The It Books of February 2026

Summary

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Book Riot Podcast: "The It Books of February 2026"

Hosts: Jeff O’Neal & Rebecca Schinsky
Date: February 4, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Jeff and Rebecca dive into their monthly tradition of picking the “It Book” of February 2026—a title that strikes the perfect blend of critical acclaim, excitement, sales, artistic innovation, and cultural relevance. Amidst what Jeff describes as a “low water month,” they sort through notable new releases across genres, debate their merits, and ultimately declare one standout as February's must-read.

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Main Discussion & Key Insights

What Is the “It Book”?

• Jeff explains the criteria as an “ineffable stew” of factors: “critical acclaim, excitement, sales, artistic innovation, cultural import, and whatever else ingredients we want to throw into that. And we are the arbiters.” (03:00)
• The process encourages debate and listeners’ feedback: “If you disagree, congratulations to you. I hope you have a good time doing that.” (02:35)

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The Goodreads Anticipation Gimmick (03:00–07:00)

Top 3 Anticipated Books by Goodreads Users

1. And Now Back to You by BK Borison (Heartstrings Romance Series #2)
   • “Opposites attract, When Harry Met Sally-inspired romance.”
     (03:13)
2. The Astral Library by Kate Quinn
   • “Gorgeously written fantastical adventure… have you ever wished you could live inside a book?”
     (04:48)
   • Rebecca’s take: “I’m so constitutionally allergic to everything in that.” (04:52)
3. It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica
   • “Twisty, unputdownable thriller… two families, a chilling crime, mysterious disappearance.” (05:00)

Rebecca picks The Astral Library as the strongest “it book” competitor from these, highlighting “the juice… for a cozy book about how good it feels to read books, how magic books are.” (07:02) Jeff notes Kate Quinn’s knack for riding trends and the strong rating history of her backlist.

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The Knockout Round: Book-by-Book

This Is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman (08:24–10:22)

• “A kaleidoscopic portrait of a modern American family… steadfast, complicated, begrudging and loving.”
• Rebecca: “A pastel cover with like a bundt cake on it seems like a pitch straight down the middle if you’re trying to reach that [book club] audience. Also, Allegra Goodman has more literary bona fides than Kate Quinn.” (09:20)
• Goodman’s book beats Quinn’s for “it book” competitiveness.

Superfan by Jenny Zhang (10:22–11:15)

• “About fandom and all its magic and terror in the extreme lengths to which we go to rid ourselves of loneliness.”
• Though “the TikTok kiddos might like that,” Rebecca sticks with Allegra Goodman’s title. (11:08)

So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder (11:27–12:18)

• “Genre-defining novel… five parties over the course of 20 years, following six college friends… Big Chill comps.”
• Rebecca: “If this is good, put it in my veins… That’s the best premise so far.” (12:05)

Brawler by Lauren Groff (13:11–14:44)

• “A stunning, fierce collection of short stories from a master… one of the most important writers of our time.”
• Rebecca: “It’s a Lauren Groff short story collection. Literary bona fides, commercial success… just lets her weird be what it is.” (14:00)
• Moves forward as Rebecca’s “top two personal books of February, most anticipated.” (14:18)

On Morrison by Namwali Serpell (16:34–19:48)

• A major critical exploration of Toni Morrison’s legacy.
• Jeff: “This is probably the only case in which a book of literary criticism will make this list ever in the history of the world.” (16:56)
• Rebecca: “I am so looking forward to reading Namwali Serpell… this will be the work of literary criticism that gets any mainstream juice this year.” (19:48)

Young Man in a Hurry by Gavin Newsom (20:08–22:17)

• Political memoir/campaign document.
• Rebecca: “I have been oversaturated with Gavin Newsom in political coverage. This will get some interesting excerpts, but… I don’t care that much.” (20:35)
• The memoir is dismissed as a campaign document, not substantial literary fare.

Kin by Tayari Jones (22:17–24:24)

• “The much-anticipated follow-up to An American Marriage… two women, friendship, daughters, sisterhood, and the complexity of being a woman in the American South.”
• Rebecca: “This is very high on my list for both the season and the month in specific… she can and regularly does ring all of the bells. It is one of the big books of the year.” (23:46)
• Emerges as the front-runner for “It Book of the Month.”

