Episode 32: Editors' Choice 2023

Booklist's Shelf Care

It’s December, and that means…Editors’ Choice! Booklist’s full list of our Editors’ Choice titles can be found in our December issue, but on this episode of Shelf Care: The Podcast, the Booklist editors share some standouts from the already stand-out list. Here’s what everyone talked about: Donna Seaman: Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon, by Melissa L. Sevigny (Top of the List, Adult Nonfiction) The Apartment, by Ana Menéndez (Top of the List, Adult Fiction) What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez, by Claire Jiménez The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride Absolution, by Alice McDermott Unshuttered, by Patricia Smith Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond Sarah Hunter: Roaming, by Mariko Tamaki, art by Jillian Tamaki Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed, art by the author (Top of the List, Adult Graphic Novel) Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam, by Thien Pham, art by the author Bea Wolf, by Zach Weinersmith, art by Boulet (Top of the List, Youth Graphic Novel) Invisible Things, written and illustrated by Andy J. Pizza and Sophie Miller Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider, written and illustrated by Jessica Lanan Mr. S, written and illustrated by Monica Arnaldo (Top of the List, Picture Book) Heather Booth: Cutting Teeth, by Chandler Baker, read by January LaVoy (Top of the List, Adult Audio) Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett, read by Meryl Streep So Many Steves: Afternoons with Steve Martin, by Steve Martin and Adam Gopnik, read by the authors Sure I’ll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere, by Maria Bamford, read by the author What Happened to Rachel Riley?, by Claire Swinarski, read by a full cast (Top of the List, Youth Audio) Big Tree, by Brian Selznick, read by Meryl Streep The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, by Andrew Joseph White, read by Raphael Corkhill Edoardo Ballerini, Voice of Choice Julia Smith: The Labors of Hercules Beal, by Gary D. Schmidt (Top of the List, Middle Grade) Barely Floating, by Lilliam Rivera The Otherwoods, by Justine Pucella Winans Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything, by Justine Pucella Winans (Top of the List, Young Adult) The Worlds We Leave Behind, by A. F. Harrold The Wild Robot Protects, by Peter Brown Annie Bostrom: The Vaster Wilds, by Lauren Groff Maggie Reagan: Champion of Fate, by Kendare Blake This Dark Descent, by Kalyn Josephson Painted Devils, by Margaret Owen The Making of Yolanda la Bruja, by Lorraine Avila The Blood Years, by Elena K. Arnold Susan Maguire: Happiness Falls, by Angie Kim Much Ado about Nada, by Uzma Jalaluddin Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, by Heather Fawcett Ronny Khuri: The Hidden World of Gnomes, written and illustrated by Lauren Soloy