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As my kids have gotten older, I’ve realized that audiobooks can be for the kids as well. When we’re in the witching hour while I try to make dinner and the kids writhe on the floor like starving grubs, I’ve found that audiobooks are great as a means of calming the hangry hoards without having to involve the television or goldfish crackers. Audiobooks for preschoolers also let me turn off “We Sing Silly Songs” on a long car ride when I can’t E-I-E-I-O anymore....

Because I do follow a lot of authors and publishers online, I see a lot of posts featuring celebrities with their books. My first reaction is to be so happy for the author! Because nothing sells books like a celebrity endorsement, intentional or not. (For example, Nicole Richie shared a whole bunch of titles she recently loved!) Thanks to the power of social media, we can learn what a lot of celebrities are reading....

American Royals by Katharine McGee (September 3, 2019, from Random House Books for Young Readers) What if George Washington hadn’t turned down the monarchy? What if the United States of America had a royal family of its own? Meet the Washingtons, America’s royals. There’s Princess Beatrice, the heir apparent, and her wild twin siblings, Samantha and Jefferson, always at the heart of some scandal. But with a stringent social hierarchy, strict royal expectations, and tangled love lives, the three siblings—along with Sam’s best friend and Jeff’s ex—have to ask themselves what they’re willing to do—and what they’re willing to sacrifice—to be American royals....

YA verse novels are nothing new. They’ve been a part of the category of YA for decades, and like other formats and genres, their popularity rises and falls. We are deep into a rise and for that, we’re being rewarded with a rich array of voices, stories, and perspectives. In 2016, I pulled together a list of 100 must-read YA verse novels. The YA world has been treated to an incredible array of new verse novels in the time since, so it feels right to revisit the list and add to it....

For fans of My (Not So) Perfect Life and Jasmine Guillory’s While We Were Dating, a disarmingly fun debut novel follows Carlisa Henton as her life comes undone after a chance meeting with a rising pop star. With fresh and honest prose, Good Morning, Love examines the uncertainty of being a new professional looking to chase a dream while also trying to survive in a world that’s not always kind to ambitious women....

I also want to distinguish between accurate sci-fi in general and sci-fi that correctly predicted the future. Hard science fiction (for example, Andy Weir’s The Martian) is grounded in accurate technical details, but it tells stories that may or may not ever occur in real life. In contrast, the stories below offered scientific and social predictions, even if the authors weren’t trying to be prescient. These science and speculative fiction works captured or exaggerated the zeitgeist of their own times or the near future....

The shortlist will be announced April 2 and the winner will be announced May 20. This is the first year that the prize is known as the International Booker Prize, after the Man Group’s sponsorship came to an end. The prize is now sponsored by Crankstart. — The Booker Prizes (@TheBookerPrizes) February 27, 2020 Ted Hodgkinson, chair of the judges, wrote of the longlist: “What a thrill to share a longlist of such breadth and brilliance, reflecting a cumulative artistry rooted in dialogue between authors and translators, and possessing a power to enlarge the scope of lives encountered on the page, from the epic to the everyday....

The below list is compiled of the best Audible books for 2019 (meaning they were all released this calendar year). From the hugely popular to the lesser known, these will make perfect audiobook gifts for anyone on your list. The Best Audible Books For Your Friend Who Says “I Want to Read More This Year” Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid This is the best Audible gift to give to the friend who swears they want to read more but don’t know how to fit it in their busy schedule....

You might be asking yourself, what’s the difference between Black romance books and other romance novels? Isn’t love just love? Why does Black romance matter? Well, for me, it wasn’t until I was older that I was able to see Black love in literature. As a millennial, I lived through the ’90s and I rarely saw popular Black love books. They weren’t in my supermarket or planted in the front displays of my library....

Besides essays on Book Riot, I love looking for essays on The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Rumpus, and Electric Literature. But there are great nonfiction essays available for free all over the Internet. From contemporary to classic writers and personal essays to researched ones—here are 25 of my favorite nonfiction essays you can read today. “Beware of Feminist Lite” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The author of We Should All Be Feminists writes a short essay explaining the danger of believing men and woman are equal only under certain conditions....

