Library Journal's 150th Anniversary Coverage: Sure Bets (Part 1)

Library Journal is turning 150 this year and they have been celebrating with special coverage. One of my favorite things they have been doing is publishing lists of "Sure Bets" by genre based on  a survey they did with library workers last fall. I wrote about the survey here.

For each genre (or format) they have not only compiled the top titles, but also, they have provided a spreadsheet of every submitted title from the survey!

I need to write that last part again-- LJ did a survey of library workers from across the country and asked for their SURE BET titles across all popular reading areas and are now giving all of us access to all of the answers! 

Sure bets are a category of books that every library worker has some kind of list for. At my library we pooled our knowledge and kept a list that we could all consult. We shared with each other, but it was very informal. We all need a list of those books that would appeal to wide swath of readers, at our fingertips, that we can turn to on a moment's notice and grab a suggestion.

AND NOW WE DO THANKS TO LJ.

They are still revealing more, but here are the ones they have released so far. Remember, it goes beyond the spotlit titles, download the full lists.

• Graphic Novels
• Poetry
• Mystery 
• Suspense & Thrillers
• Romance
• Pop Fiction

Again, there are still more to come. Click here to see all of the genres which the poll covered. Please keep checking back. Later in the year, I will post more as a reminder.

Download the spreadsheets. Use them to make displays. Do the conversation starter exercise to ask your staff and patrons to add titles to the already existing spreadsheet. Get those titles up in a "Great Reads You May Have Missed" display. Consider making said display a permanent one. If you keep asking staff and patrons for their favorite reads, titles they recommend to everyone they know, etc...., you can keep expanding the spreadsheet of possible titles. And you will never run out of backlist titles to keep adding because as the new titles move into the background, those that struck a chord will make their return on you "Great Reads" display.

You can use this link to pull up all of LJ's 150th coverage. Also click here for the poll methodology.

PW Summer Reads 2026: An Epic Year Round Resource

The PW Summer Reads 2026 database is now live! Always the first one of the year to pop up, PW's Summer Reads is also one  of the best YEAR ROUND Resources hands down. Why? Well let's start with a screen shot of the main page.

The PW Summer Reads database is more than the sum of its parts, those parts being the wide swath of categories offered. Every genre, nonfiction, and books for kids of all ages, each has their own tab with picks.

As you can see, they also make backlist access of every Summer Reads and year end Best Books list going back to 2012 easily accessible from the top of the page.

Let that sink in.... EVERY SINGLE SUMMER READS AND PW YEAR END BEST LIST IN ONE PLACE. This is AWESOME!

Nowhere will you find a resource that puts this many "sure bet" options in front of you so easily. There are literally hundreds of titles here, at your fingertips, both old and new, that you can confidently suggest to readers immediately. And so many readers. Readers who read across all age levels [down to infants] and in just about every genre. 

And, since every title is annotated, you also have a book talk [or annotation] for each title right there. You don't have to have read the book to suggest it. [Reminder: Use the Words of Others.]

I could keep gushing about how much I love this resource but I would rather you played around with it yourself.

Click through, check out the upcoming titles, but also look back at older titles, read the annotations, check genres you love and those you don't normally read, especially those you don't normally read because you will learn much about the current state of that genre [trends, popular authors] this year and by going back a few years. You can literally watch trends as they happened. You can both get access to some great sure bet suggestions AND brush up on your genre knowledge all in one place.

Spend some time really getting to know this resource. And then use it-- all of it-- including past years and both summer and year end lists-- to make your own lists for your readers. Make displays and lists [online and in the building], make suggested reading lists by genre, by year, by whatever you want. Just embrace the wealth of information available to you with one click and help readers in ways they would not think to help themselves.

Proof reading this post before publishing it, I realize how many times I am repeating myself about using the entirety of the information that PW is making available here, but I also know from years of suggesting this resource to people that you don't always listen to me. And so, I will keep beating this drum of using best lists all year long and especially checking the backlist until I run out of breath [or strength to type].

