Book Lounge by Libby

September is bringing some SERIOUS TBR temptation. This week, Joe is joined by Madison (@simon.says.read) to dive into the September 2026 book releases they’re most excited to read.

From gothic romantasy and fantasy to thrillers, romance, historical fiction and spooky season reads, there are way too many new books fighting for a spot on the TBR.

Plus, Joe and Madison reveal the books they’re already counting down the days to read, the titles they almost included and which September releases might become your next obsession.

What September 2026 book are you most excited to read? Add it to your TBR and let us know!

Book Lounge by Libby is your place for book conversations, recommendations and the people behind the stories.

Looking for the video version of our show? Check out the Libby App YouTube channel!

Follow Madison on Instagram!

Books Recommendations:

Madison's Picks:

The Knave and the Moon – Rachel Gillig

Taipei Story – RF Kuang

The Thoroughbreds – Elin Hilderbrand

Grim Tidings – BK Borison

The Pirate Queen – Ariel Lawhon

Tempest – Victoria Aveyard

Threshing Day – Rebecca Yarros

The Witches of Cambridge – Alice Hoffman

A Time of Witches – Madeline Martin

Fallow – Sarah Anderson



Joe’s Picks: Honorable mentions:

The Most Dangerous Games – MrBeast, James Patterson

Building 903 – Lois Lowry

Hollywood, Ending – John Green

Incarnate – Alma Katsu

Sometimes I Scare Myself – Jeneva Rose



Kiss Slay Replay – Rachel Harrison

The Dating Game – Ally Zetterberg

Your Boyfriend Needs an Exorcist – Justine Pucella Winans

Scion – James Islington

Asmodeus – Rita Indiana (tr. Achy Obejas)

Mischief Girls – Aashna Avachat

Feeling Like an ADHD Alien – Pina Varnel

Pretty Evil – Rebekah McKendry, David Ian McKendry

The House of Gardenias – Isabel Cañas

Time stamps: 00:00:00 Title 00:00:23 Intro 00:05:51 Our September 2026 Book Picks 01:30:42 Outro



Enjoying the show? Follow Book Lounge by Libby, leave a rating or review, and watch every episode on the Libby App YouTube channel. Find us on https://pages.libbylife.com/BL-Links

Got a book recommendation, dream guest or just want to say hi? We'd love to hear from you at bookloungebylibby@overdrive.com.

Looking for Book Lounge merch? Visit Plot Threads.

Library friends: Add episodes of Book Lounge by Libby to your digital collection for free in OverDrive Marketplace and Kanopy. You can also purchase the titles featured in today's episode in OverDrive Marketplace.

Browse our cumulative reading list for the season: https://marketplace.overdrive.com/Marketplace/OneCopyOneUserAndMeteredAccess/SuggestedList/41378 Today's featured books: https://marketplace.overdrive.com/Marketplace/OneCopyOneUserAndMeteredAccess/SuggestedList/41379

Happy Reading!
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What happens when you take the Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet approach to books? Absolute chaos.

Joe is joined by Meara to dig through reviews of books they love and discover what happens when readers have opinions. From hilarious hot takes to reviews that make absolutely no sense, this episode is full of laughs, nonsense and some truly unforgettable book commentary.

Want us to do this again? Tell us what books we should hunt for or send us random reviews to react to!

Looking for the video version of our show? Check out the Libby App YouTube channel!

Who’s in this episode:

Meara – link

Check out Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet here: https://www.beachtoosandy.com/

Time stamps: 00:00:00 Title 00:00:23 Intro 00:02:22 What’s your relationship with book reviews? 00:06:00 How do you write your reviews? 00:09:50 A conversation about negative reviews 00:13:50 We dive into reading reviews! 01:30:03 Wrapping up and outro

Enjoying the show? Follow Book Lounge by Libby, leave a rating or review, and watch every episode on the Libby App YouTube channel. Find us on Libbylife.com/booklounge

Got a book recommendation, dream guest or just want to say hi? We'd love to hear from you at bookloungebylibby@overdrive.com.

Looking for Book Lounge merch? Visit Plot Threads.

Library friends: Add episodes of Book Lounge by Libby to your digital collection for free in OverDrive Marketplace and Kanopy. You can also purchase the titles featured in today's episode in OverDrive Marketplace.

Happy Reading!
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August 2026 books are here, and Joe is joined by Bre (@locd_booktician_) to share the new releases they're most excited to add to their TBRs. Covering everything from horror, thrillers, romance, fantasy, literary fiction, and beyond, they're highlighting some of the month's biggest releases alongside a few books that deserve more attention.

As always, the recommendations are only part of the fun. Expect plenty of laughs, bookish tangents, and chaotic energy as Joe and Bre count down the August titles they can't stop thinking about.

Looking for the video version of our show? Check out the Libby App YouTube channel!

