Romance author recs if you hate romance novels

OK, no one yell at me: I’ve been off romance novels for the past year or so. 

I don’t know if it’s the state of the world or just a personal thing, but most times I read about people falling in love I start to roll my eyes. And they don’t deserve that! It’s frustrating. 

So I have (mostly) put them down for the time being. But there are certain authors that have yet to disappoint me. I’m still picking up their books, and thankfully they’ve all still worked for me.

 If you’re a certified romance hater, try one of these authors. You can thank me later.

Emily Henry 

My favorite is probably Happy Place because the writing really transports you to a Maine getaway state of mind, plus the cast of characters is unbeatable.

Alisha Rai 

I love her entire modern romance series, but Girl Gone Viral uses the bodyguard trope so well, and I loved watching the shy heroine come out of her shell.

Helen Hoang 

Her latest release, The Heart Principle, had me curled up weeping in several places, and I mean that as a compliment. An emotional, beautiful journey.

Alyssa Cole

My first by her is still my favorite: A Princess In Theory mixes emails from an African prince (no, really) with the prince and the pauper for amazing results.

Beth O’Leary

The combination of quirky characters, humor, and an all-around  imaginative setup makes The Flatshare my favorite romance book ever!

Sarah MacLean 

It has the classic stepback cover, and Wicked and the Wallflower also has fiercely passionate characters, a terrible plan and a fabulous setting in historical London.

Talia Hibbert

Grumpy + sarcastic is apparently a great combo, and if you don’t believe me, try Take A Hint, Dani Brown, and feel free to email me when you find out I was right.

Erica Ridley 

I’m obsessed with books about big families, especially big found families, and The Perks of Loving a Wallflower checks all those boxes, plus has a heist and a really thoughtful exploration of gender. 

 

A day in the life of a Maryland librarian

Books Forward is celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, and one of the ways we’re celebrating is by showcasing 25 people you should know in the book world. There are many unique roles there are in the book world, and the many kinds of people who play a part in the community we love. 

Today, we’re getting to know Hawa (she/her), librarian I in Prince George’s County Memorial Library System. Stay up to date on other industry professionals by reading our Lit Happens blog throughout the year.

A note from Hawa

While not included in the day outlined below, my week usually consists of at least one virtual meeting with librarians at other branches in my system, recording content for library social media and putting on programs for various age groups.

Wednesday, Feb, 5, 2025 

8 a.m.

I got to work a little early on this day, so to kill some time, I listened to an audiobook and did some coloring.

9 a.m.

I did what we call the “picklist,” which tells me which books we have on our shelves that library patrons have on hold, either at my location or another location. Once I find the items that are on the picklist, I use the handheld scanner to scan the barcode on the book, and the computer prints out a receipt telling me where the book is going. If the book is going to a different location, I put the items in a delivery bin. If not, I put them on the holds shelf. 

10 a.m.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the “late” days for my library system. On these days, the branches don’t open to the public until 12 p.m. and are open until 8 p.m. During the 10 a.m. hour, I was scheduled to do the opening procedures, which typically consists of turning on all the computers, bringing out the toys for the children’s area, checking the printer to see if it needs paper/ink and unlocking the bathrooms. 

11 a.m.

During this hour I was scheduled to shelve. Shelving is returning the books back to their spots on the shelf, usually after they’ve been returned by patrons or found in the wrong spot. My scheduled shelving time is one of the few moments throughout the week I get to read at work. In this case, it’s me listening to an audiobook so my hands are free to put the books back. 

Noon

As I mentioned before, the library opens at 12 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. At this point in the day, the rest of the staff has arrived and we have gotten the building ready for patrons to come in. During this hour, I was scheduled to rove, which made me back-up for the people who were working on the front desk. Every so often, I walked around to see if there were any patrons who needed assistance. The first hour was pretty quiet so I didn’t have anyone to help.

1 p.m.

This was my first of two hours on the information desk for the day. Depending on how many people we have working on a given day we’ll each have between 2-4 hours on the information desk. This particular day, we were staffed pretty well so I didn’t have to spend as much time out there. While on the desk this hour, these are some things I helped patrons with: 

  • Looked up their library card number
  • Placed some items on hold for them
  • Showed them how to use the printer. 

