Becky's Evergreen Advice-- Please Judge a Book By Its Cover and Now LitHub Enters the Chat

I have posted about how we absolutely need to judge books by their cover MANY times (going back over 10 years). Here is the most recent time with links to older posts. Also, here is the link to every time I have tagged a post "covers."

Please explore those links because I have written about this over and over, from how covers help us judge the appeal off the story behind said cover, how they can hinder, how it helps us connect with patrons, and how to use covers as a conversation starter to display option.

When I first began writing about this, it was a little shocking, however, in the decade plus since, not only have more people started considering covers, some of the biggest literary news outlets have regular reporting on covers, their trends, and what it all means. 

Literary Hub is one such example. They have tags for book covers, cover trends, and history of book covers. [Quick aside, LitHub needs a librarian on staff; they have too many tags and they are not consistently applied in general. An entire meta data review and consolidation of tags needs to happen there. All of this should just be cataloged as "covers.]

The other day they had this excellent essay on the history of book cover trends entitled, "It’s Ok to Judge a Book By Its Cover (It’s Impossible Not To)" by Ed Simon, the Public Humanities Special Faculty in the English Department of Carnegie Mellon University.

Here is the pull out quote from this excellent essay: "A history of literature could be written by analyzing book cover trends."

I want to note, he also addresses the role of covers in a digital space as well. Spoiler, they are still important.

I highly suggest everyone read it and cross reference my posts on this same topic. And remember, let the covers work for you, both to help you quickly decipher the appeal of the books you are holding (publishers paid a lot for that cover to make sure readers do this) AND to remind you that face out book displays are ALWAYS the best option, even if it mean you put fewer books on display. The covers will sell the books for you and fewer titles will circulate faster face out that more titles filling a larger display spines out. 

And finally, a note about AI covers, even if they are on books that were 100% human written. I am judging your book as slop if you slap an AI cover on it. Cover artists are creatives too. They want to be paid for their original work. You want to be paid for your written word. Thus, you slap an AI cover on your book, I am judging you as someone who I cannot trust, someone who cuts corners, someone who supports AI. Your book is slop as well.

NYT Best Books of the Year (So Far) and Their Enhanced Genre Coverage

The New York Times Books section just released their 2026 Best Books of the Year (So Far) (gift link). I love a few things about this list and all of it comes from the NYT Books sections concerted effort to be more inclusive of all types of books and reading experiences.

First, the list is focused NOT on the quality of writing alone. Yes that matters, but they have proclaimed the mission statement for how they chose these books in the subtitle for the article: "The nonfiction and novels we can't stop thinking about." This statement makes it clear that the reader's experience matters.

Second, and related, in the past, the NYT would pride themselves on picking the most obscure books. It was their badge of honor. The staff of the section has had a major overhaul in the last few years and the results are showing. The NYT Books section and their lists are serious about connecting readers with the best books for them, full stop. And in fact, obscure is now seen as a bad choice, unless the writers believe it has a wide appeal that has been overlook by others.

Third, and also related, there are genre titles here, and more than one token choice. Genre works can be among the best even when considered across all literature. And this list has genre titles, books that have long queues at your library right now. The inclusion of more genre in the NYT best lists is directly correlated to their increased genre coverage in general. I wrote about this, here, in February when the NYT released their Romance glossary. And then last week, they added a Fantasy column to their regular rotation of Sunday Book Review section genre coverage. They are now regularly covering the most popular genres in fiction and nonfiction, and that coverage has led to the best of those books being added to overall best lists. Knowledge matters. If they are paying writers to cover genre titles, obviously the cream will rise to the top and the very best will be allowed to break through into the over all best conversation, a fact we know well at libraries.

Fourth, the list is not huge. It is focused. If someone wanted to read them all, they could. And they have been adding a feature throughout all of their lists that takes advantage of the fact that many people have a digital subscription to the NYT now. You can click to say you have read a book or that you want to read it and it will be saved in your account. All of this encourages people to find a book that they will actually read. And get ready, because they will come to us to get their copy to read. This is why I have included gift links, so even if you do not have access, you can see these lists.

