My 17-page 2025 Winter Reading Guide is live! The guide contains 45 recent and upcoming releases plus new titles in book series, fiction/nonfiction pairings, stellar mystery series and some anticipated spring and summer releases. All of these will make great reads for this winter and many are books you won’t see many other places; I strive to find those under-the-radar gems. If you are interested, fill out the Google form and submit a tip of your choosing.

Hala Alyan - THE ARSONISTS' CITY

Hala Alyan - THE ARSONISTS' CITY

Hala and I discuss The Arsonists’ City, the character she enjoyed writing the most, wanting to provide a deeper understanding of Lebanon to her readers, how and why intergenerational conflict and secrets provide great fodder for writers, and more.

Hala and I discuss The Arsonists’ City, the character he enjoyed writing the most, wanting to provide a deeper understanding of Lebanon to her readers, how and why intergenerational conflict and secrets provide great fodder for writers, wanting to incorporate the recent political events in Lebanon into her story, and more.

The Arsonists’ City can be purchased at Murder by the Book or the CFAP Bookshop storefront. 

Hala’s 3 recommended reads are:

  1. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
  2. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
  3. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Support the podcast here. For more information about sponsoring an episode, click here.

If you enjoy reading contemporary fiction and want to listen to more podcast episodes like this one, try Nancy Johnson, Julie Carrick Dalton, Madeleine Henry, Mateo Askaripour, and Te-Ping Chen.