Go check out this database of "sure bet" reads for any season, and keep it bookmarked for use anytime you need a solid suggestion [especially for those hard to satisfy readers].

It is NOT just for Summer.

Booklist April 2026 Issue Has a Spotlight on Relationship Fiction and the Annual (Excellent and Genre Defying) "To Beach Their Own"

Relationship Fiction is one of our most popular genres at the public library and the recourses for it are sparse. But each year Booklist comes through with a special spotlight on it for us. And that time is now!

Before we get there, I want to talk about the evolution of this genre for a moment. When I started in libraries this genre was referred to as "Women's Fiction." It was basically considered to be books for women, about their lives, starting after the "happily ever after."

But even back when Joyce Saricks and I were teaching the RA class at the graduate school, we told our students that we didn't love the name as there wasn't a men's fiction and saying everything else was men's fiction was not helpful either. It did a disservice to these books, kept them marginalized, and did not leave room for the full breadth of stories that could be told.

And yet, reference books were written on Women's Fiction and the genre persisted. 

As the years went on, however, it changed, for the better. The genre morphed into what I describe it as today in my training programs. This is the text from Slide 17 of my Demystifying Genre presentation:

• Intimate look into lives people outside of romance.

• Sympathetic link with reader

• All relationships considered but women tend to be at forefront

• NF: Memoirs are about relationships

• Celebrity book group choices

• Kelly Jensen’s essay compilations

• Trends: marginalized voices, navigating different cultures, friendship or family relationships, cross-over with gentle reads, older adults as real people

These are stories about people, intimate stories that are meant to elicit an emotional response from the reader and they are not only about love and they are not only focused on women. Friendships, entire families, people from different cultures and LGBTQ characters are also considered. And many books have a mixture of relationships and identities.

Relationship fiction includes some of our most popular titles. Take just the first four I have on Slide 17 as an example:

• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
• Heart the Lover by Lily King

But despite the popularity of Relationship Fiction, there are very few resources to help us help readers. A lot of that goes back to its roots as being dismissed as "Women's Fiction." The genre has evlolved but the attitudes about it have not.

Which brings me back to the annual Booklist Spotlight on Relationship Fiction because it is our best resource to help these readers.

First, make sure you have all of the titles on their current list (below). Get them ordered if you don't. Second, use the link I added to pull up the backlist of recent Top 10 Relationship Fiction titles in print and audio. Third, get up a display, make lists, promote these crowd pleasing titles for all readers. 

Here is the content from the issue

Spotlight on Relationship Fiction

• Essentials: Coming of a Certain Age
• Top 10 Relationship Fiction Books: 2026
• Top 10 Relationship Fiction on Audio: 2026

And then click on this link for one-click access to the backlist of these lists for print and audio going back to 2023.

But wait, there is more. There is also the annual feature: To Beach Their Own!

That above link is the 2026 list but Booklist has been rethinking the "Beach Read" and providing a great list of option going back to 2020. Click on this link to pull them all up. These lists defy genre contractions and offer books I use for sure bet options when I am stuck for an outside the box recommendation for even the most difficult patrons. These titles, if you pull them all, make for a great display of "beach reads" or "under the radar gems."

Explore the full April 2026 issue today.

Quarterly issue of LJ Audio in Depth and Catching Up with Audio Resources In General

4x a year, Library Journal does an "Audio In Depth" issue. The March 2026 installment can be accessed here.

Use this link to access all of the starred audio reviews which have appeared in the magazine since the last "in depth" issue." LJ runs these Audio in Depth columns in 4 issues a year, March, June, September, and December. When you scroll down they have easy access to the backlist of columns going back to 2022, all with one click.

Backlist access to these audio reviews is key because often, audio books come out AFTER the book releases, and sometimes, there is an audio that we don't have at first, but then the book gets popular, so finding a review to go back and check to see if we can add it is important.

Also while we are on the subject of audio book resources, AudioFile magazine was acquired by Kirkus. All of AudioFiles excellent audiobook reviews are now here. However, the jury is still out on Kirkus Audiobook reviews as a resource. You can still search by Earphone winners, but the depth of searching and interviews with narrators and more, all of that does not appear to be available anymore, at least not for free.

