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Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull Written by the co-founder of Pixar Animation, Creativity, Inc. is an inspiring book about creativity in business. This book is for anyone who strives for originality in their work, whether an employee hoping to improve or a manager trying to inspire. Catmull gives insight into how Pixar Animation bolsters creativity in their meetings and “braintrust” sessions where the famous films are developed. I came to this book for advice but stayed for the fascinating peek into Pixar’s explosive environment....

No little deaths here, only slaughter. In The Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami Kenji is hired by an American tourist to take him on a guided trip around Tokyo’s gritty, debauched underbelly. Specialising in financially exploiting the ways in which Western tourists fetishize Japan, Kenji agrees to show this new client, Frank, various adult entertainment bars and clubs. He thinks it’s just another routine tour. However, when this tourist’s demands become increasingly suspicious and unnerving, Kenji realises that he’s being dragged in over his head into a bloody, bleak mess....

A few manhwa series were licensed by North American companies during the manga boom of the early 2000s. The market contraction in the late 2000s saw these series enter licensing limbo. In the years since, manhwa has shifted from print to digital. Today, we more commonly know manhwa as webtoons. If you’d like to learn more about manhwa and webtoons, Rioter Christine wrote this great introduction. Given the transition to an online format, there are several manhwa apps and readers that let you read titles....

These compelling new releases are extremely varied in subject and tone, but they all share one thing in common: They’re written by women with fiercely sharp, smart, unique, and funny voices. So take out your TBR list, and get ready to make some notes! The Furies by Katie Lowe What better setting for a fall read than an all-girls boarding school with a dark and sinister past? In Katie Lowe’s suspenseful debut novel, a group of 16-year-old girls delve into the long-buried history of occult and witch trials at their school, Elm Hollow Academy....

Book Riot is teaming up with Penguin Random House Audio to give away an audiobook bundle to one lucky winner! This bundle includes the following titles: Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki, Monster in the Middle by Tiphanie Yanique, and Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout. To enter, simply fill out the form and subscribe to the Penguin Random House Audio newsletter for a chance to win!...

Here are some I thought looked particularly enjoyable: For the Minis Middle Grade Young Adult Enough to keep you busy for a while? Don’t worry, I’m already on the hunt for more. If you have any recommendations, give me a shout out on Twitter @BookRiot. Fans can even learn to draw The Cat Crusader from easy, illustrated instructions at the back of the book so they can continue the team’s adventures beyond the confines of the back cover....

I can’t be the only one who sat down to do the Twin Peaks re-watch in the last year of reduced social time. With museums and galleries closed, it was a good time to revisit stuff I hadn’t read or watched in years and I made the most of it — but returning to Twin Peaks was the most fun of all. I hadn’t seen the series in more than 15 years and it all came rushing back....

Represent: The Woman’s Guide to Running for Office and Changing the World by June Diane Raphael and Kate Black Part workbook, part how-to guide, this book illustrates the many steps it takes to run for one of the 500,000 elected offices in the United States. From logistics. like where to run and how to fundraise, to more personal issues, like how to approach campaigning as a family, Represent offers a useful and motivating resource for all women thinking about getting into politics....

Looking for even more great new releases? Check out the Indie Press Roundup: 10 Great New Releases for Summer, featuring more Women in Translation recommendations like Grove by Esther Kinsky, translated by Caroline Schmidt!

If you’d like scare yourself silly this instant, we have a treat for you. We collected a group of spine-tingling short horror stories available online for your immediate enjoyment. For free. See how nice we are? (Don’t thank us yet, because this little modern horror collection has some truly gruesome, creepy, and unsettling moments). Grab a mug of something warm and settle in with these short horror stories. But maybe not by yourself....

“You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.” “DADDY“ This has to be one of Plath’s most confessional poems. She wrote this a month after her separation with Ted Hughes. The tone is dark and intensely real. She has referred to her absent father to refer to the universal victimization of women by men. The Holocaust metaphor brings out the legacy of trauma the male of the species leaves behind....

