Six novels set in the 1970s

At Book Riot Julia Rittenberg tagged six novels set in the 1970s, including:

Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell

In the summer of 1976, there was a record-breakingly terrible heatwave in London. Gretta, an Irish matriarch, is suffering extra during the horrible weather event because her husband has recently left without a trace. Her three grown-up children, Michael, Monica, and Aoife, return to help her and figure out what happened. When the group returns to Ireland, even more family secrets come to light, and they all have to deal with old wounds.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eight quintessentially Québécois novels

Jake Pitre is a writer and scholar based in Montreal. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Globe and Mail, JSTOR Daily, Fast Company, and elsewhere.

At Electric Lit he tagged eight novels that "capture the diversity and cultural wealth of Québec’s storied metropolis." One title on the list:

Dandelion Daughter by Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay, translated by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch

Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay, an actress, turned to literature with her debut, Dandelion Daughter, a coming-of-age story about the prejudices of rural Québec and a protagonist who realizes they were assigned the wrong gender at birth. It is a story of transgender discovery told with radical honesty and a deep understanding of character—nothing about the self is ever simple. As the protagonist moves to Québec City and then Montreal, the book excavates poetry from deep emotional wounds and demonstrates what it means to own your identity.

Read about the other novels on the list at Electric Lit.

--Marshal Zeringue

Six thrillers set in the suburbs

Nicole Blades is a novelist and journalist with nearly two decades of experience in the media industry. Her cover stories and features have been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Runner’s World, Women's Health, and more. An active member of the International Thriller Writers organization, her novels often focus on the facade and filters people put on to face the world. Her latest novel is Would I Lie to You?. The domestic thriller joins Blade’s previous novels, Have You Met Nora?, The Thunder Beneath Us, and Earth's Waters. A proud Caribbean Canadian, Blades currently lives in New England with her husband and their son.

At CrimeReads the author tagged five "must-read thrillers set in seemingly idyllic environs crowded with the sinful secrets and base behaviors of the wealthy that tickle the nosiest parts of our brains." One title on the list:

Liv Constantine, The Last Mrs. Parrish

In this psychological thriller, Amber Patterson insinuates herself into the gilded marriage of Daphne and Jackson Parrish. Coveting the wife’s life, Amber plots to take her place. But shocking twists and turns unveil deeper deceptions, buried secrets and danger at every corner.

Read about the other entries on the list at CrimeReads.

The Last Mrs. Parrish is among Susan Moore's seven top domestic psychological thrillers, Trisha Sakhlecha's eleven thrillers that feature the mega-rich, Jaime Lynn Hendricks's seven best unlikeable characters in thrillers, Eliza Jane Brazier's nine books that pit the Have against the Have-Nots, Seraphina Nova Glass's seven top obsession thrillers, Allison Dickson's top ten thrillers featuring a dance of girlfriends and deception, Kristyn Kusek Lewis's eight shocking thrillers featuring scandals, Margot Hunt's top nine thrillers featuring duplicitous spouses, and Jennifer Hillier's eight crime novels of women starting over.

The Page 69 Test: The Last Mrs. Parrish.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven titles about the messy politics of Indian meals

Asfiyah Qadri is a writer based in Mumbai, India. Her work has appeared in Tweak India, Vogue India, and Brown History, and explores themes of memory, identity, and nostalgia.

At Electric Lit Qadri tagged seven books about the messy politics of Indian meals. One entry on the list:

Chhaunk by Abhijit Banerjee

How are roadside chowmein and foreign policy related? What does a disappointing New Year’s Eve have in common with Universal Basic Income? Few authors can extrapolate the dreary slog of everyday life to economic theories without being overly didactic, but Banerjee suffers from no such predicament. Every chapter begins with a juicy anecdote about food—in one, a sanyasi suckles lasciviously at a ripe mango on a crowded train, putting on a show for his scandalised audience; in another, a group of friends skip lunch to make their evening meal of sutli kebabs feel more rewarding, only to find that hunger has fettered every ounce of their mental energy.

Then, almost as if by chance, Banerjee begins to drift away—drawing unexpected parallels to Xi Jinping’s domestic policy, India’s malnutrition problem, the erosion of democracy, undertrial prisoners. Nothing is too frivolous, everything is related, and it almost always circles back to food. But while Chhaunk is a sobering reminder that the personal has always been political, Banerjee’s writing is laced with levity, making it an easily digestible read in spite of its heft.

Read about the other books on the list at Electric Lit.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven historical fiction titles set in Appalachia

Melissa D’Agnese is a senior editor at FIRST for Women, Woman’s World, and various a360media special interest publications.

At Woman’s World she tagged seven of the best historical fiction books set in Appalachia, including:

Milk Glass Moon by Adriana Trigiani

Bestselling author Adriana Trigiani is well-known for her sweeping sagas set in Italy, like The Shoemaker’s Wife and The View From Lake Como, but she also has a slew of excellent novels set in Appalachia. (Trigiani was born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia!)

The novel Milk Glass Moon—the third installment in her 1970s-set Big Stone Gap series—centers on Ave Maria Mulligan MacChesney, who recently visited a fortune teller and was told to “redream” her future. Meanwhile, Ave Maria is struggling to raise her headstrong daughter, Etta. Set against the close-knit backdrop of southwest Virginia, this deeply heartfelt novel explores motherhood, marriage and the ever-changing bonds of family.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten top books celebrating Paris

Kate Clayborn is the USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance novels. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Bookpage, and more.