Another great resource is of course the Audie Awards lists from this year and year's past. All of that can be accessed here.

Stay on top of your audio specific resources because narrators do matter to most audio book listeners. There are specific differences in print and audio and these resources capture that. And even if you are not purchasing for an audio collection, these reviews and resources will help you find some sure bet options to offer to your readers. 

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

What I'm Reading: January 2026 Issue of Booklist Plus Spotlight on Book Discussion Books

The January 2026 issue of Booklist is out and I have one review, but before I get to that review, I did want to mention that this issue also has the annual spotlight on book discussions. 

I love leading book discussions, and I love training library workers to be better at facilitating book discussions even more. In fact, I am providing that training program for the library workers of the state of CT next week. This current issue has three excellent lists to use to help you or your co-workers who are leading book discussions. I have added 5 years of backlist access where applicable as well. 

• Top 10 Book-Group Books 2026
• 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021
• Reading and Listening Together: Print and Audio Discussion Standouts
• Top 10 Book Group Books on Audio 2026 
• 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021

And if you aren't involved in book groups in anyway, please note that these lists are a great resource for your patrons who come in and ask you to help them bring their suggestions to their personal book groups and battle tested book discussion titles are also one of my favorite sure bet resources. Pro-tip: when your mind goes blank, grab a list of book discussion favorites to use as suggestions. It works every single time!

Now back to my review in the January 2026 issue. As usual I have my draft review with bonus appeal info and readalikes. 

You Have to Let Them Bleed: Stories

By Annie Neugebauer

Feb. 2026. 282p. Bad Hand, paper, $19.99  (9798988128694). 
First published January 1, 2026 (Booklist).

A woman goes to extreme lengths to see the color red, the chaos of a junk drawer leads to madness, how not washing the cilantro ends a marriage (but not in the way readers will expect), and a decidedly uncozy grandmother-grandson relationship. These are just a sampling of the disorienting and thought-provoking tales, cleverly hidden amidst mundane situations, which readers encounter in Neugebauer’s collection of 19 stories and 8 poems. Framed by psychologically unmooring poems, the author begins by letting everyone know that she is collecting “the shadowlings,” for them, but by the end, those shadowlings are directly calling out to the reader. This narrative choice combined with the range of gore and fear (from subtle to visceral) offered throughout and direct call-outs to horror masters like Shirley Jackson and Edagr Allan Poe, work to immerse all who encounter these tales in a unique and unsettling voice, one readers will want to revisit in future books. For fans of the weird, original, and thoughtfully crafted works of Kelly Link, Cassandra Khaw and Samanta Schweblin. 

Three Words That Describe This Book: disorienting, making the mundane terrifying, range of gore and fear

Further Appeal: Here are some of my notes.

Other general appeal: Thought-Provoking, Weird, unsettling (especially with her endings which can be very open-- leaves room for readers to feel the story though and then think about it), psychological horror but not without gore, unmooring, very deliberate word choices-- in a way that is still making them easy to read, but you can feel and see the writing craft here, unique, original voice, nothing goes where you think it will.

Neugebauer is a name you might not think you know, but her stories have been seen across the horror 
publishing landscape including multiple appearances in "best of" anthologies.

"The Pelt" is included and that is the story that introduced me to Neugebauer and I still love that story. But in my review I will pulled out others.

Poems serve as good interludes in between stories. Starts and ends with poems featuring "The Shadowlings" which helps to give the collection a larger structure. These stories are her shadowlings, that she collects and shares, but at the end, they are still calling to us.

Also the title of the collection sets the stage very well here.

There are stories here that directly draw off of Shirley Jackson and Edgar Allan Poe which also show part of what she is doing here in this collection-- Neugebauer is clearly invoking some great works of horror literature but also grabbing them to make them her own. She is doing it explicitly in those 2 stories, but I would argue, that every story does it. You notice it more when they are collected together.

"Redless" about a woman who goes to great lengths to see the color red is short and taught and immersive and terrifying.

