October 2026 LibraryReads List

You voted, they counted, and BAD WORDS by Rioghnach Robinson and DIVE BAR AT THE END OF THE ROAD by Kelley Armstrong are LibraryReads picks for October 2026!

PLUS, V. E. Schwab (VICTORIOUS) is in the Hall of Fame and TYRANT LIZARD QUEEN by Riley Black is the Notable Nonfiction Pick!

BAD WORDS BY RIOGHNACH ROBINSON | 9781250431295 | 10/6/26

“Robinson, the author of best-selling YA novels as Riley Redgate, makes her adult debut with this lit world–set look at how we communicate now. It’s a rom-com with plenty of heft, in the way it nails the effects of social media on how we talk, read, and even think; in its prescient landscape of bookstores’ and City’s fight to survive; in how Selina and Parker each struggle to fit into their very different families; and in its heady, romantic toppling of its protagonists’ expectations.”—Booklist, starred review

DIVE BAR AT THE END OF THE ROAD BY KELLEY ARMSTRONG | 9781250360595 | 10/6/26

“Armstrong (THE HAUNTING OF PAYNES HOLLOW) weaves an unnerving and twisty story about the inescapability of fate… Intertwining narratives dole out pieces of the puzzle in tantalizing bites, ratcheting up the terror to a crescendo of gruesome cosmic horror. The sense of liminal desolation that pervades the novel will send chills down spines. This genre-bending novel will appeal to readers who crave crossing into The Twilight Zone and enjoy a Final Destination-style trope.”—Library Journal

VICTORIOUS BY V. E. SCHWAB | 9781250192233 | 10/6/26

“Victor Vale, an EO, or ExtraOrdinary, resurfaces after three years to reunite his allies around a desperate cause and confront a new adversary, the newly minted director of EON, Dr. Gabriel Gray… Victor’s allies rally around rescuing Sydney, establishing their own, sometimes heart-wrenching, parameters for the term ‘victorious’ in this must-read conclusion to the Villains trilogy (which began with VICIOUS, 2013).”—Booklist

TYRANT LIZARD QUEEN: THE LOVE, LIFE, AND TERROR OF EARTH’S GREATEST CARNIVORE BY RILEY BLACK | 9781250403483 | 10/27/26

“Black (LAST DAYS OF THE DINOSAURS, 2022; WHEN THE EARTH WAS GREEN, 2025) focuses her expert attention and narrative skills on a single female Tyrannosaurus rex, tracking her from hatchling to matriarch… Black’s work is distinctive in that she does not treat dinosaurs as mere fossils. She infuses these creatures with personalities of a sort, including instincts and rivalries, yet without abandoning research that supports those choices. Illustrator Bing’s artwork rounds out the sensory information nicely. For readers who enjoyed Black’s earlier books, TYRANT LIZARD QUEEN promises the same blend of rigor and empathy in a paleontological biography that makes deep time feel personal.”—Booklist