Books

When I was in university, there was a class on the course list that I couldn’t wait to take: an introduction to lesbian literature. Unfortunately, that class was never offered in the years I was there. I did study some queer literature, but I never got to take a class devoted to it. And I

Here are the stories that made news in the world of books and reading this week. The Fiction Longlist for the 2024 National Book Awards The final and most closely-watched longlist for The National Book Awards was announced this morning: the ten nominees in fiction. James is the headliner, though Martyr!, All Fours, and the newly-released Creation Lake have all been getting

Earlier this week we covered the 2024 National Book Awards Longlists for Young People’s Literature and Translated Literature. Now the longlists for Nonfiction, Poetry, and Fiction have also been released, rounding out all the contenders for this year’s awards. The National Book Awards were first established in 1950 to celebrate the best writing in the

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. The Fiction Longlist for the 2024 National Book Awards The final and most closely-watched longlist for The National Book Awards was announced this morning: the ten nominees in fiction. James is the headliner, though Martyr!,

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. How Historical Fiction Redefined the Literary Canon The central data point in this piece on the rise of historical fiction is this: between 1950 and 1980, “about” half of novels that win award-winning novels were

Welcome to The Best of Book Riot, our daily round-up of what’s on offer across our site, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels. Not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone. Welcome to September, where the vibes are all about kids being back in school, many readers are hoping for relief from the

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. In The Shack with Robert Caro Good long read on Robert Caro, The Power Broker at 50, and his progress on the next book. Spending decades on a multi-volume biography feels like a relic of

Tuesday, we covered the announcement of the 2024 National Book Awards Longlist for Young People’s Literature. Since then, this year’s National Book Awards Longlist for Translated Literature has also been released. The ten titles on the longlist were translated from six different languages—Danish, Arabic, Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, and Swedish. They explore everything from “disorienting

We are in the thick of Fall books season, and it shows. There are so many amazing new queer books out in fall 2024, from cozy sapphic fantasy to trans gothic horror to gay sci-fi and more. I’ve highlighted the ten biggest and buzziest releases of September, October, and November below, mostly from authors you

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. ‘Good Omens’: Production Paused On Amazon Drama From Neil Gaiman Good Omens, both the show and the book, is a crown-jewel in the Gaiman-verse. And so news that that season three of the show has

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Richard Powers on What We Do to the Earth and What It Does to Us Hua Hsu writing a long profile of Richard Powers in The New Yorker. Happy Monday to me. I’ve read a

Here is what’s on tap today on Book Riot: We’re nearly a quarter into the 21st century, which means there are hundreds of books published this century with equal chances of being terrible and amazing! Recently, The New York Times released their 100 Best Books of the 21st Century list. This list isn’t exactly controversial, but it’s full

Margaret Kingsbury grew up in a house so crammed with books she couldn’t open a closet door without a book stack tumbling, and she’s brought that same decorative energy to her adult life. Margaret has an MA in English with a concentration in writing and has worked as a bookseller and adjunct English professor. She’s

It’s Sapphic September! It’s always a good time to read sapphic books, in my opinion, but this is a great excuse to recommend some of my favourites. If you want my full reviews on these and hundreds of others, you can check out the Lesbrary, especially the recommendations list. I’ve been reviewing sapphic books there

Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over

Katie’s parents never told her “no” when she asked for a book, which was the start of most of her problems. She has an MLIS from the University of Illinois and works full time as a Circulation & Reference Manager in Illinois. She has a deep-rooted love of all things disturbing, twisted, and terrifying and

Yashvi Peeti is an aspiring writer and an aspiring penguin. She has worked as an editorial intern with Penguin Random House India and HarperCollins Publishers India. She is always up for fangirling over poetry, taking a walk in a park, and painting tiny canvases. You can find her on Instagram @intangible.perception View All posts by

The fight against book bans in schools, public libraries, and elsewhere across the map is ongoing, and the tireless work of keeping books accessible and on shelves has been heaped on the shoulders of many who recognize the negative impact these bans have on communities. Librarian Amanda Jones is one such individual who took a

It’s time for your biweekly mystery goodness—new releases, classics for back-to-school, and news—and I also have a new mystery adaptation to stream. The six-episode limited series The Perfect Couple, adapted from Elin Hilderbrand’s novel, will drop on Netflix tomorrow, September 5th. Set over a wedding weekend, a dead body spoils the festivities—but entertains audiences! Just

Book Riot Managing Editor Vanessa Diaz is a writer and former bookseller from San Diego, CA whose Spanish is even faster than her English. When not reading or writing, she enjoys dreaming up travel itineraries and drinking entirely too much tea. She is a regular co-host on the All the Books podcast who especially loves

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. What We Talk About When We Talk About Spicy Books Ask a hundred people what it means for a book to be spicy, and you’ll probably get a hundred different definitions. The concept of spicy

The calendar is a construct, but the arrival of September really does feel significant. School is back in session, publishing is entering Big Books Season, and folks are fired up and ready to go. Still catching up on the end of summer? Don’t miss this look at the 10 most popular books on Book Riot

Margaret Kingsbury grew up in a house so crammed with books she couldn’t open a closet door without a book stack tumbling, and she’s brought that same decorative energy to her adult life. Margaret has an MA in English with a concentration in writing and has worked as a bookseller and adjunct English professor. She’s

Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over

Did you know that according to a University of Sussex study, reading before bed is the most relaxing activity you can do? It reduces stress by 68%, and the best part is, you only need to read for six minutes to get the benefits. With this in mind, I try to read before I go

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. George RR Martin to Reveal What’s Gone Wrong with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON I think it is time to admit that George RR Martin is messy. As if the plot of Song of Ice and

Katie’s parents never told her “no” when she asked for a book, which was the start of most of her problems. She has a BA in Creative Writing from Lake Forest College and is working towards a master’s degree in library science at U of I. She works full time at a public library reference

As part of hosting the Book Riot Podcast, co-writing Today in Books, while also keeping my own reading train running, I collect interesting book lists. Some I get around to linking to, some I don’t. So here on the precipice of Fall, I offer 42 book lists I’ve collected over the last couple of months.

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She’s the editor/author of (DON’T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. View

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Anti-Racism Author Accused of Plagiarizing Minority Academics Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility flew to the top of bestseller lists in mid-2020 during the height of Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing.