As a fan of speculative fiction, I think it’s safe to say that you can’t be scared of a chunky 400-plus-word tome, but we deserve nice (shorter) things too and nothing’s better than a short story collection. Not only do you get a great range of stories—and a great way to get more from your favorite writers—but it's also an easier time investment to help your reading pace. Short stories can be just as immersive as full-length novels, with plenty of genre-bending and experimentation, and these authors certainly pull it off well.



To make sure this list leads you to your next favorite read, I decided to pass on the juggernauts of the genre and include as many amazing, slightly under-the-radar collections as possible. So, if you need a quick palate cleanser or a boost for your Reading Challenge, take a break from those thick novels and check out the collections below.

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Happy reading!

It’s no secret that we’re in a golden age of television, with multiple networks and streaming services in healthy competition. Movies, too, on screens big and small. The result is a wide range of quality options for anyone who loves the art of storytelling.

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Here at Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ World Headquarters, we’re devoted book people, of course. But when it comes to movies and TV shows, , too. There’s no reason we can’t enjoy the best of all worlds.

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Today’s collection is devoted to those who have found the kind of storytelling they like on-screen but don’t know where to turn for similar books. Luckily, our tireless editorial squad knows a little bit about TV/movies and a whole lot about books. We have some suggestions.

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For instance, perhaps you like The White Lotus, and you’d like to find a book with similar ratios of luxury and malfeasance. We have some ideas. Six, actually. Or you’re looking for interesting variations on the zombie apocalypse template, à la The Last of Us. Or Succession or Sinners or Yellowjackets or Nosferatu or ±á²¹³¦°ì²õâ€�

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Click on the book cover images for more information about each title. And you can use the Want to Read button to add books to your digital to-do shelf.

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Novels if you like

For today’s collection, we begin with an earnest appeal from the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ editorial team: If you’re not already in the habit, try mixing some short story collections into your regular diet of novels.

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It's great, we’re telling you. Short fiction moves to different rhythms, obviously, and it’s fascinating to see how different authors achieve different effects with the format. It’s also an absolutely fantastic way to discover new writers.

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We’ve gathered below a curated cross-section of new and recent single-author short story collections. All the books here have publication dates from the beginning of 2024 to April of this year.

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Some starting points, in no particular order: Tony Tulathimutte’s Rejection features interconnected short fiction on the topic of, yes, rejection. Marie-Helene Bertino’s Exit Zero collects 12 strange tales on the guises of death. And dedicated fantasy readers already know that you just can’t miss with a Naomi Novik short story collection. Also look for new short fiction from Amanda Peters, Jared Lemus, Lydia Millet, and…hey, is that Rupert Everett? It is!

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Finally, our unofficial Best Book Title award goes to Jessie Ren Marshall for her exclamatory collection Women! In! Peril! Click on the cover images for more information about each book, and add any interesting leads to your Want to Read shelf.

As a genre, historical fiction tends to be restless. It often likes to jump shelves, wandering into other bookstore sections. This results in fun cross-category adventures like historical romance, historical fantasy, even historical sci-fi—a seemingly tricky maneuver, but it can be done.

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We’ve gathered several specimens of new and recent books in this area and sorted them into piles. Sarah Raughley’s The Queen’s Spade, for instance, is a streamlined historical mystery-thriller, with a kidnapped African princess fighting back against imperial power in 1862 London. Stephen Graham Jones� The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, likewise, brings historical horror—and vampires!—to the ruthless days of the American West.

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If you really want to cross some narrative wires, check out Kirsten Menger-Anderson’s new novel, The Expert of Subtle Revisions, which blends elements of mystery, love story, time travel, and Vienna circa 1933. You’ll find plenty of other veteran authors exploring these borderlands, including Jess Kidd, William Kent Krueger, Victor LaValle, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Brandon Sanderson.

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Scroll down for a tour of the cross-genre categories, and click on the book cover images for more details about each title. If anything looks promising, use the Want to Read button to add it to your digital shelf.

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At the beginning of each calendar month, Å·±¦ÓéÀÖâ€� crack editorial squad assembles a list of the hottest and most popular new books hitting shelves, actual and virtual. The list is generated by evaluating readersâ€� early reviews and tracking which titles are being added toÌýWant to ReadÌýshelves by Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ regulars.

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Each month’s curated preview features new books from across the genre spectrum: contemporary fiction, historical fiction, mysteries and thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy, romance, horror, young adult, nonfiction, and more. Think of it as a literary smorgasbord. Check out whatever looks delicious.

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New in May: Acclaimed author Ocean Vuong is back on shelves with his highly anticipated sophomore novel, The Emperor of Gladness. Chilean American novelistÌýIsabel AllendeÌýcombines historical adventure with a detailed character portrait in My Name Is Emilia Del Valle. And grimdark specialist Joe Abercrombie returns with the dark fantasy adventures of The Devils. Werewolves and vampires and necromancers. Oh, my.

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Also on tap this month: gothic romantasy, Singaporean family drama, and new novels from Fredrik Backman, Carley Fortune, and some guy named Stephen King.



Add the books that catch your eye to yourÌýWant to ReadÌýshelf!

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Each year brings a new cohort of debut authors to bookshelves worldwide. It’s great for those of us who like to discover new authors. As it happens, there’s a veritable tidal wave of interesting first novels cresting just now. In our ongoing effort to sort the world itself, Å·±¦ÓéÀÖâ€� editorial staffers have once more waded into the stacks to try to make sense of it all.

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Each of the books below is a debut novel publishing in the U.S. from MayÌýuntil September. The range of this collection is pretty amazing, really. You’ll find a good selection of contemporary and literary fiction below, plus new additions to all the usual-suspect genres—mystery, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, historical fiction, and some particularly interesting horror.

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ÌýWe’ve got books about stand-up comedy and immortality. Books about growing up queer in the 1990s and growing old peacefully in Sweden. Books about international abductions and interdimensional libraries. Lycanthropes in England and hedge fund managers in trouble. A dog named Curtains and a tumor named Maggie. Oh, and the devil.

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We’ve included the current U.S. publication date for each, and you can click on the book cover images to get more details about each title.

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It’s May, and in the U.S. that means it’sÌý, dedicated to celebrating the culture, history, and contributions of those with Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Island backgrounds.



This year, in honor of the monthlong celebration, ·É±ð’v±ð compiled a collection of new adult fiction, nonfiction, and young adult fiction fromÌýauthors of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage, published in the U.S. since the beginning of 2024 and through the end of May 2025. Of course, given the size of the API diaspora across the globe, this is by no means a comprehensive list, but it should offer you plenty of great books to add to your year-round What to Read shelf.



Some highlights: Acclaimed poet and novelist Ocean Vuong returns to the fiction well this month with a bighearted novel about chosen family. Makana Yamamoto offers up a sci-fi heist-slash-love-letter-to-Hawaii inÌýHammajang Luck. In the YA space, Randy Ribay's National Book Award–nominatedÌýEverything We Never HadÌýfollows four generations of Filipino American boys. And nonfiction authors ponder big topics like "how to tell when we will die"Ìýand "how a girl like me falls for a cult like that."



Click on the book cover images for more information about each title, and use theÌýWant to ReadÌýbutton to add to your digital shelf.