We feature a lot of frontlist books here on Book Riot. There’s nothing wrong with that—new books are great! Sometimes that means backlist titles fall by the wayside, though. But not today! Today is all about those backlist books, baby. For those of you who may not be familiar with the terms “frontlist” and “backlist,” frontlist books are books that have been published recently and are usually still actively being publicized by the publisher. Backlist titles are ones that are still available in print but have been out for longer, usually more than a year.
The four books I’m featuring today were published between 2010 and 2020, which means they’re all backlist historical fiction titles. I would say I’m generally an equal opportunity frontlist and backlist reader. I read several of the books on this list when they first came out, while others were new reads for me even years after they were initially released. Either way, they’re all just as good now as they were then.
This list was inspired by another recent Book Riot post on backlist titles in the world of SFF and a conversation with my mom about the first book on this list. I hope it brings some older titles to the front of your mind—and maybe even your TBR.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham VerghesePublished: 2010 Twin brothers born of a secret union between a British surgeon and an Indian nun who died in childbirth have only themselves and each other to rely on in a rapidly changing Ethiopia. They share a passion for medicine, but it’s their shared love for the same woman that ultimately tears them apart. When the past comes back to haunt the brother who left for America, he’ll have to rely on the two people who betrayed him: the father he never met and the brother who broke his heart. |
The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie EarlingPublished: 2010 Debra Magpie Earling imagines what the girl behind the legend of Sacajewea experienced before she found herself in the company of Lewis and Clark as a new mother still in her early teens. It’s a harrowing tale of tragedy, violence, and survival against the unrelenting tsunami of colonial force. |
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara CollinsPublished: 2019 Frannie Langton knows there is nothing she can say that will make the white criminal justice system in Georgian London believe a Black woman—who was formerly enslaved—is totally innocent when her two employers are found murdered. That doesn’t mean her story isn’t worth telling, unbelievable as it may be to them. |
How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam ZhangPublished: 2020 At the end of the gold rush, two siblings search for closure and a final resting place after their father dies. Neither can agree on what they owe their father—or what he even deserves—but they’re bound by blood and history to find a resolution together. Meanwhile, the spirit of their father watches on, remembering the complicated path that led two Chinese immigrants out to the American West. It’s one of the most beautiful and evocative historical fiction novels I’ve ever read. Want to read more backlist books? Backlist Books to Cure a Reading Slump Nonfiction Backlist Gems |
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting the best new poetry collections of 2025 (so far)! From the from deeply personal to powerfully political, many of these collections reflect the zeitgeist and introduce some fresh voices in poetry. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
How is it that we’re already more than a quarter of the way through 2025? I’m ahead of my reading goals and still feel so far behind at the same time. I’ve packed in plenty of poetry, though, finding lots of wonderful and surprising voices emerging. It’s early, but totally time to check in with some of the best new poetry collections of 2025 so far.
It’s funny how timely these collections are. Keep in mind that publishing moves VERY SLOWLY, so books that have been released in the first quarter of 2025 were probably completed in late 2023 or early 2024, only seeing the light of day recently. So, these collections were written in the run-up to last year’s presidential election. Nevertheless, many of these collections feel like guttural reactions to the world right now. Amazing how prescient art and artists can be, huh?
These poetry collections run the gamut from deeply personal to powerfully political. Let’s face it, those two are often the same anyway, particularly when it comes to poetry. Most exciting to me are how many of these best new poetry collections of 2025 so far are fresh voices to the poetic scene. Let’s dig into those collections, shall we?
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