Upcoming Events - Penguin Random House Spring Book & Author Festival

 

I will be participating in the PRH Spring Book & Author Festival on Thursday, April 16. It's a free day-long event that has interviews, book buzzes, eGalleys, and more! There are authors of youth titles from picture books to young adult titles as well as adult fiction and non-fiction.  For those who need it, a CE certificate is available. The sessions will also be available for three months after the event. 

The panel I will be moderating is "Twisted Fiction." So far, the lineup of authors includes (with blurbs from the publisher): 

Bill Schweigart, author of Dirty 20 : The Sopranos meets Dungeons & Dragons when the son of a crime boss accidentally becomes a crowdfunding superstar and disrupts business on the streets with his RPG

Luke Larkin, author of The Unheld : Startling monsters and occult oddities abound in this chilling horror Western as a girl journeys across the haunted Montana Territory to rescue her father from an otherworldly creature.

Emeline Atwood, author of A Real Animal : In this unforgettable debut, a moment of metaphysical transformation launches a woman’s beautiful and terrifying journey through her twenties, through loneliness and complicated love that takes her from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to the plains of Texas

Abe Moss, author of Morsels : Meeting the family is scary. Surviving them is a nightmare.

Heather Parry, author of Carrion Crow : In this viscerally dark, queer Victorian gothic, longing and transformation take wing through the secret selves we nurture when no one is watching.

These events are fun and educational for any library worker. You can view the Winter 2025 PRH Book and Author Festival here. There is not a cost to attend. Staff can register here. 

PRH also has a page with upcoming author events which you can share with your patrons. Working with local bookstores benefits both the library and the bookstore. We are not in competition. Readers often will buy books from authors they have discovered at the library. 

Unshelve Your Collection with The Lineup & Grief Horror

 The Lineup recently featured this list: 9 Unsettling Horror Books About Grief.  For those who don't know, The Lineup covers movies, TV shows, and books about horror, true crime, and thrillers. They focus on backlist titles so it's a great resource for discovering titles for book displays and book lists. 

Grief horror is big right now and a focus on a popular theme, trope, or subgenre can help fans of a recent title find other books they will love. I would add other fiction about grief to the display to fill it out and to allow you to leave it up for a longer time if you don't currently have enough horror titles. Don't forget to include information about which titles you have in your digital collections. 

One of the lists below includes recovering from trauma with the fiction about grief so I included some lists about that subject for those who wanted to expand their display. 

It's always possible to put up a small, curated, pop-up collection at a service desk or on a bookcart. This would allow more staff to be involved as you would have to change it out more frequently when titles were checked out. Include a link to your catalog on the sign and encourage patrons to place holds if titles are already checked out. 

If you decide to put up some non-fiction, consider your community and perhaps place that in a different part of the library. However, as the Reddit threads indicate, reading fiction about loss is one way to grieve and deal with a death. 

Here are some lists to help get you started: 

The Seattle Public Library : Next Chapter: Grief (Fiction)

Goodreads : Grief Fiction Books

Reddit r/literature : Novels with grief as an important theme

Reddit r/suggestmeabook : My partner passed recently, fiction books about loss and grief? 

Reddit r/suggestmeabook :Suggest me a fiction book with grief as a theme

The Fiction Fox : Ultimate Guide to Grief Fiction

Book Riot : 8 of the Best Novels About Grief and Recovering from Trauma

Reddit r/suggestmeabook : Fiction books with a MC struggling/dealing with trauma in a realistic way?

Reddit r/suggestmeabook : Books involving characters who have gone through childhood trauma or dysfunctional families

The Fiction Fox :Ultimate Guide to Novels on (Healing from) Trauma

Electric Lit : 7 Novels About the Reverberations of Trauma

Goodreads : Trauma Book Lists

What I've Read and Reviewed Recently

Beyond reading for pleasure, I review for both Booklist and Library Journal. Here are some of my recent reviews:

I recommend both of these sites and publications for both readers advisory and collection development purposes. They are a fantastic way to keep in touch with what is popular and what is trending. If your library doesn't subscribe, ask that they do. 