The Jills by Karen Parkman (24:27–26:27)

• “A propulsive debut… Buffalo Bills cheerleader who will stop at nothing to solve the disappearance of her best friend… grime and glamour of professional cheerleading, tangled family history.”
• Rebecca: “Sounds like it could be a little over-engineered… Megan Abbott sort of exists in this zone but is not trying to tell you about the healing power of sisters.” (26:10)

Result:
Kin by Tayari Jones is declared the “It Book of February 2026.”
Rebecca: “Tyre [sic] Jones is definitely going to stay as our IT book of the month then.” (26:27)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Book Selection Criteria:
  • “It book being a special ineffable stew of critical acclaim, excitement, sales, artistic innovation, cultural import and whatever else ingredients we want to throw into that.”
    —Jeff (03:00)
• On Comparing Romance to Nora Ephron:
  • “You got to be really careful if you’re comparing your romance to When Harry Met Sally or anything in the Nora Ephron universe.”
    —Rebecca (05:59)
• On Lauren Groff:
  • “I don’t care what the descriptions of these short stories are. It’s a Lauren Groff short story collection. Literary bona fides, commercial success… just lets her weird be what it is.”
    —Rebecca (14:00)
• On Tayari Jones’ Crossover Appeal:
  • “Crossover as in like people who read all kinds of things will read commercial, upmarket, literary, book club. Yes, absolutely… It is one of the big books of the year.”
    —Rebecca (23:44, 23:46)
• On Gavin Newsom Memoir:
  • “You’re not talking about a political memoir. You’re talking about a campaign document.”
    —Rebecca (20:29)
  • “When Barack Obama wrote his big books, he was not yet, you know, an aspirational candidate for president… So he was writing as a writer, but by the time you’re writing as a real political figure, you’re writing a campaign document.” —Rebecca (21:46)

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Additional Industry & Adaptation Chatter

• Discussion of adaptation buzz (Kate Quinn, Tayari Jones) and year-end list potential.
• Brief asides on the changing unpredictability of release calendars (30:02–32:23).
• Musings on adaptations—Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,” the future of fantasy epics, and longing for grown-up cinematic fare (32:23–34:22).
• Movie & documentary recommendations cap off the content, reflecting the hosts’ overlapping interests in literary and cinematic storytelling (34:22–36:38).

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Timestamp Guide to Key Segments

| Time | Segment Description | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------| | 01:04 | Episode intro and show setup | | 03:00 | The “Goodreads Anticipation” gimmick | | 08:24 | Allegra Goodman vs. Kate Quinn showdown | | 10:22 | “Superfan” by Jenny Zhang discussion | | 11:27 | “So Old, So Young” by Grant Ginder (Big Chill comp) | | 13:11 | “Brawler” by Lauren Groff | | 16:34 | “On Morrison” by Namwali Serpell | | 20:08 | Gavin Newsom memoir segment | | 22:17 | “Kin” by Tayari Jones takes the lead | | 24:27 | “The Jills” by Karen Parkman | | 26:27 | “Kin” declared It Book of the Month | | 29:33 | Discussion on book release calendars & adaptations | | 34:22 | Movie/documentary recommendations, closing thoughts |

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Episode Winner

It Book of February 2026:

"Kin" by Tayari Jones

Rebecca: “It is one of the big books of the year. I’ve been really looking forward to this as well. Can’t wait. This is my front runner for it book of the month.” (23:46)

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Final Thoughts

The episode delivers a sharp, dynamic, and at times humorous evaluation of February’s most compelling releases. While acknowledging genre trends and publishing quirks, Jeff and Rebecca focus on depth, potential cultural resonance, and what makes each book feel “of the moment.” Ultimately, Tayari Jones’ “Kin” takes the crown, forecasted to sweep book clubs, end-of-year lists, and literary circuits alike.

Listeners come away with a curated, critique-filled road map to February’s key titles—and plenty of classic Book Riot banter along the way.

Transcript

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[Jeff O.]

This is the Book Riot Podcast. I am Jeff o'.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Neill and I am Rebecca Schinsky. Little extra sauce on that one.

[Jeff O.]

I know we've been recording here for a little while and I'm feeling a little frosty as they say. It's February now. Time to talk about the IT Books of the Month. It's one of the low water months of the year. I think probably December won't it won't be as bad until December. There's still some good titles and more than I can read to come out. But in terms of creating a list to offer to you, Rebecca, of 10 Books to Consider to be the it book of the Month, I had to stretch a little bit some things that maybe wouldn't get included normally. And I'm going to start us off with a gimmick. A gimmick within a gimmick. You a new put it on my tombstone to start if this is your first time joining us. Every month I scratch together a list of 10 books that are candidates to be the it book of the month. It book being a special ineffable stew of critical acclaim, excitement, sales, artistic innovation, cultural import and whatever else ingredients we want to throw into that. And we are the arbiters. And if you disagree, congratulations to you. I hope you have a good time doing that. And that's part of the fun is to hear someone else's opinion. At least it's fun for you to hear our opinion. If you would like to send us our opinion, your opinion, I might read it. Who knows. So what I have started out doing here is I have not moved around my titles. There's a couple that I think I would be surprised if one of them were not the book of the month under your estimation. But I have not done the thing where I'm so sure which of them is going to be that I keep it for the hammer spot. I have nine lines in my document, but one of my lines has three things in it.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Oh, we've done this before.