2 p.m.

Lunch time! I prefer a late lunch so that by the time my lunch is over, I don’t have as much time left in my day. I got some Panera bread sent to my job. I ordered enough so that I could have leftovers and not be hungry before heading off to the author talk I attended later in the evening. 

3 p.m.

I had some time off of the desk so I used this hour to plan some upcoming programming for the library. We have to submit our programming two/three months ahead of time to allow for it to be placed on the calendar and for advertising. I do programming for all ages, but I have a special focus on teens. This week I submitted April programming including a Teen Game Night, our “Black Voices” book club and a Bibliobop Dance Party for the littles. 

4 p.m.

Another hour on the information desk!

5 p.m.

I’m off!

6 p.m. 

I head over to East City Bookshop to attend a book launch event for Kristina Forest (The Love Lyric) and Adriana Herrera (A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke). The event officially started at 7 p.m. and it was such a great time. I got to connect with other fellow book lovers and Bookstagrammers and even chatted with a bookseller who is in the same MLIS program I was in. This was my third bookish event of the year, and I’m looking forward to attending many more.

Hawa Jalloh is a dedicated librarian with the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System, where she’s passionate about fostering a love for reading. A 2021 graduate of the University of Maryland’s MLIS program, Hawa is also an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Beyond her work in libraries, she’s a vibrant presence on Bookstagram, where she shines a spotlight on Black-authored books. Follow her journey and discover her favorite reads on Instagram at @hawa.reads.

 

A day in the life of the creator of FictionMatters

Books Forward is celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, and one of the ways we’re celebrating is by showcasing 25 people you should know in the book world. There are many unique roles there are in the book world, and the many kinds of people who play a part in the community we love. Today, we’re getting to know Sara Hildreth (she/her), creator of FictionMatters. Stay up to date on other industry professionals by reading our Lit Happens blog throughout the year.

A fairly typical Monday

I am lucky enough to work at home, for myself, and with books! Everyday looks a little bit different, but this is a fairly typical Monday. At the moment, I’m in the middle of several big projects, so my day includes a lot of upkeep work to keep these projects rolling.

7:30 

Wake up. My 3-year-old typically wakes up closer to 6 a.m. or 6:30 a.m., but today she slept in. What a gift! But also we have to get moving to get out the door in time for school. My husband and I tag team getting her dressed, making breakfast, and getting lunch and snack packed.

8:15 

My husband takes the kiddo to school while I clean the kitchen. Sometimes, I tune into a podcast while I clean, but I’ve been in the middle of an epic audiobook for over a month and I use this time to chip away at it.

8:35

Open my planner and go through my day and week. I use an undated planner and on Mondays I lay out the entire week, pull uncompleted tasks from last week into this week, and tentatively plan my social posts for the week. I don’t batch my posts (i.e. have a bunch of photos taken and posts ready to go) but I do like to think through what I’ll be sharing for the week so I can make sure to get them done. I aim to post on Instagram three to four times per week and I write three Substack newsletters each week. Once I have my ideas down, I set tasks for specific days as well as putting any personal goings on in my calendar.

9:00 

Read! When people hear that I read and review books for a living, they often ask if I spend all day reading, but it’s actually really challenging to make time for reading during my work day. Typically reading gets pushed to the evening and my days are spent with other tasks, but this year I’m trying to carve out more reading time during the day. I treat this reading like work, in the best way! I pull out my pencil and tabs, set a timer for 45 minutes, and settle in.

9:45 

I’m doing a brand refresh for FictionMatters and I have some new designs to look through. I love what my designer is doing so I don’t have much feedback, but I make some notes and work on editing my old website copy to be more in line with the work I’m doing now.

10:30

I’m in the midst of a big reading guide project and spend a couple hours writing book and category descriptions. This always stretches my creativity because when book descriptions are bound together in one PDF, it’s particularly important to keep them feeling fresh and innovative.

12:30 

I make myself some lunch at home and turn on the TV. I’m finally watching the cult documentary Love Has Won and it is wild.

1:00 

After I eat I spend time adding cover photos and publishing info to my new project. This is very tedious work, but essential to making a guide usable and beautiful. Often I do this kind of work in front of the TV, but after I finish one episode of Love Has Won, I tune back into my very long audiobook.

