Posts

Scroll on to dig into their insights about bullet journaling, digital planners, cute Disney-themed planners, and more! —Yashvi Peeti Every year I buy a fresh A5 dotted notebook in a fun color and follow the layout I’ve been developing over time to track my progress toward my goals. This notebook is the one for me because of its Goldilocks-perfect size, the built-in index and numbered pages, and the dotted pages for writing or drawing lines....

The bookshop started as the result of a study which revealed that in the UK only 1% of children’s books published contained a BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) main character. Since opening their pop-up bookshop in Brixton, co-founders David Stevens and Aimée Felone had been raising money to remain in their location permanently. I’m happy to see that they will now become permanent, with Round Table Books opening in Brixton in May as an inclusive bookshop serving a vibrant and diverse community....

I am of the opinion that historically based elements of historical romance will always be exciting. However, we shouldn’t forget the discussion around proving accuracy via the author’s note in Vanessa Riley‘s recent piece. Broad debates on historically accurate versus historically based writing in historical romances is not a new discussion. A historical doesn’t have to be historically based for me to enjoy reading it. Does the use of fashion history in clothing descriptions bring me joy?...

Reading was seen as an isolating or social avoidance activity. I suppose in some ways it is because reading is the perfect way to escape, figuratively speaking. Yet no one seemed to understand why I did it. Books never talked over me. Books never judged me. Books allowed me to stop and think in my own time. And with books, I always knew that the drama wasn’t real or personal....

What makes a bully? Are they born one? Or is there a story behind the anger? It’s 1946 and Lymon, the bully from the CSK Honor-winning companion novel Finding Langston, is being raised by his loving grandparents with whom he finds solace and hope in music. But Lymon’s world quickly dissolves. When he’s sent to live with his long-absent mother up north, he loses more than the country life he loves—he loses the version of himself that he knows....

Born in 1948, LaSpina had polio as a baby. When she’s around 13, her family immigrates to New York City. Her father believes that American doctors are the best in the world and might even cure her disability. At NYC’s Hospital for Special Surgery, LaSpina has several procedures and uses a wheelchair for the first time. She’s unsure whether wheelchairs were unavailable in Sicily or her father “didn’t want to see (her) in one” (21)....

The best seasons of Survivor give us contestants to root for and to boo from the safety of our couches. They give us dark horses and favorites who go out early, manipulators both obvious and subtle, players who swear by their families and mean it. Sometimes there are heroes who turn out to be villains all along, and sometimes the villains have hearts of gold. There are people we love to hate (looking at you, Russell Hantz!...

Escape is just the beginning. Twin sisters Becca and Cassie barely got out of the Crazy House alive. Now they’re trained, skilled fighters who fear nothing–not even the all-powerful United regime. Together, the sisters hold the key to defeating the despotic government and freeing the people of the former United States. But to win this war, will the girls have to become the very thing they hate? In this gripping follow-up to James Patterson’s YA blockbuster Crazy House, the world is about to get even crazier....

The person who hates every book they didn’t pick. via GIPHY The person who is always just finishing the book as people are arriving to the discussion. via GIPHY The person who never finishes and gets salty about spoilers. via GIPHY The person who needs you to know they’ve read every book… ever. via GIPHY The person who desperately tries to find symbolism in the most mundane details. via GIPHY The person who waxes poetic about the smell of books every....

As the campaign wore on, and the creators started getting deep with their cuts into the Hellboy back catalog of characters, I realized there was a sizable gap in my knowledge. Hellboy in Mexico? Hellboy in Hell? How did I miss these? So I did what any rational person would do and took advantage of a timely Comixology sale to buy the entire Hellboy catalog. The subsequent binge of the best Hellboy comics actually took longer than the campaign itself, but I emerged with a deeper appreciation of ol’ Hornhead and the satisfying stories creator Mike Mignola and his associates have told....

But! It’s actually not as impossible as you might think. Scholars have already spliced our collective history into major historical eras, so instead of reinventing the wheel, we’ll break this insurmountable task down into manageable bite-sized chunks. If you’ve been wanting to reintroduce yourself to a specific era of history, or would like a starting point to get more familiar with global history in general, then this is the list for you....