[Jeff O.]

Okay, the grouping we're going to begin today. You are going to pick one of the three most anticipated books of February as charted by Goodreads users.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay.

[Jeff O.]

And so these are the books that have most been added to Goodreads member shelves for Books Publishing in February 2026. You can tell me which of one of these you would like to advance. They're not knocking against each other, just whichever one you want. Let me walk through them for you real quick. I'll go from three to one. The third most anticipated book of February is. And now back to you. Number two in the Heartstrings romance series by BK Borison. And two competing meteorologists are forced to find common ground in this opposites attract, which When Harry Met Sally inspired romance from New York times bestselling author B.K. borison. Do you need me to read you a synopsis? This has one of those cartoon people covers. You know what this looks like? It has 149,000 shelvings at this point. So that's candidate number one. Candidate number two, the second most anticipated book according to Goodreads users. The Astral Library by Kate Quinn. 161,000 shelvings. From New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn comes a gorgeously written fantastical adventure which poses the question, have you ever wished you could live inside a book? Alex Watson has learned one lesson from her barren childhood in the foster system. Unlike people, books will never let you down. She works dead end jobs until she stumbles through a hidden door and meets, quote, unquote, the librarian. The ageless acerbic guardian of a hidden library where desperate and lost escape to new lives inside their favorite books. I just assume you're going to be picking that one.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I'm so constitutionally allergic to everything in that.

[Jeff O.]

Let me just say that reading that maybe gave me the idea for the gimmick. And just having to have you react to that in real time was part of the fun.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Torture me. Okay?

[Jeff O.]

And the number one most anticipated book of February 2026 according Goodreads users with 166,000 shelvings is Mary Kubica's new thriller. It's not her two families vacationing at a secluded lake resort at the center of a chilling crime and mysterious disappearance of I'm sorry, this twisty, unputdownable thriller. So Rebecca, we have to you a psychological crime thriller. We have to you a cozy fantasy romance and a commercial romance about opposites attracting. And I'm just going to assume if you're writing romance now, you're at least in part inspired by When Harry Met Sally. You don't have to put that in there. I'm just going to assume that at.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

This point maybe they're promoting the hell out of that book and they have been for months. That When Harry Met Sally comp is doing a lot of work for them.

[Jeff O.]

So those are your three, Rebecca and you want to say anything about them.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

You got to be really careful if you're comparing your romance to When Harry Met Sally or anything in the Nora Ephron universe. I've not read BK Borison so I do not know how their work stacks up. I think the smart choice here is the Astral Library for IT book competitiveness. Yes. I mean it does more of the things that an IT book does like you know and you Kate Quinn, well known I think was a Barnes and Noble selection for one of her previous novels. Like probably not going to be nominated for awards but people do really like her books. This could end up on some year end lists. It is on this most anticipated of the month list from Goodreads, maybe a book club selection kind of title. There's a lot of juice, much to my chagrin from for a cozy book about how good it feels to read books, how magic books are.

[Jeff O.]

I want to give Kate Quinn a lot of props for keeping on trend because her early books are Empress of the Seven Hills, Daughters of Rome and Mistress of Rome. So like historical ladies that are maybe over well certainly overlooked. Then she went through a bit of a Lady Spies in War with the Diamond Eye and the Huntress and then she went into the Briar Club and the Rose Code which I think are sort of academic sort of mystery sort of things. And then the breakout book is the Alice Network which I believe is also a World War II historical novel and that has 630,000 ratings on Goodreads and.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Like there's adaptation potential. It's this is the safe choice. It's also safe because this is the 10th slot on it books and the first one to roll out on an episode is very rarely the one that makes it to the very end of the knockout round so I don't have to feel committed. I don't like it that this is the one that I think I should pick. But I'm going forward with the Astral Library.

[Jeff O.]

Yeah, it looks like number eight is the first romantasy book on the list just to go down this quickly. Wicked Onyx by Dave. Excuse me, Debbie Cassidy. Then there's quite a. There's quite a few more in a row. Queen of Faces, Air of Illusion. Matt Deniman has a new book out he of Dungeon Crawler Carl fame.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Oh, nice.

[Jeff O.]