And I think that is the final thing to say here. The NYT used to be focused on telling us about books you would probably never read. Sure they'd throw readers a bone or two over the course of the year, but they absolutely did not prioritize the reader. Not any more. Now, they want you to read the books they are reviewing, they are covering them and including a wide swath of titles to encourage you to give more titles a try, and they are slowly re-building trust with lists that SHOW they care about all types of books and readers.

With the closing of many newspaper sections that had serious coverage of books, the NYT actively trying to fill in all the gaps. Most libraries have digital access to the paper. Please make sure you are using their Books coverage as one of your regular resources, especially if you haven't visited in a while. And get ready for all of the titles mentioned in their Books coverage (especially the genre and best coverage) to lead to longer holds queues.

Resource Reminder: Forward Reviews

I want to start the week with a reminder that reviews are not only for those of you who make purchasing decisions. 

Reviews are a recourse to help you identify titles that your patrons may enjoy as well. In some libraries, you might find a great suggestion for a patron and then you can pass it on to be bought by the collections people. But some cannot. I am just making it known that I understand that before moving on.

Okay, back to using reviews as a resource.

We are all aware of using Booklist, LJ, and PW reviews as a resource, especially those of us who use NoveList because they appear in the records for a book in that database. We read them to get plot info, appeal, and readalike options. It is quick and reliable way to have human provided information.

But, do you remember to also check Forward Reviews? 

Foreword Reviews has been out there since 1998 providing trade book reviews of the best titles from independent presses, in print and online.

What its Forward Reviews? Here is information (edited by me) from their About page:

Since our inception in 1998, Foreword Reviews has never strayed from its mission to help booksellers and librarians discover great books from indie presses. At a time when the trade media devoted nearly all its attention on the larger corporate publishers like Random House and Simon & Schuster, the debut of Foreword Reviews introduced a new stream of quality reviews of independently published books to the wholesalers and distributors where booksellers and librarians order their books. The United States has always recognized the importance of a fiercely independent press—one that embraces freedom of thought, multiculturalism, religious diversity, and an understanding that profit motive shouldn’t be the only criteria used when deciding whether to publish a book. The fact that Foreword’s business model was built around indie presses caused many heads to turn in the book industry.

Foreword Reviews is dedicated to the “art” of book reviewing. With a review team of talented writers who are experts in their fields, our book-industry journal is designed for a discerning readership—in recognition of the fact that quality paper, generous use of white space, and creative design encourages a time investment by readers.

Foreword’s reviews are not annotated summaries of books. Instead, they are insightful critiques, robust in length and thoughtful. That is why our readership loves us so much. And why our reviews are licensed to wholesalers like Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Bowker, Cengage, Ebsco, and others. Librarians use databases of reviews provided by these wholesalers or distributors to choose books for their stacks. It is unusual for them to shop outside of these vendors, and having a review attached to a book is almost always a minimum requirement for a sale, especially at public libraries.

Thanks to the loyal support of scores of indie presses—from established publishers smaller than “the big five,” to university presses, and even some self-published authors—Foreword Reviews is primarily supported by advertising revenues, not expensive annual subscriptions or newsstand sales. The endorsement of these publishers has kept our message vital to a loyal and growing group of booksellers and librarians, distributors and wholesalers, who don’t just want to offer a media-driven list of bestsellers to their customers and patrons. Foreword’s foundation was built on reviewing literary fiction, poetry, children’s picture books, translations, and topics like climate change, diversity, and multiculturalism. Most importantly, we strive to promote voices that are unheard, overlooked, or even silenced.

In the late 1990s, when Foreword launched, indie presses were rarely covered by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus, Booklist,and School Library Journal. In fact, during publishing conferences like the Independent Book Publishing Association and PubWest, review personnel from these magazines often openly discouraged audience members from sending their books in for review! Soon after our debut, some of the most prestigious literary presses started to get coverage in PW and the other magazines. Some of these presses included Milkweed, Grove Atlantic, Algonquin for fiction and Sourcebooks, Workman, Amacom and some university presses for nonfiction. Not surprisingly, after budgets at the big five publishers started drying up, and after years of seeing Foreword supported by the very presses they were ignoring, the industry review journals started to cover indies with more flourish.

