10 Most Popular Thriller Books downloaded from Libby during September

Libby is a free app from OverDrive that lets you borrow eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines from your local public library using a library card. You can use the app to browse, borrow, and read or listen to titles on your phone, tablet, or computer.

Libby is much like the BARD app with one crucial difference: In many cases, when using Libby, you will have to place a hold on more popular books. But you don’t need to wait for books on BARD! You can download and listen to them immediately.

Below are the top 10 thriller books downloaded from Libby during September. It’s an interesting mix with settings ranging from suburbia to Los Angeles. So, no matter your favorite setting, you should find something to tingle your spine here.

10. PERFECT MARRIAGE by Jenova Rose (DB 113854)
9. NIGHTSHADE by Michael Connelly (DB 130298, LB 0005038)
8. TENANT by Frieda McFadden (DB 129492, LB 0005347)
7. DON’T LET HIM IN by Lisa Jewell (DB 131308)
6. PERFECT DIVORCE by Jenova Rose (DB 129724)
5. HERE ONE MOMENT by Liane Moriarty (DB 123831)
4. LISTEN FOR THE LIE by Amy Tintera (DB 119654)
3. HOUSEMAID’S SECRET by Frieda McFadden (DB 117095, LB 0005003)
2. BEAUTIFUL UGLY by Alice Feeney (DB 126338, LB 0002874)
1. HOUSEMAID by Frieda McFadden (DB 114201, BT 0000083, LB 0001198)

10 Most Popular Horror Books downloaded from Libby during September

Libby is a free app from OverDrive that lets you borrow eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines from your local public library using a library card. You can use the app to browse, borrow, and read or listen to titles on your phone, tablet, or computer.

Libby is much like the BARD app with one crucial difference: in many cases, when using Libby, you will have to place a hold on more popular books. But you don’t need to wait for books on BARD! You can download and listen to them immediately.

Below are the top 10 horror books downloaded from Libby during September. It’s an interesting mix including a couple of Stephen King’s more recent books as well as a horror classic published over a century ago.

10. ONE BY ONE by Frieda McFadden (DB 121242, LB 0001113)
9. HIDDEN PICTURES by Jason Rekulak (DB 108427)
8. HOLLY by Stephen King (DB 116600, BR 25169, en español DB 118128)
7. YOU LIKE IT DARKER: STORIES by Stephen King (DB 121659, BR 25495, LB 0000702)
6. SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES by Grady Hendrix (DB 99550, BR 23373)
5. DRACULA by Bram Stoker (DB 31869, BR 08277, en español DB 40864)
4. WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS by Grady Hendrix (DB 126950, BR 25753 IN PROCESS, LB 0002960)
3. WITH A VENGEANCE by Riley Sager (DB 130305)
2. NEVER FLINCH by Stephen King (DB 130236, BR 26240 IN PROCESS)
1. WE USED TO LIVE HERE by Marcus Kliewer (DB 122928, LB 000312)

2025 Texas Writer Award – Dr. Peniel Joseph

Austin-based historian, educator, and author, Dr. Peniel Joseph has been named the 2025 Texas Writer Award recipient. The award honors a writer who has made outstanding contributions to Texas literature. Dr. Joseph will be honored with a custom pair of handmade boots from renowned El Paso-based bootmaker, Rocketbuster, during a special Festival Weekend ceremony. Learn more about Dr. Joseph’s work and life in his interview with TBF Literary Director Hannah Gabel. Check out the interview on the Texas Book Festival’s website.

Included are all of Dr. Joseph’s books in the NLS Collection:

DARK DAYS, BRIGHT NIGHTS: FROM BLACK POWER TO BARACK OBAMA (DB 71445)
FREEDOM SEASON: HOW 1963 TRANSFORMED AMERICA’S CIVIL RIGHTS REVOLUTION (DBC 32386)
SWORD AND THE SHIELD: THE REVOLUTIONARY LIVES OF MALCOLM X AND MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. (DB 99933)
THIRD RECONSTRUCTION: AMERICA’S STRUGGLE FOR RACIAL JUSTICE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY (DB 113669)
WAITING ‘TIL THE MIDNIGHT HOUR: A NARRATIVE HISTORY OF BLACK POWER IN AMERICA (DB 64301)

2025 Longlist for the National Book Awards

The National Book Awards were established in 1950 to celebrate the best writing in America. Since 1989, they have been overseen by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate the best literature in America, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in American culture. Although other categories have been recognized in the past, the Awards currently honor the best Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature published each year. For more information on the National Book Awards, check out their website.

The longlist for the 2025 National Book Awards was announced on September 10-12. The Finalists in all five categories were announced on Tuesday, October 7 with the New York Times. Winners will be announced live at the 76th National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner on Wednesday, November 19, 2025.