Has a book coming out. I almost put that on the list but I think there's so many of those books out now. And this isn't in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series as of yet. So it, I'll say this, it got. I needed to get to number 30 on this list to get something that I could organically put in our list here. I'll mention that when we get to it. Up next. So we're going to be putting the astro library against this book which is the new book by Allegra Goodman. It is called this is Not About Us. A kaleidoscopic portrait of a modern American family. Steadfast, complicated, begrudging and loving from the best selling author of a Sola. So I guess she had this one in the chamber. Rebecca, because Sola just came out last year that was very well regarded. So I think it's cool to have another book out. And having said that, this sort of pastel cover of like a bundt cake in family drama. I don't know how to get interested in this. I'm having a hard time finding something to hold on to here.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I don't know how to get interested in it either. But Solo sounded like a much weirder book than typically makes book club selections and it was picked for one of the big book clubs. I think it was a Rhys pick. Maybe it was Jenna one of them. And a pastel cover with like a bundt cake on it seems like a pitch straight down the middle if you're trying to reach that same audience. Also, Allegra Goodman has more literary bonafides than Kate Quinn. So it's gonna go. This round will go to this is not about us.

[Jeff O.]

Yeah. It's a big hearted book about the love that binds a family across generations. Rebecca.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Great.

[Jeff O.]

I would actually read a small hearted book like a little weirdo. That's I guess that's maybe a Claire Masud, the woman upstairs kind of situated which we like don't get me wrong.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I mean, I do like a multi generational family saga, but you got to give me some edge and I'm not hearing much edge to this.

[Jeff O.]

This one might provide a little bit edge. Jenny Zhang, who is a National Book Foundation Five Under Five Honoree, has a book coming out February 3rd. I didn't give the publication dates the last two. I'm sorry about that. You can use the Internet. It's on sale February 3rd, so by the time this is coming out, it shall be out. Freshman Minnie is adrift at college in Austin, Texas, when she discovers a boy band called Hourglass in the online forums that worship them. She especially super fan.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay.

[Jeff O.]

And a scandal threatens to expose Halo, one of the members of the band, to harm. She decides she's the only one that can save them. Dazzling, entrancing, and deeply heartfelt Superfan is about fandom and all its magic and terror in the extreme lengths to which we go to rid ourselves of loneliness.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Interesting. The Tick Tock kiddos might like that. I'm gonna roll with Allegra Goodman though.

[Jeff O.]

Okay, that's fair. A Neon Strange cover. I'm guessing this gets weird. I don't. This is not a. We're not gonna fall in love and live happy ever ending with one of the boy band members in this.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay.

[Jeff O.]

I'm just guessing that now. I really liked Grant Ginder's last book and he has a new one coming out calling so Old, so Young. This was on several most anticipated novels of 2026 list. And I don't see a lot of Big Chill comps, but when I do, I pay attention to you, Rebecca Sinski.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yes. So my eyebrows are up.

[Jeff O.]

So he wrote the People We Hate at the Wedding. But this is a genre defining novel. This part love story, part tragic comedy, part charting five parties over the course of 20 years, following six college friends together, exploring the ways we run from and cling to our friends in love, life and death.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

If this is good, put it in my veins.

[Jeff O.]

We love to get the game back to you. I really want this to be good, Rebecca. I really want this to be good.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I have not read him before. I missed what People we hate at the wedding. I'm passing this one through just because that's the best premise so far.

[Jeff O.]

Yeah, Big Chill for our times. Let's go. I almost showed my kids the Big Chill the other day. I'm not sure it's. I think they might appreciate it.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's weird. Plot points. And how is everyone looking? 45 and supposed to be 25. Well, or 28.

[Jeff O.]

But like, that was the 70s.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It was in the 80s. Yeah, yeah. All timer soundtrack. Your kids will enjoy the music even if they think the movie is weird.

[Jeff O.]

This is a sidebar update from Tween Culture Education land. I'll tell you this. The first hour of Steel Magnolias went over like a house on fire. Oh, it's just so much fun. Dolly Parton and Sally Shirley macraine are so great. It's so well written. The last part is a bit of a downer and could have been maybe 30 minutes shorter, but the first hour is just a ton of fun. So there you go.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I love this for you. And now you can have I Punched Weezer Boudreaux in your family lexicon, you.

[Jeff O.]

Are too twisted for Color Tea V Up Next, Brawler by one Lauren Groff coming out February 24th from Riverhead. A grand total of 288 pages. A stunning, fierce collection of short stories from a master of the short story. I'm reading the blurb now, and one of the most important writers of our time. I'm not going to go through the serial list of barely described short stories here. I don't care.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Doesn't matter.

[Jeff O.]