2:00 

It is Monday and I always put out a newsletter on Tuesday, so it is time to write! It’s January so for tomorrow’s newsletter I’m going to be sharing some of my reading intentions for 2025. I don’t expect this post to take too long to write, but I have more to say than I thought (often the case!) so I get about halfway through my post before it’s time to pick up my daughter from school.

2:45 – 5:30 

Leave to pick up the kiddo, come home, have a snack, play, hangout, all the mom stuff. 

5:30 – 7:00 

Eat dinner (my husband almost always cooks) and give the little one a bath (I’m on bath duty). My husband puts Louise to bed while I straighten the living room and put allll the toys away.

7:00 

Time to finish Tuesday’s newsletter. While I don’t love having to write in the evening, it’s common enough that I’m used to it and I’ve found that writing newsletters in two sittings is actually ideal. It gives my ideas time to percolate. Now I have even more to say and a clearer idea how I want to communicate my 2025 reading intentions. I finish the post, but I decide I’d like to look it over one more time before I send it. Rather than scheduling it to go out early in the morning, I save it. I’ll give it a once over and add photos in the morning after school dropoff and then send it.

8:00 

Sometimes I watch a show with my husband after bedtime, but it’s basketball season for him and summer reading guide prep season for me, so I disappear upstairs to take a bath and read a potential book for my annual Paperback Summer Reading Guide.

10:00

Bedtime! Hopefully we’ll get another late wake up out of the kiddo tomorrow, but just in case it’s another 6am wake up call, I turn in relatively early.

Prior to becoming a full-time reader and writer, Sara Hildreth earned her MA in English Literature from Georgetown University and spent six years teaching English at an all-girls high school. As a teacher and academic, Sara appreciates the legacy of classic literature and loves dense literary fiction that gives her that scholarly feel. In particular, she loves books with intricate structures, complicated characters, and discussable themes.

A day in the life of the editor in chief of Foreword Reviews

Books Forward is celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, and we’re one of the ways we’re celebrating is byshowcasing 25 people you should know in the book world. There are many unique roles there are in the book world, and the many kinds of people who play a part in the community we love. Today, we’re getting to know Michelle Anne Schingler (she/her), editor in chief of Foreword Reviews. Stay up to date on other industry professionals by reading our Lit Happens blog throughout the year.

A Standard Submissions Deadline Monday

8 a.m.

Wake with lines of books still floating in my head. Fifteen-ish minutes scrolling the internet to catch up on the news and perhaps some salacious Bravo-related gossip (It’s not a guilty pleasure if you feel no guilt!). First cup of earl grey for the caffeine. 

8:45

Short drive to the office across Northern Michigan’s snow-covered landscape, remembering wistfully more verdant days. Listening to favorite songs (still on CD!) for an additional wake-up.

9ish

Arrival at the office. Carry straggler books from Friday’s mail up to the office. Lights on, appreciation of the view.

9-9:45

Email catch-up (not much, as I also caught up last night!): filing submissions, responding to clients and colleagues, deleting junk mail, adding reviews to the system, assigning requested titles out. 

9:45-lunch

First edits for Clarion reviews; sending some back for clarifications, sending some on to the copy editor. 

Lunchtime

At my desk — the view is too much to resist! 

Early afternoon

File incoming books. Some are checked in and assigned out; others are placed on the awaiting selections shelf, which we revisit in depth every two months (this week is the week!). For new submissions, this is my second chance to “meet” books (I also open my mail for the benefit of initial impressions) by reading their blurbs and consuming a few pages before they’re stacked. 

1:30 p.m.

Return to editing — Clarion and magazine reviews this week. Sending completed reviews off to customers or publicists and letting my team know how they ranked and that they’re out the door. 

3:05

Revisit email. One response to feedback on a review, letting a customer know that we cannot alter a reviewer’s opinion or language. Another response to a colleague asking about a review in process. Editing department facilitation. “Thanks” sent to a colleague who passed a reviewer-related email on. Once all is complete: return to editing. 

4:15

preliminary selections for an upcoming issue — reading through submissions (beginning with their publication dates, moving on to their tip sheet descriptions, and then reading portions of the books themselves) and imagining where they might fit in the next issue — and who on our extensive freelancer staff is best suited to review them. Slowly begin filling out of our magazine planner — a week-plus process each time. Tomorrow, I know, will be mostly this work! Quite exciting. 

