Happy Half Hour (5/18/26)

Today, we’re chatting about a mom and her three lovably chaotic kids who are forced into a high-stakes intergalactic game show competition; two brothers born into a corrupt political dynasty whose lives are sent into a tailspin after a dark family secret is revealed; and a classical composer’s descent into madness after inheriting her mentor’s unfinished manuscript for his final composition.

TIME TO PLAY by Erin Ampersand | 9781250470171 | 8/18/26
CROCODILOPOLIS by John Manuel Arias | 9781639738434 | 8/25/26
THE MINIMALIST by Kailee Pedersen | 9781250328274 | 8/18/26

Additional titles we mentioned:
WHEN DEALING WITH DRAGONS by Dana Swift | 9781250402431 | 6/30/26
THE LOST GUARDIAN by Natalia Hernandez | 9781682817551 | 10/6/26
MARK OF THE WARRIOR by Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee | 9781250902702 | 10/27/26
HUMPTY DUMPTY by Harold Rogers | 9780374620400 | 11/10/26
CRESCENDO by Jane Healey | 9781639735556 | 6/2/26
MEET ME IN THE GARDEN by Nina LaCour | 9781250810472 | 8/4/26
ASMODEUS by Rita Indiana | 9781644454107 | 9/1/26
RASPUTIN SWIMS THE POTOMAC by Ben Fountain | 9781250776549 | 6/9/26
THE LAST MANDARIN by Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung | 9781250412522 | 5/12/26
THE NAMES OF THE NEW WORLD by Kawai Strong Washburn | 9780374619701 | 10/6/26
MUSIC AGAINST THE NIGHT by Yiyun Li | 9780374613051 | 10/13/26
GHOST-EYE by Amitav Ghosh | 9780374298395 | 6/16/26
MAN OF MY DREAMS by Olivia Worley | 9781250372338 | 6/2/26
THE TRAVELING AUDIENCE by Jason Neese | 9781969905087 | 10/13/26
PRETTY DEAD THINGS by Kelsey Cox | 9781250378842 | 7/7/26
FREEDOM’S DAUGHTERS by Celeste Headlee | 9781250340412 | 10/6/26
SUCCUBUS by Kate Fox | 9781250429360 | 10/6/26
AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN: The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America by Keri Leigh Merritt | 9781250337931 | 9/29/26
HEART OF GLASS by Jennifer Hillier | 9781250763181 | 8/25/26
BAD WORDS by Rioghnach Robinson | 9781250431295 | 10/6/26