recipes for aspiring chefs of all abilities but introduce important techniques, terminology, and guidelines that will bolster skills and boost confidence. The following titles are specifically designed for young cooks, with inclusions ranging from…

Fiction Best Offer Wins. By Marisa Kashino. Celadon. In this much-talked-about debut, real-estate journalist Kashino notches the drama (and laughs) up to 11 as a woman resorts to increasingly unhinged tactics to snag the house of her dreams. Skewering class, ambition, and the DC housing market, this one is for readers who like dark humor and a hero you’ll root for even as you cringe at her behavior. Brigands & Breadknives. By Travis Baldree. Tor. The third cozy fantasy set in Baldree’s beloved Legends & Lattes universe (after Bookshops & Bonedust) follows foulmothed rattkin bookseller Fern’s attempt to open up shop in a new city. But that’s just the beginning, as Fern finds herself in the company of a ragtag, motley crew that must fend off various villains to protect…

The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen. By Yuta Takahashi. Tr. by Cat Anderson. 2025. Penguin. A certain seaside restaurant outside Tokyo can only be found by word-of-mouth. Visitors are welcomed by a friendly feline—Chibineko, meaning “little cat”—and a chalkboard announcing, “The Chibineko Kitchen / We serve remembrance meals.” Their kagezen—gustatory offerings added to late loved ones’ altars—provide a magical portal for brief reunions with the beloved dead: “You can hear your loved one’s voice again” and receive the exact answers necessary to move forward. Takahashi, invitingly translated by Anderson, transforms tragedies into healing journeys of communal kindness in this delicious start to an eight-part series. The Healing Season of Pottery. By Yeon Somin. Tr. by Clare Richards. 2024. Algonquin. After imploding her TV-writing career, Jungmin became a shut-in. Nine…

Fiction After That, the Dark. By Andrew Klavan. Read by Adam Barr. HighBridge. Oct. Another tense, clever entry in the Cameron Winter series. Audrey Lane Stirs the Pot. By Alexis Hall. Read by Samara MacLaren. Sourcebooks Audio. Dec. Audrey leaves her journalism career and longtime girlfriend to join Britain’s biggest baking show. Evil Bones. By Kathy Reichs. Read by Linda Emond. Simon & Schuster Audio. Nov. Series narrator Emond is back with another Temperance Brennan outing. Exit Strategy. By Lee Child and Andrew Child. Read by Scott Brick. Books on Tape. Nov. Brick’s tense narration is always an ideal match for a Jack Reacher thriller. The Intruder. By Freida McFadden. Read by a full cast. Dreamscape. Oct. Fan-favorite McFadden’s twisty thriller gets a full-cast narration. Queen Esther. By John Irving.…

Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior. By Carole Lindstrom. Illus. by Bridget George. 2023. Roaring Brook. Gr. 1–3. Lindstrom’s profile of Indigenous activist Autumn Peltier describes how Autumn’s grandmother and later Autumn herself advocate for caring for the water. Breathtaking illustrations accompany the lyrical text, offering steps young readers can take to care for their local aquatic habitats and watersheds. While chronicling Peltier’s activism, Lindstrom makes the genuine care behind her work the heartbeat of this story. Expansive back matter invites further learning and includes a list of additional resources. Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story. By S. D. Nelson. Illus. by the author. 2012. Abrams. Gr. 2–6. This picture-book biography weaves together the real history of Buffalo Bird Woman with Nelson’s (Standing Rock Sioux) storytelling of the woman’s childhood. Especially insightful…

An American Story. By Kwame Alexander. Illus. by Dare Coulter. 2023. Little, Brown. Gr. 3–6. Coulter’s clay sculptures, superimposed against painted wood backgrounds, add depth and realism to images depicting the brutally honest history of American slavery. The Blue House. By Phoebe Wahl. Illus. by the author. 2020. Knopf. PreS–Gr. 3. Vibrant illustrations, created with watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, and collage, feature deep colors and expressive drawings of characters struggling with the prospect of moving to a new home. Chidori: A Story of One Thousand Birds. By Jennifer Maruno. Illus. by Miki Sato. 2025. Pajama. Gr. 1–6. The 2011 Tohuku earthquake and tsunami in Japan is captured with raw clarity in Sato’s three-dimensional paper collage illustrations of a child’s experience, featuring delicate sumi-e ink brushstrokes, textiles, and embroidery silk. Clothes…

November 2025 The Top Ten Adult Fiction and Nonfiction Chosen Monthly by America’s Library Staff I, Medusa Ayana Gray (Random House) Medusa—legend, myth, monster—was once an innocent girl named Meddy who longed to see the world beyond her island. Meddy is a mortal born of two immortal sea gods in Poseidon’s kingdom. When she catches the attention of the goddess Athena and is taken on as an acolyte in her temple, she thinks she has found her purpose, but a misstep angers the Gods and she becomes Medusa. A feminist tale that will capture readers’ attention from the first page. —Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin, TX NoveList read-alike: Medusa by Nataly Gruender Black-Owned:The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore Char Adams (Tiny Reparations Books) An extremely informative and…

Stories That Unite Us: November on PBS Books Celebrate civility, culture, and America’s founding stories this November with PBS Books. The Civility Book Virtual Town Hall Early November | LIVE on PBS Books This November, join PBS Books for a timely and thought-provoking conversation with veteran journalists and authors Nolan Finley and Stephen Henderson. Once fierce editorial rivals—Finley, a staunch conservative, and Henderson, a committed progressive—they have since forged an unexpected partnership. Their story reveals the transformative power of dialogue across divides. During this LIVE virtual town hall, audiences can submit questions in real time and engage directly with the authors as they discuss their groundbreaking new release, The Civility Book. The book offers a practical guide to fostering respectful relationships across political, cultural, and racial divides, with four core…

Bird Rehearsal. By Jonah Winter. Illus. by Stacy Innerst. 2024. Cameron Kids. PreS–Gr. 2. This unconventional story is told entirely through birdsong over the course of a day. Readers will delight in sounding out the creatively conceptualized chirps and squawks of various birds. Dog vs. Strawberry. By Nelly Buchet. Illus. by Andrea Zuill. 2024. Random House Studio. PreS–Gr. 2. In an epic living-room race, narration executed as sports commentary delivers the hilarious play-by-play of a dog facing off against a strawberry. Guaranteed to delight audiences big and small. Let’s Be Bees. By Shawn Harris. Illus. by the author. 2025. Holiday/Neal Porter. PreS–Gr. 1. In this charming, inventive take on the read-aloud experience, a father and child embark on a journey of “being” by becoming different animals, natural phenomena, and even…