It maybe is about swimming at some level, even though it's called Brawler. I don't know. Does it matter? Cognitive dissonance. Lauren Grof, you're welcome to infect in social me for as long as you would like. That is Brawler by Lauren Groff, I assume.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I don't care what the descriptions of these short stories are. It's a Lauren Groff short story collection. Literary bona fides, commercial success. She has edgy stuff all over the place. But also, like it's not performatively weird. She just lets her weird be what it is.

[Jeff O.]

She can't help it. Doesn't have to try.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I love it. Just I love Lauren Groff. It's a collection of short stories, which works against it for something like a big book club pick. Where her past novels have been. And Fates and Furies was especially book club friendly. But I mean, this is the most exciting one that you've told me about so far today. And in my top two personal books of February, most anticipated. So right now we're looking at Brawler.

[Jeff O.]

Yep, makes sense to me. Moving on, let's do a quick break before I get to the next one.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

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[Commercial Announcer]

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[Rebecca Schinsky]

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[Commercial Announcer]

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[Jeff O.]

We heard you. Nine years of bring back the snack wrap and you've won. But maybe you should have asked for say hello to the Hot Honey snack wrap. Now you've really won. Go to McDonald's and get it while you can. This is probably the only case in which a book of literary criticism will make this list ever in the history of the world.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I know where you're at.

[Jeff O.]

It's too definitive. But Nimwali Serpell's consideration of the work of Toni Morrison called on Morrison February 17th. 384 pages. Harvard professor. Really the kind of person you want giving us a big commercial imprint. This is not an academic press. This is, you know, Big five Independent. A Big five imprint. Not independent, mentally imprint. And starts out I've read the first chapter, tackling head on that Toni Morrison is a serious thinker and not always who you want or think she is in her word and deed and how that makes her More rather than less interesting. Have you followed any of this so far, Rebecca?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I haven't read any of it yet, but I've seen, like, the excerpts that have come out. I think there have been some Serpell essays and some things. And then there's just a lot of Toni Morrison discourse in my Internet right now. People telling stories about Toni Morrison or passing around their own stories about experiences with Toni Morrison here for it. Like, I also took a huge seminar on all of her work in college, so this is not entirely new to me that people want her to be like a real, I mean, total, a.

[Jeff O.]

Hugging earth mother kind of figure of some kind.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

And if you've read her books, like, why would you expect that? And I don't know if it's the combination of just like sort of, especially at the end of her career, like an older, bigger body with that really rich voice that she had that might have made people think that that's something.

[Jeff O.]

That we do about black women's bodies.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

That too.

[Jeff O.]

I think there's a whole. There's a whole weight there. That's unfair.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

But like, if you have read a Toni Morrison novel, why would you expect.

[Jeff O.]

Anything or heard her say one literal thing to anyone ever?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Or being touchy feely, like sharp, I totally believe. And Fran Leibowitz has talked a lot about their friendship and how funny Toni Morrison was. I 100% believe that, like, really sharp and smart and very funny often go hand in hand. But I am so looking forward to reading Namwali Serpell. And February also brings, I sincerely doubt this is on your list today, a collection of Morrison's own essays.

[Jeff O.]

No, I didn't. This is all reprints and stuff, but yeah, I thought about that.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

But a gathering of her work considering the black canon called Language as Liberation. So you can really go into your Morrison cave and do some studying if you want.

[Jeff O.]

This month, I think I would use the term myself, formidable for Morrison. I've had absolutely interpersonal relations interactions with her that I will not talk about on air. But formidable in a. And I would say a very positive, inspiring, you know, kind of way is what I would say.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah, Lauren Groff is going to carry through, I think. Oh, yes, you know, a book of literary criticism unlikely to get a whole lot of attention. But last year we had Nicholas Boggs, you know, Baldwin, A Love Story. And I think on Morrison will be the work of literary criticism that gets any mainstream juice this year.

[Jeff O.]

Yes, Edelweiss's link has let me down, so I don't really need it for this one. But I will say, what is our appetite for political memoirs in 2026? And what is our appetite for political memoirs by people who haven't just thrown their hat into the ring? Gavin Newsom memoir, Young man in a hurry. He's a young man in a hurry to run for president. Gavin Newsom.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I mean you're not talking about a political memoir. You're talking about a campaign document.

[Jeff O.]

Which, what, how they're, how are they different exactly?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I personally do not need a Gavin Newsom campaign document memoir. I have been oversaturated with Gavin Newsom in political coverage. This will get some interesting excerpts. He'll go on tour. It's an opportunity to have exposure. I do appreciate a lot about the, the sort of balls out approach that he's taken, but it's also way, way too soon to be talking about 2028 in my opinion. Good luck to him and his book tour and his sales. I don't care that much. Okay, Gavin Newsom has a memoir out Lauren Grass.

