Attack of the Best Lists 2026: Half Year Check-In (updated w/ NPR Books on 6/30/26)

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" coverage [and more backlist best of the year options] you can click here. 

We are past the half way point of June now and "best of the year so far" lists are coming fast and furious. I will link to a handful of them be below but first, why should you care about the "best" books of 2026 when we are only halfway there?

Well, there are many reasons from practical to patron service oriented. 

1. Collection development: these are the books you should have in your collections right now. But also, check all of these authors and see if they have other books, releasing previous to these break-out titles, and make sure you have those too. These best lists are there to identify specific "right now" titles, yes, but also use the lists as a prompt to check for backlist options as well.
2. While you wait lists: you are not the only one seeing the lists. They are from major media sources. People are going to be coming in and asking for many of these books, often in larger number from when they first came out. Are you ready with suggestions while they wait on hold? Readlaikes for the specific titles and/or authors. Past titles by said authors (see point 1). Even just "best" books lists from last year-- click here to see my "Attack of the Best Lists" coverage via posts going back in reverse chronological order.
3. Displays but make them interactive: use the lists below to get those "Best of the Year So Far" displays up and then make it interactive. Click here to see how to ask questions of you staff and patrons and then pu the answers on display. The conversation starter here is "what is the best book you have read so far this year?" Don't worry about if it came out this year or not. That does not matter. We are highlighting the books that have brought people joy over the last 6 months and spreading that happiness by displaying as many of the books as possible. This is not a gatekeeping moment where you go..."but that is a 2023 book." NO ONE CARES. DON'T SQUASH THE JOY. You can start the display with the specific 2026 lists linked below, but then expand the display with your staff and patrons responses to broaden the offerings. 
4. Don't forget to bridge the physical-virtual divide and get those displays and the conversation start questions into your online spaces. Asking the questions on social media is a great option. Having a google form with whatever the current conversation starter question is on your website. Posting a picture of the display on social media and linking to a list of the books in the catalog and even making a list on Libby and linking there. Just figure out ways to make the display and conversation available in the building and in your online spaces because our patrons use all of our services and do not see them as separate. The library is a space to visit a building AND a space on their phones and computers. 
5. For fun: look, June is very busy at the library. As schools let out, people come back to the library in droves. We are running summer reading, increasing programming, and serving larger numbers of people. Celebrating all of the great titles we have already seen in 2026, if just fun. Embrace some fun. Enjoy the conversation around "best go the year so far." As I mentioned in point 3, get everyone in the community participating. It is pure innocent positivity. Everyone can have their say and you can be the one to spread the joy.

Here are a handful of those lists from across the publishing landscape to get you started:

• Amazon's Best of 2026 So Far: landing page. This page leads to MANY categories, providing a variety of options for every reader
• Barnes & Noble's Best Books of 20226 (So Far): landing page
• NPR's Books We Love So Far This Year; tabs for Fiction and Nonfiction at the top
• Audible editors offer a midyear roundup of 2026’s top listens thus far
• A few options from GoodReads which also leaves room for backlist options as they are looking at the most read books of 2026.
• Readers’ Most Read Books of the 2026 Reading Challenge (So Far)
• Readers’ Hit New Books of the Year (So Far): sorted by genre and then ranked within that.
• Book Riot breaks down the most read books on Goodreads in 2026 so far
• NYT Book Review Best Fiction and Nonfiction of 2026 So Far (Gift Link)
• 10 Best Books of 2026 So Far via the BBC

I would also direct you to the January-June 2026 LibraryReads lists as well. Those are best lists from your fellow library workers. Click here for the Archive of every year, with 2026 listed first. In general, the LibraryReads archive is an underused "best list" option. 

Attack of the Best Lists 2025: LitHub's Ultimate Best Books List (and more)

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 the list I have been waiting for-- LitHub's aggregation of all the major best lists. From the landing page:

The Ultimate Best Books of 2025 List
Reading All the Lists So You Don’t Have To Since 2017
By Emily Temple 

Happy List Season, children. I hope you’ve been good. Just like every year, I have arrived to present to you the Ultimate List, otherwise known as the List of Lists—in which I read all (or at least many) of the Best Of lists on the internet and count which books are recommended most. 

Is consensus the same as quality? Not always. Is this basically a popularity contest? Sure. But if you want to know which books The Critics are talking about, this is one way to do it. (Three of my own personal favorite books of the year made it to the top five below, which I can only assume means I am either a) boring or b) correct or c) both??) 

This year, I processed 58 lists from 49 outlets, which collectively recommended more than 1,300 different books (…help). 90 of those books made it onto 5 or more lists (weirdly this is the exact same number as last year, despite there being more books recommended in total this year), and I have collated these for you here, in descending order of frequency.

I know I have been doing my Attack of the Best Lists 2025 coverage since late October, but honestly, if you only have time for 1 list, this is it. Temple has done the most focused work of anyone out there. And the results, are RA gold for you. The post she has created seamlessly combines adult fiction, nonfiction, and GNs into one list. Further, she not only does the compiling for you, the sources are listed and linked (!) at the bottom of the page, so you can have DIRECT access to the most influential' best lists, and the aggregation of which titles are on the most lists, with just this one click. It is crowdsourcing, and an end of the year lists resource to dive deeper, all in one place.

And for just a moment, before going further, I need all of you to look at the books appearing on 12 lists because we have Stephen Graham Jones alongside Nobel Prize winner Han Kang! Look this year was not the best overall, but I for one am going to celebrate SGJ being on par with Kang as a win.

Back to more best books coverage on Lit Hub as they also has a few of their own best list content that is worth a look:

• 173 Best Book Covers of 2025
• Lit Hub's 43 Favorite Books of 2025
• 100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025
• The Best Reviewed Nonfiction of 2025 (via BookMarks)
• The Best Reviewed Fiction of 2025 (via BookMarks)
• The Year's Best Literary Podcasts

And I want to especially highlight LitHub's roundup of the 50 Biggest News Stories of 2025 with links to more info on each

Multiple layer of backlist and indexing are also happening in every list, meaning you can embrace "Best" across multiple years. Reminder, "Best" titles have a longer shelf life than the current year. Last year's best titles, even 5 years ago, are great suggestions for a wide swath of readers. LitHub makes it easy, all year long, with their clear, consistent, and accessible tags at the bottom of their posts. All of these tags pull up useful information in reverse chronological order, meaning you decide how far into the backlist you want to dig.

Here are some of the tags that can help you all year long and include easy backlist access:

• Reading Lists (best lists all year long end up here)
• Ultimate Lists (both end of year and summer going back to 2017)

[Also, I wanted to remind people of the extremely useful Best of the Decade lists they made in 2019. Those are also a great "best" resource, one that truly embraces the treasure trove that is the backlist.]

But wait, there is more...

LitHub owns CrimeReads and they have their own Best of 2025 lists (but no useful tags to collection them all. Here are those best lists:

• Best Crime Fiction, Mysteries, and Thrillers 2025
• Best Traditional Mysteries 2025
• Best International Crime Novels of 2025
• Best Horror Fiction of 2025
• Best Noir Fiction of 2025
• Best Debut Crime Novels of 2025
• Best Espionage Fiction of 2025

Revisiting My Most Popular Posts of 2025: A Roundup with Links

As we creep closer to the end of the year, I like to look back on the most popular posts on the blog from 2025.

Before I share the posts, I want to thank you all for staying with me all these years. I had over 1.41 million views in 2025 (still counting). I have had over 5.6 million views all time (since August of 2007). Each year I have had more than the year before. On days when I think I have nothing to share, knowing that all of you read this blog and count on it to help you help your readers is what keeps me going.

Yesterday I shared my most popular guest post of 2025. Today, I am moving on to revisit the posts I wrote in the last 12 month that resonated the most with all of you.

First I want to start with the Just Say No to AI series I started this year. Those posts were all up in the top 10. You can pull up the whole series here. The most popular of those posts (and in the top 2 of my posts this year) was the one that started the series:

Just Say No To AI: Add the F Word to Your Searches and Google's AI "Insights" Disappear.

Here is the thing though, that post and others like mine getting out there with this info led to Google stopping this from working. Sigh. I mean, yaya that we got the word out, but boo that Google also listened. I already have more Just Say No to AI posts planned for the new year.

Back in February I wrote about why Dark Romance is so popular and gave you links to help you get your displays and lists ready to help patrons. 

Right at the end of December though (almost exactly 12 months ago), I had a post that got many clicks over the course of this year, some of that is because I reminded you multiple times throughout 2025 hat I wanted this to be all of our goals for 2025.