For more information, check out the National Book Award’s website.

The nominees for this year’s National Book Awards in the TBP Collection (finalists are bolded):

Fiction

FLASHLIGHT by Susan Choi (DB 129795)
ANTIDOTE by Karen Russell (DB 128240, BR 26309 IN PROCESS)

Nonfiction

ONE DAY, EVERYONE WILL HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AGAINST THIS by Omar El Akkad (DB 127850, LB 0001346)
BLACK MOSES: A SAGA OF AMBITION AND THE FIGHT FOR A BLACK STATE by Caleb Gayle (DB 132241 IN PROCESS)
THINGS IN NATURE MERELY GROW by Yiyun Li (DB 130140)

Nobel Prize Winner 2025 – László Krasznahorkai

Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai took the prize this year for his “compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art,” said the Swedish Academy. For more information, check out the Nobel Prize website.

Books by László Krasznahorkai in the TBP Collection:

English Titles

BARON WENCKHEIM’S HOMECOMING (DB 97582)
HERSCHT 07769: FLORIAN HERSCHT’SBACH NOVEL (DB 125872)

Títulos Españoles

MELANCOLÍA DE LA RESISTENCIA (DB 129392)

2025 Business Book of the Year Longlist Revealed

The Business Book of the Year Award, inaugurated in 2005 and continuously evolving in prestige and scope, recognizes the most insightful and influential works in the genre. This globally esteemed award was conceived by the Financial Times and is supported by various prestigious partners celebrating excellence in business writing. The longlist was announced on August 18. The shortlist for this year’s prize will be revealed on September 24, with the winner announced on December 3.

For more information check out the Business Book of the Year’s website.

HOUSE OF HUAWEI: THE SECRET HISTORY OF CHINA’S MOST POWERFUL COMPANY by Eva Dou (DB 126340)
CHOKEPOINTS: AMERICAN POWER IN THE AGE OF ECONOMIC WARFARE by Edward Fishman (DB 128110)
ABUNDANCE by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson (DB 128624)
GENIUS MYTH: A CURIOUS HISTORY OF A DANGEROUS IDEA by Helen Lewis (IN PROCESS)
EMPIRE OF AI: DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES IN SAM ALTMAN’S OPENAI by Karen Hao (DB 129721)
NO MORE TEARS: THE DARK STORY OF JOHNSON & JOHNSON by Gardiner Harris (DB 128599)
THINKING MACHINE: JENSEN HUANG, NVIDIA, AND THE WORLD’S MOST COVETED MICROCHIP by Stephen Witt (DB 128472)

Kirkus Prize Finalists 2025

Since 2014, the Kirkus Prize has been given annually by Kirkus Reviews to books of exceptional merit. The finalists were announced on August 27, and the winners will be announced during a ceremony at the TriBeca Rooftop in New York on October 8. It will also be livestreamed on Kirkus’s YouTube channel at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern). Here are some of the finalists for 2025 in the TBP collection.

For more information check out the Kirkus Prize website.

Fiction

ISOLA by Allegra Goodman (DB 127226, LB 0002549)
FLESH by David Szalay (DB 130331)

Nonfiction

MARRIAGE AT SEA: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, OBSESSION, AND SHIPWRECK by Sophie Elmhirst (DB 131217 IN PROCESS)
KING OF KINGS: THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION: A STORY OF HUBRIS, DELUSION AND CATASTROPHIC MISCALCULATION by Scott Anderson (IN PROCESS)
BALDWIN: A LOVE STORY by Nicholas Boggs (IN PROCESS)
AMERICAN, AMÉRICA: A NEW HISTORY OF THE NEW WORLD by Greg Grandin (DB 129520)
BLACK IN BLUES: HOW A COLOR TELLS THE STORY OF MY PEOPLE by Imani Perry (DB 130763)

Teen and Young Adult

DEATH IN THE JUNGLE by Candace Fleming (DB 129360)

New Large Print Books Added in July 2025

Adult Fiction

General Fiction and Novels

GRIFFIN SISTERS’ GREATEST HITS     Weiner, Jennifer    
LB 0005426

Romance Fiction

MOTHER’S LOVE     Steel, Danielle    
LB 0005425

Western Fiction

HALFWAY TO HELL     Johnstone, William W.; Johnstone, J. A.
LB 0005441

Adult Non-Fiction

Social Sciences

FAR FROM HOME: AN ALASKAN SENATOR FACES THE EXTREME CLIMATE OF WASHINGTON, D.C.   Murkowski, Lisa; Wohlforth, Charles    
LB 0005442

The New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century

It’s 2025, and we are almost a quarter of the way through the twenty-first century. The New York Times Book Review published a list of books compiled by their team of critics and editors from a survey the Book Review sent to novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics, and other literary enthusiasts. The assessment of the books was based on their impact, originality, and lasting influence. The resulting list, called the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, was published by The New York Times. It ranks the 100 best books published in the English language since January 1, 2000.