In the past, “indie” mostly meant self-published authors. Now indie means anyone not published by HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Macmillan, and Hachette. Larger indie presses include Bloomsbury, Sourcebooks, WW Norton, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Oxford University, and a dozen or so others.

Indies are not for everyone. Foreword is not for everyone. There are many booksellers who are only able to stay alive because they dedicate themselves to trying to keep up with the chains and stocking bestsellers. Same holds true for smaller libraries. But Foreword is essential for the librarians and indie booksellers who are working to establish themselves as a special place in their communities. They value what indie presses are doing in literature: quality assured by editorial teams who are all about keeping the art of publishing alive.

And it is all free. Quality reviews of many books you cannot find in the trade journals. From any page you can sort by:

• ALL BOOK REVIEWS
• STARRED REVIEWS
• EDITOR'S PICKS
• NEWEST RELEASES
• CLARION REVIEWS
• BY GENRE
• And "Genre" means many fiction, and even more nonfiction genres to choose from, a section on Comics and Graphic Novels, and all youth categories.

For example, a click on "Horror" under the fiction genres gets you this.

I tend to look at Forward Reviews on a regular schedule, about once a month. I use it to read reviews, to see trends as they emerge, and to find outside the box recommendations for patrons or myself.

I really enjoy that there are separate tabs for starred reviews and editor's picks. That gives me 2 categories of books that rise to the top.

Add Forward Reviews to your resources, use it to help readers, and make it part of your own continuing education as you are updating your own knowledge on a specific genre.

To help remind you, I have added this post and Forward Reviews itself as a resource on my Free Genre Resources document that is always available here and on my 10 Rules page (Rule 7).  

Becky's Genre Program Just Got Its 2026 Makeover

Once a year, always in late March or early April, I give my Demystifying Genre presentation a huge overhaul. It is very time consuming but necessary. The results can be seen at this link.

Exactly what do I do?

I use all of the resources, articles, and stats from the 12 months before to assess each genre (for adults and teens), look at the trends, assess what books were the most popular (not are right now, but those that have staying power) and update my slides.

Year to year, there are smaller changes, but I have been doing this actively since the Fall of 2004 when I started teaching the RA class at the graduate school. I am always surprised by what I have seen over that 22 year time span.

Entire genres have changed (psychological suspense), some have gone out of fashion and come back to popularity (westerns and gentle reads), and some have stuck around, barely, and now are in the spotlight (horror). Subgenres and trends come and go. I have watched Romance covers not share anything about the heat level inside, then be great at projecting that, and now back to telling us nothing at all. 

As you can probably tell, this is not an easy process but I love it. 

I am committed to this program helping every single one of you. The slides are their own resource. I list the genre characteristics and current trends. I also have book covers for titles to get you started-- with a full text list of said titles in the notes for each slide. This list is NOT comprehensive, rather it is representative. It includes titles from NoveList's curated lists, genre awards, the RUSA CODES Reading List, and genre overviews from Booklist and LJ, among other things.

While I give this program live, I ask the attendees to add to that starter list for each genre as I talk about it. 

But even if you don't have the live version of this program, I craft the slides so that each can be pulled up and used by you as you help readers. You can use what I write about the genre characteristics and current trends to help you have a conversation with a fan of that genre. You can also use the example titles to get a  sense of books and authors they already enjoy. The slides are your conversation starter for helping a reader who enjoys that genre. Then use what you have learned to make the resources (full list of which are linked in the program) work for you.

Please note, this program is the genre as it stands TODAY. There are NO dead authors. There is no mention of the history of the genre. That matters, of course, but that is not what this program is. Demystifying Genre is about getting library workers up to speed on how to help readers right now. I send you to other resources where you can find those classic options.

This year, I have also increased the Nonfiction overlaps and given you specific guidance on how to help those readers. 

This update will debut for the first time on April 13th for the State of Connecticut, but I will be giving it many more times this year still to come.

Please bookmark this link and use it to help your patrons for the next 12 months. Just remember, this is a starting point. I absolutely cannot include everything about every genre, nor can I include every title. This program is a tool for you to store in your toolbox of resources. 

