Books

Determining the best audiobooks of all time is a highly subjective process. What makes an audiobook the best? Do they have to have famous narrators or an ensemble cast? Are the most popular audiobooks the best, or do they have to be award-winning to be the best? Audiobooks have come a long way since their

“Fake news” has been the news for years, thanks to a president who helped empower distrust in people and institutions which have experience, expertise, and history in delivering information. But from “fake news” has been the larger discussion of mis- and disinformation, which themselves have been used to weaponize authority. But what exactly does misinformation

As 2022 comes barreling to an end, there’s only one thing I’m looking forward to, my favorite holiday of the year. No, it’s not Christmas. It’s New Year’s Eve. NYE is truly the best holiday because it’s all about optimism. It’s about celebrating everything the last year represented and hoping for the best in the

One of the biggest readers’ choice book awards–and one that certainly captures the excitement and attention of the bookish internet–is the Goodreads Choice Awards. It’s an opportunity for Goodreads users to weigh in on the books they think were the best of the best that year. For 2022, it’s clear that the power of BookTok

I love a good bookish gift and I especially love giving good bookish gifts. While there are so many options out there, as someone who keeps a tight budget on gifting, many of the guides I peruse outside the book world in particular focus on things that are outside my tax bracket. I love my

If you’re a fan of all things Middle-earth, here’s your opportunity to spend the night in the famous Hobbiton. AirBNB is offering three people the chance to win an overnight at The Shire’s New Zealand filming location in March 2023. Although the site has always been open to visitors, this experience is new in celebration

Now that so many of us spend all day on screens, there’s something about using a paper calendar. From bullet journalling to maintaining a wall calendar, having reminders in a physical form can make them more effective — and it’s nice to get a break from screens and pinging reminders. Daily calendars (fun fact: “Page-A-Day

Historically, the New York Times has not been known for its romance novel coverage. Its writing about books tends to skew towards literary fiction and away from anything genre — but especially romance. Things have looked a little different in the past few years, though, as romance novelist Olivia Waite — author of The Lady’s

‘Tis the season for Best Of lists! We’ve discussed the top books of the year according to the New York Times, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and more, and today Buzzfeed has released their own. It was chosen by nine Buzzfeed contributors, reporters, and writers, including our own Margaret Kingsbury! The list is divided into genres,

Don’t worry, there are still a few weeks left to meet your Goodreads (or Storygraph, or reading bujo, or mental) reading goal for the year! Today, though, Goodreads shared some data about this year’s reading challenge. More than 6.5 million people set a Goodreads goal this year, hoping to read a collective 320 million books.

For those of us who love reading both fiction and nonfiction, there’s a certain category of book that combines these loves: nonfiction books about books. While I do sometimes read literary biographies, history, and criticism, there’s a particular category that rules them all. I love the books that dive into the fascinating stories behind literary

I’m a sucker for fairy tale retellings, from Cinderella to LGBTQ and gender-flipped iterations. What can I say? As far as I’m concerned, there are never enough. As long as there are writers and storytellers there will be creative new takes on the classic stories passed down through the generations. One of those stories that

For some reason, I’ve interpreted the umbrella of popular science books to mean speculative books with only a whisper of science in them. A better term, I thought, would be accessible science because these books aren’t fluff, but they aren’t hefty science journals, either.  Popular science books are written for the average person. They are

by Joshua Whitehead While in Toronto, a reporter, having researched me thoroughly, asked: “So Josh, can you tell me how the death of your grandmother has influenced your novel?” Being a fledgling writer at the time, I accommodated the request and reluctantly retold the story of my grandmother’s murder in the sixties — at which

A weakening journalism industry is one arm of the octopus which has allowed book bans and censorship to thrive in the current environment. It’s not just the loss of local news, though. Further contributing is the insistence of calling book censorship a matter of “culture war.” Censorship is not, nor has it ever been, a

The grumpy / sunshine trope is nothing new, but watching Wednesday and Enid becoming the best and unlikeliest of friends in the new Netflix show reminded me of just how much I love that dynamic whether in friendships or romances. There’s just something about a hardened, stoic character being soft for that one overly optimistic

Oprah Daily is the latest to publish its best-of-the-year book list. The list is 45 books long, was handpicked by Oprah Daily‘s editors, and includes fiction and nonfiction titles. The assortment ranges widely, with genres and topics spanning from romance to fantasy, biography to science. It also has a few books in common with other

I’ve been keeping close track of the New York Times bestseller lists for several weeks now, and one thing I’ve noticed is just how much it differs from the “buzziest” books. If I was going based off online buzz, I’d think Babel by R.F. Kuang had the longest time on the bestseller list, and if

More than 150 literary agents signed a letter promising to stop submitting new books to HarperCollins to support striking workers. The letter was organized by KT Literary Agency associate assistant Chelsea Hensley. Among the letter signers are other KT Literary Agency staff, some Aevitas Agency staff, and a number of Janklow & Nesbit staff. In

Are you a pun lover or are you a grinch? I am the first, and even if it is a groaner —like the worst imaginable pun possible — I am still going to appreciate it because of the way language can tell several stories at one time. It should come as little surprise then that

The staff of the New York Times Book Review released their 100 Notable Books of 2022 list a week ago featuring fiction, nonfiction, and poetry titles. They’ve since whittled this list down to 10 for their Best Books of 2022 list that was released today. The list is made of five fiction and five nonfiction

DonorsChoose is a crowdfunding platform where U.S. teachers raise money for classroom projects. Many teachers are looking to expand their classroom libraries. The past two years have seen censorship at an all time high, with diverse books as the target. At the same time, many teachers are leaving the profession from a combination of low

For Cyber Monday, a ton of Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks are on sale for about 60% off, from the basics to the more advanced. The prices listed are all for the physical copies, not PDFs/ebooks! This sale looks to be today only, so whether you’re curious about the game or want to expand your D&D

I’ve been making a few of these cover quizzes lately, from guessing the book by its first edition cover to pixelated sci fi books to Lego-style fantasy novel covers and even covers by their color palette. They’re a lot of fun, so I’ve been keeping an eye out for other variations on this theme that

Have you seen the Puma Rise Tie-Dye Sneakers? They are rainbows for your feet! They’re fun and so colorful they are my favorite thing. I have been wearing them recently whenever I need a little soul lift. They just make me smile the second I look down at them. I’ve always been a person attracted

My parents recently moved across Canada to Vancouver, which is where I’ve been living for the past six years. With them came a box full of my childhood report cards, letters, cards, graduation certificates, and swimming badges. Reading these was like attending a reunion with my childhood self, and among those momentos I came across

If someone in your life has just had a kid, and you’ve been wracking your brain with gift ideas, look no further! Board books are delightful gifts both for the parents and the baby. They are books that can be read to or even read by very small children. The pages are stuck to heavy

As much as possible, I try to not let my reading be guided by challenges and goals. I read what I can, when I can, and I am (mostly) happy about it. But I would be lying if I said that in certain months I don’t try to find ways to add an extra book

I’ve been on the bookish internet for more than 15 years, and in that time, I’ve watched platforms rise and fall. I remember talking about books on Livejournal, for Sappho’s sake. I started a book blog called the Lesbrary in 2011, because I couldn’t find an LGBTQ book blog that wasn’t 90% M/M books. Of

Because of the holiday in the U.S. this week, the roundup of book censorship news and insights will be shorter than usual. Although there are several right-wing groups eager to implement movie-style book ratings to library titles, the reality is, book rating systems are an exercise in futility and bias. Julia Rittenberg does an outstanding