More Than Hillbilly Elegy The Vast Wealth Of Appalachian Literature

This is the story of my town, and that night, Portsmouth residents saw themselves and their communities on the big screen. We watched our town’s story be told, not just by one person, but by dozens of different people, all with varying perspectives. No singular voice could have told Portsmouth’s complex history, to truly show the bigger picture that embodies the town. Representation for us sounds more like a chorus than a solo....

December 26, 2022 · 4 min · 752 words · Kathy Hankins

My Best Loved Book The Fairy Caravan

While I loved all of Potter’s stories, The Fairy Caravan was special. I remember being read a chapter a night by my grandpa during stays at my grandparents’ house – he was always the best at doing the voices. When I was old enough to read longish books by myself, I read The Fairy Caravan cover to cover, again and again. As you can see from the pictures, my copy has that falling-apart look that a book can only achieve when it’s been truly loved....

December 26, 2022 · 3 min · 616 words · Alan Nicholson

My Journey To Setting A Goal And Reading 100 Books In A Year

Over the last few years, I’ve experienced this joy over and over again with my annual Goodreads reading goal. I used to think of myself as a laboriously slow reader. When I first started tracking my reading in 2013, I read a measly 23 books. Twenty-three! Ugh—that’s less than two a month. But last year, I read 70. That was in large part thanks to setting a reading goal. In 2017, my goal was 40, and I read 45....

December 26, 2022 · 3 min · 601 words · Erin Michaud

Oh They Were Roommates A List Of Roommate Romances

I know, it’s a great premise, right? Tragically, I have no idea where this book is now. And of course there is more than a little bit of sarcasm there because I’m sure it was terrible. To be fair, I wrote it on a Brother Word Processor, saved to a floppy. Both of those pieces of technology have since gone the way of the dodo. I don’t think even the friend who was my beta reader at the time still has it....

December 26, 2022 · 2 min · 303 words · Lucia Tanner

Ohio Becomes Latest State To Attempt To Stop Book Donations To Incarcerated

Last month, we reported on Washington’s Department of Justice’s new policy that banned used book donations from nonprofits from entering into the prison system. This month, it’s been uncovered that officials in Ohio have been working toward banning books donated to prisoners with their own policy changes. Redbird Books is a nonprofit working out of Columbus which sends used book donations to prisoners. The organization was founded in 1999 by a former prisoner named Dan Cahill....

December 26, 2022 · 5 min · 969 words · Jennifer Vayner

Ok Ok I Believe In Magic On Learning To Love Lev Grossman S Trilogy

I’m all for unlikeable characters, but man, I could not get behind Quentin Coldwater as a protagonist. Even the ever-awesome and badass Julia could not get me to enjoy reading The Magician King. Quentin was just so, so awful. This summer, however, people started chattering about The Magician’s Land. (Namely, Rebecca, Jenn, and Josh of Bookrageous.) I started to seriously question whether I had been wrong about these books. I decided to read the last book....

December 26, 2022 · 3 min · 573 words · Jesse Walker

Once Upon A Fracture A Helen Oyeyemi Reading Pathway

Oyeyemi was born in Nigeria and raised in England, and her work often explores the dichotomy of cultures. According to a recent profile by Vulture, Oyeyemi began her literary career as a proclaimed prodigy of the medium; she published her debut at 18. Now 36 and living in Prague, she continues to write about connections and relationships, cleaving and persevering in unordinary circumstances, and finding humanity and belonging in the unknown....

December 26, 2022 · 3 min · 560 words · Arlene Padilla

Pick Your Favorite Teen Movies Get A Ya Book Recommendation

I hope this quiz ranking your favorite teen movies helped you find your next favorite YA book (or at least brightened your day for five minutes). If you want to keep looking for young adult recommendations, take a gander at these love books for teens, this list of 100 YA series, or this collection of the most popular YA books on TikTok.

December 26, 2022 · 1 min · 62 words · Bernadine Lee

Poets Like Mary Oliver 10 Writers For Mary Oliver Fans To Read

While it’s hard to find 10 poets like Mary Oliver in every way, it’s easy to find solace and guidance in the work of many poets. And nature has inspired poetry since the beginning of the form (I’m looking at you, Gilgamesh, with your uncivilized, untamed forests). Poetry is one of the fastest growing genres in terms of book sales, along with being one of the oldest forms of writing in the world....

December 26, 2022 · 6 min · 1211 words · Nelson Bishop

Pumpkin Spice All Things Nice Bookish Fall Decor

Plus, if you’re going to order bookish fall decor, you want it to arrive in time for the season. Trust me when I say you’ll see some Halloween costume ideas appearing soon, too. Whether you’re in full pumpkin spice mode or want to plan how you’ll add some autumnal touches to your home, you’ll want to click, save, and purchase some of this fun fall bookish decor. Note that these items are from Etsy, but beneath the featured images, I’ve linked to some other great fall and Halloween collections that you can also find some sweet bookish goods within....