Booklist's Ideas and Practice Recordings 2024-2026

Last week I attended Booklist's FREE Readers' Advisory Ideas & Practice 2026. The recordings and slides are now available for all. The format of this half day of library training is broken up into three presentations-- 2 "Ideas" sections and 1 focused on practice. 

This is the third year for Booklist's RA Ideas & Practice series, and before I get to this year's program, I wanted to remind you that all Booklist Webinars are easily accessible in their archive at this link. But as they are currently at work creating a more organized way to access the content, I have pulled out the 2025 and 2024 programs.

Fun fact, Robin and I were a part of the very first session of the very first edition of RA Ideas & Practice. 

Please note, access is free but you need to fill out a form saying where you work to view. If you are not a library worker, there is a box for "other."

2025 Program Access:

Readers' Advisory: Ideas and Practice: The State of Genreblending in Adult and YA (March 12, 2025) Adult readers' advisory librarian Misha Stone (she/her) and Hugo-nominated and Ignyte award-winning critic and High School librarian Alex Brown (they/them) will talk about trends in genreblends in adult and YA fiction and how to help readers find the perfect blend for their reading interests.

Readers' Advisory: Ideas and Practice: Nonfiction Readers' Advisory (March 12, 2025) Programming and Outreach Specialist Stephanie Sendaula (she/her) and rural library director Allie Stevens Gosselink (she/her) will explore how accessibility, format variability, and high-interest subject matter create many opportunities to use nonfiction titles in leisure reading recommendations for adults and teens alike.

Readers' Advisory: Ideas and Practice: Hot Tips for Hand-Selling (March 12, 2025) Librarians and Booklist editors Heather Booth (she/her) and Susan Maguire (she/her) will show you how to build a book talk using clues from reviews 

2024 Program Access: 

Readers' Advisory: Ideas and Practice: Swoons and Screams (3/14/24) Librarians Robin Bradford, Alex Brown, and Becky Spratford will dive deep into the appeal of horror and romance for teens and adults, and explore how they are both genres of intense feeling, how they intersect and diverge, and what makes each genre so appealing to readers. 

Readers' Advisory: Crafty & Concise Book Blurbs (3/14/24) Librarians and Booklist editors Heather Booth and Susan Maguire will present a workshop on writing annotations, focusing on how to hone in on a book’s appeal and present a concise description of a book that will entice patrons to read.

Readers' Advisory: Ideas and Practice: The Readers’ Advisory Conversation (3/14/24) Librarians Michelle Morris and Sheila Michaels will present a workshop on the RA conversation, offering practical tips and instructions on how to get the most out of your interactions with patrons. 

Now back to 2026's event. This year the 2 "Ideas" sections were focused on RA for Historical Nonfiction and Memoirs and Romantasy. These were very useful and as you can see below, you have access to the slides and the audience chat which are an excellent resource to help you serve your readers better.

But I want to call out the "Practice" session specifically-- The Four Cornerstones of Reader Interest. Heather and Susan framed how we help readers in a new way. They reframed the RA conversation by reminding us that how we match readers with book is not just about matching appeal factors, but rather we always need to consider the reader's mood, the book's availability, the zeitgeist, and appeal.

It was interesting and very useful. I will be incorporating some of what they said (with attribution) in my programs going forward. I highly recommend you take the time to watch it for yourself. And take advantage of the chat transcript. We are all sharing excellent information. Links are below. And again, access is free but you need to fill out a form saying where you work to view. If you are not a library worker, there is a box for "other."

I am already excited for next year. 

Readers’ Advisory: Ideas & Practice 2026

As promised, here are links to the follow-up materials:

Webinar Recordings:

Perspectives on the Past: Recommending Historical Nonfiction and Memoirs

Enchanting Escapes: Romantasy Readers’ Advisory for Libraries

The Four Cornerstones of Reader Interest

PowerPoint Slides:

Perspectives on the Past: Recommending Historical Nonfiction and Memoirs

Enchanting Escapes: Romantasy Readers’ Advisory for Libraries

The Four Cornerstones of Reader Interest

Session Chats:

Perspectives on the Past: Recommending Historical Nonfiction and Memoirs

Enchanting Escapes: Romantasy Readers’ Advisory for Libraries

The Four Cornerstones of Reader Interest

Additional Resources:

Resources from Penguin Random House Library Marketing

Penguin Random House Library Website

Take Booklist's Readers' Advisory Survey!