Published March 1 by Booklist: Neurotica by Maxwell I. Gold from Shortwave Press

https://www.booklistonline.com/products/9819174. Starred Review
Comps: Stephanie Wytovich or Cynthia Pelayo

Published February 1 by Booklist: The Spoil by Maile Chapman from Graywolf

https://www.booklistonline.com/products/9818773
Comps:  I will add these as soon as I can 

Published February 6 by Library Journal: Molka by Monika Kim from Erewhon Starred Review

https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/molka-100008120
Comps: Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado or My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Published February 6 by Library Journal: Odessa by Gabrielle Sher from Little, Brown Starred Review

https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/odessa-100008109
Comps: The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman or The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

I won't republish the reviews here and I will try to do a better job of adding more information to my Goodreads page with more details than can be in print. I did list my comps for the titles to give you some idea. 

 

Unshelve with Help From Novel Suspects

 Novel Suspects is a website and newsletter from Hachette Book Group. It covers crime fiction and horror, including true crime. They include book lists, obviously with Hachette titles. However, you can borrow the idea and use the books in your collection. 

"Cannibalistic Cravings: 5 Gourmet Thrillers with ‘Unique’ Taste" is a recent list that could make a creative display. In addition to crime fiction, horror, and true crime, a display like this could include cookbooks as well. There are a number of lists below with books that you can use. 

The same display could be done with cozy mysteries with food themes. Cozy-Mystery has lists of culinary mysteries. 

I love the titles that Book Riot used - Fed Up With People and On the Menu. They are both clever and could be borrowed for your display with credit give to Book Riot. 

Horror suggestions from Reddit

Cannibalism Books - Goodreads

Crazy about Cannibalism- Patron created list from Central Arkansas Library System

8 Novels About Humans Eating Humans - Electric Lit

8 Books About Historical Cannibalism - Mental Floss

Fed Up With People: 10 Great Horror Books About Cannibalism- Book Riot

9 True Crime Books About Cannibalism - The Lineup

Cannibal Books - Goodreads

On the Menu: Cannibalistic Horror - Book Riot

Using Reddit as a Source for Passive Readers Advisory

 Reddit has a large number of communities or subreddits that focus on books, some of which are very specific and delve in subgenres that you may have never thought about. It can be a great way to find read alikes or to satisfy a patron who has very distinct tastes. You can also use ideas in the threads and posts there to launch a book display as well. 

Enter in a genre and search for communities. If you search for romance book, you will see the following communities: 

Romance Books

Spicy Romance Books

Contemporary Romance

Dark Romance

Romance Authors

Historical Romance

Fantasy Romance

Free Romance Books

MM Romance Books

Romance for Men

Queer Romance Lit

Wholesome Romance

Science Fiction Romance

Romantasy

Paranormal Romance

Sapphic Lit

Romance Anime Manga

Romance Anime

Reverse Harem

Mafia Romance Books

There are likely even more...

Search for a read alike and you will find readers who have posted their suggestions. I looked for read alikes for Sarah MacLean and found many posts with suggestions. While you might not agree with all of them, they can provide the start of a conversation as well as options for a book display. 

You can search Reddit without logging in which is helpful. Even the threads about books people dislike can help you out if they provide reasons why. Someone's hate read is someone else's catnip. 

It's a useful site to keep in your list of tools you have for passive and active readers advisory. 

Unshelve Your Collection Post Superbowl

 Superbowl 2026 is behind us now but you can use it to market your collection. The easiest thing to do is to harness the press about Bad Bunny and set up a display of books by Puerto Rican authors and books about PR. I will put a few lists below to get you started. The idea is to use a topic that is already on the minds of your patrons and use it to put some great books in front of them. 

Goodreads Listopia:Highlighting books written by Puerto Rican authors.