For more information check out the New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

Here are some of the books that are in the TBP collection.

MY BRILLIANT FRIEND by Elena Ferrante (DB 80509, BRG 03626, en español DBG 17396)
WOLF HALL by Hilary Mantel (DB 70074, LB 07612, en español DBG 16539)
KNOWN WORLD by Edward P. Jones (DB 56918)
CORRECTIONS by Jonathan Franzen (DB 53073, BR 13651, LB 11577)
2666 by Roberto Bolaño (DB 68418, en español DB 68961)
AUSTERLITZ by W. G. Sebald (DB 53308)
NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro (DB 59667, BR 21107, en español BRG 04769)
GILEAD by Marilynne Robinson (DB 59561, BR 16160, en español DB 105296)
BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Díaz (DB 65402, BR 21308, en español DB 67964)
YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion (DB 61740, BRG 01758)
ROAD by Cormac McCarthy (DB 63649, BR 17072)
OUTLINE by Rachel Cusk (DB 81244, BR 20765, en español DB 114082, DBG 18989, BRG 04758)
PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee (DB 86934, LB 10713)
AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY by Michael Chabon (DB 50950)
LINCOLN IN THE BARDO by George Saunders (DB 86941, BRG 04014, en español DB 123756)
SAY NOTHING: A TRUE STORY OF MURDER AND MEMORY IN NORTHERN IRELAND by Patrick Radden Keefe (DB 94329, LB 11261)
ERASURE by Percival Everett (DB 103402)
EVICTED: POVERTY AND PROFIT IN THE AMERICAN CITY by Matthew Desmond (DB 83870, LB 09122)
BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS: LIFE, DEATH, AND HOPE IN A MUMBAI UNDERCITY by Katherine Boo (DB 74457, LB 08700)
HATESHIP, FRIENDSHIP, COURTSHIP, LOVESHIP, MARRIAGE: STORIES by Alice Munro (DB 53585)
OVERSTORY by Richard Powers (DB 91490)
RANDOM FAMILY: LOVE, DRUGS, TROUBLE, AND COMING OF AGE IN THE BRONX by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (DB 55875)
ATONEMENT by Ian McEwan (DB 54023, BR 14059, BRG 00465)
LAST SAMURAI by Helen DeWitt (DB 51848)
SING, UNBURIED, SING: A NOVEL by Jesmyn Ward (DB 89552, BR 22096)
WHITE TEETH by Zadie Smith (DB 50261)
SALVAGE THE BONES by Jesmyn Ward (DB 74033, BR 19453)
YEARS by Annie Ernaux (DB 116078, en français DBG 16076)
SAVAGE DETECTIVES by Roberto Bolaño (DB 64504, en español DB 70989, en français DBG 11379)
VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD by Jennifer Egan (DB 71810, BR 21471, LB 06978)
 H IS FOR HAWK by Helen MacDonald (DB 81386, LB 09160, en español DB 109408)
SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE by Claire Keegan (DB 109147, BR 24266, en español DB 120341)
BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS by Marlon James (DB 115268)
POSTWAR: A HISTORY OF EUROPE SINCE 1945 by Tony Judt (DB 62489)
GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt (DB 77453, BR 25398)
MERCY by Toni Morrison (DB 69148, BR 18095)
VEGETARIAN by Han Kang (DB 83452)
TRUST by Hernán Díaz (DB 107949, BR 24689, en español DB 114667)
LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson (DB 76417, LB 10827)
TRAIN DREAMS by Denis Johnson (DB 76608, BR 19564)
RUNAWAY: STORIES by Alice Munro (DB 59521, BR 15771)
TENTH OF DECEMBER: STORIES by George Saunders (DB 76097, BR 19818)
LOOMING TOWER: AL-QAEDA AND THE ROAD TO 9/11 by Lawrence Wright (DB 63287, BR 17079)
FLAMETHROWERS by Rachel Kushner (DB 76749)
STAY TRUE: A MEMOIR by Hua Hsu (DB 110669, en español DB 121841)
DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver (DB 110786, LB 14284, en español DB 118851)
10:04 by Ben Lerner (DB 123929)
VERONICA by Mary Gaitskill (DB 61634)
PLOT AGAINST AMERICA by Philip Roth (DB 58935, BR 16161)
FAR FROM THE TREE: PARENTS, CHILDREN, AND THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY by Andrew Solomon (DB 75884)
FRIEND by Sigrid Nunez (DB 90286, en español DB 124584)
ALL AUNT HAGAR’S CHILDREN by Edward P. Jones (DB 63355)
SECONDHAND TIME: THE LAST OF THE SOVIETS: AN ORAL HISTORY by Svetlana Aleksievich (DB 84738)
PASSAGE OF POWER: THE YEARS OF LYNDON JOHNSON by Robert Caro (DB 74635)
OLIVE KITTERIDGE by Elizabeth Strout (DB 67392, BR 21164, en español DBG 18504)
EXIT WEST by Mohsin Hamid (DB 87691, BR 22136, LB 09082)
AMERICAN MARRIAGE by Tayari Jones (DB 90470, BR 22197, LB 09339)
SEPTOLOGY (OTHER NAME, I IS ANOTHER, and NEW NAME) by Jon Fosse (DB 110577, DB 110585, DB 110955)
TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin (DB 109032, BR 24683, LB 14018, en español DB 117165)
MANUAL FOR CLEANING WOMEN: SELECTED STORIES by Lucía Berlin (DB 83703, BR 23549, en español DB 83996)
STORY OF THE LOST CHILD by Elena Ferrante (DB 83565, en español DBG 17397)
HURRICANE SEASON by Fernanda Melchor (DB 100327, BR 23248, en español DB 102519)
WHEN WE CEASE TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD by Benjamín Labatut (DB 112795)
EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES: A BIOGRAPHY OF CANCER by Siddhartha Mukherjee (DB 72227, LB 08703)
FREDERICK DOUGLASS: PROPHET OF FREEDOM by David W. Blight (DB 94247)
RETURN: FATHERS, SONS AND THE LAND IN BETWEEN by Hisham Matar (DB 87051)
HUMAN STAIN by Philip Roth (DB 50274)
DAYS OF ABANDONMENT by Elena Ferrante (DB 123509, en español DBG 16932)
STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel (DB 79693, BR 21720, LB 08195)
BRING UP THE BODIES by Hilary Mantel (DB 74880, en español DBG 16541)
BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett (DB 54190, BR 20801)
TREE OF SMOKE by Denis Johnson (DB 65444)