6:30

(Longer days for submissions weeks! It’s hard to stop meeting books once you start)

Head out the door for team trivia. 

10:30

A bit of a magazine book before bed (perhaps preceded by indulgence in Bravo). 

Now the editor in chief of Foreword Reviews — in charge of managing reviewers and curating selections for the magazine — Michelle got her start in libraries, reviewing books on the side. Though both may be considered atypical uses of a divinity degree, she found books to be her calling. She lives in Traverse City, Michigan, with her husband (an amazing chef), three unusual cats, and one quintessential chiweenie. 

Booklist for fans of Severance

Severance is back! We’re so excited, and so … nervous. If you’re the kind of person who can’t get enough of that mysterious, unsettled feeling that you’re left with after each episode ends, try one of these books.

Severance by Ling Ma

Candace Chen, a millennial drone self-sequestered in a Manhattan office tower, is devoted to routine. So she barely notices when a plague of biblical proportions sweeps New York. Then Shen Fever spreads. Families flee. Companies cease operations. Soon entirely alone, still unfevered, she photographs the eerie, abandoned city. Candace won’t be able to make it on her own forever, though. Enter a group of survivors, led by the power-hungry IT tech Bob. They’re traveling to a place called the Facility, where, Bob promises, they will have everything they need to start society anew. But Candace is carrying a secret she knows Bob will exploit. 

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

On an unnamed island, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses. Most of the inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few able to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten. When a young writer discovers that her editor is in danger, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards, and together they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past. 

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the labyrinth itself. There is one other person in the house-a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel.

Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin

Across the world, thousands of people are shocked by a notification that they once chose to have a memory removed. Now they are being given an opportunity to get that memory back. Four individuals are filled with new doubts, grappling with the unexpected question of whether to remember unknown events, or to leave them buried forever. Noor, a psychologist working at the Nepenthe memory removal clinic in London, is shaken as she begins the process of reinstating patients’ memories. As she delves deeper into how the program works, she will have to risk everything to uncover the cost of this miraculous technology. 

Lakewood by Megan Giddings

When Lena’s beloved grandmother dies, the full extent of the family debt is revealed, so the Black millennial drops out of college to support her family. On paper, her new job is too good to be true. High paying. No out of pocket medical expenses. A free place to live. All Lena has to do is participate in a secret program — and lie to her friends and family about the research being done. An eye drop that makes brown eyes blue, a medication that could be a cure for dementia, golden pills promised to make all bad thoughts go away. The discoveries made in Lakewood, Lena is told, will change the world — but the consequences for the subjects involved could be devastating. 

The Circle by Dave Eggers

When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. Mae is thrilled with the company’s modernity and activity and can’t believe her luck to work for the most influential company in the world — even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, and role at the Circle becomes increasingly public.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

“Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the kidnapper knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Is it this life or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how will Jason make it back to the family he loves?

Finna by Nino Cipri

When an elderly customer at a furniture store slips through a portal to another dimension, it’s up to two minimum-wage employees to track her across the multiverse and protect their company’s bottom line. To find the missing granny, Ava and Jules (who broke up a week ago) will brave carnivorous furniture, swarms of identical furniture spokespeople, and the deep resentment simmering between them. 

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

Gerald’s consciousness has been uploaded into his company’s internal Slack channels. His colleagues assume it’s an elaborate gag to exploit the new work-from-home policy. But

faced with the looming abyss of a disembodied life online, Gerald enlists his co-worker Pradeep to help him escape, and to find out what happened to his body. Meanwhile, Gerald’s colleagues have PR catastrophes of their own to handle in the real world. And the longer Gerald stays in the void, the more alluring and absurd his reality becomes. 

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

Ellice Littlejohn has a well-paying job as a corporate attorney in midtown Atlanta and a “for fun” relationship with a rich, charming executive, who just happens to be her white boss. And then Ellice finds him dead with a gunshot to his head and walks away like nothing has happened. Why? Ellice has been keeping a cache of dark secrets, including a small-town past and a kid brother who’s spent time on the other side of the law. But when she uncovers shady dealings inside the company, Ellice is trapped in an impossible ethical and moral dilemma. 

