by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) This phenomenal book, T.J. Klune's fantasy novel The House in the Cerulean Sea, was one of my favorite reads from 2020. I was thrilled to see that this one also just won an Alex Award as one of the ten best adult books that appeal to teen audiences with the Youth Media Awards from the American Library Association. Linus Baker lives a quiet, routine-oriented life with only his curmudgeonly cat, Calliope, for company. As a low

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) I was lucky to read so many amazing books this year! Consequently, I had a really hard time with coming up with my list for this post. It's a good problem to have, I suppose, but I'm realizing that it's really tough for me to pick out "winners" for the year when it comes to reading. Like Jen, I tried to pick books that represented the range of the kinds of reading I have done this year, and that is part of what I considered w

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are four books coming out today that I'm excited to read (I couldn't resist one more than our usual three!). Kristin Cashore's Winterkeep Description from Publisher: "For the past five years, Bitterblue has reigned as Queen of Monsea, heroically rebuilding her nation after her father's horrific rule. After learning about the land of Torla in the east, she sends envoys to the closest nation there: Winterkeep—a place where telepathic foxes

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Oh, friends, making book choices never gets easier for me. I had shared so many excellent books in my 2020 mid-year post AND on our 2020 Unabridged Awards Episode that I thought I would have narrowed the list from which to choose. Wow, was I wrong! (Be sure to check our mid-year posts: here's mine, Ashley's, and Sara's.) I read 345 books in 2020, and of those, 28 earned five stars from me, and 92 earned four-and-a-half stars. So, even with the

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) 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 each on

by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Diana Pinguicha's A Curse of Roses Description from Publisher: "With just one touch, bread turns into roses. With just one bite, cheese turns into lilies. There’s a famine plaguing the land, and Princess Yzabel is wasting food simply by trying to eat. Before she can even swallow, her magic–her curse–has turned her meal into a bouquet. She’s on the verge of starving, which only r

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Holly Black's How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories Description from Publisher: "An illustrated addition to the New York Times bestselling Folk of Air trilogy, that started with The Cruel Prince, from award-winning author Holly Black. "An irresistible return to the captivating world of Elfhame. "Once upon a time, there was a boy with a wicked tongue. "

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Barack Obama's A Promised Land Description from Publisher: "In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Friends, it is a tense time. This week is an especially tense one. If there is anything that helps me during tense times (in addition to yoga, dark chocolate, and a nice glass of red wine...), it's reading an immersive story. Romance This past year (and especially in the time since the pandemic began), I've discovered that I really enjoy some romance books. It's been a welcome discovery, although I'm still learning what does

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Here are three books coming out today that I can't wait to read! Christian Staebler, Sonia Paoloni, and illustrator Thibault Balahy's Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band Description from Publisher: "Experience the riveting, powerful story of the Native American civil rights movement and the resulting struggle for identity told through the high-flying career of West Coast rock 'n' roll pioneers Redbone. "You've heard the hit

In this Unabridged podcast episode, we're talking all things speculative fiction with Virginia Soenksen, author of The Titan Strain, The Osiris Contingency, and The Ragnarok Resolution. We talk with her about her amazing science fiction series, and then we all recommend books that we've loved within the speculative fiction realm. We wrap up our episode with some favorite museum recommendations in honor of Virginia's role as an art historian and an associate director of a muse

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Here are three books coming out today that I'm excited to read! Alix Harrow's The Once and Future Witches Description from Publisher: "In the late 1800s, three sisters use witchcraft to change the course of history in a Hugo award-winning author's powerful novel of magic amid the suffragette movement. "In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witchi

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) All right, book lovers, this is one of those pub days that overwhelms me, so I'm feeling obligated to share some extras today. I have FIVE books pre-ordered today, FOUR that I've already read thanks to NetGalley, and THREE more than I can't resist mentioning. Here we go: Pre-Ordered Books Jerry Craft's Class Act - My boys and I are SO excited about this follow up to the award-winning graphic novel New Kid. Tana French's The Searcher - French i

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to Partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of V. E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on Tuesday, October 6, 2020. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is the first book I’ve read by V. E. Schwab . . . I’ll definitely be reading more. What a brilliant, compelling, gorgeous novel. Adeline LaRue, born in France in 1691, is happy in her quiet life with her parents. Her dotin

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 are a MILLION out there, so I just chose the first ones that popped into my head when I thought of this topic. There's something about residential schools that concentrates life experience--when I was in high school reading Lord of the Flies, we spent SO much time talking about how the boys' time on the island was a microcosm for human existe

In today's episode of the Unabridged Podcast, we each do our best to recommend a book that our friends and co-hosts will love. Be sure to listen to our Bookish Check-in and our Give Me One, where we pick a favorite karaoke song. We'd love to know what books you'd recommend for each of us! Bookish Check-in Ashley - Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out and Back Again Jen - Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic (@bookishladiesclub buddy read) Sara - Lori Gottlieb’s Maybe You Should Talk to

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Akwaeke Emezi's The Death of Viveh Oji Description from Publisher: "One afternoon, in a town in southeastern Nigeria, a mother opens her front door to discover her son’s body, wrapped in colorful fabric, at her feet. What follows is the tumultuous, heart-wrenching story of one family’s struggle to understand a child whose spirit is both gentle and mysterious. Raised by a distant father and an understanding but overprotective mother, Vivek suff

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Thanks to partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Tehlor Kay Mejia’s Paola Santiago and the River of Tears in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. Paola Santiago is obsessed with the mysteries of the world: how humans can use algae to reduce fossil fuel use, what it's really like in space, why her mother won't let her get a dog, why her family never has enough money. But most of all, she wants

In this Unabridged Podcast episode, we have so much fun talking with Mariely Sylvette Martinez of PodQueens Latinas about underrated books and series. She joins us for our Bookish Check-in, and then we chat about what it means to be underrated and why some great books and authors don't seem to get as much buzz as others. Finally, we end with our Give Me One segment and recommend some podcasts that we're enjoying right now. Bookish Check In Ashley - Mindy McGinnis's A Madness

On this Unabridged episode, we consider where we are with our reading goals for the year, including how we're doing on the reading challenges we each selected back in January. We talk about the The Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge with @annebogel, Book Riot's 2020 Read Harder Challenge with @bookriot, and the Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge from @novelknight along with The Unread Shelf Project 2020 with @theunreadshelf. Want to listen to our original episode where we