Read Booklist's January 2026 issue (Spotlight on Readers' Advisory) for free!

Certificate of Completion

We'd like to once again thank our panelists:

Allie Stevens Gosselink, Director of Calhoun County Library

Stephanie Sendaula, Branch Services Supervisor for Youth and Adult Services at Somerset County Library System

Austin Ferraro, Teen Services Librarian, Northern Virginia public libraries

Rachel Koury, Branch Manager for the Erwin branch of the Harnett County Public Library System

Heather Booth, Audio Editor, Booklist

Susan Maguire, Senior Editor, Collection Management and Library Outreach, Booklist

Reader Preferences And How "I Before She" is Changing the Romance Genre

We have known for years that as readers' tastes change, the books that authors write and that publishers solicit (and publish) reflect that change. Romantasy is but one recent example. But we have seen many others over the years. Take for example the increase in everything cozy in the years since 2020. We now see cozy options in just about every genre. Or the switch from Psychological Suspense being driven by serial killer stories to moving into be dominated by the unreliable, female narrator in the years since Gone Girl. 

While those examples are larger genre evolutions, we have also seen changes in the way books are written, regardless of genre, based on the success of a shift in narrative choices as they resonate with readers. One of the most obvious examples is the dual time frame denoted by devices like the use of "then" and "now." This has been a great tool to keep the pacing moving fast enough while delivering the details needs for intrigue to be built out fully, delivering necessary background details without slowing the story down.This device used to be found only in crime genres, but its success with readers and their overwhelming embracing of it has led to it being used everywhere. 

Right now we are in the middle of another huge genre narrative evolution, and this time it point of view driven and we are watching the change happen in real time in one of our most popular genres--- Romance.

Slate has a very good article about how romance readers want first person and romance authors are abandoning third person in droves to satisfy them. I have a link that will allow you to read "I Before She" here.

One of the people quoted for this story is my colleague Jennifer Prokop, co-host of Fated Mates. She alerted my to this article because she was very impressed by the questions the reporter was asking and the serious research they clearly put into it-- something we both know as experts in emotion driven genres (Romance her, Horror, me) does not always happen. Here thoughts are in the last third of the article.

Since most you reading this post work at a public library in America, I am going to tell you that you NEED to read this article because Romance readers are among your most loyal and frequent patrons. 

I will also be incorporating this article into my 2026 update of my Demystifying Genre program (slide access coming soon). 

Black History Month Displays and Genre: An Example For You To Use for All Identity Months

This is a repost from 2024:

I do not spend a lot of time on heritage months here on the blog mostly because I know most of you have them covered. My biggest problem though is that many libraries only highlight books by marginalized authors during their "month" and then not at all. 

Last year during Pride, I did an entire post about this issue here. Please read it because it has a lot of excellent information and I am not going to repeat any of it, but know all of it is implied in today's post.

Today I have what you could consider, "Part 2" of that post.

I want you to look at your Black History Month displays because from what I see they mostly contain literary fiction with some historical and maybe like 1 romance. Where is the genre? 

I know where it is. It is left languishing on the shelf because of systemic oppression and well meaning white librarians who think they are helping by "elevating" Black voices during "their" month 

It is a version of what I wrote back in 2019 about the unintended racism in our resources, especially when we are talking about genre.

Let me back up a little because I know some of you are thinking I just called you racist. Let me be clear-- I did not. What I am referring to the fact that our mostly white work force in librarianship tends to uplift only the people of color who fit the standard of the very best of publishing. They think that by highlighting those who fit the standard of "literary" that they are showing Black writers at their best.

When I put it this way, I hope you start to see the problem.

Black people read and write books about everything. Just like white people. In fact, for those who forget this, when Robin does her portion of our Actively Anti-Racist Service to Readers program, she ends  her presentation with examples of Black writers producing works on every topic.

When it is Black History Month, we should be highlighting as wide a range of Black authors as possible. That includes those who hold other identities beyond being Black (again, see Pride post)

[FYI: you can insert any identity into this argument because all people write all kinds of books, but we are using this, one of the most commonly celebrated identity months in libraries, to make you think about this problem.]

