The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along with series information and the publisher’s book description.
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One book that I’m excited about showed up in the mail last week, but first, here’s what you may have missed since the last one of these features:
- Dominion of the Fallen Cover Reveal — See the covers for the rerelease of Aliette de Bodard’s Dominion of the Fallen trilogy here. (This series includes one of my favorite books of 2017, which won my awards for Best Atmosphere and Best Dragons of the Year.)
On to the latest book on the TBR!
Seasons of Glass & Iron: Stories by Amal El-Mohtar
This collection, which contains 18 short stories and an introduction by the author, will be released on March 24, 2026 (hardcover, ebook, audiobook).
Many of these are award-winning and award-nominated stories. “Seasons of Glass and Iron” won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards for Best Short Story, and both this and “Pockets” were World Fantasy Award finalists. Other acclaimed stories include “Madeleine,” “The Green Book,” and “The Truth About Owls.”
Written over a course of about 15 years, the author’s introduction says that the main thread she found when she looked at these stories together was her love for women.
I’m curious about this one because I enjoyed Amal El-Mohtar’s novella The River Has Roots, a retelling of a murder ballad featuring two sisters and Faerie, as well as the sneak peek at a story from this collection at the end of it (“John Hollowback and the Witch”).
Full of glimpses into gleaming worlds and fairy tales with teeth, Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories is a collection of acclaimed and awarded work from Amal El-Mohtar.
With confidence and style, El-Mohtar guides us through exquisitely told and sharply observed tales about life as it is, was, and could be. Like miscellany from other worlds, these stories are told in letters, diary entries, reference materials, folktales, and lyrical prose.
Full of Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, and Hugo Award-winning and nominated stories, Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories includes “Seasons of Glass and Iron,” “The Green Book,” “Madeleine,” “The Lonely Sea in the Sky,” “And Their Lips Rang with the Sun,” “The Truth About Owls,” “A Hollow Play,” “Anabasis,” “To Follow the Waves,” “John Hollowback and the Witch,” “Florilegia, or, Some Lies About Flowers,” “Pockets,” and more.