"Cilantro" and "The Little Drawer Full of Chaos" are both focused domestic dramas gone, not just horribly wrong, they are that, but also they go to weird, disquieting and terrifying places. Different places but same idea

"You Ought Not Smile as You Walk These Woods" is a dark fairy tale type story. Reminded my of Cass Khaw a lot.

I am not going to leave comment for each story here. If what I have said in general intrigues you, you should grab this collection.

Bad Hand Books is a solid small press and now with larger distribution, you can easily add all of their titles to your libraries.

Readalikes: This reminded me of the stories of the three authors I called out in the review, but also, specific books: Cursed Bunny by Chung and Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Lima. And The Grip of It (novel) by Jac Jemc.

As you can see there is a wide range of readalikes here, making this a great choice for general library collections.

Attack of the Best Lists 2025: Audiobooks Edition

This post is part of my year end "Attack of the Best Lists" coverage. To see every post in my "Attack of the Best Lists 2025" coverage [and more backlist best of the year options] you can click here. 

Today I have Audio specific 2025 best lists from Audible and AudioFile Magazine.

Both are separated into useful categories/genres and include extra appeal information in their reviews, most importantly, comments about the narrators. The Audible list includes Podcasts as well.

The appeal info is useful all year long, especially via AudioFile Magazine because they have reviews all year long, with monthly "earphone" winners-- think of that as equivalent to a star for a print book. And the reviews are written to help you match the audio with its best reader. I use AudioFile to help readers (including myself) all the time. It helps me help readers to figure out if they would prefer a specific title on audio versus print. I have had great success using it and honestly, have yet to find a better resource for Audio RA.

A few more notes about RA for Audio readers. For some readers, the format doesn't matter, they want the book they want as fast as possible. But for others, myself included, I prefer audio in specific genres (for me it is nonfiction and mystery). Still others use audio for commuting, exercising, chores, etc.... How and when people listen can matter for audio. These are considerations that need to come up in the RA conversation for audio readers.

A few more  things about these lists from you RA Service standpoint:

• You can use these lists to make displays online with links to eAudio-- use QR codes online AND in the stacks to provide easier access directly to your services where patrons can access them. Make lists on Libby to make it even easier for people to find the titles.
• You can use these lists to help fill out your in library displays even if you put the print book on display. No one is double checking if you got the format correct and there is no library jail to send you to if they figure it out. With best lists, the more titles, the better. So you have the print in your department and not the audio, or the audio is e only. Who cares. Put that print version on the shelf.
• Some of the Audible best titles may not be available anywhere but Audible, but a quick glance  reveals that the big ones are going to be available on your library's eAudio streaming sites.
• Neither is great with obvious backlist access, so I have it here for you. The best audio books from the past few years will be on the shelf and are still a great listen. Remember, if a book is a few years old but the patron has not read it yet, it is still "new" to them:
• Audible Best of 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 (I love how Audible's presentation of these lists has changed so much over the 5 years listed. That alone illustrates how much the popularity of eAudio has exploded in the last few years)
• Audiofile's Best of 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
• Back to the first bullet point: if you make a list in Libby for this year's best audio, please go back and use the links I have provided to also make lists for the past few year's best audio. And link to this lists in other lists. See last week's Best of the Best post from Chicago Public Library for a great example of how to make sure past best lists are accounted for with a single click.

Attack of the Best Lists 2025: The 100 Must Read Books of 2025 via Time

This post is part of my year end "Attack of the Best Lists" coverage. To see every post in my "Attack of the Best Lists 2025" coverage [and more backlist best of the year options] you can click here. 

Time Magazine has had one of the most useful (to use) lists over the last 5 years. Why? because each year they give us their "100 Must Read Books." The books that entertained and enthralled them. Here is the link to the 2025 list.

Notice they don't call these books "best," they are "must reads." I love this language. It speaks perfectly to library users. These are books the editors think you should read for a variety of reasons. They are not trying to tell you to only read the most critically acclaimed books. They have chosen those but also bestsellers and titles that speak to our moment in history as well.