Indianapolis Public Library - Puerto Rican Authors

Reddit r/books: Literature of Puerto Rico

Barnes & Noble: Puerto Rican Fiction 

Don't forget to look for music by Puerto Rican musicians and to bring out your non-fiction about the island. You likely also have biographies of people from Puerto Rico. 

This is not an attempt to provoke those who might be mad about the halftime show but a way to bring out some great books that are hiding on the shelf. Use your best judgement about your patrons and community when it comes to signage. 

Another way to harness the Superbowl is to check the news today and see which advertisements landed well with viewers. Pull out books with titles that will remind patrons of those ads or are about subjects related to the ads. This kind of display can harness the creativity of your staff! 

Word of Mouth Recs vs AI

A quick follow-up to my previous post about AI vs librarian recommendations, this Dec. 11 article from Publishers Weekly, Word-of-Mouth Recs Best AI at Everand, Fable, 

The report, based on user activity data from both platforms and a survey of more than 1,600 U.S. adults using the platforms, found that "people I know personally" ranks as the top source of book discovery, holding its position even as AI-driven recommendation tools proliferated in 2025. That human connection extends to sharing a book with a friend or family member, which proved more popular then "saving to a shelf" as the most common action readers take after finishing a book.

Library workers would fall into people they know. Get into the habit of speaking to your patrons and encouraging staff to talk to them about books. Make it clear from your social media posts and the atmosphere in your buildings that you are a place for readers and the reading curious. Become the center for books in your community. 

Use interactive book displays to encourage your patrons to suggest books to each other. Have patrons suggest read alikes for a popular title. Have them suggest a favorite book based upon a theme, plot, location... I have a presentation called Book Displays That Do More if you are interested in more ideas for making your displays into passive programs. 

Staff favorites pulled from your shelves is another way to share books. Encourage your entire staff to participate in book displays. everyone is an expert in something! Staff who are comfortable can add their name to the display and create conversations with patrons with similar interests. 

Library workers will always give better readers advisory than AI could ever. 

Let Me Help You Unshelve Your Collection This Year!

A short introduction to me and what I try to do here. I have worked for my library system for 18 years as of this year. My time here has taken me from a branch library to reference to circulation and then to acquisitions. I updated our website, was an administrator for our ILS, and created and ran reports. As far as programming is concerned, I have created and ran programs for infants through older people. 

Basically, except for administration, I have done it in a public library. 

Before libraries, I earned a masters degree in religious studies with a focus on Holocaust studies and antisemitism. For a time, I was a manager at Barnes and Noble, ran a comic book store, and worked for a brokerage firm. 

I serve as Volunteer Coordinator for the Horror Writers Association and review (primarily) horror for both Booklist and Library Journal. I love promoting the books I love on my social media accounts. Spending energy putting a light on what you love is a better use of time than dragging books that didn't work for you online. I also add photos of displays I love to help give you ideas!

Now, I work to help library workers learn how to use passive readers advisory to market their collections more effectively. A well designed book display can help shine a spotlight on those titles that haven't received love from your patrons recently. Focusing on the books rather than decorations or elaborate signage, borrowing book store techniques can help your patrons find their next great read. This will likely be a book that they hadn't had on their mind when they entered your building. 

I have presented for a variety of state and national organizations including webinars for PCI. These topics include:

*Book Display Basics for Every Library Worker

*Book Displays That Do More - Interactive Book Displays with Passive Programming 

*Engaging Patrons With Better Book Displays

*Inclusive Readers Advisory for Any Library Worker

*An Introduction to Passive Readers Advisory

*Love Is In the Air : Marketing Your Romance Collection Using Passive Readers Advisor

*Marketing Your Collection, Services, and Programs with Better Book Displays

*Not Just In October: Marketing Your Horror and Dark Literature Collection with Passive Readers Advisory

* Using Book Displays and More to Market Your Winter Holiday Collection 

If you are interested in having me teach your staff my techniques for using passive readers advisory, please reach out to me - Lila.Denning (at) gmail (dot) com. 