We are Terrible at Communicating Who We Are, What We Do, and Why-- Make a Commitment to Do Better in 2025

We are still not there in terms of this goal, but I hope you return to this post as the year ends and think about how you did in 2025 and make a plan for 2026. This is not a goal we can reach and be done with it; this is something we need to prioritize each and every year, even when things are going well.  As I say in the post:

To that end, I want all of you to take a moment as we move from one year to the next and really think about how you are going to communicate your worth and articulate exactly what we do throughout 2025. I want you to start speaking out about how great we are BEFORE people try to attack you. I want you to do it in 2025 but then keep doing it, on a regular basis going forward.

Library workers too often are uncomfortable bragging about themselves (best case) or are afraid to sp-eak out for fear of retaliation by book banners (worst case).

To this I say-- GET OVER IT.

We have not prioritized telling our story. We have ALWAYS let others define us. And when we do try to advocate for ourselves we do stupid things like tell people are services are free. THEY ARE NOT FREE. EVERYONE HAS PRE-PAID FOR THEM.

I give you links to articles that will help you craft your story. I really do hope we keep this goal going into 2026.

Now on the the most popular post, one that defined the second half of my year:

Why I Love Horror: The Book Tour-- Coming to a Library and a Computer and a Podcast Near You

This year was a whirl wind for me as I severed my official ties with a public library (left the library board after 24 years as an elected trustee) and jumped head first into being an author of books for the general reading public.

At every stop, in person or virtual, I brought the work of all of us library worker to a wider audience. And I still have plans to do more in 2026 including an appearance with Paul Tremblay, John Langan and Eric LaRocca in the Boston area on 1/31 (details soon). The great thing about this book is that it is evergreen. I can be out there promoting it for years to come. And I plan to do that.

Along the way this Fall, I met readers, library workers, new writers, and horror fans. I will always be grateful that this book resonated with people. I heard over and over again how important this book was to fans for themselves and to share with their family and friends to explain why horror means so much to them. I also heard from many people who knew about the authors in my book but were not sure if they would like their books, but by trying these authors on for size through their essays, they are ready to fully embrace horror.

And of course a HUGE thank you to the authors from the book who joined me along the way-- Rachel (3x), Clay (3x), Grady (2x), Sadie, Alma, Victor, Cynthia, and Hailey. We had a lot of fun and I know we introduced everyone to new authors. One of my favorite memories is from Westport, CT when Rachel matched all of our books with their corresponding Starbucks order. Or when Clay scared the entire audience at the Twisted Spine. Oh also when Victor said the working title of his new vampire novel set during the 1980s is "Crackula." You can relive all of these events and even see Rachel's "coffee alikes" at that post here.

And of course, thank you to the team at Saga for trusting me, for spending the time and money to get this book out into the world, for promoting it, for celebrating me in person in NYC, and just everything it takes to get a book into the world. 

I will have even more to say about this journey and the places it has taken me before the end of the year and of course in my posts to start the year as I always look back on the year that was before presenting my goals for the year to come, but for now, just know that I appreciate all of the support. 

It is not an exaggeration to say I could not have done this without all of you, the library workers on the ground putting books in people's hands every day. This book was dedicated to 4 specific library workers, but it is in honor of all of you. 

So thank you for following me here on the blog every day, thank you for buying my book (Saga had to restock Ingram a few times already), thank you for voting for me to make the September LibraryReads list, but most importantly, thank you for helping your readers (horror and otherwise) all year long.

Attack of the Best Lists 2025: Library Journal's Universe of Reads to Remember

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. 

This year, the Editors at Library Journal did their Best list a little differently and thought about the books that fit in the widest range of libraries. From the Best Books 2025 landing page:

A Universe of Reads to Remember 

Selecting the best books of the year is an undertaking of great pleasure, as remembering wonderful reads is its own lovely pastime. Our list of 100 Editors’ Picks of 2025 highlights titles we never tired of reading, rereading, talking about, or mulling over. We also gather all the LJ-starred titles published this year. These are the works our reviewers highlighted as worthy of LJ's highest accolade, books that deserve shelf space in the widest range of libraries. Taken together, the lists contain over 800 titles, encompassing a constellation of great reads that can generate inspiration, conjure cozy moods, enthrall with densely plotted puzzles, and transport readers to entirely new worlds.

