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Buying Books First off, just because I’m no longer reading doesn’t mean I am not going to stop acquiring books (lolsob). Despite the fact that the perennial problem of buying books faster than I can read them is exacerbated a hundredfold, I’ve told myself it’s okay— good, in fact—to keep purchasing a couple books here and there as I am able in support of some of my favorite independent bookstores that are no doubt having a tough time right now....

I would like to pause to commend romance writers. Every time a lady climaxes from hot, feminist, consensual sex in a romance novel, a mythological creature (let’s call it a sexy unicorn) is created. It is elusive and lives shelved in a land far away from literary fiction, and is therefore not likely to be discovered by Very Important White Male Writers. — The Millions (@The_Millions) March 5, 2019 Bad sex scenes are an easy target, a not-so-hot hot take from the literary world....

Schuler Books Schuler Books is much larger than your average indie but still gives off that quirky indie feel. Schuler Books has something for everyone—although most of the books are new and traditionally published, there’s also a section of used books and self-published books by local authors. Books and bookish gifts go hand-in-hand at Schuler Books, and the bookstore also carries things like journals, calendars, toys, movies, magazines, and games. Schuler Books is plugged in and committed to the Grand Rapids community, and their calendar is chock full of events and meetings....

But since it’s October, I thought I’d highlight some of the spookier bookish spots in the Big Apple. I hope you don’t have a problem with ghost writers! (Please clap.) NYC grew from its southernmost tip northward, so let’s start at the bottom and work our way up. We’re starting at Trinity Church, in the Financial District. Now, there’s plenty of Hamilton-related sights in New York (including some spooky ones later on this list!...

Spontaneous, honest, and joyful expressions like this happen when kids recognize themselves in books. In this case, it happened when a girl and her mom visited a Little Free Diverse Library in Arlington, Massachusetts. If you haven’t yet encountered a Little Free Diverse Library (LFDL) in your neighborhood and are wondering what it is, it’s exactly what you think: a Little Free Library (LFL) dedicated to keeping books by BIPOC authors and about BIPOC stories in its collection....

The modern haunted house can be traced all the way back to the gothic novels, with its foggy landscapes and towering dark façades and evils that are intrinsically connected with the nuclear family (e.g. a wife in the attic or an abusive husband). It has been noted, also, that these types of novels tend to have themes at the center that are highly dedicated to ‘women’s issues.’ Horror in general, no matter how alienating towards women, through murder, torture, or gore, has had mainly a fan base of women as women have always, in one way or another, been at the center of these narratives....

12 Lord of the Rings Bookends for Tolkien Fans 18 Stunning Lord of the Rings Art Pieces Cozy Bookish Gifts for the Hobbits in Your Life

Manga Erotica: A Beginner’s Guide to Ecchi & Hentai So what’s the difference between ecchi and hentai? If you’ve been around manga and anime fan communities for any length of time, you’re probably already familiar with one or both of these terms. You may even have heard them used interchangeably. The truth, though, is that ecchi and hentai exist at separate ends of the erotic manga spectrum. Depending on how much erotic content you consume on a regular basis, the differences between the two may seem incredibly subtle or overt....

John St. Clair, Eastern Shoshone Business Council Chairman, had the honor of cutting the ribbon, surrounded by the community. “We are honored that the 125,000th Little Free Library stands on the Wind River Reservation where it will serve Indigenous youth and their families. Giving us even greater joy is that the community members who use this little library will see their own reflections in the characters and books inside,” said Little Free Library Director of Programs Shelby King....

More recently, a number of women writers have opted to use initials – a decision made for J.K. Rowling by Bloomsbury, allegedly because they thought “this book will appeal to both boys and girls” and wanted to “disguise” her identity as a woman. Pen names have a chequered history with the identities of and proper accolades for women writers, feeding into the cultural disbelief that women can create great or popular art....

Welcome to Finale, the final book in Stephanie Garber’s #1 New York Times bestselling Caraval series! It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist. Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend. After uncovering a secret, Scarlett will need to do the impossible....

So obviously The Princess Bride is a very successful move adaptation, but the more I think about that phrase, the less certain I am of what it means. Not to be pretentious, but what is a “successful” adaptation, anyway? That’s the question I seek to answer today. Personally, my standards for a successful adaptation are low. If I enjoyed it, or if it expanded my horizons in any way, then I consider it successful....

Some of the most important relationships in comics are between fathers and sons, to the point where some heroes have more than one father figure. Superman has Jor-El and Jonathan Kent. Batman has Alfred Pennyworth and Thomas Wayne. Spider-Man has Uncle Ben. And that’s not getting into heroes like Iron Man and Thor, whose daddy issues are a part of their characters. Sure, these characters also have mothers, but they are traditionally sidelined to give more room to the father-hero relationship (except, arguably, Spidey’s Aunt May, but his hero’s journey is far more entwined with his deceased uncle than his living aunt, and Ben is the one who gets the iconic line about power and responsibility)....

To start with, my relationship to books is not the same as with everything else: book are treasures, not clutter. They’re greatly shaped too, easy to pile up inside boxes in case I need to move houses again, and I can put them pretty much anywhere. No more space on the bookshelf? It’s okay, I have smaller shelves and tables where they’ll fit great! I have a floor, too, and, as said before, a lot more room for books, since my house is not too cluttered with stuff anymore....

Other Book Riot New Releases Resources This is only scratching the surface of the books out this week! If you want to keep up with all the latest new releases, check out: It’s the perfect venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends, brought back together to celebrate a wedding. A night of food, drinks, and games quickly spirals into a nightmare as secrets get dragged out and relationships are tested. But the house has secrets too....

Ancillary Justice tells the story of Breq, a solider on a quest for vengeance. She used to be an artificial intelligence, Justice of Toren, simultaneously running the massive Radchaai warship of the same name, twenty ancillary units on the planet she was orbiting, as well as the singular unit the narration finds her in. But all of that is taken away from her one day due to the machinations of the Emperor of the Radch....

This is the mental toll caused by living with chronic illness and experiencing its medical repercussions. And the inability to share my experience with others, simply because no one else has lived it and can’t truly know it, sinks me deeper and deeper into darkness and isolation. For most of my life, books weren’t a place where I could see myself. For a long time, they served as an escape from my own life, not a reflection of it....

Think book banning and challenges are overhyped? Think again. It’s a widespread and pervasive problem that happens throughout the United States, and every year, the American Library Association develops a guide to the most frequently challenged titles (you can read through the past few years’ worth of titles and reasons here). I thought it’d be worthwhile to do a roundup of recent challenges and bans, to give a sense of how this is an issue that doesn’t ever go away....

Surely, I can’t be the only one who’s like this. My people are out there somewhere, stewing as someone informs them “I’m borrowing this!” whilst they hold The Book Of M aloft, or go picking through the meat of your shelves like vultures in reverse. Or maybe, just maybe, they’re politely deflecting someone’s offer to “read this book, I loved it! Seriously. Here, take my copy.” No, really. The offer to lend me your book—or someone else’s book, if you figure they won’t mind a little extra “sharing-is-caring”—is very sweet, of that there is no question....

As I discussed in our first profile on Extraño, it can be hard to put queer characters in comics in any kind of chronological order, since many were introduced long before they were acknowledged as queer. Such is the case with Cloud, who debuted in 1983, but who was not canonically acknowledged as belonging to the LGBTQ community until last year. I chose to start our series with Extraño in 1988 because the creator intent and reader experience were both very clear in that case, but regardless of how Cloud was intended to be perceived in 1983, there’s no denying that sometimes they present as male and sometimes they present as female — and that’s been the case almost since their debut....