Nothing could tear Detective Michael Bennett away from his new bride—except the murder of his best friend. NYPD master homicide investigator Michael Bennett and FBI abduction specialist Emily Parker have a history. When she fails to show at FBI headquarters in Washington, DC, Bennett ventures outside his jurisdiction. The investigation he undertakes is the most brilliant detective work of his career…and the most intensely personal. A portrait begins to emerge of a woman as adept at keeping secrets as forging powerful connections....

There has been a massive uptick in book banning in this last year, starting in July 2021. Now, this trend has been going on for a while, in clear view if you’ve been paying attention. But recently? It’s gone from a few instances here and there, queer books being quietly removed from school shelves, to city governments firing librarians for not pulling queer books from their shelves, parents demanding schools not use books with the barest hint of anything resembling CRT in teaching, even private companies like Barnes & Noble getting pressured to not sell certain books....

A fictional true crime story, Lethal Lit stars Tig Torres, a feisty New York teen returning to her hometown to clear the name of her aunt, who was accused of being the Lit Killer, a serial murderer who killed residents of small town Hollow Falls in methods pulled straight from classic literature. Alex Segura and Monica Gallagher created and wrote the series. And pod giants Einhorn’s Epic Productions (EEP) and iHeart Radio co-created and produced....

As you run the bath remember the bubble bath or bath bomb. For a truly immersive experience, find some that are themed to your book. The MacBath has some cute ones. Whilst the bath runs, you have time to make yourself a nice cup of tea [or your hot beverage of choice]. Think relaxation, unless downing espresso in the bath is your cup of tea. Literary Teas is a good place to start for a bookish teatime....

Quick linguistics moment: while the word “e-mail” dates back to 1982 [collapsed by the Associated Press to just “email” in 2011], it was definitely not in common usage in 1995. Note the use of “mail” instead in the paragraph about Eyes & Editors. Note: The section on The 2000s in this article references J.K. Rowling, as her books were top sellers from 2000 to 2007. The 1990s The 2000s The 2010s In 2012 we entered the world of E L James and her Fifty Shades Trilogy, and say what you will about it, but the popularity of the series did some heavy lifting in making kink and consent part of our normal lexicon....

“Oh hell, it just boils down to: you just can’t explain this sort of basic wonderful stuff to some adults,” once wrote children’s book editor Ursula Nordstrom, best known as the editor-in-chief of Harper & Row’s Books for Boys and Girls from 1940 to 1973. Credited with ushering in an era of children’s books that catered to the child’s emotions and imagination rather than appealing to the norms and values of their parents, Nordstrom’s vision helped publish the likes of Goodnight Moon, Where the Wild Things Are, Stuart Little, Harold and the Purple Crayon, The Giving Tree, and Charlotte’s Web....

The policy was drafted, revised, and voted on in alignment with Utah’s new HB 0374, “Sensitive Materials in Schools,” which was signed into law in late March. Though librarians will have final say in materials purchased for their collections, first, potential purchases must go through a local educational agency governing board. Items will be evaluated by: The new bill also provides guidelines for materials challenges. Utah has been among the most censor-friendly states, thanks to the work of groups like Utah Parents United, who have developed a wealth of resources for parents throughout the state, providing them with book titles to look up in their school library catalogs and how to approach the school with complaints....

There will be times when a client will pick up a book and you’ll want to pry it carefully from their hands, put it back on the shelf, pat their back and say yeah, you don’t really want to read that one, while kindly directing them to a less problematic book. Once in a while a client will say something like “oh, I don’t read women,” and you’ll feel the urge to guarantee (lie) that an author is a man, be confronted months later by the client and play the game of, wow what a terrible bookseller I am, I was convinced they were a man, thanks for letting me know....

From “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks to the The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, popular pieces utilizing a “we,” the rare first person plural, have garnered readers’ attention. Here, I revisit stories entirely or almost entirely in the collective voice. A combination of long-time and fast favorites, these made my mouth gape in wonder, made my cells sing. Thank you, We the Animals, “This Is Paradise,” and Brown Girls, for sweeping me up in your we....