Specifically, I would like to discuss the exclusion of genre. Genres are already looked down upon by the world. Publishers and library workers try to lift them up by saying something is a "literary" Thriller or Fantasy or Horror, especially when it is written by someone from a marginalized perspective(again see that post from 2019).

All Black History Month displays must include genre titles. Not including genre is a disservice to what you are trying to do which is showcase the breadth of titles you own by Black people. It is also unfair to your readers of any identity. You are not allowing them to find a book for them. What about the straight, Asian woman who loves speculative? Guess what, she would love to learn about a Rivers Solomon book because their books are awesome. You aren't only suggesting Fonda Lee. Of course not. But I use this obvious example to make you take a hard look at your well meaning self.

Think about it this way, what percentage of your checkouts are literary fiction vs genres? I am not going to wait for you to check because you know the answer-- literary fiction is way below almost every genre in circulation. [I have stats from multiple libraries. LJ reports, and NoveList's data on searches within hundreds of library catalogs to prove it, but you know I am right so let's move on.]

Now the question you knew was coming: Why aren't your Black History Month Displays more genre than lit fic? Again, see above, but the summary is the long tail of white supremacy and systemic oppression

All genres have titles by Black authors, titles you already own. Put them on display. It is not too late to fix your displays. We just finished the first full week of February. Get on it now and remember to do it for every identity month display going forward.

One final note, my friend Alex Brown made this comment on Twitter the other day, one that I cannot leave this post without pointing it out because it is a related problem:

Do not do this! As they go on to say in the thread (paraphrase):

Black History Month is about celebrating Blackness and its history. Do not clog it up with white people providing context. 

And now my comment as a White lady:

This is not about you! It is about making space for others to speak for themselves. Do not insert yourself and your perspective. Get out of the way. Your job here is to find titles to let Black people speak for themselves.

Please take this post and the Pride month post from last June and use them to both celebrate every identity month and make sure your displays are diverse all year long.

The February 2026 Booklist is a Spotlight on History and Historical Fiction (with extra genre resources)

For the next three days I am going to have posts about the February 2026 issue of Booklist. Today will be about the Spotlight and then since I have 4 reviews in this issue, I will split them up on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Back to today.

The February Spotlight is on History and Historical Fiction. Below I have the current articles and Adult top 10 lists with 5 years easy backlist access. You can use all of the titles from the past 5 years for sure bet suggestions, check the lists and make sure you have these titles in your collections, and why not get up a display of historical fiction. Yes you have a Black History Month display up, but use another surface to also do historical fiction. 

But before I get to those lists, I thought today would also be a good time to remind you all that all Booklist Spotlight issues are not only useful as a resource, but they should also serve as your reminder to get up to speed on those genres. In other words-- let's talk Historical Fiction genre resources!

To help you, here is a list of some of my favorite and go-to resources for Historical Fiction:

• Your first stop to get in genre shape should always be the RUSA CODES Reading List. Click here to see every list from last week's 2026 announcement back to 2014. Historical Fiction is a category each year.  They pick a genre winner and give it 3 readalikes, plus up to 4 runner up titles. Up to 16 sure bet historical fiction titles each year. When you peruse the last few years, you can see trends as well.
• The most current Goodreads Reader's Choice results for Historical Fiction are here. And if you scroll down, every list of winners and nominees going back to 2011. Please remember, these are reader driven lists. Yes, many of the titles are not critically acclaimed and the lists tend to be overly white BUT, used in tandem with other resources, you get a sense of what readers have most enjoyed over the last few years in Historical Fiction and you can use that knowledge to suggest readalieks from a wider range of voices.
• The best place to stay up to date in real time (not just end of the year lists like the first two resources) is Reading the Past. Sarah Johnson is THE authority on Historical Fiction in Libraries. From her bio on the blog: 

"Collection management librarian, readers' advisor, avid historical fiction reader, NBCC member. Book review editor for the Historical Novels Review and Booklist reviewer. Recipient of ALA's Louis Shores Award for book reviewing (2012). Blogging since 2006."

