Audiobooks are fantastic. Little did we know that for all the excitement and predictions for ebooks, it was the lowly, much maligned recorded book that would shine in the digital era. No more 50-cassette binders. No more-multi-CD-changing. And the gold-standard for audiobooks for Audible, especially their subscription plans. And, thanks to Hear, Hear from Macmillan Audio, we have a 12-month Audible subscription to give away to a lucky Book Riot reader....
I started reading comics after my son was born (I’ve written about that here), and Wonder Woman was one of the ones I read religiously. By the time the movie came out, I was well-versed in her comic history, different runs, her origin stories, and my opinions on art and storyline. When I saw the movie, it was just what I needed at that moment in time. The first two years or so of motherhood were very, very hard for me....
I remember jumping rope with my gigi and holding her hand on walks; puttering around my gidaddy’s old electronic shop; going to the circus for the first time with my nana; and watching my grandpa put up a fence. I was lucky as a child to have four living grandparents, three of whom are still alive today, and my daughter is lucky in the same way. She will grow up surrounded by family, knowing how proud they are of her, no matter what....
Which means we’re not only living in the second golden age for television—it’s also a freaking fantastic time to be a reader (and maybe an even better time to be an author? One can dream.) Among the biggest book adaptations news of 2019, Leigh Bardugo’s megahit Six of Crows was picked up for adaptation by Netflix (date TBD, probably not 2020), Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty has a new adaptation in the works for another thriller, and of course, everyone is on the hunt to discover the next Game of Thrones....
“Literature Locked Up” takes a multi-step approach, utilizing in-person events across the US with tools and resources for launching events for those who wish to do so. The website provides a tool kit and templates for bringing attention to prison censorship through resources for social media, as well as more local, on-the-ground coverage. There’s also a petition aimed to get Congress to take action on the largest book ban in America....
Book Riot has done several lists featuring the best books about immigration, the best YA books about immigration, and even the best poems about immigration. As a comic book nerd and the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants, I would be remiss if I did not add my own contribution: the best comic books about immigration! Here, you’ll find a diverse array of comics about immigration: fiction and nonfiction, contemporary and historical, for young readers and for mature ones....
Many excellent nonfiction books about the Beatles exist. I recommend A Hard Day’s Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song by Steve Turner. This book provides a unique, behind-the-scenes look into their songwriting process. The title is a pun on A Hard Day’s Night, the titles of an album, a song, and a movie by the Beatles. From fellow musicians to authors, the Beatles have influenced lots of other artists....
Of course, like much of medieval literature, almost all of the mysteries are set in Europe and are populated by white characters. So I have included a few books by authors of color that have a medieval feel to them, with kingdoms, and conspiracies, and sword fights. So sit back and relax while I get medieval on your TBR! Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed This is the first book in Ahmed’s Arabian Nights–like adventure series based on Arabic mythology....
But wait a minute. Why would you need to buy yourself treats for NaNoWriMo? Isn’t winning a reward in itself? And it can’t really be that hard to write 50,000 words…can it? Yes, my sweet summer child. Yes, it can. You see, NaNoWriMo is an endurance challenge. You have 30 days exactly — from midnight on Nov. 1 to 11:59 P.M. on Nov. 30 — to write 50,000 words. That’s approximately 1,667 words per day, every day, for a whole month....
10 Under-the-Radar Fantasy and Science Fiction Books From 2020 If you’re looking for more under-the-radar reads, check out my list of under-read fairytale retellings, as well as Book Riot’s ongoing series The Best Books You’ve Never Heard Of.
I’m a newcomer to Marvel Unlimited but after giving up on Comixology and because I go through my Hoopla borrows way too quickly, I’m excited to have found another place to get my hands on all the comics I’m dying to read. Obviously this only goes for Marvel titles, which means you’ll still have to find all your DC and indie favorites some other way, but still. It’s basically an all you can eat Marvel buffet....
Book Riot is teaming up with LitNuts for a chance to win a 1-year subscription to Kindle Unlimited! Want more 3 on a YA Theme? We’ve got you covered!
Here are 10 writers of color on what it means to white: “’Eccentric’ being a word…that white people use to describe crazy white people of stature” —Colson Whitehead, The Intuitionist “It’s common for white Americans to position themselves as the neutral arbiters of what is or is not racist and what other Americans are allowed to be angered by.” —Greg Howard, New York Times Magazine “Have you to this point assumed that I am white?...
But I still liked going. There’s something that is fun about walking around and seeing those kinds of rides. We all know the food is actually terrible for you, but everyone still wants to eat it. And the people watching! These types of parks have been part of our society for a long time. And, honestly, I don’t see that ending any time soon. I know most of us are still recovering from last year and the vacations that we didn’t get to take....
For this list, I chose a wide interpretation of “fantasy,” considering anything with fantastical elements, including paranormal. I also attempted to only include series where the first book was published within the last ten years. That — along with the fact that most people are familiar with them — is why you won’t see Rick Riordan or Artemis Fowl on this list of middle grade fantasy books. I also shied away from books that ventured too close to Young Adult territory, despite Janice Hardy’s Healing Wars series being one of my all-time favorites....
If you’re not well-versed in how the Marvel and DC operate, these big crossover events are like pay-per-views in WWE: they save the biggest, most dramatic stories for these events. Alliances shift, heroes and villains die, the landscape of the universe changes in these huge events. They’ve been happening for decades, pulling in new fans and introducing existing fans to characters they didn’t know very well. Want in on the fun?...
The Southern gothic, though, takes place in the American South, specifically, but there’s so much more that the regionalism entails than just its geography. It has all the components of Gothic novels, but it also addresses poverty, alienation, crime, or violence. The causes of these topics are more readily evident in the South than in other regions: its history gives the American South these qualities, and it breeds grotesque settings and eccentric characters through its very nature....
Book Rioter Carole V. Bell noted last year that cozy mysteries are becoming increasingly diverse and, while the genre is unfortunately still dominated by white and straight authors, this trend towards diversity is continuing in 2022. When I compiled similar cozy mystery release lists in 2021, I was unable to find any traditionally published cozies featuring LGBTQ main characters. This year, there are at least four queer cozy mysteries set for publication so far — three from Crooked Lane Books and one from Kensington!...
14 Books About Fashion and Sustainability Ecologist Guide to Fashion: A Green Living Guide by Ruth Styles With years of experience in the field of ecology, The Ecologist brings their expertise to the fashion arena. Styles is quick to lay out the environmental destruction the fashion industry does, highlighting how the cycle of seasonal styles plays a role in the quick turnover and consequent manufacturing and fabrication of new items, which in turn causes additional and unnecessary negative environmental impact....
Recently, I’ve started working my way through the (sometimes extensive) backlists of indie presses I love. This isn’t as common a practice (as far as I know) as reading the backlists of favorite authors, but it brings me a lot of the same satisfaction. Indie presses often have a personality. Some focus on specific kinds of books (poetry, books in translation, etc.), but even small presses that publish a wide variety of genres often have a particular angle, an affinity for certain books....