The categories to explore here are:

• Editors' Picks of the Year: Each editor picked books from the categories they edit. And their picks are described in a narrative form which I think gives you much more information than the former title-annotation format. In fact, this format gives you great talking points for all 100 of these titles even if you have not read them or even heard of them.
• Stellar Selections: every book that has been given a star in 2025 ion all adult categories (nearly 800 titles).
• Best Covers: Because people choose books based on covers all the time. More on that and how to use it to help readers by me here (multiple posts).
• Find Great Reads with LJ: a new, interactive category that allows you to explore books by topic and use conversation starters to help readers:
• In the mood to amble through some great titles? Explore a range of entry points to the 2025 universe of best books, designed to support discovery and browsing.
• Searching for Books Everyone Is Talking About?
• Give Me A Find of the Year
• Searching for Books by Award Winners?
• Help, Its My Time To Pick the Book Club Title!
• Looking for a Cozy-Comfort Read?
• More Romantasy? Yes, Please!
• Eek! Looking For a Scary Story?
• The Lives of Writers
• For the Birds!
• Need a Woman Knight in Shining Armor?

Click here to explore the 2025 LJ Universe of Best Books.

And use these links for the past 5 years of best: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020 because if you patron has never read these recent best books, they are still BEST, have a better chance to be currently on the shelf, and most importantly, new to them.

Remember...BEST HAS NO EXPIRATION DATE, especially when you look back 5 years max. 

[Ed note: Yes I know some best title don't hold up over time, but all rules have exceptions. When you use the last 5 years as a guide, you are pretty safe in making best suggestions.]

Attack of the Best Lists 2025: LibFaves 25 and you can participate!

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, #LibFaves25 begins on Bluesky, the annual, 10 day, library worker Twitter countdown of the best books published in calendar year 2025 and every single one of you can join in.

From my colleague Jenna:

Library folks! Starting today (12/8) count down your 10 favorite books published in 2025, 1 per day, through 12/17. TITLE in caps, tag #LibFaves25! I’ll be the tally taker today and I’ve got an awesome crew to help me out the other days. At the end, we’ll share the top titles and full list. 📚🩷

The key to all of this is the tagging #LibFaves25 on Bluesy and putting your titles in all caps. They need them to be 2025 titles as the point pg this is for us to flex our buying power as library workers. 

You do not have to rank the titles in order as all titles mentioned are compiled and ranked by number of times mentioned. All you need to do is put on title a 1 title a day for 10 days on Bluesky as directed above. 

Look, I am aware that  I am not giving you much warning to prep, but technically you just need one title right this minute. I know you have a definite top title in mind right now to get started today. And then worry about building out 9 more later.

We need to all work together to create this massive, library worker generated best list. It is a tool for book discovery for our patrons, it is a way for us to find out about tiles we may have missed that our colleagues have enjoyed. 

In fact, that is why I participate and only do my top 10 Horror titles because often those books would not garner a mention if I didn't get them entered into the mix. I take it upon my self as the library world's horror expert to make sure that these titles make a larger library worker favorites list.

After the ten days are over, I will do a more comprehensive post on the horror blog about my favorite Horror reads, and I will also do my annual best books I read in 2025 list on December 23rd as well, but for #LibFaves25, I will represent for Horror so that when the final list of titles is compiled, it will be represented a least a little.

I really hope you consider joining us. It's one entry a day for you, but when wee all work together, the numbers are huge, and we can help so many readers. The more of us that participate, the more wide ranging the list is. 

Use this link to follow the past years of LibFaves favorites including the tallied top books and spreadsheet of every book that received a vote. Or this post which has the last few spreadsheets with easy access.

[Please note, 2023 there was no LibFaves as we were all navigating the switch from Twitter to Bluesky]

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: Booklist's Editors Choices

Welcome back after the American long weekend of food. family, and at least here in Chicago-- 10 inches of snow. 

It is going to be a slow start to the week for everyone for sure, and full disclosure I am off Thursday-Friday to train a library in person (but you will still have content and a horror giveaway, don't worry).

One of my favorite Year in Review events is the December issue of Booklist Magazine. Booklist should alway be your go-to publication for trusted collection development and RA. They don't have news articles. Everything is reviews, lists, and interviews with authors-- every single month. And as I have reminded you many times here on the blog, each issue is a spotlight on at least 2 reading areas, meaning every issue has "best lists" from the previous 12 months. 

The December issue takes it up a notch by making the spotlight every starred review from 2025 and the Editor's Choice for the best of the best. Below I have the table of contents with links to the lists for all ages. Pass this post on to your youth colleagues as well. 