Book Recommendations

Bre’s Picks:

Clean Slate – Brianna Labuskes

Ghost in the Night – Tiffany D. Jackson

Murder at University Park – Cheryl Miller Dellasega

Death Card – Jasmine Smith

The Secrets We Hide – Karin Slaughter

Stay Buried – Jennifer McMahon

The Butcher Legacy – Alaina Urquhart

Bound by Fury – Noelle Monet

These Walls Remember – Del Sandeen

Joe’s Picks:

Barbie: Dreamscape – Alex Aster

Queens of the Crypt, Vol 1 – Dom & Ink

Devil Inside – Clay McLeod Chapman

Survival Show – Juno Dawson

My Killer Family Reunion – Dinesh Thiru

(Mostly) Human Resources – Grace Viall

Killing Sadie – Rachel Peterson

Summer Coven – Kat Killis, Rosiee Thor

Who’s in this episode:

Bre - Links

Time stamps: 00:00:00 Title 00:00:23 Intro 00:01:11 Welcome and catchup with Bre! 00:13:27 August 2026 Book Picks 01:38:28 Thanks and outro

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today’s episode in Libby. Library friends can add these titles to their digital collections for free in OverDrive Marketplace and Kanopy. Check out our Cumulative List for the whole season, or this list for today’s episode!

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of Book Lounge by Libby. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can watch the video version of our show on the Libby App YouTube channel. Keep up with us on social media by following the Libby App on Instagram!

Want to reach out? Send an email to bookloungebylibby@overdrive.com. Want some cool bookish swag? Check out our merch store at: http://plotthreadsshop.com/booklounge!
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What's better than talking about great books? Talking about all the great books.

This week, Joe is joined by romance novel matchmaker, bookseller, and creator Destinee for a delightfully bookish conversation that bounces around bookish things everyone can't stop talking about.

Grab your headphones, your library card, and maybe a notebook—you'll definitely leave with a longer TBR.

Looking for the video version of our show? Check out the Libby App YouTube channel!

Who’s in this episode:

Destinee - links

Time stamps:

00:00:00 Title 00:00:23 Welcome and Introductions 00:01:52 A chatty episode with Destinee 01:03:55 Wrapping up and outro

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today’s episode in Libby. Library friends can add these titles to their digital collections for free in OverDrive Marketplace and Kanopy.

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of Book Lounge by Libby. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can watch the video version of our show on the Libby App YouTube channel. Keep up with us on social media by following the Libby App on Instagram!

Want to reach out? Send an email to bookloungebylibby@overdrive.com. Want some cool bookish swag? Check out our merch store at: http://plotthreadsshop.com/booklounge!
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Summer is heating up... so naturally it's time for ghosts, monsters, haunted camps, cursed lakes, and things that go bump in the night.

Joe is joined by Bre to celebrate Summerween 2026, the growing tradition of bringing spooky season into the middle of summer. Whether horror readers are looking for gothic classics, unsettling literary horror, creepy middle grade adventures, camp slashers, psychological thrillers, or terrifying short story collections, this episode is packed with recommendations to fill every Summerween TBR.

From vampires and haunted campgrounds to folk horror, cosmic dread, ghost stories, and nostalgic Halloween favorites, this conversation explores horror across every age and subgenre. Along the way, Bre also shares details about her July Noir 2026 reading weekend and Discord community for readers looking to celebrate all month long.

Whether Summerween is already an annual tradition, or this is the first spooky-season celebration in July, this episode is full of horror book recommendations perfect for every kind of reader.

Looking for the video version of our show? Check out the Libby App YouTube channel!

Links:

Bre’s links

July Noir 2026 Announcement

July Noir Discord

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/locd_booktician_/

Titles mentioned:

Bre’s Picks:

Carmilla – Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Dead First – Johnny Compton

On Sundays She Picked Flowers – Yah Yah Scholfield

Gyo – Junji Ito

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight – Kalynn Bayron

The Jumbies & Rise of the Jumbies – Tracey Baptiste

Why I Love Horror – ed. Becky Siegel Spratford

Joe’s Picks:

How to Survive Camping Series (Book 1: How to Survive Camping) - Bonnie Quinn

The Lady in Chains

The Ancient Things (September 2026)

The Unmothers – Leslie J. Anderson

The Bog Wife – Kay Chronister

Smothermoss – Alisa Alering

Don’t Turn Out the Lights – ed. Jonathan Maberry

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark – Alvin Schwartz

Our Shadows Have Claws – ed. Yamile Saied Méndez, Amparo Ortiz

The Lake House – Sarah Beth Durst

Tastes Like Candy – Jessica Lacy

Camp Scare – Delilah S. Dawson

Summer’s Never Over – Darby Bozeman

A Murder Most Camp – Nicolas DiDomizio

13 Months Haunted – Jimmy Juliano

Chasing the Boogeyman – Richard Chizmar

80s Ghosts – VS Lawrence

Time stamps: 00:00:00 Title 00:00:23 Intro & Seasonal Update 00:01:40 Thoughts on Summerween 00:07:24 Our Summerween 2026 picks! 01:28:46 Thank you to Bre and outro

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today’s episode in Libby. Library friends can add these titles to their digital collections for free in OverDrive Marketplace and Kanopy. Check out our Cumulative List for the whole season, or this list for today’s episode!

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog!

We hope you enjoy this episode of Book Lounge by Libby. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can watch the video version of our show on the Libby App YouTube channel. Keep up with us on social media by following the Libby App on Instagram!

Want to reach out? Send an email to bookloungebylibby@overdrive.com. Want some cool bookish swag? Check out our merch store at: http://plotthreadsshop.com/booklounge!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices