Booklist Reader: Top 10 Biographies

Booklist’s picks for the 10 best biographies of 2025 feature exceptional individuals who profoundly influenced literature, art, music, entertainment, politics, spycraft, and the long fight for civil rights.

Booklist Reader: Understanding Propaganda

The banning and censorship of books is often only one part of a wider project to limit access to information. Censorship can go hand-in-hand with political propaganda, which hinges on manipulating peoples’ views and understanding of history and current events. It’s important for kids and teens to recognize propaganda when they see it, and the following works of nonfiction and fiction compiled by Booklist demonstrate when and how propaganda is used, as well as potential consequences of its influence.

Booklist Reader: True-Crime Spree

Our friends at Booklist have compiled a list of true-crime chronicles that portray courageous crime-fighters and illuminate crimes that vary from murder to art-world scandals, stoking our endless curiosity, horror, schadenfreude, and compassion.

Booklist Reader: Caregiving and Self-Care

Caring for loved ones struggling with disease, advanced age, or both takes a toll, as do so many aspects of life. These candid, informative, practical, and inspiring memoirs and guides address the demands on caregivers and the need for self-care for everyone.

Booklist Reader Listen-alikes: YA Odyssey

“How the Boogeyman Became a Poet,” written by Tony Keith Jr., is a coming-of-age memoir in verse. Teen listeners seeking similar vulnerability and authenticity in poetic form will love these audiobook picks from Booklist Reader.

Booklist Reader: Read-alikes for The Cartoonists Club

Raina Telgemeier is practically a household name when it comes to kids comics, and Scott McCloud wrote one of the foremost books (Understanding Comics) explaining how comics work. Readers inspired by the duo’s latest collaboration, “The Cartoonists Club,” will appreciate these other titles that teach key elements of cartooning and offer stories of kids creating comics together—and sometimes both at the same time.