• The Historical Novel Society. Their slogan is "History in the Writing." Founded in 1997, we’re a community of historical fiction lovers. Our members include established and yet to be published authors, readers and publishers.
• The awards archive is here

You can see all of Becky's Favorite Free Genre Resources at anytime here.

Now back to Booklist and their February 2026 Spotlight content (with my backlist access added).

Spotlight on History
Essentials: America’s 250th Anniversary
Top 10 History Books
Before, During, and After: The American Revolution
Ears on American History

Spotlight on Historical Fiction
Essentials: The American Revolutionary Era in Fiction, at Home and Abroad
Top 10 Historical Fiction 2026: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021
Top 10 Historical Fiction Debuts 2026: 2025, 2024 (no list), 2023, 2022
Manga Essentials: Historical Fiction Inspired by Europe
Essentials: Intergenerational Family Sagas
Top 10 Historical Fiction on Audio 2026: 2025, 2024 (no list), 2023, 2022 (no list), 2021

Using Awards Lists As a RA Tool: RUSA Adult Books and Media Awards including the Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners

This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.

Yesterday, RUSA announced all of the Adult Books and Media Awards winners. 

Before I get to the links too the current winners, I want to remind you all that the entire backlist for all of these awards are available with one easy click on the RUSA Books & Media Awards Landing page here. The 2026 winners will be added soon, but 2025 and previously are all there, organized by award.

Remember, all of these awards lists are created by adult librarians from across the country, who do the work to create them over the course of the entire year as a committee. Their goal is to choose titles that are excellent choices for general adult audiences. These are the best of the best of 2025. These are titles you need to make sure your library owns.

The lists below encompass literary fiction, genre fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks, audiobooks and more with backlist access to all awards here.

First up is the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. You can click through to see the winners for this year, pervious years, and get information about the ceremony at ALA Annual.

Second, is the less prestigious, but in my opinion much more useful and fun, RUSA CODES Reading List awards. From the site:

Established in 2007 by the CODES section of RUSA, The Reading List seeks to highlight outstanding genre fiction that merit special attention by general adult readers and the librarians who work with them.

The Council, which consists of twelve librarians who are experts in readers’ advisory and collection development, selects one book from each of eight different categories. The eight genres currently included in the council’s considerations are adrenaline titles (suspense, thrillers, and action adventure), fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction, and relationship fiction. However, the Council is constructed in such a way to be adaptable to new genres and changes in contemporary reading interest.

This year's winners are not up on the awards page website yet, but the announcement can be found here. As it says above there are 8 categories-- all genre based! Each category has a winner. That titles gets an annotation [which you can use to book talk the title to a patron] and 3 readalikes. There is also a short list of other titles as well. 

This means that for each of the 8 categories you have 8 titles that you can trust for each genre. That is 64 genre titles at your fingertips just this year alone! And then, take into account that the Award homepage goes back to 2014, and, well, try not to explode with genre resource happiness.

Also, it is VERY important to note that these are genre titles picked NOT by genre specialists, rather by general adult services librarians. That's what I love about this list. It reflects what is most appealing to a wide audience, not just hard core fans of each genre.

The rest of the awards are listed below:

• 2026 Notable Books List: "The Notable Books Council, first established in 1944, has announced the 2026 selections of the Notable Books List, an annual best-of list composed of 26 titles written for adult readers and published in the US including fiction, nonfiction and poetry. The list was announced today during the Reference & User Services Book & Media Awards Virtual Ceremony."
• Announcement of this year's books
• Backlist access

• 2026 Listen List: "The Listen List Council of the Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) has released the 2026 selections of the Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration. This year’s committee evaluated 340 titles with a total listening time of more than 3,496 hours.  The final deliberation produced a list of twelve winners. This award highlights extraordinary narrators and listening experiences that merit special attention by a general adult audience and the librarians who advise them. "
• This one features annotations and listen-alikes
• Announcement of this year's audiobooks
• Backlist access

• 2026 Sophie Brody Medal: "The Sophie Brody Medal is given to encourage, recognize and commend outstanding achievement in Jewish literature. Works for adults published in the United States in the preceding year are eligible for the award."
• Announcement of this year's Medal winner and shortlist honor books
• Backlist access