Here are the most clicked-on stories from Today in Books this week.
It’s the Most Notable Time of the Year
The New York Times‘s annual list of 100 notable books of the year is, for my money, the very best of the end-of-year offerings. Evenly divided between fiction and nonfiction, it has a diversity of genres, subjects, and tones; a healthy mix of popular, commercially successful titles and under-the-radar gems; enough books to be useful as you select your next read or shop for the book lovers in your life but not so many as to be overwhelming. If you read widely and pay attention to the bookish zeitgeist during the other eleven months of the year, you’re likely to find validation for some of your faves alongside new-to-you picks and reminders of the “Oh, I’ve been meaning to read that!” variety. This time around, there are also boxes to tick to indicate whether you’ve read a book or want to read it. I’ve notched 23 of the 100 so far, and I’m proud to report that Jeff and I scored 11 out of the 15 titles we identified as shoo-ins when we predicted the list on a recent episode of the Book Riot Podcast.
NPR Reveals 350+ Books of the Year
NPR‘s Books We Love tool, formerly known as the Book Concierge, is one of the literary internet’s most unsung heroes. Containing more than a decade’s worth of recommendations from critics, hosts, reporters, editors, and producers, Books We Love includes more than 4,000 titles that are sortable by genre, theme, and reader interest. For 2024, they’ve added more than 350 (!) books ranging from bestsellers to under-the-radar gems. Want a biography or memoir with seriously great writing? They’ve got you covered. How about an eye-opening read for history lovers? Yep. You can even sort for book club ideas and book length, a truly essential combination. Books We Love is reader service at its finest.
The Best Gift Books of 2024
What books should you give to the historical fiction fan who’s over World War II stories about librarians who are also spies? Or the home cook who loves to read about food as much as they love to make it? We’ve got recommendations for all kinds of readers this week on the Book Riot Podcast.
Costco to Keep Book Sections in Some Stores Year-Round
After announcing this summer that they would begin restricting in-store book sales to a seasonal model in the final quarter of the year beginning in, Costco has decided to reverse course, kind of. The big box retailer now plans to maintain year-round book sections in 100 of its 600+ locations. The remaining stores will still move to the Q4-only model. Per Publishers Weekly, Costco has not offered comment or explanation for the decision, which will certainly offer an interesting A/B test.
Publishing executives see 2025 as an important year for the future of books at Costco. If sales remain strong and a more user-friendly model is created, Costco could return full-year book sections to more stores. If sales decline, however, book sections across the chain could all move to the holiday season model.
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