Read With Jenna Jr. Summer Reading Recommendations

Jenna Bush Hager’s “Read with Jenna Jr.” is an annual tradition that was started in 2023. It continues every summer, with Jenna releasing a kid-friendly reading list covering various age groups, including picture books, middle grade reads, and young adult books.

We’ve included all the books in the NLS collection starting from the first year of Jenna’s Jr. Summer Reading Recommendations. We’re hoping you can find something that will fill your summer with reading fun!

For more information check out the Read with Jenna Jr. website.

Picture Books

MAXINE GETS A JOB by Alexandra Garyn (DB 121796)
GAGA MISTAKE DAY by Emma Straub (DB 121991)
PERLA, THE MIGHTY DOG by Isabel Allende (DB 121789, en español DB 122285)
VERY GOOD HATS by Emma Straub (DB 115352)
BIG by Vashti Harrison (DB 123132)
GIVING TREE by Shel Silverstein (DBC 06031, BR 19020, BT 0000207, LB 0001793)
HOW TO WRITE A POEM by Kwame Alexander (DB 114707)

Middle Grade Books

ALONE by Megan Freeman (DB 104269, LB 14467)
SUMMER AT SQUEE by Andrea Wang (DB 120743)
MAGNOLIA WU UNFOLDS IT ALL by Chanel Miller (DB 121279)
BRIDGE TO BAT CITY by Ernest Cline (DB 123053)
MID-AIR by Alicia Williams (DB 127046)
ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET by Judy Blume (DB 37405, BR 07171, BRG 03180, BT 0000220, LB 03468, LB 06053)
ONE AND ONLY RUBY by Katherine Applegate (DB 115989, BT 0000113)
WAYS TO GROW LOVE by Renée Watson (DB 104005, BT 13463)
HUMAN KABOOM by Adam Rubin (DB 114731)
STARFISH by Lisa Fipps (DB 102975, BR 24096, en español DB 121063, LB 0000472)
SCHOOL TRIP by Jerry Craft (DB 115050)

Young Adult Books

RULES FOR RULE BREAKING by Talia Tucker (DB 120104)
SUMMER NIGHTS AND METEORITES by Hannah Reynolds (DB 121707)
POWERLESS by Lauren Roberts (DB 117629, en español DB 119901)
CHECK & MATE by Ali Hazelwood (DB 117989, LB 0001455)
ONE TRUE LOVES by Elise Bryant (DB 107017)
BLOOD AT THE ROOT by LaDarrion Williams (DB 121038)
NIGERIA JONES by Ibi Aanu Zoboi (DB 116574)
WARRIOR GIRL UNEARTHED by Angeline Boulley (DB 114761, BR 25116)
SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY by Jenny Han (DB 116483, LB 0000284)