(Plus, they still have reviews of upcoming books. I have 2 horror reviews of 2026 titles in this issue, and will post them on Thursday.)

On the Cover
Art by Jeremy Collins, from The Wild Dark: Finding the Night Sky in the Age of Light, by Craig Childs, which received a starred review in the April 2025 issue of Booklist and which appears here on Booklist Editors’ Choice. Used with permission of Torrey House Press.

(All blue text is linked to a list)

Booklist Editors’ Choice, 2025
Adult Books
Adult Audio
Graphic Novels
Adult Books for Young Adults
Books for Youth
Youth Audio

Features
Booklist Essentials: The Legacy of Jane Goodall
Read-alikes: Historical Fiction about Women in the Gilded Age
Listen Up: New Narrators of Note
Booklist Backlist: Best Personal Reading, Listening, and Watching

Attack of the Best Lists 2025: Book Riot

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.

Ending this short week with a list that pairs well with yesterday's list (NPR Books We Love); it is a smiler idea but on a smaller scale-- Book Riot's Best Books of 2025. 

I try to feature lists that have something interesting about them and Book Riot is the epitome of that. Why? Because as I have said here on the blog many times, Book Riot is the best resource to see what hard core readers are interested in.

Book Riot is the largest independent website focused on readers. All of their content is crafted to reach readers directly. They want to get the most clicks as well, which means their content is purposefully up to date, interesting, and written in a conversational tone. It is exactly what we need to stay on top of the hottest trends because it is their mission to provide the most "clickable" content to readers This means they have the time and resources to do the work for us: identifying trends and staying on top of what readers want right this second. Everything there is reader focused which dovetails perfectly with RA Service.

Their best books of the year site is made by having each writer, editor, contributor, etc... give one title as their book of the year. Because each person who works for them has a slightly different specialty, the list covers all ages and genres by default. Also they have a commitment to providing diverse voices as part of their policy.

The editors then take all of the titles and allow you, the user of this resource to browse all or to click on tags in a sidebar to help narrow your choices down. While the tags are not as compressive and stackable as the aforementioned NPR Books We Love portal, they are still extremely helpful 

Click here to get started using it for yourself, to build displays, or to help a specific patron.

The only downside to this reader focused resource is that they do not have easy access to past lists on the current year's page. And when I try to search upon the Book Riot site, I was unable to find them

However, when I went to Largehearted Boy's Ultimate List of Lists for access to past years (more on this resource here), I was able to get into the backlist of Book Riot best lists with ease. I have posted them here for you, so you can have 1 click access from my blog:

• 2024
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020

Remember to use my link at the top of these Attack of the Best Lists 2025 posts to access all of my coverage. I do not post every best list, but I do post ones that are interesting and useful. 

Next week I will have a mix of best lists and other year in review content.

Have a safe Thanksgiving break to my American readers.

Attack of the Best Lists 2025: Books We Love from NPR

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. 

As I mentioned yesterday, for the short Thanksgiving week here in America, I am focusing on Bets Lists here on the blog. Today we have one of my personal favorites...NPR's Books We Love. Why do I love it. More on that I after I explain what it is  From their about page:

WHAT IS THIS THING?

Books We Love is NPR’s interactive reading guide. Mix and match tags such as Book Club Ideas, Biography & Memoir or Eye-Opening Reads to filter results and find the book that’s perfect for you or someone you love.

HOW ARE THE BOOKS SELECTED? 

We reached out to our staffers and trusted critics and asked them to nominate their favorite books published in 2025. They responded with hundreds of titles. Then, the editors and producers at NPR Books sat down with a huge spreadsheet of responses; we resolved duplications, noted omissions, considered the overall mix and balance of books recommended and then made assignments. 

WHY ISN’T THIS JUST A LIST? 

Back in 2013, the NPR Books staff was suffering from an acute case of list fatigue. So we teamed up with our friends at NPR News Apps and started to think about a site that would be more Venn diagram-y than list-y – a site that could help you seek out the best biographies that were also love stories, or the best mysteries that were also set in the past. We wholeheartedly believe that human beings are capable of absorbing new information in formats that are 1) not sequentially ordered and 2) wait … dammit! and 3) never mind.

BUT NO, REALLY, I JUST WANT TO SEE A LIST OF BOOKS 

We got you. To view these books as a list of titles rather than as an array of covers, you are welcome to select the “List” option in the upper right-hand corner of the site. 