Hypnotic, propulsive, and utterly transporting, Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne forges a new epic, one that puts the forgotten women of Greek mythology back at the heart of the story, as they strive for a better world. at Autostraddle: 5 Books on Lesbian Nuns before Watching Benedetta at Business Insider: 21 Horror Books to Read With the Lights On, From Stephen King Classics to Psychological Thrillers at Electric Literature: 7 Books That Will Make You Think About Motherhood in New Ways at Elite Daily: 8 Books Like Ginny & Georgia That Get Real About Growing Up at Essence: 15 Books You And Your Mom Will Love at InStyle: 9 Nonfiction Books by AAPI Authors That Should be on Your Reading List at Mashable: 10 of the Best Stephen King book Endings at The Millions: The 10 Creepiest Gothic Novels at POPSUGAR: Struggling With Lingering Daydreams About The Lost Apothecary?...

This trope isn’t only popular among books: Audrey Hepburn’s Sabrina, Reese Witherspoon’s Home Again, 70% of Hallmark Channel’s Christmas catalog every single year… There are countless movies in which one of the protagonists returns to their hometown, whether willingly or because they have no choice, and finds love along the way. While there is certainly room for criticism (for a long time, the Venn diagram of Return to Hometown romances that were also Successful City Heroine Leaves It All Behind for a Small Town Man romances was a circle), there is a lot about this trope to love....

These are just a few of the many queer indie press books coming out between now and the end of March. Looking for a poignant exploration of queer parenthood set in a dystopian state? Check. Or maybe you’re in the mood for a mystery about a gay nun. Check. Looking for queer books in translation? Yup, we’ve got those too. I hope you’re ready with your library card or have your favorite indie bookstore’s website cued up, because, you guessed it: it’s time to put in those hold requests and make those preorders!...

Courtly intrigue is fascinating to modern audiences. It is far more romantic than the machinations of Washington played out on C-SPAN. At least medieval courts had knights, wizards, and fealty, which are far more romantic than congressional hearings and pardoning turkeys. Medieval Courts Through the Eyes of Women That said, almost all the legends of King Arthur are male-centric, with the two key female characters—Morgan le Fay and Queen Guinevere—being pigeon-holed as evil sorceress and adulteress, respectively....

So, when I looked at romance novels out in January, I found quite an exciting batch of books in store. As the holidays wind down, we are all given a bit of extra time to recommit to hobbies and routines that can sometimes be difficult to maintain with the business of all those special events we tend to have in the fall. I adore settling into January with cold weather, piles of snow, and plenty of books to keep me occupied....

I’m a big fan of mushing, having had the opportunity to learn how to dogsled back in 2017. Since then, I’ve gotten to go to Alaska and the Yukon Territory to follow a different ultramarathon, the Yukon Quest, which is also about 1,000 miles long and considered by some to be a tougher race. Mushers have welcomed me to their kennels where I’ve gotten to see their wonderful dogs. I’ve been at the front line where the dogs are eager to get racing — sometimes more so than the musher themselves!...

When COVID-19 sweeps through NYC, Jamie Gray is stuck as a driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie delivers to an old acquaintance who works at “an animal rights organization,” and whose team needs a last-minute grunt. What Tom doesn’t tell Jamie is that the animals aren’t on Earth. In an alternate dimension, dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a human-free world. They’re the universe’s largest, most dangerous endangered species, and they’re in trouble....

The Transatlantic Slave Trade As a Brit, I used to always associate the slave trade with America. During the 400 years of transatlantic slavery, the average Brit didn’t come into contact with an enslaved person. Slavery in Britain took place on the Caribbean islands that were part of the British Empire. This is in stark contrast to the U.S., in which enslaved people and citizens came face to face every day....

I’ve been embroidering for a few years now, and it’s an incredibly accessible and fun hobby to begin, no matter how intimidating it looks. Embroidery books are a great way to read about the history of the art form, how to get started, what materials you’ll need, and how to create your own hoop art like the ones you see in the pictures. Whether you’re brand new or a seasoned expert, these embroidery books will give you a starting point or new ideas and patterns to keep creating....