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Luckily, there has been a slew of new releases this spring that hit both marks—not only are they compelling and highly entertaining, but they’ll also look damn good sitting on your nightstand or bookcases. Below, check out six brand new novels that will add a little color to these dark times. Perfect Tunes by Emily Gould In this eye-catching new book, an aspiring songwriter moves to New York to pursue her musical dreams, only to become embroiled in a passionate but tumultuous relationship....

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal This modern-day Pakistani retelling of Pride and Prejudice introduces us to Alys Binat, a young English teacher who’s sworn to never marry. But when the Binat family lands an invitation to the biggest wedding of the year, her mother is sure it’s her chance to see all her daughters happily married. Alys’ isn’t so sure. Especially when she meets Mr. Darsee whose brusque manner and insults immediately sour their relationship....

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, Narrated by Jenny Sterlin If you’re looking for a story that feels like an adorable fairytale, look no further than Diana Wynne Jones. Jones writes stories that on the outset seem simple, but once you start peeling back the layers, you realize how complex her work really is. Howl’s Moving Castle mesmerized me from the first few pages. Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an old woman when she crosses paths with a witch....

Nicole Givens Kurtz A genre polymath who does crime, horror, and SFF, she brings a delightfully pulpy twist to everything she writes, whether it’s mashing up fantasy or science fiction with mystery or penning weird westerns. (Her website is here.) But if you give one book a shot… Zig Zag Claybourne An essayist and short story writer with an absolutely irrepressible sense of humor and a determination to have fun in spite of any slings and arrows the world might throw his way....

New York Times bestselling authors Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden have teamed up for the first time to create a novel that’s gripping, terrifying and more relevant every day. The Hive follows seventeen-year-old Cassie, who, after being “condemned” on social media, is on the run from a deadly state-sanctioned mob seeking to exact IRL punishment. Aided by a shadowy underground network, Cassie becomes an unlikely heroine, as her search for the truth makes her a threat to the entire unjust system....

Here are some helpful resources to get us all started. ABC Mindful Me by Christiane Engel Preschool–1 Buddha at Bedtime: Tales of Love and Wisdom for You to Read with Your Child to Enchant, Enlighten and Inspire by Dharmachari Nagaraja Ages 4–8 This bedtime book offers 20 bedtime tales like “The Grateful Bull” and “Goblin Island” for children to drift off to. The tales use ancient wisdom to teach about morals and living a good life....

Some of the books also explore the psychological side of being a clown or dealing with the mysteries of a carnival experience, which at times leads to a dark decline of the character’s psyche, leaving us wondering what hides behind that smile and laughter. While I love all these books that I selected to feature, I would love to see more of these books by women and authors of color....

Twin sisters Sunshine and Margot are as different as chalk and cheese, but what they do have in common is a complete lack of luck when it comes to love. Emotionally stunted by a mother who dropped everything to follow boyfriend after boyfriend, the sisters have ever only had each other for support and to share a pint of post-heartache ice cream. When Margot, an etiquette specialist, is hired to work with Bianca, an icon from Hollywood’s Golden Age with romantic entanglements of her own, she and Sunshine become the daughters she never had, and their friendship teaches them how to embrace the quirks that make them unique, and how to demand the love they deserve just as they are....

Of all things, I never thought I’d miss the New York City subway so freaking much. I didn’t realize until it was gone just how much time I spent on my daily commute reading. It makes sense; snuggling into a good book generally kept me blissfully unaware of just how tightly I was packed like a sardine into a metallic tube hurtling underground at 40 miles per hour. But there’s no more tightly packed anything, and my daily commute now consists of walking the 12 feet from my bedroom to the tiny desk in the corner of my apartment....

Here to look for book review podcasts to listen to while on commute or while doing other stuff at home or work? Look no further because I’ve got lots of them in this list. These book review podcasts release episodes weekly (or bi-weekly), with an exception to one, feature diverse authors, and underrepresented genres. What’s more, some of the book review podcasts below have lively author discussions that allow for authors to tell more about their books, their writerly lives, and their writing process, among other things....

Currently, having a codependency is not something health professionals can diagnose. It took me years to realize that I have it in the form of unhealthy attachments: I used to get easily attached to people I met. In 2016, fresh from college, lonely, and naïve about the world around me, I became emotionally close to a colleague who had become a friend. When I left the company, I couldn’t help but feel sad that I shed tears walking out of the office one last time....

For the Marvel-phile: Marvel Unlimited Plus Even if your favorite comic nerd has their Friendly Local Comic Shop (FLCS) pull every single title for them every Wednesday, even if they’ve got a collection that stretches back to when they were swiping dollars off the kitchen counter in high school to fund it, they need Marvel Unlimited Plus. And for comic geeks like myself who want to keep up with Marvel, but can only go the FLCS every few months, it’s a lifesaver....

Of particular interest are the things the review got wrong. Commendably, the editors of Books of the Century not only chose to include critical missteps, but they even highlighted them (calling them “Oops!” entries). Here are a few highlights On Henry James’ The Golden Bowl: It seems to me to present Mr. James at his worst…We find, standing for subtlety, a kind of restless finicking inquisitiveness, a flutter of aimless conjecture, such as might fall to a village spinster in a department store....

The bosom that suffers from extreme underboob sweat whenever I venture out for a summer barbecue or a brief walk around the block. Sure, I could be persuaded to take a quick trip to the beach, dip my toes into the water, and spend the rest of the time reading in my beach chair, as long as you promised we could leave for home two hours later — three hours, max....

These are just a few exciting titles that have come out in 2020 and 2021. If you want more titles, check out this list of exciting cozies for the first half of 2021. Here’s a list of 25 of the best cozy series and ten scrumptious food murder mystery cozies.

WandaVision is the newest hit from the MCU, giving viewers a fresh, funny and incredibly sinister story full of twists and turns, particularly of the witchy variety. Wanda Maximoff is referred to as ‘Scarlet Witch’ for the very first time in the cinematic adaptations, by another powerful witch, Agatha Harkness. In the latter episodes of the series, we see these two women, each with their own brand of dangerous magic, facing off against each other to achieve their respective goals....

In honor of Evans’s new freedom of diction, we thought we’d recommend some sweary bookish roles for this self-professed literature nerd. Eric Carter (Eric Carter Series by Stephen Blackmoore) A necromancer with a heart of extremely tarnished silver (at best) Eric Carter stomps through the ugly bits of L.A., the cartel infested parts of Mexico, and Míctlan, which is an extremely disturbing underworld, doing whatever he must to survive. The series is a sublimely horror-tinged mix of L....

It can be hard to break out of the patterns of overworking because so much around us fuels and rewards it. We are supposed to work more, earn more and want more, right? We don’t have to. Not many people are telling us that because slowing down isn’t good for the economy. What’s worse is that rest is actively looked down upon. People seen taking multiple breaks or not going the extra mile for work can be termed “lazy....

These books show us how women’s bodies have been the scapegoats of patriarchy in most scenarios. Science, which prides itself on its objective analysis, fails to deliver the justice and dignity that women deserve. But time has come to denounce the myths that may keep women from being able to take care of their health because of misinformation. These books teach us how to be proactive and not trust the system that benefits from women’s oppression....

Each of these books is full of practical advice for everything from networking to personal branding, business ethics, creative inspiration, work-life balance, and more. They are full of fresh advice for a modern workplace. Some are specifically geared toward artists, thinkers, makers, and founders, and others are just a wonderful place to draw inspiration and advice. Enjoy! Little Black Book: A Toolkit for Working Women by Otegha Uwagba This is a slim, no-nonsense guide packed with everything you need to succeed in the workplace....