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at an exclusive boarding school in the English countryside, where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Years later, Ruth and Tommy have reentered Kathy’s life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special — and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together.

Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris

No one knows us in quite the same way as the men and women who sit beside us in department meetings and crowd the office refrigerator with their labeled yogurts. This Chicago ad agency is coping with a business downturn in the time-honored way: through gossip, elaborate pranks, and increasingly frequent coffee breaks.

Featured Image by Apple TV

Booklist for Golden Globes picks

Welcome to the best season, awards! We’re celebrating by picking some of our favorite Golden Globes nominees to match with book recommendations!

If you loved Dune 2, read A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine: 

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor has died. No one will admit that his death wasn’t an accident–or that Mahit might be next to die during a time of political instability. Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan’s unceasing expansion–all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret.

If you loved A Complete Unknown, read Just Kids by Patti Smith:

It was the summer of love and riots, and the summer when a chance encounter in Brooklyn led two young people on a path of art, devotion, and initiation. Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. In 1969, the pair set up camp at the Hotel Chelsea and soon entered a community of the famous and infamous, the influential artists of the day and the colorful fringe. 

If you loved Challengers, read Intercepted by Alexa Martin:

When Marlee Harper discovers her NFL-star boyfriend has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. But Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights. Gavin fights to show Marlee he’s nothing like her ex. But the team’s wives are not happy with Marlee’s return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. 

If you loved True Detective: Night Country, read The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones: 

Four American Indian men and their families are all haunted by a disturbing, deadly event that took place in their youth. Years later, they find themselves tracked by an entity bent on revenge, totally helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

If you loved Slow Horses, read Case Histories by Kate Atkinson: 

Case one: A little girl goes missing in the night.

Case two: A beautiful young office worker falls victim to a maniac’s apparently random attack.

Case three: A new mother finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making – with a very needy baby and a very demanding husband – until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape.

Thirty years after the first incident, as private investigator Jackson Brodie begins investigating all three cases, startling connections and discoveries emerge . . .

If you loved I’m Still Here, read Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hasimi: 

Ten-year-old Sitara’s world is shattered when communists in Kabul stage a coup, assassinating her entire family. Sitara finds her way to the home of a female American diplomat, who adopts her and raises her in America, where she takes on a new name–Aryana Shepherd–and throws herself into her studies, eventually becoming a renowned surgeon. Thirty years later, an elderly patient appears in her examination room–the soldier who saved her. Seeing him awakens Aryana’s fury and desire for answers–and, perhaps, revenge. 

If you loved The Substance, read Rouge by Mona Awad:

Belle is obsessed with her skin and skincare videos. When a strange woman in red appears at her mother’s funeral, Belle is lured into the barbed embrace of La Maison de Méduse, the same lavish, culty spa to which her mother was devoted. There, Belle discovers the frightening secret behind her (and her mother’s) obsession with the mirror–and the great shimmering depths (and demons) that lurk on the other side of the glass.

If you loved Conclave, read The Confessor by Daniel Silva:

In Munich, a Jewish scholar is assassinated. In Venice, Mossad agent and art restorer Gabriel Allon receives the news, puts down his brushes, and leaves immediately. And at the Vatican, the new pope vows to uncover the truth about the church’s response to the Holocaust–while a powerful cardinal plots his next move. 

If you loved Nickel Boys, read James by Percival Everett:

When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold and separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide nearby until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father. Thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River. And here, Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.

Booklist for national science fiction day

January 2 is national science fiction day, and I want to use it as an excuse to get people into one of my favorite genres! Whether you’ve never read a sci-fi book before, you’ve dabbled but not really explored the genre, or you’re an expert who is looking for your next favorite read, I have a recommendation for you.

Beginner: All of these are fairly short (two are just novellas!) and there’s nothing too mind-bending in them.

  • The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi: Jamie Gray, a food delivery driver, signs on for a gig at a mysterious “animal rights organization,” but is surprised to learn that they are massive dinosaur-like creatures in an alternate dimension. 
  • To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers: A team of astronaut explorers are hard at work to ecologically survey four habitable worlds fifteen light years from Earth. 
  • Binti by Nnedi Okorafor: Binti is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Intermediate: If you feel like you’ve gotten your feet under you, try one of these books that are a bit more complicated.