December 26, 2022 · 4 min · 732 words · Patsy Ingle

Queer Historical Figures Who Need Books Written About Them

Fortunately, more and more books are being published that highlight the lives of queer and BIPOC people alike. The following list contains several queer historical figures who have not yet had books written about their lives, although some of them have written their own autobiographies. Though they are lesser known, these people deserve to have their stories known and celebrated. Alan L. Hart (1890–1962) Dr. Alan L. Hart, also known as Robert Allen Bamford, Jr....

December 26, 2022 · 12 min · 2506 words · Stephanie Baum

Quiz Based On Your 2022 Reading Which 2023 Queer Book Should You Preorder

No matter how you answer these questions, 2023 is a clean slate. Whether you’ve just had the best or the worst reading year of your life, you get to make the rules about what comes next. But sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what you want to change about your reading, even if you know what’s currently working and what isn’t. That’s where this quiz comes in! We could all use a little excitement and inspiration, right?...

December 26, 2022 · 2 min · 225 words · Rose Deguzman

Quiz What Indie Romance Novel Should You Read Next

Despite these many benefits, it can be daunting to know where to start if you want to read an indie romance. There are just so many of them out there. And indie fiction doesn’t receive the same amount of attention from reviewers, which makes it even harder wade through the high number of self-published romances online. Hence this indie romance quiz! Answer the next ten questions about your reading preferences and what you are in the mood for and the quiz will give you a recommendation for your next indie romance read....

December 26, 2022 · 1 min · 160 words · Debra Suber

Quiz Where Should You Travel Next

So on one hand, I’d like to ask you all about your perfect summer day, and give you a travel destination to go with it. But that didn’t feel like enough this time around. Because, after all, too many of us can’t travel right now, or can’t travel safely, or are much too afraid to consider it any time soon. The pandemic has been difficult, and travel plans hardly seem like the most pressing thing on our plate....

December 26, 2022 · 2 min · 321 words · Rebecca Bartholomew

Raising Hell From Faustus To Modern Fantasy We Just Keep Raising Demons

Doctor Faustus On Stage When Christopher Marlowe explored the process of a devil’s bargain in his 1604 play Doctor Faustus, the tale was already in early modern London. From pagan myths about deals with fairies, witches, or gods, to biblical warnings about Satan, bargaining with beings older than time itself was everywhere. The process of summoning is often secret, difficult, and dangerous. Protagonists have to be desperate to even consider a trade....

December 26, 2022 · 7 min · 1330 words · Francis Crawford

Reducing The Environmental Toll Of Paper In The Publishing Industry

Overall, many publishers remain vague about their environmental activities. They often mention lofty intentions rather than firm objectives, and use wishy-washy verbs like “strive”, “embrace”, and “ask” rather than “require”, “commitment”, and “demand”. This article focuses on one major component of publishing’s carbon footprint: paper. Even with the rise of ebooks, paper accounts for a big proportion of carbon emissions – from the trees being felled to the resources needed to process them into paper and the volumes being shipped to and from printers....

December 26, 2022 · 7 min · 1399 words · May Williams

Reissues Bringing Beloved And Under The Radar Ya To New Readers

YA reissues are having a moment—and it couldn’t be soon enough. Reissues take a couple of different forms. There are the books that have either gone out of print and are being brought back to print, or have remained in print but are getting a facelift. Then there are the reissues that are anniversary editions honoring a milestone for the book. Reissues typically—though as you’ll see, not always—have a new cover for a new generation....

December 26, 2022 · 5 min · 869 words · Michael Ellis

Riot Recommendation Tell Us About Great Audiobooks For Book Club

Book clubs are back in action, and so are many other fall activities. Audiobooks are the perfect complement to your busy schedule since you can listen while you do other things (multi-tasking at its best!). You won’t be unprepared for book club again! Listen to new releases such as The Witch Elm by Tana French, Florida, written and read by Lauren Groff or Christina Dalcher’s Vox, and enjoy a whole new book club experience....

December 26, 2022 · 1 min · 181 words · Tina Weaver

Riot Recommendation The 25 Aapi Authors Everyone Should Know

Here are the AAPI authors you think everyone should know! Whether they write fiction, nonfiction, comics, kids’ books, or any other genre, we’re celebrating the diversity within the AAPI community with these reads. You let us know on Facebook and Twitter your favorites, and here are your answers. Get ready to see your TBR multiply!

December 26, 2022 · 1 min · 55 words · Jason Allen

Riot Roundup The Best Books We Read January March 2019

All the Ways Home by Elsie Chapman (Feiwel & Friends, May 28) When the place you were born in used to be “home,” but then wasn’t for many years, but then it’s “home” again? It’s disorienting and surreal and hard. Elsie Chapman captures so much of what that feels like, day to day, in this book. We follow Kaede through grief back to Japan, where he spent part of his childhood and where his father and stepbrother still live....

December 26, 2022 · 25 min · 5314 words · Blanche Mckean