Curated by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) Since we traditionally celebrate love in February, I'm sharing some reviews of YA romances that we've loved. Some of these are mixed with other genres, but all of them include romance as a prominent component, and each of them offers a unique take on romance: Jennifer E. Smith's THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT - An Unabridged Buddy (Jen's review): "Jennifer E. Smith's The Statistical Probability of Love at First S

by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) Last month, I focused on an Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge category, " Book published in the year of your birth ." I thought that this month, I'd focus on "Book from a favorite author's backlist," which was also the subject of an episode last week, episode 306, " Book from a Favorite Author’s Backlist ." I keep a list of authors whose work I want to explore fully, and each of these will be inspiring some of my reading this year. Here a

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison ( @ashley_dicksonellison ) I loved seeing Jen's post about the books she's considering reading from the year she was born for our Unabridged Reading Challenge, and I thought it would be fun to do that as well. I was born in 1981, and there are several iconic books that I did not realize were written that year. To get started, I also used the Goodreads list for the most popular books written in the year of my birth, and it was a helpful way to get a

Curated by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) I'm a planner. That means that I'm always looking ahead to what I might want to read next and what we might want to cover on the podcast (either in an episode or on the website or as a buddy read). Since it's January, that means that I'm looking ahead to middle-grade March, so I thought I'd highlight a few middle-grade reads we've loved over the years (in case some of our readers might be planners, too!). Here are some great books to

by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) Any other Bicentennial Babies out there? One of our Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenges this year asks that we read a book from the year of our birth. Since I was born in 1976, I thought I'd start researching options. Goodreads has a list called " Most popular books published in 1976: Books most frequently added to Goodreads members' shelves, updated weekly "; I also checked out Wikipedia's " 1976 in literature ." I'm using both as a start

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison ( @ashley_dicksonellison ) In this curated list of winter book recommendations, I'm sharing books where the season of winter is a pivotal part of the story. (Actually, in two of them, Fredrik Backman's Anxious People and Margarita Montimore's Oona Out of Order , the new year specifically is an important part of the story.) These are not necessarily cozy reads (though some of them are perfect for that!), and the tone, style, and subject matter of eac

by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) While I'm fairly picky about my holiday reading, I have read some fabulous holiday romances this year! If you're looking for sweet books that don't cross that "saccharine" line, one of these books may be for you. B. K. Borison's Good Spirits ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ) This is my first of two takes on A Christmas Carol that I've read and loved this year. (I listened to the audio, thanks to Libro.fm, and highly recommend that format!) Noa

by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) We've reached the end of the year and my inevitable mix of delight in reflecting on the books I've loved and angst over having to choose my favorites. It's always such an interesting exercise (and I often cheat . . . just a bit). Before I get started, make sure you check out our picks from mid-year—here are Ashley's and mine —and Ashley's end-of-year picks . John Green's Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadli

Curated by Ashley Dickson-Ellison ( @ashley_dicksonellison ) During this holiday season, we're sharing some holiday books that we've loved and reviewed on the blog. I'm pretty selective when it comes to holiday reads, but I've found over the last couple of years that I do enjoy reading some holiday-specific books (as well as seasonal books in general) as we approach different seasons. Maybe I'll try a couple of the ones below that I haven't read yet! For the book reviews, I'l

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison ( @ashley_dicksonellison ) It's hard to believe it's time for a year-end wrap-up post for 2025, but here we are. My reading life has eased up and improved since I finished my grad program in August, but my reading life has still experienced a significant impact this year. However, I do have some favorites from the second half of the year, and I'm excited about the prospect of a vibrant reading year in 2026. Marie Bostwick's The Book Club for Trouble

Curated by Ashley Dickson-Ellison ( ashley_dicksonellison ) We celebrate Indigenous authors at Unabridged, and we wanted to share a few of the many books we've recommended over the years in this curated list. These stories span genres and nations, offering powerful perspectives and unforgettable characters. Whether you’re looking for a deep dive into history, a multi-generational family saga, or a chilling contemporary read, we hope you’ll find something new to add to your TB

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison ( @ashley_dicksonellison ) I'm updating this post for 2025 with some new favorites! The new recommendations are indicated with an asterisk. I first wrote this in 2021 in preparation for our August Book Club discussion about Balli Kaur Jaswal's Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows . That book had so many amazing threads woven together, but one of them that really resonated with me was the way that generational and cultural differences can be overcome. On

by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) I thought it might be time for an update of this post from 2019 to share some fabulous horror (or just spooky) reads with you. New recommendations are marked with an asterisk. Because it's been a while since I read some of these books, I'll include the publisher's synopsis with some commentary. *William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist ( Bookshop.org | Libro.fm ) - While I'd watched the movie adaptation before, I had never read its source mater

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison ( @ashley_dicksonellison ) Hi! This is a 2025 update for this blog post with several new recommendations for...

by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) I'm a big fan of books set in residential schools, whether they're boarding schools or colleges. There...

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison ( @ashley_dicksonellison ) As the school year gets underway for a lot of people, I wanted to share some young...

Curated by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) As we honor Juneteenth—a day that marks emancipation and the ongoing struggle for Black...

by Jen Moyers ( @jen.loves.books ) Every year, when it comes time to write about my favorite books of the year so far, I agonize . . ....

Curated by Ashley Dickson-Ellison ( ashley_dicksonellison ) Looking to add more LGBTQ+ voices to your reading list? In this post, we’re...

Just getting started with Unabridged Podcast? Welcome! We're Ashley and Jen, and we are both passionate about books and getting them into...