Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For June, we’re looking at this year’s If All Arkansas Read the Same Book selection, historical fiction about the Gilded Age, an anthology of Western mysteries, a family saga set in 1970s Mississippi, a vampire fantasy romance, a guide to eating around the United States, true crime about gator poaching, encouragement for writers, and audiobook memoirs, romances, chick lit, and mysteries.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Summer Reads”Category: Book Buzz
Book Buzz: Contemporary Gothic Suspense, Historical Fiction, Northwoods Fiction, Nature Reads, Canning, and Audiobook Office Suspense
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For May, we’re looking at a gothic tale complete with atmospheric mansion and family secrets, historical fiction with settings that range from the construction of the Panama Canal to WWII, contemporary fiction set in rural Wisconsin, nonfiction about trees and the animal kingdom, a guide to canning, and an audiobook about an office cleaner.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Contemporary Gothic Suspense, Historical Fiction, Northwoods Fiction, Nature Reads, Canning, and Audiobook Office Suspense”Book Buzz: Literary Classics Reimagined, Historical Legal Wrangling, Collaborative Fiction, Space Operas, Van Living, and Audiobook Suspense
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For April, we’re looking at an acclaimed new take on the story of Huckleberry Finn, historical fiction about a famous 19th century British trial, a collaborative effort between some of today’s most famous writers, a new series that melds the genres of science fiction and espionage thriller, a guide to living the van life, and two very different suspense novels on audiobook, one with a historical setting while the other is extremely contemporary.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Literary Classics Reimagined, Historical Legal Wrangling, Collaborative Fiction, Space Operas, Van Living, and Audiobook Suspense”Book Buzz: Literary Puzzles, Westerns, Espionage Thrillers, Morbid Memoirs, and Suspenseful Audiobooks
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For March, we’re looking at a fiendishly difficult book puzzle, two Westerns based on real-life events, a spy novel, a memoir about being a death investigator for Manhattan’s Medical Examiner office, and a literary suspense audiobook.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Literary Puzzles, Westerns, Espionage Thrillers, Morbid Memoirs, and Suspenseful Audiobooks”Book Buzz: Literary Historical Fiction, Magical Realism Family Sagas, Montana Romance, Cozy Mysteries, French Cuisine, and Naval Adventure
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For February, we’re looking at historical fiction set in World War I, two very different magical realism stories about cross-generational family sagas, a new romance series set in Montana, a new cozy series starring an amateur detective maid at a hotel, a classic cookbook, and an audiobook that blends contemporary naval action and romance.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Literary Historical Fiction, Magical Realism Family Sagas, Montana Romance, Cozy Mysteries, French Cuisine, and Naval Adventure”Book Buzz: Fiction Extravaganza
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For January, we’re looking at historical fiction set in 18th century colonial India and 1950s North Carolina, Viking fantasy, lots of horror, suspense about a party gone very wrong, and audiobooks galore. Since last month was all nonfiction, this month it is all fiction!
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Fiction Extravaganza”Book Buzz: Nonfiction Extravaganza
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For December, we’re looking at travel-themed memoirs, new cookbooks, history (both American and ancient), heartwarming pet stories, and adventure gone wrong. We have lots of holiday-themed books and movies too, but if you’re looking for a change of pace from that, well, this post is for you!
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Nonfiction Extravaganza”Max Miller’s Tasting History

Max Miller rocketed to fame in the early days of the pandemic because his relatively new YouTube channel Tasting History about food and history was well-made and interesting. And since he had been furloughed from his job, he didn’t have anything else to do but make videos about things like how to make your own Roman-style garum at a time when a lot of other people had plenty of free time to watch videos on how to make garum. It took off so much that he ended up quitting his job and getting a cookbook published from Simon and Schuster. Not bad for someone who started making YouTube videos as a hobby at the urging of his friends, whom he jokingly suspects of doing so just because they wanted him to offload his food history trivia on strangers rather than them.
I’ve been a Tasting History fan for a couple of years now and eagerly awaited the release of the book. I was not disappointed. Thanks so much to Julie for purchasing a copy for the library and my brother for buying me a personal copy for my birthday! 🙂
Continue reading “Max Miller’s Tasting History”Book Buzz: Fictional Libraries, Homages to Classics, Historical Mysteries, Second-Chance Romances, and Extreme Knitting
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For November, we’re looking at historical fiction about libraries (both the gothic kind and the WWII espionage kind), a modern literary homage to a 19th century classic, a brooding mystery set in 1950s small-town Minnesota, an Atlanta-based contemporary romance, and a nonfiction audiobook that ponders the mysteries of knitting.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Fictional Libraries, Homages to Classics, Historical Mysteries, Second-Chance Romances, and Extreme Knitting”Book Buzz: Librarians, 19th Century and Medieval Historical Fiction, Ancient Romans, and Bandit Bios
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For September, we’re looking at historical fiction that covers everything from WWII-era librarians to the Sioux Wars to a famous figure from medieval literature, as well as nonfiction about ancient Rome and a profile of stagecoach robber Black Bart.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Librarians, 19th Century and Medieval Historical Fiction, Ancient Romans, and Bandit Bios”