[Jeff O.]

Even the title and blurb here as I think constructed to help with the news. The, the narrative of how thirsty. Gavin Newsom.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yes, it all, it, all of it is like surely this was think think tanked and workshopped to within an inch of its life.

[Jeff O.]

Yeah, I don't really care. I guess this is one where depending how things go, this could be the most important book that comes out this year. I mean there's a non zero chance.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

That this is, I think that's you.

[Jeff O.]

Know, a presidential book at some. This is, you know, dreams of My.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Father or something that like so often makes these memoirs disappointing. Is that like, I mean, and when Barack Obama wrote his big books, he was not yet, you know, an aspirational candidate for president, really more of a writer, frankly. Right. So he was writing as a writer, but by the time you're writing as a real political figure, you're writing a campaign document. Not something that if you do ultimately become president, we're really going to hold on to as a like, look at this more authentic expression. The Barack Obama memoirs are feel like a much more authentic.

[Jeff O.]

No, they're just a different deal. That's a different deal completely. I agree with you. Okay. Up next, Kin by Terry Jones, the much anticipated follow up to An American Marriage. It's not related to that, but that was her last book and then Silver Sparrow before that. In relatively short order, there has brought Terry Jones to the four of American Letters. These are two women raised in honeysuckle, Louisiana without moms. And it's a friendship book and follows them through their lives. They go to Spelman College set. I'm guessing it doesn't have anything about the setting here. I don't have a galley or anything of this. I'm gonna buy this like a real hero in hardcover from an indie bookstore when it comes out and make a day out of it. Friendship, daughters, sisterhood and the complexity of being a woman in the American South. Emotionally rich, unforgettable. Sounds like a Terry Jones book. Which I'm ready for. Rebecca. Yeah, me too.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

This is very high on my list for both the season and the month in specific. And she's. I mean, this is gonna knock out Lauren Groff. Like, Ty Jones is such a four quadrant close to four quadrant writer. I mentioned this book in an Instagram video and talked about her as a crossover hit. And somebody was like, crossover as in maybe white people will read a black author. Why are we doing that? I was like, no, no. Crossover is in like people who read all kinds of things will read commercial.

[Jeff O.]

Upmarket literary book club. Yes, absolutely.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Exactly that. That. She could very well be nominated for awards for this. This book will likely appear on best books of the year lists. In contention for a big book club selection. An American Marriage was selected for one of the big book clubs. Like she can and regularly does ring all of the bells. And it's hard to compete with Tyree Jones when we have a new book from her. It is one of the big books of the year. I've been really looking forward to this as well. Can't wait. This is my front runner for it. Book of the month. I would be surprised if any if either of the next two. I can knock this one out.

[Jeff O.]

There's only one more because we're only doing nine.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Great. All right.

[Jeff O.]

We only come up with nine. Let me ask you this before we get to the last one. If the Groff was a novel, is it closer?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's closer, yeah. And then it really depends on what the subject of the graph is. Like. Fates and Furies up against a Tyre Jones novel is a really hard competition. Matrix or the Vaster Wild up against a Tayari Jones novel. It goes to Tayari Jones.

[Jeff O.]

The last up. And again, I did not move things around. So this is just what happened. The Jills by Karen Parkman debut novel and this first got on my radar. Publishers Weekly did like an eight books to have on your radar in 2026 and I think it was intentionally like things that may be below most people's radar line. But you. But they still wanted to tell you I missed this.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I haven't seen this book.

[Jeff O.]

Yeah, it's a propulsive debut. A Buffalo Bills cheerleader will stop at nothing to solve the disappearance of her best friend and teammate. Navigating the dark underbelly of a hardscrabble city. The grime and glamour of professional cheerleading, and her own tangled family history. Blurbs from lit fic writers like Chloe Benjamin. I'm not sure what I'm gonna Gone Girl in the NFL. Some kind of vibes I guess if it's good it could be really highest and best case. So that's why I included here.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Like Liz Moore doing an NFL cheerleader murder situation maybe.

[Jeff O.]

Yeah. Part bingeable mystery, part character driven tale of a woman discovering her own strength in a system built by and for men. Brims with wit and heart while reminding us of the healing power of sisters. There's a little bit of can you put chocolate and turkey and cardamom and twizzle? Those are all good things but if you put them all in there that's that can be difficult to do.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

So it sounds like it could be a little over engineered. Megan Abbott sort of exists in this zone but is not trying to tell you about the healing power of sisters. So we'll see.

[Jeff O.]

MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop. So that's always it tells you we may bend one direction for the other. Interesting.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Tyre Jones is definitely going to stay as our IT book of the month then. But I'm glad you mentioned this because I hadn't heard of it.

