Booklist Reader

Published by Booklist, an imprint of the American Library Association. Booklist Reader features diverse book and audiobook recommendations, for readers and listeners of all ages. Filled with high-interest, themed lists that showcase books for your family or book discussion group.

From the Editor

Booklist Reader

SF/Fantasy & Horror Debuts • The top sf/fantasy & horror debuts showcase strong, new voices in a set of genres that is constantly pushing boundaries.

SF/Fantasy & Horror • The top 10 sf/fantasy & horror books use speculative elements to address tech paranoia, environmental issues, and other pressing concerns.

Reviewing Books Made Me a Better Novelist

John Scalzi • John Scalzi is one of the most popular science fiction authors of his generation. His books are New York Times best-sellers and he has won numerous literary awards. It seems he has done it all, and yet, he has never tackled horror… until now! Scalzi recently sat down with Bram Stoker Award–winning author and Booklist horror reviewer Becky Spratford to talk about his first stab at the the genre in his upcoming novel, Monsters of Ohio.

Body Horror • Bodies are gross. They’re squishy and floppy, and that’s on a good day. In these horror writers’ imaginations, bodies—especially those of women and trans people—become something else entirely. They are transformed, mutilated, beset by eldritch creatures and unnatural appetites. These body-horror books are not for the squeamish, but those who dive in will be rewarded with thought-provoking, worldview-changing terrors.

AI and Its Potential for Good and Bad • Artificial intelligence has penetrated every sphere of our lives from the classroom to the doctor’s office, the government, the military, financial institutions, the arts, our workplaces, and our homes. Its technology can empower us in many tasks, yet it can also undermine and endanger our livelihoods, privacy, and well-being while doing serious environmental damage as it spreads with ineffective guardrails and regulations. The books below illuminate and analyze AI’s origins, technology, flaws, benefits, and risks.

On the Tech Front • Technology shapes everything we do, from waking up to an alarm to eating breakfast, commuting, working, shopping, and staying informed, entertained, and in touch. While many of the books below consider the latest technological surge, AI, others look in unexpected directions.

Adult • Get your hands on these hotly anticipated books, all out this month.

HALL OF FAME TITLES • The LibraryReads Hall of Fame designation honors authors who have had multiple titles appear on the monthly list since 2013.

Fall Into Discovery with PBS Books

Alarming Abodes on Audio • Welcome home… where horror awaits. Get ready to shake, shiver, maybe even scream! Audio makes these evil houses all the more visceral, and with horror fiction on the rise, you’ll find plenty of options to keep you up at night.

SF/Fantasy & Horror on Audio • Long-established author/narrator pairings and full-cast presentations indicate the vibrant and devoted craftsmanship around sf/f/horror audio in this year’s Top 10.

Horror for Youth • The creepy, macabre, and supernatural are just a taste of what these fantastic horror works for youth have to offer.

Haunted House Flippers • The horror novels in this creaky cadre stir up supernatural dust as home improvement projects take on lives of their own.

All the Treats, None of the Tricks Halloween Picture Books • Ranging from lightly eerie (a manor house inhabited by monsters) to genuinely sweet (a lonely ghost making a new friend), these picture books will be a treat for little ones who love the trappings of Halloween but aren’t ready for scares.

SF/Fantasy Books for Youth • The top 10...