November 2025 TBR list:  Hello, dear readers, I’m so excited about my TBR this month. I have some new authors to me, and some ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies). I have four books from last month’s list that pulled over. I have an ambitious list of 10 books. I went down one from last month’s 11 books. I’m already ahead thanks to being sick for the first three days of the month.

This month, I’m going to an award ceremony for Amor Towles (my favorite author of literary fiction). Amor Towles is the recipient of the 2025 Nashville Public Library Literary Award. He will be in a special conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham. Amor Towles and Jon Meacham will not be doing a signing but will have pre-signed copies. I think The Lincoln Highway is his best work, but a close second is A Gentleman in Moscow. I plan to get both books at the event.  Jon Meacham won the Pulitzer for American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. I plan to get that as well.

TBR November 2025:

ARC Books:

Shiny Happy People by Clay McLeod Chapman is a Young Adult novel about a new drug that is plaguing the small town. One girl must go against the In-crowd to find out the horrifying secret. From the description, it sounds like The Faculty meets Disturbing Behavior. I’m so down for this ’90s horror match-up. Shiny Happy People will be published on 11-11-25

God’s Junk Drawer by Peter Clines is a Science Fiction novel about a family that goes missing on a raft trip, with only the youngest son returning. He tells everyone he was in a land filled with dinosaurs, aliens, cavemen, and androids. No one believes him. 35 years later, he leads an astronomy class the same way his family went. This premise had me at aliens and dinosaurs. It sounds like Land of the Lost meets Lost in Space.  God’s Junk Drawer will be published on 11-11-25

MindWorks by Neal Shusterman is a Young Adult anthology of short stories. Shusterman is the creative mind behind the Scythe series and has two new short stories in that world. Other stories include a talking dolphin running for president, a teddy bear turning into a real bear, and two kids jokingly selling a bag of wind, which happened to be real. The stories are fun and out there. MindWorks will be published on 11-18-25

Library Book:

The Library Book by Susan Orlean is a Nonfiction novel about the biggest library fire in Los Angeles in 1986.  But while Orlean is researching the past, she learns the dedication that current librarians perform daily.

Physical Books:

Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley is a daytime horror slasher novel that takes place at a yoga retreat in Joshua Tree. Scream is a big influence on this novel. Everything I have read by McAuley has impressed me. I can’t wait to be impressed again.

Freebourne by Salman Shaheen is a future noir novel merging murder mystery with science fiction.  The blurb from Judith Woods of the Telegraph – Midsomer Murders meets The Matrix, is what hooked me. The publisher reached out to me to review this. It has been published in England, and will be published on 11-18-25 in the US.

Coach by Jason Reynolds is about Coach Brody before the events of the track series. We will find out how he became an Olympic athlete and how his dad betrayed him for drugs. Jason Reynolds writes family drama so well. Throughout the series, we have learned tidbits of Coach’s life before. I’m looking forward to reading the whole story. Coach is book 5 in the middle grade Track series.

Widow’s Point by Richard Chizmar and W.H. Chizmar is about a haunted lighthouse. The lighthouse was constructed in 1838, and since then, deaths have occurred in or around it for decades. The lighthouse was shuttered in 1988, and a security fence was placed around it. The lighthouse is now a supernatural cornerstone. No one has entered until now. I received an ARC copy only a couple of days before its release, and was not able to get to it. I read Memorials by Richard Chizmar earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Widow’s Point was published on September 30, 2025.

Fiend by Alma Katsu is about a family that runs the largest import-export companies in the world, and they’ve always been lucky. Natural disasters will harm the competitors but not them. The father always told his son and two daughters that they were blessed. After his death, they fight to control the company. During this struggle, they find out the family was not blessed. Instead, they were cursed by a thousand-year-old demon. I have read two books by Katsu: The Hunger and The Deep. Fiend is her first contemporary horror, since she usually writes historical horror. The plot sounds awesome. I’ve liked Katsu Novels, but have not loved them. I hope Fiend does it for me.

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison is about an influencer who lives a picture-perfect life. However, when she was younger, she lived in a haunted house. At least, that’s what her mother claimed and even wrote a book about it. After her mother’s passing, the house fell to her and her sister. They want to refurbish it, but will the house let them? I have never read Rachel Harrison before. I’ve heard great things from the reviewers I follow. The plot sounds similar to Home Before Dark by Riley Sager.