[Jeff O.]

Sounds good putting this together. I wondered about the graph. I assumed it would be the Jones, but my first thought was if this was a graph with a graph like plate descriptor and who knows what that is going to be because it could be anything.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah, and she's getting increasingly weird. Which is great.

[Jeff O.]

And getting increasingly weird. I think it would have been a real close call between the Jones and Groff.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I think so too.

[Jeff O.]

Maybe the Jones would have taken it. Just because I've had a Grof more recently could be as simple as that.

[Podcast Narrator]

Welcome to those who Can't Teach Anymore. A narrative podcast series that explores why teachers are leaving education and what can be done to stop the exodus. After the first season, several teachers reached out to say how validating the podcast was.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Listening to the stories of other teachers who feel the same way that I do has been therapeutic. I felt so validated just hearing other well educated professionals speak to the problems they were seeing and the reasons they needed to leave.

[Commercial Announcer]

I more so just felt a part of something bigger.

[Podcast Narrator]

This season we're getting a look at the year and the life of teachers from across the country through their audio journals. These teachers are at different parts in their careers, teaching different subjects and grade levels and in different parts of the country, but they still have a lot in common.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I am Darcy Ostermiller. This is Megan Obergoff. This is Sophie V. This is Charlie Blackwell.

[Commercial Announcer]

This is Taylor Barron.

[Jeff O.]

This is Iva Moss Redman.

[Podcast Narrator]

Look for those who can't teach anymore. Season two A Different Kind of the Same Thing.

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From the terrifying power of tornadoes to sizzling summer temperatures, AccuWeather Daily brings you the top trending weather related story of the day every day of the week. You can learn a lot in just a few minutes. Stories that will impact you, such as how a particular hurricane may affect your area or will that impending snow event bring more than just a winter wonderland? Occasionally there are weather related stories from the lighter side, like how a recent storm trapped tourists inside Agatha Christie's house, a setup perfect for a plot of one of her novels. And if there's a spectacular meteor shower or eclipse coming your way, we'll let you know if the sky in your area will be clear to check out the celestial display you see. Accuweather Daily is more than just weather. It's accuweather. Listen and subscribe to accuweather Daily wherever you get your podcasts. That's accuweather Daily. Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Leo Laporte]

Hey everybody, it's Leo laporte. I hope you'll join me and Steve Gibson every Tuesday for security. Now this week we talk about an antivirus program that infects its own users. That's not good. The notepad hack. That's really not good. And how MongoDB has low the hacking skill level bar to the floor. It's just too easy to hack. Every week Steve Gibson tells you everything you need to know about security on Security now. You'll find it at twitt tv sn or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jeff O.]

All right. Bookriot.com listen for show notes choose an email podcastookriot.com if you're a member of the Patreon. We'll put a list of all the books over there and you can, you know, we keep a running list of all of our IT books picks up for the week. Excuse me, for the month. And yeah, March is going to be maybe, maybe we'll have to go a super size March. There's a bunch. What do you think the Maximum number of titles I could put in a sheet that doesn't become just saying a bunch of books names.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Oh that's interesting.

[Jeff O.]

1512 I think 20 somewhere in the.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

12 to 15 zone. Like if we were less tethered to the actual calendar months like if you could get the last two weeks of September and the first two weeks of October into IT books you could have a real doozy.

[Jeff O.]

So how many things could be legitimate IT books contender in the shortest in in a 30 day window no matter.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Where deployed that's the window I would pick. Or maybe last week of September 13 of October and you could get.

[Jeff O.]

I don't know that I feel like I need that two weeks of September we get a lot. If you've got. If you've got. I mean isn't the Mandel. I think that first Tuesday in September.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

And last year the calendar is getting a lot more diffuse. It's like harder to predict generally we can see where the days where titles cluster like oh this first. I think it's like the first Tuesday of March is really big but it's.

[Jeff O.]

Tuesday of January is not bad either.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's getting harder to predict like which week of September is going to be the week that has the things. Publishing is less beholden to that than.

[Jeff O.]

They used to be Fantasy book league but we're picking release days blind. We just. We have to we give the books that come out on that day. That's a Laura McGrath special. She would walk the floor with us with that.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

That would be so much more interesting if publishing moneyballed release dates the way that the film industry does where like one studio will move a movie around because they hear that a different studio has a big Oscar contender out that weekend or a big box office contender and they don't want to compete. Like maybe you were planning to release your movie the same day that you find out like Wicked is coming out then you move it. But publishing doesn't do that all that often.

[Jeff O.]

I've heard that maybe they do for some titles. Again it's very rare.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Pretty rarely.

[Jeff O.]

