The Best Genre Blending Ya Books

Now, I strongly believe that YA isn’t a genre, although many people often refer to it as such. YA is a marketing term and age category that includes many different genres and sub-genres of writing, and as YA has expanded so have the various genre offerings and creative blending of said genres. It’s a great time to be a reader, because now if you love historical fiction and mystery, sci-fi and romance, or paranormal and mystery, you don’t have to choose!...

December 28, 2022 · 1 min · 135 words · Donald Turnipseed

The Best World War I Books

Note: Most books about WWI are written by white people. Publishing still needs to improve upon diversity and inclusion in this sub-genre. Find More World War I Books Looking for more great nonfiction books? We’ve got recommendations for the best nonfiction book subscription services, and the best history book subscriptions boxes over at TBR, our Tailored Book Recommendations service. Or, sign up for TBR! TBR is a personalized book recommendation service that sends you books you’ll love to read....

December 28, 2022 · 1 min · 164 words · Kevin Hartman

The Bookish Life Of Lee Pace

When the actor was an estimated 18 years, 5 months, and 2 weeks old, he began studies at the highly selective Juilliard School. While earning his four-year degree he was cast as the lead in Romeo and Juliet, as Cassius in Julius Caesar, and in various other roles. His Juilliard cohort included actors Anthony Mackey and Tracie Thoms. He continued to act after graduation, starring in several off-Broadway plays before being cast in the Bryan Fuller–helmed television series Wonderfalls, which shot in Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side....

December 28, 2022 · 3 min · 636 words · George Murray

The Cat S Meow Here Are Your Purr Fect Cat Bookmarks

Whether you love a good magnetic bookmark, a fancy above-the-book-edge bookmark, or just love cute images of sweet or funny felines, look no further. You’ll find that sweet cat bookmark below. Cat bookmarks aren’t enough? Never fear. We’ve got a roundup here of awesome cat notebooks, so you’ll want to purr-use that list for more bookish kitty finds. There’s no use leaving you hanging….you know we’ve also got a list of literary cat names for when you’re itching for inspiration to name your tome-tastic tabby or tortie something with bookish cred....

December 28, 2022 · 1 min · 92 words · James Moynihan

The Ever Growing Challenge Of Getting Books Into Prisons

Throughout the United States, there are about three dozen programs working to establish prison libraries and get books to incarcerated populations. It’s no easy task: most rely on donations and volunteers to keep going, and prison systems often all have varying and often-changing rules. But the work these organizations are doing is vital. The majority of the people who are in prison are coming back into society, and they need to be able to reenter and thrive....

December 28, 2022 · 26 min · 5385 words · Tina Schroeder

The Kidlit Against Anti Aapi Racism Auction Fundraiser

In response to this, a group of Kidlit writers and publishing professionals–organized by the Asian Author Alliance–have organized a fundraising auction to help fight anti-AAPI racism. The auction will run between February 26 at 12 AM EST to February 28 at 11:59 PM PST at the Kidlit Against Anti-AAPI Racism website. You can also find links to more information about anti-AAPI racism in the U.S. there. The items go up at midnight tonight, but many of the donators have already been teasing the offerings on Twitter and Instagram!...

December 28, 2022 · 3 min · 487 words · Sylvia Ayala

The Most Haunted Bookstores And Libraries Around The World

Bestselling authors Natalie D. Richards and Darcy Coates bring us stories that chill us to the bone and keep us up all night reading—haunting reads perfect for Halloween! A hitched ride home in a snowstorm turns sinister when one of the passengers is plotting for the ride to end in disaster in New York Times bestseller Five Total Strangers. From USA Today bestselling gothic horror author Darcy Coates comes The Haunting of Leigh Harker, a chilling story of a quiet house on a forgotten suburban lane that hides a deadly secret… You know that scene in the beginning of Ghostbusters where there’s a ghost librarian at the New York City Public Library?...

December 28, 2022 · 8 min · 1581 words · Merle Courtemanche

The Movie Novelizations You Ve Forgotten About Or Blocked Out Entirely

While that sounds really fun in theory, many of them were…not good. Unlike when a book is adapted to screen, where there are places for creative liberties or artistic choices for what to include or exclude in the new rendering, movie novelizations did not usually craft a story thinking about the principles of good, engaging writing. That’s not to say they’re all bad, but it is to say once you begin to see some of the movies that were novelized during the ’90s, you’ll wonder if those books are actually any good....

December 28, 2022 · 4 min · 708 words · Mary Guerrera

The Portrait In The Attic How Horror Mirrors Society

Horror, or the intention to frighten and/or disgust readers, can appear in any genre. Current horror trends towards the introspective and atmospheric with creeping dread. Ten years ago, horror in fiction was more closely aligned with jump-scare horror popular since the 1980s. One of horror’s mainstays is primordial fear, and the invitation to settle into discomfort. Primordial fear are fears of loss experienced by all beings, such as loss of life and abandonment....

