What We Loved in 2022: Libro.fm Staff Favorites

A new creation by the author of Severance, Bliss Montage crashes through our carefully built mirages.

What happens when fantasy tears the screen of the everyday to wake us up? Could that waking be our end?

In Bliss Montage, Ling Ma brings us eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective...

A thrilling new voice in fiction injects the absurd into the everyday to present a startling vision of modern life, “[as] if Kafka and Camus and Bradbury were penning episodes of Black Mirror” (Chang-Rae Lee, author of My Year Abroad).

“Stories so sharp and ingenious you may cut yourself on them while reading.”—Kelly Link, author of Get In... Read more »

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

“If you read the first twenty pages of this book and think, like I did "this seems exactly the same as Daisy Jones and the Six KEEP GOING. The way the stories are setup is similar, but Opal and Nev have a unique story that demands to be heard. Walton combines oral music history, intense relationship dynamics, and strong character development to result in an engaging read. I highly recommend the full-cast audiobook on Libro.fm!”

Maggie, Carmichael's Bookstore

If you enjoyed Wolf Hall, then you’ll love The Marriage Portrait.

“Fans of historical fiction will love this latest by Maggie O’Farrell. She is a master at providing detailed description of distant times and places, allowing the reader to feel they are not just witnessing the past but inside the heads of her characters. In this case, we are transported to Renaissance Italy, to the marriage of a very young Medici daughter to the powerful Duke of Ferrara. The story is dramatic and suspenseful, focusing on the machinations of the royal court, and the unfortunate way women were used as political pawns.”

Beth, A Great Good Place for Books

If You See Me, Don't Say Hi

“Neel Patel’s debut short story collection is filled with tales of imperfection and longing, of unfulfilled wishes that fight hard against expectations. His flawed characters know what they risk when their actions don’t match the standard script of perfection they’ve been handed, but their need for love and acceptance always prevails, sometimes with heartbreaking results. Patel’s empathy toward his characters is palpable, as is the effect of his gorgeously rendered sentences. If You See Me, Don’t Say Hi is a wonderful read: necessary, aching, and alive.”

Mo Daviau, Powell's Books

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A “vivid and devastating” (The New York Times) portrait of an indomitable girl—from acclaimed journalist Andrea Elliott

“From its first indelible pages to its rich and startling conclusion, Invisible Child had me, by turns, stricken, inspired, outraged, illuminated, in tears, and hungering for... Read more »

"Wildly imaginative." —Barack Obama on The Three-Body Problem trilogy

A new standalone military science fiction adventure from the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Three-Body Trilogy.

This program is read by Feodor Chin, voice of Zenyatta in Overwatch.

When Chen’s parents are incinerated before his eyes by a blast of ball...

Now Is Not the Time to Panic

“Having myself been a teenager in a small insular southern town that felt a few years behind the times, Kevin Wilson's protagonist Frankie felt familiar. Now is Not the Time to Panic uncovers the mystery of a moral panic that starts small but becomes a world-famous cultural event. Frankie's dad has left, her triplet brothers are a whirlwind, and Frankie wants something (anything) to happen this summer. Making friends with a new kid in town who also has a father issue is life-changing as they recognize themselves in each other: friendless socially awkward creatives who are desperate just to be seen. This is a story with a great big heart that will not disappoint.”

Rachel, Avid Bookshop

Friday Black

“Friends, this is it. This is the book we’ve been waiting for. And now I can’t get it out of my head, and the pit of my stomach, and my aching heart. It is that good, that gorgeous, that brutal, surreal, tender, enlightening, bitingly funny, and unbelievably truthful. And it’s short stories, so I urge you to savor them one at a time, if you can. Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is here, and I say not a moment too soon.”

Melinda, Bookshop Santa Cruz

The highly anticipated next book in the New York Times bestselling, award-winning Graceling Realm series, which has sold 1.3 million copies.

For the past five years, Bitterblue has reigned as Queen of Monsea, heroically rebuilding her nation after her father's horrific rule. After learning about the land of Torla in the east, she sends envoys to... Read more »

Intimacies

“Katie Kitamura's Intimacies details a few months in the life of an interpreter at The Hague who is looking for belonging to a place and perhaps to a partner. Just as she has to see beyond the words in her work, she has to interpret the actions of her married lover as well as the alleged atrocities of a war criminal she works with at the International Court. This novel is both quiet and thrilling.”

Rachel, Avid Bookshop

When an army of giant robot AIs threatens to devastate Earth, a virtuoso pianist becomes humanity's last hope in this bold, lightning-paced, technicolor space opera series from the author of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe.

How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water

“This story begs to be enjoyed in audio book format. The production was excellent. We all need some Cara Romero in our lives. Readers will fall for her heart and sass. Without a doubt my favorite audiobook this year!”

Jessica, Main Street Books Davidson

If you enjoyed Beach Read, then you’ll love Thank You For Listening.

“Do yourself a favor and read this in its purest form - an audiobook narrator narrating her own audiobook about an audiobook narrator. It's sweet and funny and will hit you in all the feels!”

Kimi, Buttonwood Books and Toys

A Burning

“Wonderfully read by a full cast, Megha Majumdar’s A Burning is especially relevant in the age of highly-politicized social media and government extremism.”

Mary, Raven Book Store

If you enjoyed Looking for Alaska, then you’ll love The Anthropocene Reviewed.

“Witty and moving essays about everything from air conditioning to Canada geese, Green artfully distills much of the human condition and what it means to be alive. Each essay's subject ends with his rating out of five stars -- I give this book five stars.”

Violet, Second Star to the Right

Black Sun

“An epic high fantasy that follows several different characters, throughout different points in time as they are all set to converge on the day of a solar eclipse. On this day, the fate of their world will be altered. An incredible story and great listen on Libro.fm, but definitely something you have to pay attention too or you will miss important details!”

Amy, Bright Side Bookshop

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

“Dex is a monk who dedicates their life to helping and being present for others. But something is missing, and they can't help but answer the call when the voice inside them screams for purpose. A Psalm for the Wild-Built is the perfect example of Becky Chambers' mastery of character creation and development. The emotional responses of her characters, relatable in every respect, demands an equal emotional response from her readers. Becky Chambers is one of those authors whose optimism weaves expertly through stories of hardship and loss. I will never pass by an opportunity visit her incredible worlds. ”

Sophie, Cavalier House Books

“Real, raw, magnificent—Before I Let Go is the beautiful angst I love to read.” —Colleen Hoover, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Their love was supposed to last forever. But when life delivered blow after devastating blow, Yasmen and Josiah Wade found that love alone couldn’t solve or save everything.

It couldn’t save their marriage.

Yasmen... Read more »

If you enjoyed Girls of Paper and Fire, then you’ll love She Who Became the Sun.

“WOW, WOW, WOW! What a STUNNING book! She Who Became the Sun is equal parts beautiful and brutal, powerful and poetic. This is an enchanting tale filled with hardship and sorrow and an unwavering will to survive. What are you willing to do to achieve greatness? Zhu Chongba will do anything and sacrifice everything. This is an epic fantasy that reimagines the founding of the great Ming Dynasty. You won't want to miss this book!”

Anna, The Well-Read Moose