The books are now only available via parental request. In November, the library director Vivian McCain, as well as the library’s Board of Directors, began receiving a number of complaints about “LGBTQ items” in their children’s section. The letters had nearly-identical language, and they sought to have the books removed from the children’s shelves and displays. Central titles in initial complaints were Alex Gino’s George and Rick, two critically-acclaimed books about transgender young people that have been targeted for similar calls for censorship....

The other people he recruited—Lovedeep Dhanoa, 25; Paul Larson, 32; and Gregory Gleesing, 44—have also been sentenced, albeit with considerably less time. Each of the other men got 15 months, 6 months, and 3 years of probation with 4 months of home detention, respectively. The case was investigated by the offices of the United States Postal Inspection Service of Grand Rapids, MI and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Kalamazoo, MI....

Aries (March 21–April 19) Taurus (April 20–May 20) Gemini (May 21–June 20) Cancer (June 21–July 22) Leo (July 23–August 22) Virgo (August 23–September 22) Libra (September 23–October 22) Scorpio (October 23–November 21) Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) Capricorn (December 22–January 19) Aquarius (January 20–February 18) Pisces (February 19–March 20) Looking for more? Check out your December, January, and February horoscopes and book recommendations!

The Whiting Awards, established in 1985, celebrate emerging writers. They recognize early career achievements and come with a $50,000 prize to help writers fulfill their literary promise. The prize money, one of the largest prizes given to emerging writers, is designed to allow the winners to devote themselves full-time to their writing and to encourage risk-taking and experimentation. Prizes are awarded in the areas of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, with an emphasis on work that crosses genre boundaries....

“In 1991, Fred Rogers received a letter from an author working on a book about others’ favorite books. More than likely, it was a book about famous people’s favorite books. But you wouldn’t know it from Mister Rogers’ characteristically gracious typed reply, above. He opens by apologizing for his late reply and expresses his honor at being included in a “book about what people read.” What did the most unassuming and neighborly person on television read?...

Where to Find My Favorite Murder Book Recommendations Hardstark and Kilgariff are both big readers, and they regularly share their favorite books on the podcast and on social media. Follow @myfavoritemurder on Instagram and @MyFavMurder on Twitter and read the episode show notes to stay updated. To see what the individual hosts are reading and posting about, find Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark on Twitter or Instagram. Fiction True Crime Nonfiction Looking for more personalized recommendations?...

At school, no one else came from an interfaith household. My friends outside school were also not interfaith. I literally knew no one else who had a family who went to one side of the family for Hanukkah dinner, and the other side of the family for Christmas dinner. They went to one or the other, and that was it. And books, which I always turned to for companionship, rarely had those stories....

From the bestselling author of Caraval, the first book in a new series. For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings…until she learns that the love of her life will marry another. Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. How far would you go for happily ever after?...

Aries (March 21–April 19) Taurus (April 20–May 20) Gemini (May 21–June 20) Cancer (June 21–July 22) Leo (July 23–August 22) Virgo (August 23–September 22) Libra (September 23–October 22) Scorpio (October 23–November 21) Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) Capricorn (December 22–January 19) Aquarius (January 20–February 18) Pisces (February 19–March 20) Thanks for reading Book Riot’s November 2020 Horoscopes and Book Recommendations! Looking for more? Check out your August, September, and October horoscopes and book recommendations!...

The result was delicious and took me a long time, with more than 40 recipes to try for everything from the perfect taco soup to tasty casseroles to balsamic glazed carrots. While I cooked through the pile of recipes, I also started reading about people who do this kinda thing for a living. Yes Chef by Marcus Samuelsson is a great example of the “chef memoir” genre; it’s one of the reasons I love it....

And I know you’ve heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is fairly common, and it’s easy to understand how winter gets some folks down. Me, I love winter, but I’m allergic to the sun. Capable of burning, not just pinkening (while wearing sunscreen, mind you), in the time it takes to walk across a parking lot, I spend most of my time indoors in the summer, looking longingly at people’s photos of beach vacations and afternoon strolls....

New York Times bestselling authors Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden have teamed up for the first time to create a novel that’s gripping, terrifying and more relevant every day. The Hive follows seventeen-year-old Cassie, who, after being “condemned” on social media, is on the run from a deadly state-sanctioned mob seeking to exact IRL punishment. Aided by a shadowy underground network, Cassie becomes an unlikely heroine, as her search for the truth makes her a threat to the entire unjust system....

Last year, before I picked up the phone to let a customer know their book was ready for them, I was intrigued by the title – Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev and Taeeun Yoo – so I read through it first. I should have had tissues ready! It’s a sweet story about friendship and acceptance and I teared up a little. I think that’s what I love about picture books: how positive and life-affirming they are....

Fiction about sick parents teaches patience, not just for the parent in question but also for oneself. It humanizes the child and takes into consideration their emotional quotient, something that might have gotten excluded from the equation long back. Fiction featuring sick parents definitely can’t shield its readers from life’s punches, but it does help in soldiering through the worst. There is comfort in knowing that even though the day to day mostly feels like waging a war, it also offers its fair share of joys, albeit small and sporadic....

This week: the weird, messy, often misogynistic, rage-packed, bloody, somehow- still-mostly-engaging, considered-essential-by-many 2002 Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, and Scott Williams–created Batman: Hush and the DC animated feature of the same name released July 20, 2019. The Book Originally released as Batman #608–619, the Hush arc is named for its titular villain, a mysterious personage who runs around Gotham and Metropolis wrapped in bandages and a trench coat (as one does), recruiting the members of Batman’s Rogue’s gallery to do crimes that will net both the puppet master and the puppet rewards while attracting the attention of the Bat....

— Rick Riordan (@rickriordan) May 14, 2020 “We can’t say much more at this stage but we are very excited about the idea of a live-action series of the highest quality, following the storyline of the original Percy Jackson five-book series, starting with The Lighting Thief in season one,” said Rick in a tweet after his original announcement. The Lighting Thief is a fantasy-adventure middle grade novel, the first of five novels in Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which follows Percy Jackson who just found out he is a demigod....

Reading at the beach is so common that there is a whole genre built around it: the beach read. These are mostly fun, easy-to-read books that have an engaging enough plot to keep you reading for the whole day. However, fans of all kinds of books would define many different genres as their favorite beach reads. Whether you’re a high fantasy obsessive or exclusively read nonfiction, whatever book you decide to bring is a beach read....

Rich socialite, inveterate flirt, and walking disaster Tennalhin Halkana can read minds. Conscripted into the military under dubious circumstances, Tennal is placed into the care of Lieutenant Surit Yeni, a duty-bound soldier, principled leader, and the son of a notorious traitor general. Whereas Tennal can read minds, Surit can influence them. Surit accepted a suspicious promotion-track request out of desperation, but he refuses to go through with his illegal orders to sync and control an unconsenting Tennal....

Candice Carty-Williams returns with another witty and insightful novel about the power of family—even when they seem like strangers. Dimple Pennington knows of her half siblings, but she doesn’t really know them. Five people who don’t have anything in common except for faint memories of being driven through Brixton in their dad’s gold jeep, and some complex abandonment issues. But then a dramatic event brings her half siblings Nikisha, Danny, Lizzie, and Prynce crashing back into her life....

Jade, Jenny, Mads, and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of—until the night of Jade’s sweet sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Jade as their next target. They picked the wrong girl. Sworn to vengeance, Jade transfers to St. Andrew’s Prep. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one....