December 28, 2022 · 9 min · 1795 words · Helen Drew

The Processes For Deciding English Language Fiction Prizes

Caine Prize The Caine Prize for African Writing often goes to early-career writers of short fiction. Judges include academics, broadcasters, and writers. The judges and shortlisted authors often reflect a global, diasporic vision of African identity. Writers with a parent who was born in Africa, or is a national of an African country, are eligible. Many shortlisted writers are based in non-African countries. As 2019 chair of judges Peter Kimani has noted, affluent countries are more likely to offer writers support in the forms of residencies and fellowships....

December 28, 2022 · 4 min · 662 words · Paul Vellucci

The Real World Dark Side Of Fairy Tales

This got me thinking of the way nationalists are always trying to draw lines around pieces of culture that they want to claim for themselves to try to define their ‘themness.’ New Balance was proclaimed “the official shoe of white people” by Neo-Nazis until New Balance released a statement saying that as a business they were def not about bigotry. Apparently. Richard Spencer was trying to bring back the high and tight as fascist hair....

December 28, 2022 · 3 min · 638 words · Tony Moore

The Ripped Bodice S Fourth Annual Diversity Report

For the sake of this report, independent publishers are any romance publisher not run or distributed by one of the Big Five—Macmillan, Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Penguin Random House. So Kensington, Bold Strokes Books, Sourcebooks, etc. are considered independent publishers. The report is very straight forward in its numbers, and it’s good to go through the full report to get the complete picture, but here are the main takeaways:...

December 28, 2022 · 3 min · 638 words · Andrew Rodriquez

The Subversive Verse Of Shel Silverstein

Through careful craft choices on the language and thematic level, writers of children’s verse can harness language, form, and theme in tandem to subvert didacticism and explore mischievous “id” desires in the safe space of a book. When I talk about the “id,” I’m referring to the part of ourselves that, according to Freud, is subconsciously drawn to base urges and desires, to inappropriate desires and impulses. The craft decisions made by Shel Silverstein encourage young readers to explore their id, to get in touch with their bad side, effectively normalizing wicked urges as a response to the didactic movement....

December 28, 2022 · 4 min · 833 words · Emily Smith

There Is One Good Fantastic Four Movie Actually

However. Way back in 1962, a Fantastic Four movie was made that, by all appearances, is amazing. Tragically, we can’t see it, because it was made within the Marvel universe, in an issue of the comic. But let’s take a look at the filming of this masterpiece and see if we can’t live vicariously through Marvel’s moviegoing public. The story unfolds in Fantastic Four #9, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....

December 28, 2022 · 6 min · 1124 words · Dwayne Dunford

These 20 Great Books By Latinx Writers Are A Must On Your List

Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn’t matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate from the Dominican. So in 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz....

December 28, 2022 · 10 min · 2060 words · Tiffiny Johnson

Tips For Reading Horror When You Re A Scaredy Cat

Bestselling authors Natalie D. Richards and Darcy Coates bring us stories that chill us to the bone and keep us up all night reading—haunting reads perfect for Halloween! A hitched ride home in a snowstorm turns sinister when one of the passengers is plotting for the ride to end in disaster in New York Times bestseller Five Total Strangers. From USA Today bestselling gothic horror author Darcy Coates comes The Haunting of Leigh Harker, a chilling story of a quiet house on a forgotten suburban lane that hides a deadly secret… My newfound love comes by way of my partner, who loves Halloween and horror in all its forms....

December 28, 2022 · 3 min · 596 words · Frank Middleton

Toni Gayle The Unsung Queen Of Crime Fighting Comics

Toni never even got her own comic. She appeared only as a feature in other comics, starting with Young King Cole. Young King Cole starred Kingston Cole, Jr., a boy genius-type who goes to work in his father’s detective agency. Giving him the lead role was clearly a mistake on the publisher’s part. Out of all the features in this book — including one which, amusingly in hindsight, is called Dr....

December 28, 2022 · 7 min · 1479 words · Helen Dickerson

Trans Sff For Transgender Day Of Remembrance

As I came to mark this day, I couldn’t face composing a list of books about how dark everything feels. There will be time for that. But sometimes we need to temporarily escape this world in order to survive it. So if you, too, need some trans-centric escapism, here’s some speculative fiction by trans writers with trans themes. May She Lay Us Waste by Moss Angel This is the story of a girl monster who lives inside a witch-god called Sea Witch....

December 28, 2022 · 4 min · 651 words · John Gonzalez

Using Books To Teach My Children About Their Other Country

Because we can’t be in two places at once, and travel back there is hard (first because travel anywhere with a toddler and baby is hard, and second because the pandemic and travel restrictions are showing no signs of abating), I’m doing the next best thing to introduce Australia to my kids: reading them books. I’m using books to combat my own homesickness and also to introduce some level of Australianness to them....

December 28, 2022 · 3 min · 486 words · Malcolm Krampitz

Visit The Latvian Embassy Little Free Library

Little Free Libraries come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from miniature Pizza Huts through to tiny TARDISes, and I love them. There’s something intoxicating about people who believe so much in literature and the power of books that they go so far as to put one of these up in their street. You’re good people if you do this, trust me. If you’re handy with a hammer and saw, you can make your own little free library....

December 28, 2022 · 3 min · 501 words · Bryan Ramsey