Books

I didn’t used to read manga — or romance, or fanfiction. Despite happily consuming YA contemporary and other book that are often judged by literary snobs, I had my own genre hangups. I wasn’t a romance person — until I read Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert and I realized how good it

The Young Adult Library Services Association has announced their Teens’ Top Ten winners of 2022. These books were nominated and voted on by teenagers (ages 12-18) in book groups in 16 schools and libraries, and all the titles were published in 2021. YALSA also has an annotated version of the list available for download, making

October is witchy season, of course, but that doesn’t just mean fantasy novels or paranormal romance — it also extends to real-life witches. Presumably, that’s why a ton of witch nonfiction is on sale right now on Amazon, from history books to witchy interior design to spell books. There’s no indication of how long this

Star Wars is a media empire. Of course, it began with movies in 1977. Now, there are streaming TV shows, video games, more movies, novelizations, and comic books. In fact, there have been Star Wars comic books based on George Lucas’s space opera since 1978, the year after A New Hope first hit theaters. For

November is Native American Heritage Month, the perfect time to stock up on children’s books by Native American and Indigenous authors and to support Native American and Indigenous authors by buying, reading, and recommending their books, though to be clear, it’s always a good time to be reading children’s books by Native American and Indigenous

There’s no other bond quite like the one between sisters. It can be powerful, tense, loving, dramatic — and most of all, complicated. That’s what makes the complex relationship so ripe for exploration and the perfect backdrop for some truly captivating stories, as showcased by these eight thrillers. The literary sisters in these gripping novels

Prepare yourself for an unapologetically diverse book list! All the books on this list are written by authors of color, many are illustrated by artists of color, and most feature characters of color. #sorrynotsorry In all seriousness, creators of color need and deserve our support. The publishing industry is challenging to break into, and that

Finding asexual representation in fiction sometimes feels like looking for a needle in a stack of endless needles. Unlike some other queer representation, asexuality doesn’t always leap off the page. You can’t necessarily tell if a story will include asexual or aromantic representation from the blurb or bio alone, and that’s assuming asexuality is ever

I’ve been a fan of horror films since I was probably too young to watch them. I remember family trips to Blockbuster on Friday nights. Instead of grabbing Disney movies, I worked my way through the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street movies. I’ve watched a lot of horror movies over the

Don’t check that calendar: it is only October, not the end of the year. Regardless, many outlets seem to be racing to see who can release their best of the year lists fastest. Barnes and Noble already posted their Best Books of the Year list earlier this month, but they have just posted a separate

Many years ago as a teen, I heard a quote that really resonated with me: “The reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is that they have a common enemy.” Sam Levenson, an American humorist, said it, and I instantly understood it. My grandmother was so fun, but my mom was a drag. But

Celtic mythology has been a source of inspiration for writers, artists, and historians for centuries. The tales of King Arthur and his knights are perhaps the most famous from the broad collection of stories that fall under the ‘Celtic mythology’ umbrella, but there are many other tales and characters that are just as fascinating, including

Superheroes have been around a long time, and most of the characters and genre conventions are pretty well established. But did every character always look and act the way we expect them to today? In this series, I’ll be looking at the first appearances of iconic superheroes to see what’s familiar, what’s fallen by the

If “book sanctuary” is a new phrase to you, it’s likely because it is a new phrase more broadly. Book sanctuaries are institutions committed to upholding the First Amendment Rights of all citizens, wherein book bans and challenges must follow through a specific procedure to be considered. They are places where books and the right

Barnes & Noble is currently holding a huge Buy One, Get One 50% Off sale applied to hundreds of titles, both in store and online. It includes classics like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, bestsellers of the past few years like Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, and new releases like The Sacrifice by Rin

Bad Sisters on Apple TV+ is an absolute joy of a show. Did I just call a show about a group of sisters trying to kill their brother-in-law a joy? Yes, yes I did. It’s a high stakes feeling show without actually being high stakes, so it’s perfect during our very stressful current times. What

The winners of the 2022 Harvey Awards were announced during New York Comic Con on October 8. The Harvey Awards, which began in 1988, are one of comics’ oldest running and most prestigious awards. They were named after Harvey Kurtzman, an American comics pioneer who is best known for creating MAD magazine in 1952. Outstanding

From Wednesday, October 12th to Tuesday, October 18th, Book Riot will be matching donations to Taller Sallud for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico, up to $2,500 USD. Read on to see why why we’ve chosen to support this organization and for instructions on how to donate. On September 18th, Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto

Angela Lansbury played the mystery author and sleuth Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote for 12 years, along with countless other iconic roles in her life. She passed away in her sleep October 11, 2022, days before her 97th birthday. She was still acting into her 90s, including many bookish roles. She appeared in Disney’s

Every November, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) asks competitors to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Rise to the occasion, and you can consider yourself a NaNoWriMo winner. Don’t be fooled by this competition’s deceptive simplicity, though. This challenge can be brutal, and for every NaNoWriMo winner, there are many, many more who have lost.

New legislation has been introduced that would expand access to school libraries and codify student First Amendment Rights. The Right to Read Act (S. 5064 and H.R. 9056), introduced by Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed and Arizona Representative Raúl Grijalva, would put a certified school librarian in every public school library across the country. Among the

For as long as I can remember, I have been a sucker for a good love story. Romance has always been a favorite genre of mine. When I’m not reading romance, I’m scouting out the romantic subplots lurking within the other genres I read. For reference, I’m the kind of person who made my brothers

We’ve made it to the home stretch of 2022, and while there’s still a ton of 2022 year fun to be had (hello, spooky season and the holidays!), we are winding down to the end of big release season with a lighter slate of offerings in our new YA comics and graphic novels releases. But

The Library of Congress has named 23 U.S. Poet Laureates since the position was renamed in 1985, and they have named their 24th: Ada Limón, author of six poetry collections, five of which have either won or been nominated for a multitude of awards. Limón is only one of eight female poets laureate, and the

Creepy season is in full swing, and it’s time to get those horror novel TBR piles ready. Of course, there are plenty of kinds of horror novels you could pick up to celebrate the best time of the year. You could go for vampires, zombies, monsters… but you know what kind of horror stories really

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — spooky season! I’m not usually one for seasonal decorating, but Halloween is the special holiday that gets me excited to pull out my skeletons and witch hats to spread the spine-chilling cheer. If you love books and the haunting magic of October 31, then these bookish

So why do book banners insist that they don’t ban books? Because the level of doubling down as book banning increases is, on one hand, impressive and on the other hand, is concerning about several key components of literacy. [embedded content][embedded content] During Banned Books Week, Tiffany Justice — one of the founders of Moms

The Swedish Academy has awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature to French writer Annie Ernaux for “the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements, and collective restraints of personal memory.” Ernaux is the author of over thirty works of fiction and memoir and is considered by many to be France’s

USDish is offering a fan of fantasy the opportunity to win $2,000 plus a swag box worth $350. To win the prizes, first a fan must apply and be selected by USDish. They will then be expected to watch 40 hours of the following fantasy TV series over the course of 30 days: Game of

It’s early September as I write this — the school year has just begun and it’s still warm enough for butterfly rompers and flip-flops — and already it’s happening. Bags of Halloween candy are sectioned off at the supermarket. Baking influencers in my Instagram feed are frosting ghost-shaped cookies and monster cake pops. Folks are