Fully Booked by Kirkus Reviews

On our Best January Books episode, Kirkus’ editors share some of the month’s most highly anticipated titles. Then Alia Hanna Habib joins us to discuss Take It From Me: An Agent’s Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career From Scratch (Pantheon, Jan. 20). Kirkus: “An invaluable resource for aspiring and professional writers alike.”

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

That Kind of Girl by Jacey Bici

Use Your Palabras, Jovita! by Keishia Lee Louis, illus. by Diego Alejandro Escobar Triana

Midnight at Sea by Hoyt Rogers with Artemisia Vento and Frank Báez

Bone of Contention by Jan S. Gephardt

Digital Odyssey by SE Quinn

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Happy New Year, listeners! It’s the Fully Booked Year in Review, featuring editor-in-chief Tom Beer and Kirkus contributing writer Michael Schaub. On this jolly special episode, we take a deep dive into the weird book news of 2025 and reveal the year’s most popular episode.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

Fighting Bullies by William T. Reid, IV

Harlo by Brian Petersen

Bailing Out by Leonard Ruhl

The Nameless Dead by Leta Serafim 

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On this special holiday episode, Megan presents her favorite nonfiction interviews of 2025, featuring Edmund White (The Loves of My Life) and Caro De Robertis (So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color).

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

The Zygan Emprise by Y.S. Pascal

Course Over Ground by Bill C. Wilson

Between Wounded and Well by Debra Palmer

Prophets of War by Jack Brown

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On this special holiday episode, Megan presents her favorite fiction interviews of 2025, featuring National Book Award winner Rabih Alameddine (The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)) and National Book Award finalist Karen Russell (The Antidote).

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

French Lessons by Roberta Samuels

Forgiven by Bruce J. Berger

Francisco De Saavedra's American Revolutionary War by James Giesler

Maya Blue by Brenda Coffee

Flight of the Chicxulub by Christopher Flakus

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We conclude our Best Books of 2025 coverage with a special episode dedicated to young adult. First, Libba Bray joins us to discuss Under the Same Stars (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Feb. 4). Then young readers’ editor Laura Simeon highlights some more of the year’s best YA.

Thanks to our sponsors:

• The Tale of the Wicked Old Woman and the Very Nice 'Beast' of Crouch End by Lance Lee, illus. by Nathalie T. Retivoff
• A Widow’s Fire by Diane Pike Heiler
• Future-Focused Wealth by Melissa Cox

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We’re continuing our Best Books of 2025 coverage with a special episode dedicated to middle grade. First, Adam Gidwitz joins us to discuss Max in the Land of Lies: A Tale of World War II (Dutton, February 25). Then young readers’ editors Laura Simeon and Mahnaz Dar discuss more of the year’s best books.

Thanks to our sponsors:

• The Tale of the Wicked Old Woman and the Very Nice 'Beast' of Crouch End by Lance Lee, illus. by Nathalie T. Retivoff
• Passages by P.K. Edgewater
• Eco Reign by L. Galuppo
• Rom-Com for Dummies by Tom Diggs

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We’re continuing our Best Books of 2025 coverage with a special episode dedicated to picture books. First, Patricia Morris Buckley joins us to discuss To Walk the Sky: How Iroquois Steelworkers Helped Build Towering Cities, illustrated by E.B. Lewis (Heartdrum, Jan. 28). Then young readers’ editor Mahnaz Dar dishes on more of the year’s best books.

Thanks to our sponsors:

• The History of Lightning by Anthony Dwanye Webb
• Into the Gray Scale by Oge Mobuogwu
• Maybe I’m Not God by Stefania Gander, trans. by Chiara Gastaldi
• The Judgy Bunny by Gramma Sir 

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We’re continuing our Best Books of 2025 coverage with a special episode dedicated to nonfiction. First, Jen Hatmaker joins us to discuss Awake: A Memoir (Avid Reader Press, Sept. 23), one of Kirkus’ Best Nonfiction Books of the year. Then nonfiction editor John McMurtrie dishes on more of the year’s best books.

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We’re kicking off our Best Books of 2025 coverage with a special episode dedicated to fiction. First, Lily King joins us to discuss Heart the Lover (Grove, September 30), one of Kirkus’ Best Fiction Books of the year. Then fiction editor Laurie Muchnick dishes on the year’s best novels and story collections.

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On this special episode, we present the 8th annual Fully Booked Holiday Gift Guide. Guest cohost Tom Beer joins host Megan Labrise in welcoming authors Ben Schott (Schott’s Significa; Workman) and Michael W. Twitty (Recipes From the American South; Phaidon). And Kirkus’ editors present their top holiday gift book picks.

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