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They have to be engaging enough to keep you awake but lowkey enough to read that if you do doze, you can find your place and pick up the narrative again with ease. And certainly, they have to be relatively cozy, relatively sunny, or at least not emotionally devastating, to match the mood. In other words, they have to be a fun time. With all that in mind, I’ve picked nine books here that I think are the perfect books to read in a hammock, while swaying in the wind and enjoying the weather....

1) Spend Time With Their Articles This probably sounds thuddingly obvious. But for online journalism, page views and time spent per page help publications to understand which topics resonate with readers, which stories to keep commissioning, and sometimes which journalists to reward more. If, like me, your usual approach to reading a web article is to race through it like you’re a ruggedly sexy adventurer sprinting off a collapsing bridge, I feel you....

What Is A Novelette? The short answer is, it’s longer than a short story but shorter than a novella. To get more specific, with thanks to MasterClass: Short stories generally have a word count of 1,000 to 7,500. That doesn’t include flash fiction, or stories of under 1,000 words. (Side note, will we ever get a flash fiction award category?) Fiction is considered a novelette at word counts of 7,500 to 17,000 or 19,000, depending on what source(s) you look at....

“Nonbooks” “I am vexed that my essays only serve the ladies for a common movable, a book to lay in the parlor window…” writes Michel de Montaigne in his 1580 essay Upon Some Verses of Virgil, one of the first references to a book used as a decoration rather than one picked up and read. Later, in 1759, Laurence Sterne references Montaigne’s comment in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman saying his work would, “in the end, prove the very thing Montaigne dreaded his Essays should turn out, that is, a book for a parlor window” — books not used for reading, but rather for display....

Some dynamic duos immediately come to mind. Iconic pairings like Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, Aang and Appa, or Shrek and Donkey model unmatched levels of friendship and loyalty. Let’s be honest, comics and animation are wonderful mediums for magical companions of all kinds without the limitations of practical effects or CGI. Although these modern pairings are prolific, the concept of characters having a fantasy animal companion is not new. Humans have always been fascinated by fantastical beasts and partnerships built on non-verbal communication....

I’ve thought a lot about this, especially for those friends who need an extra push to read. Over the years, I’ve come up with a few prompts on how I can convince them to read a certain book. I’m going to share a few fill-in-the-blanks templates for you, which I hope will help you spread the word about the amazingness that is books. They’re general and will rely on your own brand of storytelling to convince your friends....

“At the Bird Library in Virginia, birds (and the occasional squirrel) come and go, leaving with seeds and fruits instead of books. It’s not actually a library, but a bird feeder that anyone can watch on a 24/7 livestream. According to librarian Rebecca Flowers, she and woodworker Kevin Cwalina built the bird feeder five years ago after seeing The Piip Show, a popular-but-now-defunct livestream in Norway with the same concept, but set in a cafe....

Since I owed my dogs a long walk, I thought I’d see how many LFLs I could get to on foot in a loop around my house. I found a map of the ones in my city and the surrounding area, and it turns out that there are almost 400 of them! There are more in the wealthier areas of the city, as well as downtown, but I did find nine that were within walking distance....

For one, Catholic Vote, the group that started the “Hide the Pride” campaign, has put out a self-congratulatory update with photos of Pride displays (before) and empty shelves (after). One of the people who wrote in checked out 52 books. Multiple librarians, both in public libraries and school libraries, have discussed on social media seeing this tactic used in their library. Some of the “Hide the Pride” people leave a letter in the books’ place that explains that they’re protesting the existence of Pride displays and even carrying LGBTQ books at all....

I am from Colorado, one of those flyover states. I am the child of people from mountain towns not much bigger size of my suburban high school. I studied English at a land grant university, and I have worked on multiple horse farms. Now I live in Chicago and spend time when I can with friends in the rural parts of Wisconsin. Because of where I am from and where I am now, I am often leery of those from the coasts who write about the interior of the country....

The book was optioned for adaptation upon release and at last night’s BET Awards, the film’s first teaser trailer was released. On The Come Up will hit Paramount+ streaming sometime soon, and it stars Jamila C. Gray as Bri, as well as Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Method Man, Mike Epps, and more. The film was directed by star Sanaa Lathan (Succession) and adapted by Kay Oyegun (This Is Us). — Paramount+ (@paramountplus) June 27, 2022 Thomas expressed her excitement and gratitude for the BET Awards sharing the trailer Thomas’s debut novel The Hate U Give was a box office success, bringing in close to $35 million....

If you’re fired up about the attack on abortion rights—or even if you’re not sure about it but would like to read more about this, here’s a list of books that might be helpful. Poor Your Soul by Mira Ptacin This is a gutting memoir of Ptacin’s unplanned pregnancy at 28 and her decision to keep the pregnancy and start a family—only to find that the fetus had multiple conditions not compatible with life....

However, whenever a cover is revealed that readers don’t like, the author bears the brunt of the criticism. Which is frustrating because, usually, they have little to no input on the cover. Most of the time in traditional publishing the author gets an email that says, “Here’s your cover! We hope you like it.” Sometimes an author will get to give input that may or may not be used in the design....

Persepolis is a highly acclaimed graphic memoir of the author’s life growing up in Iran, and the emails showed that the title had been removed from schools without following the formal process for challenging a book. News of the banning caused a public outcry, especially after Dapier brought his finding to the news and the ALA. The ALA later awarded Dapier the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award for “defending the principles of intellectual freedom....

In a letter sent to Barnes & Noble’s 23,000+ employees on March 17, prior to closing the majority of their stores, CEO James Daunt warned that layoffs may be inevitable. “With the closure of stores, we are obliged to make the hardest of choices,” Daunt warned, adding that Barnes & Noble does not have the resources necessary to continue paying employees as other companies have promised, including Apple, Nike, Patagonia, and REI....

Best Sentences in Pride and Prejudice “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” I know, I know, it’s overplayed—but it’s brilliant! Are there any universally acknowledged truths? Austen thinks not. And she’s about to mock (lovingly) just how much polite society hinges upon our beloved supposed truths. “What are men to rocks and mountains?...

While I do also read a lot of dark romances, this isn’t the place for them. (Click here if that’s what you’re looking for). You may have read some of the books in this article before; however, I’ve also included my lesser-known favourites, so hopefully there’s something for everyone. I’ve divided them up into YA love story books, fantasy, historical, and contemporary if you want to skip directly to the genre you like best....

You can find out more about these five books here 📚🇯🇵👇https://t.co/IbeCtVnSMR pic.twitter.com/SUh6WHU0XV — VINTAGE Books (@vintagebooks) October 23, 2019 Vintage Classic Japanese Series This series feature five masterpieces of Japanese fiction in gorgeous new gift editions. The titles in this series include The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, Out by Natsuo Kirino, The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki and The Sailor Who Fell from Grace With the Sea by Yukio Mishima....

Indie Books for the “Empty” Spaces on Your Shelf Angry Black Girl by Elexus Jionde This title may scare a lot of people away, but as Solange told me, “I got a lot to be mad about.” If you’re wondering why a lot of us black girls (and women) are so angry, this collection of essays on race, gender, and America may clue you in. If you’re ready to dive deep into blackness, also check out Jionde’s The A–Z Guide to Black Oppression for informative and entertaining essays that highlight the systems of oppression that have and continue to endanger black Americans....

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....