Make Your Library The Center of Book Culture In Your Community

On her blog RA For All, Becky Spratford recently posted Listening to Library Users: A Wake-Up Call For Library Marketing via Super Library Marketing with a Bonus Becky Rant . What stood out to me was the fact that readers do not think about libraries as the place to go for book recommendations. This is a huge marketing opportunity for libraries to reach to local readers. Creating a culture of book recommendations and sharing of loved books is something that any library, regardless of size or budget can do. 

I encourage library workers to use expansive versions of book display themes because you don't know what will draw a reader in. People approach books from different and sometimes unexpected angles. To use a few horror titles, Grady Hendrix's How to Sell a Haunted House is also about a relationship between grown siblings and dealing with the death of parents. Cynthia Pelayo's The Shoemaker's Magician is about Chicago film history and parenting a child with special needs. These are in addition to the plot and horror themes in the books. AI will not help a reader find books that they might love beyond the obvious and simple examples. Talking to a library worker just might. 

Becky also emphasizes what I say when I talk about book displays - we should never assume that people know what we do and what we can offer them. Libraries need to tell their communities about their collections, resources, and services. It is something we need to do actively and often. 

Everyone should go to Becky's blog and review her free resources for booktalking and starting conversations. Have her train your staff on readers advisory as a conversation, not a transaction. Reach out to me if you are interested in more information about having me speak to your staff about using book displays and other forms of passive readers advisory. 

I will leave you with this anecdote - after I purchased a book by horror grand master Brian Keene, Amazon recommended self-help author Brene Brown to me. Maybe Alexa was worried about me but more than likely it was just a push for a best seller. A library worker trained in booktalking and conversations about books would not just hand a reader a best seller. A well designed display would not suggest that any best seller will do when you are looking for your next read. 

Unshelve Your Collection By Making Book Club Suggestions

 NPR Books recently released: Can't decide what to read next? Here are 20 recommendations for your book club.

This list consists of 2025 releases that are suggested for book clubs that need some ideas for their next read. This post can be used by your library by using your own backlist suggestions. Have staff check books that haven't been checked out as often as they could be and would make for a great book club suggestion. 

If they are available in your digital collection, include that information on the display as well. It's also a great time to promote your ill and hold services to patrons. We should never assume that everyone knows what services we offer. 

Your social media can also reflect these suggestions to tie your physical displays into your social media. Remember that books are our business and we should be working towards sending out the message that our community should come to librarians for suggestions, not AI. 

Using Best Book Posts to Unshelve Your Collection

There are plenty of "Best Books of 2025" lists online. They can easily be turned into a book display by focusing on the titles in your collection which haven't circulated as well as you would like and that would benefit from some attention. I would also include some read alikes from. your backlist for the most popular titles. 

Include the URL or a QR code to the site on your sign if you use one list. You can also combine them and post a list of various pages you used on your social media or website. You can also keep a list at your public service desk. There are some examples of Best Of lists below but I am certain that you can find many more.

 The Atlantic 10: The Books that Made Us Think the Most This Year

The Guardian: Best Books of 2025

LA Times: Best of 2025 

Goodreads Choice Awards

Library Journal: Best Books of 2025

Booklist Backlist: Best Personal Reading, Listening, and Watching.

AP: 10 Notable Books of 2025

Vulture: The Best Books of 2025

Chicago Tribune: The 10 best books of 2025

The Scientific American Staff’s Favorite Books of 2025

Smithsonian Magazine: The Ten Best Science Books of 2025

Town & Country: The 20 Best Books of 2025

Crime Reads: The Best Debut Crime Novels of 2025

NYT: Our Favorite Hidden Gem Books

Planning to Unshelve 2026

Part of the secret of a solid merchandising plan for your collection, services, and programs is to not wait until right before you need to set up a physical or digital display. Most libraries have some regular programming that reoccurs on a schedule as well as services that remain constant. I advise that libraries set up a monthly schedule for displays. This approach also allows for establishing a rotation to encourage many members of your staff to participate as well as every part of your library. 