  • The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson: Multiverse travel is finally possible, but no one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. Enter Cara, whose parallel selves happen to be exceptionally good at dying–from disease, turf wars, or vendettas they couldn’t outrun. Cara’s life has been cut short on 372 worlds in total. But trouble finds Cara when one of her eight remaining doppelgängers dies under mysterious circumstances, plunging her into a new world with an old secret.
  • Dawn by Octavia E. Butler: When Lilith lyapo wakes from a centuries-long sleep, she finds herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankal, a seemingly benevolent alien race that intervened in the fate of humanity. After learning all they could about Earth and its beings, the Oankali healed the planet, cured cancer, increased human strength, and they now want Lilith to lead her people back to Earth–but salvation comes at a price.
  • The Martian by Andy Weir: After a dust storm on Mars nearly kills astronaut Mark Watney and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive–and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills–and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit–he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. 

Expert: Ready for a challenge? Try one of these books, where things get more advanced.

  • The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu: Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. 
  • Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee: When Captain Kel Cheris of the hexarchate is disgraced for her unconventional tactics, Kel Command gives her a chance to redeem herself, by retaking the Fortress of Scattered Needles from the heretics. Cheris’s career isn’t the only thing at stake: if the fortress falls, the hexarchate itself might be next. Cheris’s best hope is to ally with the undead tactician Shuos Jedao. The good news is that Jedao has never lost a battle, and he may be the only one who can figure out how to successfully besiege the fortress. The bad news is that Jedao went mad in his first life and massacred two armies, one of them his own.
  • Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi: Ella has a Thing. She sees a classmate grow up to become a caring nurse. A neighbor’s son murdered in a drive-by shooting. Things that haven’t happened yet. Kev, born while Los Angeles burned around them, wants to protect his sister from a power that could destroy her. But when Kev is incarcerated, Ella must decide what it means to watch her brother suffer while holding the ability to wreck cities in her hands.

Long books to lose yourself in during the holidays

I love a long book — so many characters to get to know, and so much time to relax and enjoy where the story is going to take me — but it can seem hard to get into a behemoth when I’m short on time. Which is most of the year. Luckily, I have a bit more downtime at the end of December, so I’m looking forward to trying a long tome or two this season, wish me luck! Here are some of my recommendations for epic stories to lose yourself in during the holidays, or next time you find yourself itching for something 600+ pages:

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Ailey Pearl Garfield is reared in the north in the City but spends summers in the small Georgia town of Chicasetta, where her mother’s family has lived since their ancestors arrived from Africa in bondage. From an early age, Ailey fights a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hovering trauma, as well as the whispers of women — her mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuries — that urge Ailey to succeed in their stead.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Journey to the dusty little Texas town of Lonesome Dove as four former, aging Texas Rangers undergo a cattle drive from southern Texas to unsettled Montana in the latter half of the 1800s.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo, and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration.

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

On Dec. 3, 1976, just before the Jamaican general election and two days before Bob Marley was to play to ease political tensions in Kingston, seven gunmen stormed the singer’s house. The attack wounded Marley, his wife, and his manager, and injured several others. James deftly chronicles the lives of a host of unforgettable characters — gunmen, drug dealers, one-night stands, CIA agents, even ghosts — over the course of 30 years as they roam the streets of 1970s Kingston, dominate the crack houses of 1980s New York, and ultimately reemerge into the radically altered Jamaica of the 1990s. 

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Jean Valjean, a former convict, is released from prison in 19th-century France after serving a long sentence for stealing a loaf of bread. In his subsequent struggle to create a new life, he is relentlessly pursued by the morally rigid police inspector Javert. Valjean encounters Fantine, a struggling single mother, and Marius, a young revolutionary, while trying to protect his adopted daughter, Cosette, from the clutches of the exploitative Thenardiers.

Shōgun by James Clavell

After Englishman John Blackthorne is lost at sea, he awakens in a place few Europeans know of and even fewer have seen: Nippon. Thrust into the closed society that is 17th-century Japan, a land where the line between life and death is razor-thin, Blackthorne must negotiate not only a foreign people, with unknown customs and language, but also his own definitions of morality, truth, and freedom. 