SO WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THESE TAGS? 

At NPR Books, we’re all about discovery: helping you find your next great read – the mystery you can’t put down, the memoir you recommend to all your friends. In 2013, we hashed out a basic taxonomy that was both functional (e.g., Biography & Memoir or Kids’ Books) and fun (e.g., It’s All Geek To Me and Let’s Talk About Sex). Over the years, we’ve refined our filters and added new tags, like The States We’re In and No Biz Like Show Biz.

 THE NAMES ARE CUTE, BUT WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

 The States We’re In is for stories of the American experience both true and fictional. It’s All Geek To Me is for deep dives on particular topics – trees, personality tests, tiny houses, you name it. In The Dark Side, you’ll find dystopias, serial killers, true crime and people behaving badly in general. Eye-Opening Reads will give you a new perspective on the topic at hand, whether it’s the state of philanthropy or a new pair of shoes.

HOW DO THE BOOKS GET TAGGED? 

Our critics and staffers make suggestions, but to ensure we are applying tags consistently, the producers and editors at NPR Books consider and discuss every tag on every book.

 THAT MUST TAKE A VERY LONG TIME

YUP.

CAN I LOOK UNDER THE HOOD?

If you want to know more about how Books We Love was designed and coded, you can read about the process here. And if you’re curious to see the code and adapt it for your own project, you can check it out here.

IF I CLICK ON THE LINKS AND PURCHASE ONE OF THE BOOKS, DOES THAT PURCHASE HELP NPR?

Yes. And you can read more about how that works here.

HOW CAN I STAY UP TO DATE ON REVIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM NPR BOOKS?

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Have fun exploring Books We Love! We hope you find something wonderful to read today.

The 2025 Books We Love team: Beth Novey, Meghan Collins Sullivan, Rose Friedman, Andrew Limbong and Ivy Buck

Back to me, Becky, talking about this resource.

I love this list for a few reasons. The first is the tags discussed above. I love that they are natural language based. While there are recognizable categories such as "Biography & Memoir," "Mysteries & Thrillers," or "Young Adult," there are also more intuitive, reader focused categories like "Eye-Opening Reads," It's All Geek To Me," and "The Dark Side," and even choices based on length, this is an excellent portal to "best" books that allows any reader [or library worker] to created highly specific and expertly tailored suggestions. 

Second, it is fun to use. The mixing and matching potential is endless because of the breadth of choices. A lot of that breadth is because of the nature of how they add titles to the list. They ask all of their NPR Books contributors to suggest titles. As a result, a huge swath of reading interests are represented in the list. Their intentional inclusion of all voices, even those who only write a few reviews a year, makes this list one of the best. You can click on as many or as few of the tags as you want to create a general or highly specific list.

Third,  every former incarnation of this list is easily accessible with a single click from the top of this year's list meaning you have more than 4,000 customizable suggestions for literally any reader, no matter how picky, at your fingertips. 

Fourth, Books We Love is a great go-to resource all year long because of the breadth and variety of titles included and the ease of backlist access. Users get to steer the ship to find their own suggestion amongst a universe of pre-approved titles. Then they can be as picky as they want, choosing their own filters to narrow it down. And since these lists are VERY broad in terms of the types of books that are included each year, the results are very useful. And they stand up over the test of time. 

And finally, this resource works very well as a conversation starter itself. You can use it in conjunction with my Conversation Starter to Display advice any time of year. Ask people for their favorite "Eye-Opening Reads." You can fill the display with the titles from Books We Love over the years to get things started and then ask staff and patrons to help give you more. Again, the details on how to use a conversation starter question to build a display are here. You can go back to Books We Love at anytime of year for display ideas. 

Go visit the NPR Book Books We Love portal now (if you haven't already) and have fun using it for yourself or your patrons, but don't forget about it all year long. It is a wonderful  resource and, after years in existence, the compound interest of titles makes it even more useful. 

And now if you will excuse me, I am going to do my annual exercise of using Books We Love to find myself a book to read to end my year. Usually I try to choose something I missed

This year I have used the tags "Staff Picks," "Seriously Great Writing," and "Tales From Around the World" to identify Fair Play by Louise Hegarty. I have downloaded the audiobook from Hoopla.

What will you find for yourself or one of your patrons? It is the most fun you will have finding your next great read.