Welcome to The Best of Book Riot, our daily round-up of what’s on offer across our site, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels. Not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone.
There are, at least, a lot of new books coming out to both distract us and even expand our understanding of certain things. Haruki Murakami and Robin Wall Kimmerer both have new books out this month, and there’s a bookish memoir and a tale of revenge to look forward to.
There are also other noteworthy books out this week, of course, which include a new Paula Hawkins, a trippy queer coming-of-age tale, a Nigerian retelling of Mansfield Park, and more.
It’s not surprising that many writers have chosen revenge as the basis for their thriller plots. Only a truly evil character will kill for the sake of killing, and carrying out murder, betrayal, or other kinds of harm for personal gain is unlikely to make for a character that the reader will identify with — but a character who is taking revenge can potentially be relatable, depending on what they’re trying to avenge. Revenge plots let the author seed in clues from the past, and shock the reader with stunning twists at the denouement. Here are some of the best thrillers about revenge that will keep you on tenterhooks as you read, from YA and fantasy to contemporary crime stories.
Book Riot editor Danika Ellis joins Jeff to talk about how she tracks bestsellers for Book Riot, how growing up online was sort of great, and what we see (or don’t) when we read.
Wake up, babe — a new Best Books of the Year just dropped. Somehow, we’re already on to the second list like this before Halloween (B&N had the first). Listen, we’re not complaining! But also, we hope this trend doesn’t encroach into earlier in the year. Just saying.
In today’s round-up of recent sci-fi and fantasy links, we’re going to talk about the release of Kurt Vonnegut’s unpublished board game, the new Nghi Vo novel The City in Glass, the truth about The Rocketeer’s butt, and more!
Queer horror has exploded in recent years, and so have queer comics. There are so many to choose from! I’ve been reading mostly queer horror and Halloween books all month—because I’m always going to pick the queer book, if that’s an option—and I’m nowhere near the end of my TBR. In fact, one of the comics I read this week inspired this list, because it’s such a fun Halloween romp of a read.