I think it's if you are doing like a Percival ever to get up against a. I don't even know Colson White. You know if you're. You're kind of in. You want the space for a literary up upmarket fiction and it will happen.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Also I think if a book is slated to come out sort of in the middle of the month and one of the big book clubs wants it they like to make their announcements at the top of the month. So it will either get published earlier in that month or like a little bit later the first week of the following month. But you have to really be paying attention to subtle press releases about new publication date.

[Jeff O.]

Right. Have you made your plans already for Dunes Day next December 18, where Dune 3 and Avengers Doomsday come out on the same day? Are you going to. Are you going to get there at six and do it all day? You can do one in the morning, one in the afternoon. How are you going to. I know it's a very difficult question for you.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I'm so happy for you that that's a thing. Or for the dunesday people, I'll watch the third Dune probably at home. That's where I'm gonna be.

[Jeff O.]

I feel like if I describe the plot as we understand of Avengers Doomsday to you, you would stroke out. I don't think it's something you can't.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Take it all at once that time of year. I'm just really gonna hope that I have walked out with a satisfied feeling from seeing the Greta Gerwig Narnia adaptation which the people of the movieland who don't know that the Magician's Ne, the title of the first Narnia book are like, why is the Greta Gerwig movie called Narnia Colon the Magician's Nephew?

[Jeff O.]

Not even his son.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

No, just a great. Not a. Maybe not a great marketing tool. Hopefully they'll cover some of that ground in the first trailer.

[Jeff O.]

I really have no idea how that's going to do. That's another one. We're talking about Brando Sando an hour ago, but for the rest of you, it's been, you know, the last episode. Yeah, I guess that's. That's there. That's the tentpole fantasy that's gonna. I think if that book does hugely or excuse me, that series does hugely. Well, maybe we're gonna return to big time IP film franchise Star wars and Avengers. Petering out has really made people worried about that.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I could just love to see a return to like big sort of family friendly moviegoing events. And I mean we were talking about the Big Chill. Like I want more of that. Just like a straightforward grown up movie. I had the same feeling when I watched the Amy Tan the Joy Luck Club last month. A couple months ago when we were recording that for zero to well read of like we just don't get that many movies like this anymore. And I. That's what I want.

[Jeff O.]

Can I get now where I'm just texting to you on the Pod. Can I give you a movie recommendation? Tell me a Little Prayer. It was an indie movie, came out last year starring David Strathairon. And it's just a little family where the central relationship is a father, his son has married this young woman and they kind of become friends. And amongst a lot of other people that don't understand them, they kind of see each other. And as that relationship falls, as the younger generations relationship falls apart, there's like a great sadness for what it means for us, right, to be a part of each other. It's not romantic, it's like what you want from in laws and family. But it's so beautiful and so human and it's so small. It's like mostly people sitting on a park bench or in a car looking strained. But I was like, I just want all these. I'd watch a thousand of those. All I want is little movies that could have been a pretty mediocre novel. I will watch a thousand movies.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Went immediately on my list. If you need a five alarm snot bomb in your life, I just watched the documentary about the poet Andrea Gibson in the good light on Apple tv. It is wonderful. It is a five alarm snot, but it's life affirming and really funny. They were really, really funny and touching and wise about dealing with, you know, the big stuff of life and death. I did sob for like a good significant chunk of it, but I ended up very glad that I watched it.

[Jeff O.]

I've got a multi fold problem with that. One is that sounds too sad and touching for the emotional black hole that I am. Also, that means I would need to watch it by myself because if Michelle watches it, it will take her six weeks to clear her sinus passages after the mucus, emotional mucus situation that would inevitably occur. I will almost certainly watch it by myself on a plane overnight.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Oh my God. Yeah. Would you have your self engineered existence?

[Jeff O.]

I've got, I've got a film festival coming up next week coming to you from Premium Economy Jeff's Film Festival.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I have long flights too. We should text each other about our viewing choices. This yours will be much more deranged than mine.

[Jeff O.]

Thank you so much. Well, you don't know. We'll talk to you later. Lifelock.

[Podcast Narrator]

How can I help?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

The IRS said I filed my return, but I haven't.

[Jeff O.]

One in four taxpaying Americans has paid the price of identity fraud.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

What do I do? My refunds though. I'm freaking out.

[Podcast Narrator]

Don't worry, I can fix this.

[Jeff O.]

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[Rebecca Schinsky]

I'm so relieved.

[Jeff O.]

No problem.

[Podcast Narrator]

I'll be with you every step of the way.

[Jeff O.]

One in four was a fraud. Paying American. Not anymore. Save up to 40% your first year.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Visit lifelock.com podcast terms apply.