She is a lifelong reader of texts of all kinds, and a passionate advocate for the romance genre. A Midwesterner by birth, she now lives in Virginia.

Clayborn's latest novel is The Paris Match.

At People magazine the author tagged "ten favorite Paris-set texts ... all which taught me something about the textures of Parisian life." One title on the list:

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

Admittedly, the title of this one was reason enough for me to pick it as an audiobook when it came out in 2023 — even though I’m usually not a mystery reader! But a missing resident of a Paris apartment, and a building full of cryptic, stonewalling residents? I was hooked. The heroine, Jess, arrives in Paris only to find that her brother Ben — who extended the invitation to his apartment — is missing. If you like a locked-room (locked-building?) mystery, The Paris Apartment scratches that itch, with really deft character work by Foley, who knows how to luxuriate in details while still keeping pace with the twists and turns of the plot.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five cautionary tales about shopping

At Book Riot Liberty Hardy tagged five “buyer, beware” novels about the dangers of shopping. One entry on the list:

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

It’s only forever, not long at all…

Up next is a YA retelling of a mix of Labyrinth (but without the purple leggings) and Beauty and the Beast. It’s about a young woman looking to save her sister from the Goblin King. When Liesl’s younger sister Käthe eats magical fruit at the Goblin Market, she falls under the spell of the feared and mysterious Goblin King. To save her, Liesl must travel to the Underground to get her back.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Wintersong is among Darren Croucher's six top novels connected to the 1980s.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eight notable books about libraries

Edwin B. Maxwell is the Chief Librarian of Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). A New York City native, born and raised in the Bronx, he began his career at BPL and worked his way through every level of the system, now leading public service across BPL’s central library and 60 neighborhood branches. Over nearly two decades, he has expanded access, supported youth programming, and helped shape libraries as spaces for connection, learning, and opportunity. He believes deeply that reading, in all its forms, belongs to everyone, and that libraries are essential community spaces that show up as real pillars in their communities, meeting people’s needs in whatever way is needed.

At Lit Hub Maxwell tagged eight favorite books about libraries, including:

Wayne A. Wiegand, Part of Our Lives

A history of public libraries that shifts the focus from institutions to the people who use them. Wiegand centers everyday readers and how they moved through libraries, what they chose, and why it mattered. It’s a reminder that libraries are not defined solely by what they offer, but by how communities shape, use, and make meaning from them.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Nine of the best climate and sustainability books

Vogue asked four climate activists to help "compile a reading list that offers context and perspective on issues of climate, sustainability, and resistance." One pick by Xiye Bastida, climate activist and Indigenous rights advocate:

Begin Again by Oliver Jeffers

This is the book I would’ve loved to write because it just makes sense, but it also makes us question everything we know about how to be human. Very few times have I come across something so grounding yet inspiring. Every time I read it, I feel the spark of my activist fire go bright.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven titles that let India’s smaller towns shine

Sneha Pathak is an independent writer and translator based in India. Her work has appeared in Business Standard, Scroll.in and Strange Horizons. She translates between Hindi and English.

At Electric Lit Pathak tagged seven novels that feature India’s smaller towns. One title on the list:

The Folded Earth by Anuradha Roy

Set in Ranikhet, a small town in the foothills of Northern Himalayas, The Folded Earth is the story of Maya, a young widow. She has come in search of sanctuary, and The Folded Earth shows a small town becoming a safe haven. At the same time, it reveals the fragility of such peace and tranquillity when faced with powerful local forces that thrive on conflict. Roy gives local color in descriptions of this charming town as well as through characters like the aristocratic Diwan Sahib and the young Charu—people who can only be found in India’s mofussils. Never in a hurry to reach its destination, The Folded Earth moves at a languid pace, capturing the feeling of strolling along winding, hilly roads of the town it describes.

Read about the other entries on the list at Electric Lit.

--Marshal Zeringue

Twenty-eight top investigative journalism titles

At the Waterstones blog Anna Orhanen tagged twenty-eight "investigative journalism books as page-turning as any thriller," including:

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

The award-winning author of Say Nothing turns his penetrating gaze to the stupendously wealthy and influential Sackler family, probing the dark and murky methods they have employed to amass their fortune.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Empire of Pain is among Lit Hub's ten best books for understanding the opioid crisis.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten gripping western historical fiction titles

At Woman’s World Melissa D’Agnese and Carissa Mosness tagged ten of the best western historical fiction books. One title on the list:

Outlawed by Anna North

Set in 1894, this bestselling novel follows 17-year-old Ada, whose life is defined by society’s expectations. A year into her marriage, she still hasn’t gotten pregnant, and in her world, that’s not just disappointing. It’s dangerous. Women who can’t conceive are accused of witchcraft and hanged. Desperate to escape that horrifying fate, Ada decides to join the infamous Hole in the Wall outlaw gang. Suddenly, she’s living a life she never imagined and it’s one filled with freedom, danger and impossible choices. But when the stakes get higher, Ada must decide: Is she willing to risk everything for her freedom or will she go back to her old life filled with expectations and accusations? A fun western tale that is perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Outlawed is among Emily Burack's twenty-five top books like Yellowstone, Brittany Bunzey's thirteen top wilderness novels, Claudia Cravens's eleven westerns that break the genre's rules, Robin McLean's eight top books about surviving in the wilderness and Christina Sweeney-Baird's seven books that imagine a world without men.

The Page 69 Test: Outlawed.

--Marshal Zeringue