Posts

By now, we’ve seen publications and websites guiding you to which books are buzzy and noteworthy. The lists and roundups of the summer’s hottest reads can be overwhelming. How do you know where to start? The good news is there are excellent new releases already out now that you can add to your TBR. Yep, since the beginning of what’s already turned out to be a blockbuster year for books, publishing has started dropping great books steadily since January, each of them vying to be packed in your suitcase....

As always, it’s hard to narrow down the field to just a few poets. Impossible, really. To narrow the field, I’ve gone with very recently released poetry collections. Hopefully that means you won’t have had a chance to read them yet either. That being said, there’s always room for older collections! If you’re interested in Indigenous Pacific poetry but aren’t familiar with any specific names, Mauri Ola is a great place to start....

The first book of the year is kind of like a first day of school outfit—it can set the tone for things to come. My first read of 2020 was A Princess in Theory. An introduction to the prowess of Alyssa Cole with a smart and sexy romance was definitely a good way to go. And it opened up a whole series of Reluctant Royals for me to read throughout the year, as well as all her other books....

Now that you know your TAZ doppelganger, you might want to check out these 50 must-read books by podcasters and these medical history books for Sawbones fans.

Created by Book Riot, this smartly designed reading log consists of entry pages to record stats, impressions, and reviews of each book you read. Evenly interspersed among these entry pages are 12 challenges inspired by Book Riot’s annual Read Harder initiative, which began in 2015 to encourage readers to pick up passed-over books, try out new genres, and choose titles from a wider range of voices and perspectives. Indulge your inner book nerd and read a book about books, get a new perspective on current events by reading a book written by an immigrant, find a hidden gem by reading a book published by an independent press, and so much more....

Meet Libby. The one-tap reading app from OverDrive. By downloading Libby to your smartphone, you can access thousands of eBooks and audiobooks from your library for free anytime and anywhere. You’ll find titles in all genres, ranging from bestsellers, classics, nonfiction, comics and much more. Libby works on Apple and Android devices and is compatible with Kindle. All you need is a library card but you can sample any book in the library collection without one....

TBR is Book Riot’s subscription service offering Tailored Book Recommendations for readers of all stripes. Been dreaming of a “Stitch Fix for books?” Now it’s here! Tell TBR about your reading preferences and what you’re looking for, and sit back while your Bibliologist handpicks recommendations just for you. TBR offers plans to receive hardcover books in the mail or recommendations by email, so there’s an option for every budget. TBR is also available as a gift to give to the readers in your life!...

Meet Libby. The one-tap reading app from OverDrive. By downloading Libby to your smartphone, you can access thousands of eBooks and audiobooks from your library for free anytime and anywhere. You’ll find titles in all genres, ranging from bestsellers, classics, nonfiction, comics and much more. Libby works on Apple and Android devices and is compatible with Kindle. All you need is a library card but you can sample any book in the library collection without one....

via GIPHY “What’s this?” – Jack Skellington I read Ella the book, but it felt weird to be reading about sugarplums when peaches are $0.69 a pound at the store. Which, of course, is hypocritical, because I’m obsessed with Halloween. During my strange annual mental shift (usually mid-June), I start to get the macabre itch, and my ingestion of Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, Richard Matheson, and Daphne du Maurier dramatically increases....

via GIPHY But once they’ve walked out, book in hand, I’m more like: via GIPHY And god help those I’ve recommended her to if they return to tell me how much they enjoyed her work: via GIPHY Just kidding. I don’t hug customers; that would be inappropriate. But I do give them an extensive list of other books and authors they may enjoy, which is kind of like hug, if books could hug....

I know what you’re thinking: Libraries and librarians are boring! They’re all prudish! To that I say, don’t judge a librarian by their profession. Librarians are dope, and we come from all walks of life. Plus, in very cool ways, we can tell you what is and what is not fake news. Because like The Credible Hulk, we always support our arguments with properly documented scholarly sources. Without further ado, here are a few great podcasts featuring libraries and librarians:...

I am writing this post after Season 8, Episode 2 of Game of Thrones has aired. Which, I don’t know about you, but my anxiety levels are through the fucking roof in anticipation of episode 3. I’m half tempted to just treat episode 2 as the final episode, where everyone is drinking and singing and banging and getting knighted and shit. Great job, everyone! What a wonderful show. The end....

Look and Feel Buying Recommendations Reviews Editorial Content Bookish has an editorial staff to write, contract, and otherwise provide editorial content to supplement the site’s core mission to sell books. Elizabeth Gilbert’s response to Philip Roth was a provocative piece to have at launch, and Bookish’s connections to the major publishers and their stables of big name authors might offer it some ability to differentiate itself. Social Integration Bookish relies on Facebook for its social component, though it’s easy enough to disable it from having much access to your Facebook profile....

The leading authority on the science of feline communication explains how you can understand what your cat is trying to tell you — and how you can talk back — for fans of The Lion in the Living Room and The Inner Life of Animals. Have you ever wondered what your cat is saying? Cat sounds have a purpose, and they can carry important messages, whether for us or other cats....

Becoming is an intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by Michelle Obama, the former First Lady of the United States. With wit and candor, Mrs. Obama takes readers inside her remarkable journey from Chicago’s South Side to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, telling her full story—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same....

Queer kids and adults Folx who might be queer People who are not queer Kids and other folx who have queer friends and family members People who don’t know they have queer friends and family members So, to recap, ALL kids need queer books. In fact, all adults need queer books. EVERYONE NEEDS QUEER BOOKS. Unfortunately, it seems there are people who still haven’t gotten the memo. Recently Meryl Wilsner, author of Something to Talk About, tweeted that they were uninvited to a library event because their book is queer....

Childhood and High School Sweetheart Second-Chance Romance Books There’s a reason people say you never forget your first love. These second chance romance books are sure to make you remember how earnest and vulnerable you were with your own childhood or high school sweetheart. Second Chance Romance Books Set in New York City There’s something about the glittering backdrop of NYC that makes it the perfect place for a second-chance romance....

“The article did not provide any sources. But sometimes all it takes is a stroke of luck. Sifting through a newspaper archive one day, I typed a year incorrectly and there it was. The reference to 1977 turned out to have been a typo. In the 6 October 1966 edition of Australian newspaper The Age, a headline jumped out at me: ‘Sunday showing for Tongan castaways’. The story concerned six boys who had been found three weeks earlier on a rocky islet south of Tonga, an island group in the Pacific Ocean....

Where states like Michigan are working toward mandating school librarians, other states are finding themselves removing them all together. This week, Spokane, Washington, officials announced that librarians would be laid off at the end of the school year. This decision by Spokane Public Schools mirrors decisions made in the last few years in Chicago, as well as those more broadly. Ed Week reports in an article from 2018 that over 9,000 school library jobs have been eliminated in the last ten years....

Lee was unquestionably the most famous single individual ever associated with the medium, and tributes have poured in from around the world. But the in-industry tributes are notably more measured, more complex, and more restrained than the broader entertainment ones. This speaks not just to the difficulty comics pros and fans are having with reconciling the loss of someone whose influence and brand have permeated the field so completely, but to the fact that over the decades, Lee has become an increasingly controversial figure, one whose contributions are impossible to measure as much for their murky origins as for their extensiveness....