Depending upon what works better for your library, you can use a physical planner, set up an online calendar, or even use a spreadsheet or notebook. Starting with January, list the holidays and cultural awareness events that your library will promote, including local and state events. Note any special programs. Decide which regular programs you will promote with a book display. Finally, leave some spots for staff to be creative and develop their own ideas. 

Decide when different displays will be put up and taken down. You will also need to coordinate with your web and social media teams if you want to mirror displays there or save some for digital only. Work with the managers and supervisors in your library to gauge staff interest in participating. Once you have decided who will develop which displays, you can start in on February. 

I would develop a plan for at least the first three months of the year. You can go forward with the rest of the year, with the understanding that your board, county, city, or other stakeholders could make a request. Sometimes there are significant events or pop culture phenomenon which you will want to use to market your collection. As with everything in a library, things change and we should always be ready for surprises. 

Please reach out if you would be interested in training on setting up a merchandising calendar or on book displays and passive readers advisory more broadly. 

 

B & N - Biggest Books Out Now Promo As a Book Display Idea

 This week, Barnes & Noble sent out an email about the biggest new releases. 

"Our biggest new releases have landed. With sweeping history, mind-bending thrillers and even a new Dog Man adventure, here are the best new books to keep on your radar."

While many of these titles have wait lists and need no help from us, you can take a look at the titles included and put up  books that need some more attention. Use a sign that says "While You Wait for ______________" and put up some similar books that could use attention. Add information about how to put books on hold. 

Because we spend so much time deep in libraries, it's easy to forget that not everyone knows all of the services we offer. Especially with the supply issues in wake of Baker and Taylor's closing, patrons need to know both about how your holds list works in addition to knowing what they could read while they wait. 

Book displays are mostly thought about as far as promoting backlist titles but your library could have new adult and youth titles that haven't found their reader yet. Setting up a focus display to promote them can help with that.  Add a sign that says "These Just In..." and give them a boost!

Use links to your eBook collections as well. Pay per use services, available through several eBook services including Hoopla and CloudLibrary, can be leveraged. It could be that your patrons are unaware that they can read/listen to popular titles through your eBook services. I know that they are a heavy expense for libraries but they can fill the gap while we all sort out physical book purchases and processing. 

Book News to Book Display - 2025 Booker Prize Winner

This year's Booker Prize winner is David Szalay's Flesh. There is information about the book, including a reading club guide, on the publisher's website. Clearly, it's literary fiction but book displays should rotate out to cover all aspects of your collection. There are ways you can leverage this news to market your collection both online and in your building. 

David Szalay was interviewed on the Booker Prize website. Link to that on your social media if you decide to double up the display by using it both online and in your building. 

The Goodreads page has a list of books that people who enjoyed Flesh also enjoyed. While these aren't as reliable as recommendations by a librarian, they can certainly be used for a display. There is also a list of authors that readers have also enjoyed. 

If your library subscribes to NoveList, you can use that to find readalikes by title or author as well. The appeal factors listed there can also help you find titles in your collection. Check your collection and use what you have. Putting literary fiction titles that need some love faced out and in the spotlight will help circulate them. 

This NPR article has more information about the award, who else was nominated, and who the judges were. All of that information can be used to see what is in your collection and you can create a display. Use their books that you have in your collection and add a simple sign that has information about the Booker Prize. Pull out previous long list, short list, and winners to complete the display and to fill it in as needed. 

Truthfully, you can always put up a sign about the awards with a list of the long list, short list, and winner. Add a QR code to any titles you have in your eBook collection. Then fill in the display with literary fiction titles that need some attention. It doesn't need to be a complicated research project. If you want to be more specific, you can read a plot summary and some reviews to find more exact matches but it's not necessary. The face outs will do the work for you. 