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

A portrait of a beautiful and intelligent woman whose passionate love for a handsome officer sweeps aside all other ties — to her marriage and to the network of relationships and moral values that bind the society around her. The love affair of Anna and Vronsky is played out alongside the developing romance of Kitty and Levin, and in the character of Levin, the search for happiness takes on a deeper philosophical significance.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

In the midst of the Napoleonic Wars in 1806, most people believe magic to have long since disappeared from England, until the reclusive Mr. Norrell reveals his powers and becomes an overnight celebrity. Another practicing magician then emerges: the young and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell’s pupil, and the two join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wild, most perilous forms of magic, and he soon risks sacrificing his partnership with Norrell and everything else he holds dear.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction — but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Jake Epping, a 35-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, makes extra money teaching GED classes. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives, and one essay blows him away: a gruesome, harrowing story about the night more than 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a sledgehammer. Reading the essay is a watershed moment for Jake, his life — like Harry’s, like America’s in 1963 — turning on a dime. Not much later his friend Al, who owns the local diner, divulges a secret: His storeroom is a portal to the past, a particular day in 1958. And Al enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession — to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson, in a different world of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere. From the dank little city of Derry, Maine (where there’s Dunning business to conduct), to the warmhearted small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love, every turn is leading eventually, of course, to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and to Dallas, where the past becomes heart-stoppingly suspenseful, and where history might not be history anymore. Time-travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, is a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known. Tom is the mason who becomes his architect — a man divided in his soul. The beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena is haunted by a secret shame. The story of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state and brother against brother.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo. A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84. Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo becomes so wrapped up with a ghostwriting project and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled. As their narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain. Five thousand years later, their progeny — seven distinct races now three billion strong — embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.

Middlemarch by George Eliot

In a 19th-century Midlands town in the midst of sweeping change, the proposed Reform Bill, the new railroads, and scientific advances are threatening upheaval on every front. Against this backdrop, the quiet drama of ordinary lives plays out — until the arrival of two outsiders further disrupts the town’s equilibrium. 

Industry Interview with Writer, A.E. Williams

For our 2024 blog series, we’re highlighting industry professionals to find out more about their time in the book world. Follow along for insight on what catches a reviewer’s interest, things to avoid when pitching a media outlet, what librarians are searching for and more. 

Today, we’re chatting with A.E. Williams, an editor-turned-writer. After earning a bachelor of fine arts in creative writing from Full Sail University in 2020, A.E. began the journey of becoming a full-time book editor, editing books as a freelancer for indie authors.

Today, after five years in business, A.E. has grown his freelance venture into a full-service editorial firm, A.E. Williams Editorial, serving indie authors and publishing houses such as Hachette Book Group (imprints such as Running Press, Black Dog & Leventhal, and Orbit Books); Kensington Publishing (imprint Zebra books); Human Kinetics; and Mango Media Publishing. To date, the A.E. Williams Editorial team has worked on over two hundred books.

As someone who hears about A LOT of books, what makes one stand out to you?

Great books have a strong voice and a story that’s relatable regardless of genre. They also demonstrate prose that really captures the reader. I also think subtext is very powerful for scenes. Great books get to the point of the action, raise the stakes, and introduce dynamic characters that we want to root for.

What’s the worst thing an author can do in telling you about a book they’d like you to consider editing?

Red flags for me as an editor are “It’s my baby” and “I don’t want to change much.” These two phrases tell me right off the bat that a writer is not going to be receptive to my suggestions as an editor. Nothing is more frustrating than an author who’s hired my firm but doesn’t want to heed our professional opinions and advice.

What makes your job easier?

Writers who communicate their needs clearly and put their trust in the work we’re doing. The edits can go quite smoothly when an author is open to feedback and discussion and less likely to buck the objective feedback such as grammar and spelling conventions. We want the client’s book to appear as if an editor has worked on it.  

Did you always know you wanted to be involved in the book world?

I started out as a writer myself, doing the whole self-publishing thing, even putting on my own book tour for local bookstores. I’ve been in love with the craft since high school, so I dreamed of having some mark on the publishing industry from a very early stage in my life. I’ve been writing for over twenty years and I’ve been editor for five. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What is your most recommended book and why?

