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56% of respondents admitted that they choose at least one “serious” book for their summer TBR to seem more intelligent. Perhaps that pick is a history book, since 36% said they try to learn about history in the summer. One stat that will likely surprise readers is that more men than women are planning on including romantic reads in their summer books plans: 56% of men vs 37% of women (no numbers were provided for non-binary participants)....

While Makerspace and technology skills are a huge and vital part of the curriculum I share with my students, my personal mission in the library is to develop a love of reading. This means I am constantly working to stay up to date on new titles, carefully monitoring which books are most often checked out, talking with students about their interests, and fighting to keep empty space reserved for nothing but free reading....

We’re giving away $250 to spend at Barnes and Noble! All you have to do is sign-up for our Giveaways newsletter and get notified every time we run a giveaway for free books and bookish stuff! Want more “3 on a YA Theme posts”? We’ve got you covered!

Susan Dennard’s Windwitch, the follow-up to the New York Times bestselling novel Truthwitch is now in paperback! After an explosion destroys his ship, the world believes Prince Merik, Windwitch, is dead. Scarred yet alive, Merik is determined to prove his sister’s treachery. Upon reaching the royal capital, crowded with refugees, he haunts the streets, fighting for the weak—which leads to whispers of a disfigured demigod, the Fury, who brings justice to the oppressed....

Bill Clegg returns with a deeply moving, emotionally resonant second novel about the complicated bonds and breaking points of friendship, the corrosive forces of secrets, the heartbeat of longing, and the redemption found in forgiveness. A two-person book club does not have to be a formal, recurring arrangement with pre-determined picks and strict meeting times. By my definition, a two-person book club takes place whenever you and a friend read the same book in a similar time frame and designate an occasion to discuss....

Before we get to the funny stuff, a note about accuracy: There’s something you should know about Mark Twain: he’s misquoted. A lot. I live in Connecticut, the home of the Mark Twain House, so I thought they might be a good source of accurate Twain quotes. The Twain House, as it turns out, recommends Twain Quotes, a database of attributed quotes by and about Mark Twain. The site was put together by Twain scholar Barbara Schmidt, and it’s one of the few sources of reliable Twain quotes....

The Sherlock canon, as penned by Doyle, consists of four novels and 56 short stories. Sherlock’s non-canon adventures, penned by just about anybody and everybody, are too many to count. Holmes has been seen on film since 1900 and on TV since 1951. He’s been matched up against Cthulhu more than once, for crying out loud. Sherlock Holmes is everything, everyone, and everywhere. So why aren’t we sick of him?...

Seventeen-year-old Tessa Jacobs doesn’t believe she deserves love. But everything changes after a chance encounter with Skylar, a senior from a neighboring town who’s a true romantic. Tessa starts to believe she might be deserving of a happy ending after all. When tragedy strikes, Tessa wakes up in the hospital with no memory of how she got there. And Skylar has passed away. As Tessa searches for answers, Skylar’s spirit reaches out to her from the other side....

Whether you need advice, hope, or just a good chuckle, these quotes are sure to bring a smile to your face and the determination to get through whatever life throws you. Terry Pratchett Quotes If You Could Use Some Sage Advice… “It’s vital to remember who you really are. It’s very important. It isn’t a good idea to rely on other people or things to do it for you, you see....

octavia butler quotes on writing “I began writing about power because I had so little.” “Writers use everything. We can’t help it. Whatever touches us touches our writing.” “Why aren’t there more SF Black writers? There aren’t because there aren’t. What we don’t see, we assume can’t be. What a destructive assumption.” “When I was a kid and read science fiction, the science fiction available for kids at the library that I went to was all boys books and you get tired of reading boys books where the girls just kind of sit on the sideline and cheer the boys on and I think one of the things I wanted to do when I began writing my own was […] being the one who’s actually doing instead of the one who’s standing off to one side watching....

You could, for example, get wrapped up in these five exciting, unmissable speculative titles. They traverse worlds, universes, and times, providing all of the thrills that you’ll need to get through this period of enforced cozying up and quieting down. They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears by Johannes Anyuru (Translator Saskia Vogel) In the middle of an attack on a Swedish bookstore, the girl with the gun senses that something is wrong....

Second, they open, expand, and challenge my ideas about queerness. They show me something entirely new or different. They do not let me read idly, as an observer, or even as someone deeply connected to the material, heart beating fast in my chest, nodding along. Instead, they ask complicated questions about the nature of queer identity, and then force me to grapple with those questions. They invite me to look at — and interrogate — my own assumptions about queerness and queer lives and queer stories....

Bill Clegg returns with a deeply moving, emotionally resonant second novel about the complicated bonds and breaking points of friendship, the corrosive forces of secrets, the heartbeat of longing, and the redemption found in forgiveness. Bonus: Roehrig has a slew of other fun books to add to your shelf when you’re done with this one. And not only is this the start to a great series, that can also read as standalones, but de León has a social thriller release in December you’ll want to get as soon as it’s out: A Spy in the Struggle....

The following is a list of a few books I’ve gotten great enjoyment out of, but I must admit that I’m disappointed by the lack of books about publishing by anyone who isn’t white and cisgender. Native people, trans people, nonbinary people…These voices are becoming more prevalent on our shelves but not in the decision-making rooms of our publishing houses. Until that changes, the fight for inclusive bookshelves will always be that little bit tougher....

But in recent years, I’ve encountered several books that present other economic and cultural commentary that is just as disquieting as Brave New World. With the recent events with GameSpot and the Stock Market, critiques of economic systems seem even more salient. Here’s my list of five dystopias that provide incisive economic and political critiques. Two books seem like the children of Brave New World, presenting futures based on consumption gone wild....

The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook by Alice B. Toklas Belay those weed jokes, if you please. This is a very serious piece of literary, historical, and scholarly import, with implication for—oh hell, the hashish fudge recipe is on page 259. This is both a great cookbook and more than that. Much of it examines the German occupation of France from a culinary perspective, giving it a unique and interesting context not often seen in cookbooks....

The most famous of all Sherlock Holmes comics is probably A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaimon and Raphael Albuquerque. This award-winning comic pits Victorian England’s greatest mind against the world’s oldest threat, Cthulhu. But there’s a lot more where that came from! Here are five wildly different Sherlock Holmes comics that should suit just about every taste. (Note: As with many Holmes adaptations, male voice predominate. While some adaptations now take pains to elevate female voices [e....

A quick caveat—Goodreads is imperfect and, as such, I took a bit of editorial liberty in curating this list. Anything with fewer than 300 ratings was ignored for the sake of more accurate data. 5 of the Best Tomie dePaola Books According to Goodreads Now One Foot, Now the Other by Tomie dePaola In a tender story that spans generations, Bobby learns to walk with the help of Grandpa Bob....

Graphic Novels If you’ve ever tried to borrow a comic from a digital library collection, then I don’t need to explain anything else about this. I’ve never had a completely satisfactory experience reading comics in a digital format—and if you have, I want to hear form you. From oddly shaped action sequences like those in John Williams III’s Batwoman to comics with fine lettering like Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, you won’t get that immersive, forget-that-you’re-reading experience from digital that you will from print....

Elementary School George by Alex Gino “When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl. George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part ....