Now that audiobooks lovers can easily download titles to smartphones via a number of apps, audiobook innovation is more about the production of the audiobook’s content as opposed to how we listen to audio content. Early on, we saw companies like Full Cast Audio changing the way we thought stories could be told. As graphic novels and comics have become more popular, producers began tackling how to adapt a primarily visual medium to audio....
I think that’s why I find myself to be so drawn to these picture book biographies of various authors. They take many different approaches: some are paragraphs of facts, but some are like poems that tell one element of an author’s life that illuminates the rest. There’s admin and there’s attic-dreaming. These books, I think, can be a way to make creativity accessible to small children. We talk a lot about representation in children’s books, and STEM careers can sometimes seem to get the flashier picture books, but I like that these picture books show children that they can use their words to describe their inner and outer worlds....
You really seemed to understand how puzzling the adult world can be to a little girl. I recall feeling relieved as I read how Ramona also threw fits to get what she wanted, felt frustrated when adults were distracted, and sometimes was so angry that she pounded her feet on her bedroom wall and reveled in the fact that her oxfords left scuff marks on the walls. Now, I read your books and remind myself that children are complex little people with real feelings who are simply trying to figure out a world in which they are the smallest and the most impatient....
“The Cinnamon Peeler” by Michael Ondaatje Excerpt: “Hum for the Bolt” by Jamaal May (the sexiest poem about lightning you’re evah gonna read) Your breasts and shoulders would reek Excerpt: “Come Slowly- Eden!” by Emily Dickinson crumpling a man struck between spaulder and helm. But now, with the rain making a noisy erasure of this town, it is the flash that arrives Excerpt: “Warming Her Pearls” by Carol Ann Duffy Excerpt: “Naming of Parts” by Henry Reed resting in the Yellow Room, contemplating silk or taffeta, which gown tonight?...
This kind of language tempts us to think of ourselves as unique—in our personal experiences and in our moment in history. If there is one thing literature can do for us, it is to remind us that we are not unique, and therefore we are not alone. Literature is powerful because it speaks to the human condition. It reflects our circumstances and gives meaning to them.The details might be new, but the experiences of fear, isolation, boredom, anxiety, and longing for safety are not....
There are a multitude of popular teen books coming out in 2022; some standalones or debuts that young readers have been posting about for months, others continuing beloved stories that have already built up a dedicated fanbase. With a mix of fantasy, contemporary, romance and thriller, 2022 will see the publication of a wide variety of books that will appeal to teen readers of all tastes. Read on for a small sampling of the many brilliant books that are due to be released this year – our to-be-read piles will be even taller once 2022 is done....
If you liked… The Library Book by Susan Orlean Part history book, part memoir, part detective novel, The Library Book defies genre boundaries. Orlean provides a fascinating account of the mysterious fire that devastated the L.A. public library in 1986. Interwoven with this tale is the history of public libraries more generally and the role they play in society and her own life. Not to be missed by library lovers anywhere....
Unfortunately, lesbian manga and LGBTQ manga in general is harder to find, as is any lesbian or yuri manga with adult main characters. Yuri manga continues to be dominated by schoolgirl stories, which makes sense if you are familiar with the history of the genre. It’s also historically been more acceptable in Japan for girls to “play” at romance with each other (especially in all-girls schools), with the expectation that they would grow up to be with men....
2020 is a big year for Sarah J. Maas. Her first adult fantasy debut released in early March, titled House of Earth and Blood. Those who enjoyed Maas’s previous two series of adventure, romance, and the fae, will no doubt enjoy this new series as well. Though do keep in mind that this new series is adult with a capital “A.” Maas also recently announced that she is working on a new book in the A Court of Thrones and Roses universe....
Whether you’re Android or iOS, smartphone or tablet, keep your charger close, take your pick of these excellent free reading apps, and you’ll never be without something to read again. (This post was updated in 2022.) Looking for reading apps for kids? Get them here. Book clubs have their own apps too! And here are even more great apps to support your reading life.
Meet Hilda: explorer, adventurer, avid sketchbook-keeper and friend to almost every creature in the valley! Join our beloved heroine as she encounters her very first troll, negotiates peace with some very persnickety elves, and reunites two lovelorn ancient giants. Fantastic creatures and daring adventures are all just part of another average day for Hilda, but what will she do if she is forced to move to Trolberg city, far away from her beloved valley home?...
I haven’t even mentioned all of the amazing authors of queer books you already love who have new books out this month, like Nina LaCour’s first adult fiction book, Akwaeke Emezi’s foray into romance, and Casey McQuiston’s YA debut. So get ready to fall for some bisexual disasters, nonbinary chefs, and sapphic witches. And what better way to ring in Pride month than with a picture book called ‘Twas the Night Before Pride?...
The books on this list embody alternative innovations. That’s what at the heart of so many queer found families: we build new worlds when the old one no longer fits. All of these books, in one way or another, remind me of Vuong’s assertion that being queer made him curious, that queerness is not a deprivation. There are, happily, too many queer found family books to include them all in one list....
Spring 2020 Novels Looking for more books you missed beyond these spring 2020 novels? Stay tuned for more books in different genres that were published at the start of the pandemic, coming soon! Now years later, a student has come forward with allegations against Strane. When she contacts Vanessa, asking her to speak out as well, Vanessa must rediscover if the relationship was consensual, as she interprets it to be, or will she come to terms with a past that she does not want to accept....
Top Mystery Books: The Cozy Mystery Book Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (Avg Rating 4.05) Is there a cozier mystery writer than Agatha Christie? She’s a prolific mystery writer whose work spanned decades and has stood the test of time. The first in a series of mysteries starring beloved female detective, Miss Jane Marple, takes place in a small town where the town’s hated magistrate is shot through the head....
Beau Devereaux is the only child of a powerful family. Handsome. Charming. Intelligent. The “prince” of St. Benedict is the ultimate catch. He is also a psychopath. A dirty family secret buried for years, Beau’s evil grows unchecked. In the shadows of the ruined St. Francis Abbey, he commits unspeakable acts. Senior year, Beau sets his sights on his girlfriend’s twin sister, Leslie. Everything he wants but cannot have, she will be his ultimate prize....
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New Fantasy Books: 2020 Collections & Anthologies New Fantasy Books: 2020 Novellas Under the umbrella of new fantasy books, there’s new fantasy short books. This list will focus on novellas published as books. It’s important to note that, while all of the below are from Tor.com publishing (as they publish novellas as individual books), it is by no means the only place to find fantasy novellas. I recommend Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Clarkesworld for magazines that publish fantasy novellas in their issues and/or online....
(I also did a list of best fantasy audio books last year, if you’re looking for something with a little more actual magic.) This list will take you from the alternate past to the far future, from hard science fiction to bananapants space opera to science fantasy. The great thing about this genre is that it can go in so many different directions! Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers, narrated by Rachel Dulude Technically part of a series, but this book is pretty stand alone in my opinion....
Kids’ Books with Third Person POV Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel Did you even have a childhood if you didn’t read at least one book about Frog and Toad? Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie “To live will be an awfully big adventure.” The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak This modern classic is narrated by Death. It tells the story of Leisal Meminger, a girl living in Holocaust-era Munich who discovers the power of books....