You can never go wrong with a Tolkien or C. S. Lewis piece. The classic fantasy has a wholesomeness to it that really captures the beauty of imagination. Those stories introduced things like friendship and morals to its reader base all those years ago. I’m a lover of fantasy, and I think the genre still has a similar place in society today as it did back then.

What is a book that surprised you recently?

What surprises me are books that are authentic to the writer, that encompass a piece of them. Writers often have trouble finding their voice, and therefore the book reads quite stiffly. What is always a nice surprise is when a writer, particularly a client for whom I’m editing. It’s nice to meet the person whose voice is highlighted on the page. That’s always nice.

What is your favorite part about working in the book community?

I get paid to read books. Who wouldn’t love that?

 

Industry Interview with Asha Dahya, the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of GirlTalkHQ.com

For our 2024 blog series, we’re highlighting industry professionals to find out more about their time in the book world. Follow along for insight on what catches a reviewer’s interest, things to avoid when pitching a media outlet, what librarians are searching for and more. 

Today, we’re chatting with Asha Dahya, the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of GirlTalkHQ.com.

  1. As someone who hears about A LOT of books, what makes one stand out to you?

The story! It’s all about the story, and how a book is written into a pitch email. I am particularly drawn to stories that feature marginalized lead characters, especially young women of color, because they often don’t get to be the lead (typically). I also love reading books that are set in different parts of the world, but have a universal appeal in terms of the themes. It’s a great way for a book to be relatable while also having the ability to educate or enlighten readers about a different culture or country. 

  1. What’s the worst thing an author (or publicist!) can do in telling you about a book they’d like you to consider for coverage?

Not include crucial details about the main characters or plot points. Hook me in immediately! I also think it’s important for publicists to tailor a pitch to the platform you are targeting. Generic pitches  may not always work, so for instance if you know GirlTalkHQ amplifies the stories of women, pull on that thread in your pitch.  

  1. What makes your job easier?

Press packets that include an author’s bio and headshot, a blurb about the book that can be copied and adapted easily for article text, and any info in the body of an email that reads like the first few sentences of an article potentially. Tell me a story IN your pitch! I also LOVE seeing press kits that have a pre-done Q&A with the author because it gives even more background info I can use in a review or article, or when writing up my own questions for an interview. 

  1. What’s the most memorable (or maybe funniest) pitch that’s ever come your way?

I have always been an avid reader of fiction books especially. I love escapism! Anything with a great story, no matter the genre, that will keep me hooked, is worth gold. I didn’t necessarily have plans to work in the book world specifically, but it is a really exciting part of my job as editor of GirlTalkHQ that we can use our platform to amplify so many wonderful books and authors. At a time when books are becoming increasingly politicized through book bans for certain topics or themes, I am proud to be able to offer a space to push back on this. Books enrich our lives for the better. 

  1. Did you always know you wanted to be involved in the book world?

Yeah! Every single job I’ve had in my life has been books in some way or another, it just makes sense somehow. Bookseller, librarian, author/media escort/driver for book events, book festival coordinator…the list goes on.

  1. What is your most recommended book and why?

Instead of one particular book, I can recommend 2 authors who I absolutely love – Rachel Howell Hall and Brit Bennett. Read any of their books and you will NOT be disappointed. 

  1. What is a book that surprised you recently?

I only read non-fiction on certain occasions, but I recently read Naomi Klein’s ‘Doppelgänger’ and it was so compelling and eye-opening. She did a brilliant job of storytelling, through her personal experience, while also expertly weaving in a timeline about the rise of right-wing extremism over the past 10 years. It was fascinating, horrifying, and engaging. 

  1. What is your favorite part about working in the book community?

Getting to learn about how many authors bring their own personal experience into their stories. So many books and great stories come about from a lived experience, and then become fascinating insights into our world, or into a world which we may not have considered or known about previously. I also really appreciate a lot of the vulnerability many authors show in their characters, which at times is drawn from their own vulnerabilities. Through these characters we can find strength to look at our own vulnerabilities not as weaknesses but a part of what makes us all interesting, complex, flawed and nuanced people. I love the way books, stories and characters can hold up a mirror to ourselves and the world, allowing for greater understanding and empathy.