Sarah's Bookshelves Live

Katie Gutierrez joins me for a spoiler-free discussion of her debut novel,  More Than You'll Ever Know , which is a character study about a complex and fascinating woman behind a highly unusual crime. This is a deeply layered story touching on topics surrounding gender, motherhood, marriage, and the current fascination with true crime. Also, Katie shares her book recommendations — including 3 upco...

In Episode 131, Catherine (@gilmoreguide) and I share the best backlist books we read in 2022. We each share our top 5 backlist books from 2022, some underrated backlist gems, and our backlist reading stats. Catherine and I both had a successful year of backlist reading, despite both of us experiencing major life events. This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission wh...

Welcome to the Winter 2023 Book Preview with Catherine of Gilmore Guide to Books !   In this episode, Catherine and I share 16 of our most anticipated books releasing January through March.   This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Announcement Join our Patreon Community to get our bonus podcast episode series called...

Our 2022 year-end reading roundup continues today with our Best Books of 2022 Genre Awards with Susie Boutry ( @NovelVisits ). We reveal our Overall Best Books (Fiction and Nonfiction) and we have a full breakdown by genre, including: Best Literary Fiction, Best Backlist Read in 2022, Best Romance, Best Brain Candy, Best Genre Mash-Up, and more! Plus, this year I'm sharing the winners for these sa...

Our 2022 year-end reading roundup starts today with Best Books of 2022 Superlatives with Susie Boutry ( @NovelVisits ). This year, we're  splitting our wrap-up into two episodes: Superlatives and Genre Awards (coming in mid-December). We have 17 Superlatives categories for you, including  Most and Least Deserving of the Hype, Biggest Surprise, the Book I Hated that Everyone Else Loved, and more! T...

In the  Fall 2022 Book Preview , Catherine ( Gilmore Guide to Books ) and I shared our 16 most-anticipated books that released mid-August – December 2022.  In today's episode, we're going to circle back to update you on the books we've had a chance to read — or at least attempt.   This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to yo...

In Episode 126, audiobook producer Karen Dziekonski from Penguin Random House Audio joins me for today's deep-dive discussion. Karen takes us behind the scenes from the growth of audiobooks in the industry to the ins and outs of how audiobooks are produced. Plus, Karen shares her audiobook recommendations! This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a...

In Episode 125, Susie Boutry ( @NovelVisits ) and I are back for our 2nd annual Debuts Special. Today we're sharing our favorite debut novels from 2022 (so far)! Plus, we discuss our reading stats for debuts this year and we talk about some upcoming sophomore novels (and their debuts) that are on our radar. This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a...

Candice Carty-Williams joins me for a spoiler-free discussion of her sophomore novel,  People Person . In  People Person , Candice writes about serious issues in a light-hearted way that's full of dry humor. She explores questions of obligation to family — especially family to whom you were not previously close. Plus, Candice shares her book recommendations! This post contains affiliate links, thr...

In Episode 123, Nikki Erlick joins me to discuss (spoiler-free!) her debut novel,  The Measure , and share her book recommendations. A both otherworldly and of our time story, in a symbolic way rather than a literal way.  The Measure  will absolutely be one of my favorite books of 2022! This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost...

Double Booked  is a monthly series, available to my  Superstars patrons , where a co-host and I each share our own book recommendations in the same format as the big show (2 old books we love, 2 new books we love, 1 book we didn't love, and 1 upcoming release we're excited about). In these more candid episodes, I talk more about my own reading, and share tons of books that I don't share on any oth...

Welcome to the Fall 2022 Book Preview with Catherine of Gilmore Guide to Books !   In this episode, Catherine and I share 16 of our most anticipated books releasing mid-August through December.   This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Announcements Join our Patreon Community ($5/mo) to get our bonus podcast episode...

In Episode 120, Catherine of Gilmore Guide to Books  and I circle back to the books we shared in the Summer 2022 Book Preview — now that we've actually had a chance to read them.  Returning to our 12 summer releases, we take a look at what worked and what didn't.  Also, with both of our personal lives demanding more of our attention lately, our reading lives have definitely been impacted.  This po...

In Episode 119, Keri Blakinger joins me to discuss her debut memoir,  Corrections in Ink , a mind-blowing personal story, also speaks to the broader issues of addiction and women in the prison system. Keri went from being an elite figure skater in her youth to being arrested for possession of heroin while a student at Cornell, and then serving two years in the New York prison system. In her memoir...

In Episode 118, Caroline Zancan, Senior Editor at Henry Holt , joins me for another episode in the Genre 101 series — this time with a twist.  Caroline answers behind-the-scenes questions about editing literary fiction, as well as a deep dive into the genre itself.   This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Announcem...

In Episode 117, Annie Hartnett, author of  Unlikely Animals , shares the intriguing backstory behind her new novel. She is wonderfully candid and shares interesting tidbits from the germ of the idea, through some of the editing process, all the way to the finished book and finding a publisher.  This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at...

In Episode 116, Susie Boutry ( @NovelVisits ) joins me to talk about niching down from traditional genre categories into the micro genres we love.  Over the past year, I have picked up on some key themes and types of books that I can generally count on for successful reading. Today, we're putting them all in one special episode as Susie and I bring you a delightfully overflowing list of the micro...

In Episode 115, Bonnie Garmus, author of  Lessons in Chemistry , discusses the inspiration behind her best-selling debut novel, sexism in the workplace, and the story behind Six-Thirty the dog. Plus, Bonnie's book recommendations!  This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Introducing  Summer Shelves  (a companion to...

Welcome to the Summer 2022 Book Preview with Catherine of  Gilmore Guide to Books ! In this episode, Catherine and I share our most anticipated books coming out June through mid-August.   This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Introducing  Summer Shelves  (a companion to my Summer Reading Guide)… In addition to my...

In the  Spring 2022 Book Preview ,  Catherine ( Gilmore Guide to Books ) and I shared our most anticipated books that released April – May 2022 .   In today's episode, we're circling back to update you on the books we've had a chance to read  — or at least attempted.  Given my ongoing success rate with spring releases, I'm starting to wonder if that is just the best season for my type of books!  T...

Susie Boutry ( @NovelVisits ) and I share our favorite books that missed last year's Summer Reading Guides, some deep backlist books we think are great for summer reading, and our #1 picks for four categories featured in Sarah's 2022 Summer Reading Guide. This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Introducing  Summer S...

In Episode 111, Dolen Perkins-Valdez (author of  Take My Hand ) shares details about the real-life events that inspired the book about a tragic story and historical landmark in the battle for women's rights. Dolen also talks about her research methods and a couple of key themes from the book.  Take My Hand  was a 5-star book for me and will be one of my favorite books of 2022! This post contains a...

In Episode 110, Mary Laura Philpott (author of  Bomb Shelter ) joins me for a deep dive into the memoir & essays genre, including the differences between a memoir and an essay collection, the level of involvement from editors and publishers, and how she personally approaches writing a memoir or essays.  This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a pur...

Welcome to the Spring 2022 Book Preview with Catherine of  Gilmore Guide to Books ! In this episode, Catherine and I share our most anticipated books coming out in April – May 2022. This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!). Announcements In conjunction with my upcoming 9th annual  Summer Reading Guide , I will be rele...

In the  Winter 2022 Book Preview (Ep. 102) , Catherine ( Gilmore Guide to Books ) and I shared our  most anticipated books set to release January – March 2022 (with one early April release). Today, we're giving an update on the books we shared in the Winter Preview — now that we've had the chance to read them. This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you mak...