November Ideas

 It is November and time to transition book displays for the new month. While Thanksgiving is certainly one of the big days of the month, there are plenty of other opportunities to promote your collection in November. With Veterans Day being November 11, it would be a good time to create an interactive display with not only titles related to veterans but also information about library and other local resources for veterans facing issues. You can bring in a partner organization and put a cart of books in the room for patrons to browse. With Pearl Harbor Day on December 7, change the sign and stretch this display out for a little bit longer. 

Every month is dedicated to at least one health issue, disease, or condition. It's not realistic to try to promote all of them with displays, one option is to combine them into one with a sign recognizing them. Add a variety of health books and include bookmarks or flyers with information about local health resources. This would also make for a wonderful social media post promoting your health related resources. November is well known for "No Shave November" which promotes cancer awareness. An easy display, repeatable in any part of your library, is to create a display of random titles with faces on the cover and add a removable moustache to each book. This can be easily filled by any library worker. Spare moustaches and tape can be stored in the workroom. 

Because there are several bear-related holidays in November, one display can be set up with different signs or even all three mentioned on one sign. Any book about bears, with bears in the title, or bears on the cover are fair game. Obviously, this display can be mirrored in your children's area. 

Polar Bear Week (Nov. 2 to Nov. 8)
National American Teddy Bear Day - November 14
Have a Party with Your Bear Day - November 16

D.B. Cooper Day is November 24, the anniversary of the day the mysterious hijacker disappeared with $200,000 in 1971. Set up a display about mysteries, conspiracy theories, and unsolved crimes. Use fiction, non-fiction, and movies. Include any heist books and movies as well. 

Aviation History Month in in November which can create a variety of display ideas related to airplanes. The simplest idea is just books with planes on the cover. There should be history, transportation, and travel books in your non-fiction collection as well as a variety of fiction titles in which flight plays a part. Ask your patrons where they would like to fly to and post the answers either online or on a display in your library. 

Native American Heritage Month is all month. Remember to include fiction, arts, poetry, and cultural books in your displays. One comprehensive display will be easier to maintain than several specific displays. Here are some lists to get you started: 

Recent Works by Indigenous Authors - New York Public Library 
Native American Books for Native American Heritage Month - Powell's Books
Native American Heritage Month - Book Club Reads - Cincinnati Public Library 
Fiction and Non-Fiction Reads for Native American Heritage Month - Goodreads

World Vegan Month is in November. I include a no-turkey display every year and fill it with vegetarian and vegan cookbooks. This display can last all month and is easily filled. I mention creating easily filled displays because there are times when you need those because of staffing or other priorities. November and December are always filled with plenty of staff vacations. Sometimes we need to select the easiest options. 

Available Presentations

 I am able to create a custom presentation to meet anyone's needs but here are the 1 hour (with questions) presentations that I have show to at least one audience 

*Book Display Basics for Every Library Worker

*Book Displays That Do More - Interactive Book Displays with Passive Programming 

*Engaging Patrons With Better Book Displays

*Inclusive Readers Advisory for Any Library Worker

*An Introduction to Passive Readers Advisory

*Love Is In the Air : Marketing Your Romance Collection Using Passive Readers Advisor

*Marketing Your Collection, Services, and Programs with Better Book Displays

*Not Just In October: Marketing Your Horror and Dark Literature Collection with Passive Readers Advisory

* Using Book Displays and More to Market Your Winter Holiday Collection 

In addition to these, I have trained librarian on adult fiction collection development.

I am working on presentations on other genres, including science fiction and fantasy, crime fiction, and cozy fiction. 

Please reach out if you are interested in having me train your staff in passive readers advisory techniques. 