This is a list you can display proudly, and quite honestly, having looked through it myself, easily. Easily because you have these books already. Easily because there are many ways to promote it via their website, which has a visual representation of each cover that people can scroll through quickly or click on a specific title for an annotation with details. 

Here is the entry for The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones.

I love this entire concept as a way for you to have your year end "Best Books" discussions at your library. Ask your staff and patrons for their "Must Read Book of 2025." Don't be more specific than that. Simply use my conversation starter to displays post to ask for nothing more than what people's "must read book of 2025 was." Then sit back and watch the diverse and interesting list your library community creates. Not only will it be unique to your community but also, it will give you a sense of what titles have resonated with your readers in a way that is hard to capture. This is necessary information you need to craft your collections going forward.

And notice my advice does not limit people to the book having come out this year. The question is vague on purpose. You will get older titles. which leads to my reminder that it is not only this 2025 list that is a great choice for readers, but also, the backlist of lists. Time has been making this "100 Must Read Books" list since 2019. Here are the links to the last 5 years for you to use with your patrons immediately:

• 2024
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020

Mine those backlists as suggestions, for book discussion titles, sure bets or great reads you may have missed displays. These are excellent titles for a general audience. They can and should be used now and as a resource all year long.

And keep the Time Must Read Books coverage bookmarked all year long. You can use these titles to suggest any time of year. And the past few year's as well. Not only is there an annotation for each title that you can "use the words of others" as a way to hand-sell the title to the reader in front of you, but also, the term "must read" in and of itself is enough to get someone to give it a try. 

Attack of the Best Lists 2025: Amazon's Best Books

This post is part of my year end "Attack of the Best Lists" coverage. To see every post in my "Attack of the Best Lists 2024" coverage [and more backlist best of the year options] you can click here.

At the end of last month, I wrote at length about Amazon's 25 Years of Best Books Lists as a Great Conversation Starter.

Today I am back to add Amazon's official 2025 Best Books Portal to my annual Attack of the Best Lists coverage.

Okay, okay, let's not get in an uproar here. Yes, there are reasons to not want to promote Amazon, but you need to understand why these lists are a good resource and how to use them with patrons.

In the case of Amazon, they want to sell books, first and foremost. Their best list is an extension of that. But they also want to show that they can recommend books that are both worthy of being held up in the "best" conversation while also appealing to a wide audience. I think they have done that well with their Top 10 list which you can see here. 

And to make it even easier for you to find the right book for you or for you to buy as a gift for someone, they (like B&N which I discussed here) have ways for you to explore further. As you scroll down you get the editor's person favorites, followed by their person Top 10 lists.

Then you get a whole bunch of categories to browse even more "best" options.

Below that you get other lists including that 25th Anniversary portal plus easy access to the best of the year list from 2024-2020.

Again all of it is here in the Amazon Best Books 2025 Portal

At the very least, make sure you have these books in your collections (in multiple formats) and keep an eye on requests because you may need to add a few extra copies.

I do this Attack of the Bests Lists coverage every year not only to help you stay on top of the lists, but also because I will eventually crunch all the numbers for you as offer my annual Readers' Advisory Year in Review. The last 2 years I have done it for NoveList but this year I am back to PCI webinars. Details on on my presentations page here, but here is the description of what you can expect:

Title: 2025 Readers' Advisory Year in Review

Description: 2025 has moved into our rearview, everyone is eager to jump into the fresh start of 2026, but hold up for just a bit longer. It is important, every year, to take a step back and look critically at the year that was before setting goals or service plans for the next year. Join noted Readers' Advisory expert, Becky Spratford as she walks you through the highlights [and lowlights] of 2025 in Adult Leisure Reading.

 

From the biggest trends, to the authors, titles, and genres that broke through, Becky will break it all down for you, wringing out the best of 2025 to take with us as we plan our service to Adult readers for another new year.

Check if your library offers access to PCI Webinars now. 

And expect more of these posts as I gather all of the info and data I need to make that presentation worth your time.