The trailer speaks for itself and you do not need me to restate the various events and story lines that we have to look forward to on the big screen. Instead, I have many questions going into viewing the film. Will Lady Mary and Carson pull off a visit from the King and Queen? What does Carson do in his spare time? Will the Dowager Countess have an appropriate number of one liners?...

Which means my home, a city studio less than 700 square feet in size, holds an even 100 titles, more than recommended by de-cluttering genius Marie Kondo. And this does not even account for the three or four boxes of additional books in my storage unit. I am late to the KonMari method of organization, but—though you may not believe me after that breakdown of my books—I have long tried to apply minimalist practices to what I acquire....

What are middle grade books? But first, what is middle grade? Middle grade books usually are intended for kids between 8 and 12 years old. Some see this category as one that middle graders read, thus the name. But really, anyone can read anything they like and enjoy, no matter the age. Reka Simonsen, executive editor at Atheneum Books for Young Readers, describes middle grade in a way that it “deals with the things kids are going through at those ages: friendships made and lost, family relationships changing, physical changes, a wide range of school experiences, and a growing awareness of the wide world outside of oneself and the injustices it often contains....

Cordelia Koenig intended to breeze through her senior project about her genealogy. All she needs to do is mail in her DNA sample, write about her ancestry results, and get that easy A. But when Cordelia’s GeneQuest results reveal that her father is not the person she thought he was, but a stranger who lives thousands of miles away, her entire world shatters. Now she isn’t sure of anything—not the mother who lied, the man she calls Dad, or the girl staring back at her in the mirror....

Maybe your relationship with technology is fine. Maybe you use it to read books on the Kindle app or on Libby—I have to send my library books to my Kindle because otherwise I’ll start ‘multitasking’ and not absorbing any information. For the sake of argument, let’s assume you are like me and you’ve just realized that you are wasting valuable reading hours getting angry at your relatives on Facebook. There are books about smartphones that can help with that....

Short story anthologies are a great means of getting that sweet boost of book joy, because the best short stories within them are rollercoasters in a teacup; all the thrill and fun of a novel compressed into a few electric pages. For writers, short stories pose a challenge to find the essence of a story, as well as practice pacing, atmosphere, or successfully constructing an entire universe in a small space....

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell Combine Peter Pan with Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and you’ve got Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell. Gwendolyn Allister has spent her life being hustled from pillar to post by her increasingly jumpy mother. Of course, it isn’t until Gwen and her best friend Olivia are kidnapped and taken to the shadowy Neverland that Gwen realises her poor old mum may have had a point. Sea hags, pirates, fairies, and dashing heroes add just the right touch of Panish magic and mayhem to the mix....

It’s becoming more common, thankfully, though still rare enough to be noteworthy, for stories aimed at the younger demographic to have adults not only present but integrated in the story in a positive manner. And while I’m all for showing kids they can kick ass on their own, I find myself drawn to the books wherein the child can lean on a trusted adult even as they find their own way in the world....

Pour your biggest mug of tea and curl up with these witchy winter reads. Ask Baba Yaga: Otherworldly Advice for Everyday Troubles by Taisia Kitaiskaia In age-old Slavic fairy tales, the witch Baba Yaga is sought out by those with a burning need for guidance. In contemporary life, Baba Yaga—a dangerous, slippery oracle—answered earnest questions on The Hairpin for years. These pages collect her most poignant, surreal, and humorous exchanges along with all-new questions and answers for those seeking her mystical advice....

I was one of those people, unfortunately. For years, I had a copy of The Tarot of the Cat People that I kept on the shelf, untouched. Then I decided it was time to learn. Once I started working with the cards, they got less intimidating, and I realized how useful tarot can be as a reflective tool and a way to connect with other people. So if, like me, you’ve been considering learning how to read tarot cards, there’s no better time to start than right now!...