How to Navigate Book Displays When You Have To Be Careful

Some library workers must be careful when creating book displays especially around certain political issues as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion. While I always advocate for sharing, celebrating, and recommending books from diverse author and including as many experiences as possible in the books you put a spotlight on, some libraries exist in an environment where activists, local politicians, or patrons are invested in policing book displays and library collections. What is a library worker to do when they want to bring attention to books by diverse authors or to highlight perspectives that are out of whatever the mainstream is where their library is located? This is a question I get constantly when I present to libraries. It's a real and legitimate concern. 

My suggestion is to focus on the books. With budget and funding issues, libraries are doing more with fewer resources, including employees. Fighting about the verbage on a sign is not always the best use of anyone's time. For example, a display during Thanksgiving highlighting the Native American experience is completely appropriate. Language on a sign which is intentionally provocative and will draw attention from those who have already made trouble for your library or are poised to do so will create a situation which will draw time, energy, and attention from all the good work that a library does. More importantly, it will draw attention away from the books that you are trying to spotlight. 

I would love to tell everyone to be willing to take on any battle and fight for whichever signage or message that they wish. With the need for most people to maintain employment as well as the likely outcome, I just don't think that is realistic. What would work better is to work books by diverse authors into every display. In the Thanksgiving example above, put books about the Native American experience into any display about Thanksgiving history. Include books by Native American authors in any display of Thanksgiving themed fiction. Set up a display to honor Native American History month, even if you add a sign that says "Great Reads for November."

Ultimately, readers will learn more about the Native American experience by reading books by authors like Stephen Graham Jones than they will from any signage we could put up. Focus on getting books like his in the hands of as many readers as possible. 

Recent Webinars - Using Book Displays and More to Market Your Winter Holiday Collection

I've posted the slides above from my recent PCI Webinars presentation Using Book Displays and More to Market Your Winter Holiday Collection. 

In this presentation I run through ideas for passive readers advisory from Thanksgiving up through Kwanzaa and Yule. Remember to always include some fall/autumn and winter/snow themed displays which can both float before and after a holiday and will be more inclusive to those who don't celebrate holidays at this time. 

Unshelve Your Collection - Body Horror with Book Riot & TOGETHER

 Emily Martin of Book Riot has an article on their site with suggestions for other titles to read for those excited about Together, a body horror film out in theaters. Her list includes three strong titles, including one by Eric LaRocca who is definitely an author your library should have on its shelves.

Body horror is a subgenre which focuses on the mutilation, transformation, mutation, or degradation of the human body. It's often graphic and disturbing with intense descriptions which will unsettle readers.    

Lists like these are great to use as a start for a book display. You can take the theme and then see what books your library owns that might fit. You don't need to limit yourself to the titles on any one list or follow the theme exactly. The object is to help books in your collection find their readers. 

RA for All Horror - New Book Bonus Annotations: Chapter 13: Body Horror

Penguin Random House - Bone-Chilling Body Horror Books 
Goodreads - Body Horror Books
Book Riot - 9 Body Horror Novels by Women about Losing Control
The Guardian - Five of the best body horror novels
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh- Genre Guide – Body Horror

Five for Friday - Best of 2025 (So far...)

 

 There are many "Best of 2025 (so far)" lists that have come out. One way to harness them for your book display efforts is to review the lists and see what you have in your collection but has not gotten the attention from your patrons that it deserves. You can use a book cart near one of your service desks to draw attention to them. 

If you wish, create a passive program by asking patrons to submit their Best of 2025 (so far) entries either in person, through email, or as comments on a social media post. That can become another display down the road. 

There are enough lists out there that you should be able to find some titles that you own and could use more attention. Every library's selections will be different. 

Here are some lists to get you started: 

New York Times Book Review- The Best Books of the Year (So Far)
Book Riot- These Are The Books on the Most “Best Books of 2025 So Far” Lists

eReaders Forum - The Best Books of 2025 (So Far): Top Picks from Major Booksellers
(This has links to several lists)
NPR - Books We Love
Vulture -The Best Books of 2025 (So Far)
The New Yorker - The Best Books of the Year So Far