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The law went into effect August 28th, and there have already been dozens of books removed from schools — including titles that likely do not violate the law. After years of increased book bans and challenges, as well as accusations of being “groomers,” many school districts seem to be erring on the side of caution. For example, Rockwood library has removed 22 titles, including several sexual education books. The law says that books used in sex ed classes are exempt, but does not mention sex ed books that are stocked in the library but not used in class....

Not only are there books featuring great ace-spec representation across the entire gamut of genres, there are actually so many that I couldn’t include all of them on this list. That’s right, folks, I had more than enough asexual books to pick from for this must-read list, and the pickings weren’t even all that slim. Though asexuality lags in on-page representation behind many other LGBTQ+ identities, like those other identities we’re continuing to see more and more queer representation in fiction....

Children’s Young Adult Adult Fiction Memoirs/Essays To learn more about Asian Pacific Heritage Month, visit the official website. In the meantime, for more Asian and Pacific books, we’ve got you covered! For family story time, check out these 20 Children’s Books by AAPI Writers and Illustrators. Watch out for these upcoming 2021 YA Books by AAPI authors. Did you know there’s a literature award for Asian Pacific American Writers? These award-winning books belong on your TBR asap!...

HOLIDAYS ARE HAPPIER WITH AUDIOBOOKS. Make your holiday travels, errands, cooking sessions, and all the rest more enjoyable by listening to an audiobook. From bestsellers, to thrillers, to self-care, you can find the perfect listen for any moment. Give yourself the gift of audio this holiday season. 2019 is right around the corner, and with that knowledge breathing down our necks, people are getting their resolutions in order. This being Book Riot, I will leave aside non-bookish goals – you know, like cooking more often, working out, and learning to garden – and will focus on reading resolutions instead....

Dad grumbled, but I reminded him that I could be using my allowance to buy much more dreadful things than books. He stopped grumbling and asked me which book I wanted. I happily told him that there was nothing in particular. Maybe a fantasy novel. I wanted to be surprised. The bookstore was bustling with my fellow bibliophiles when we arrived, all eager to find the latest bestseller or a favorite classic....

Let me give you some examples. I Actually Disliked Reading For a Long Time I went from a kid who would tuck a book in the waistband of cutoff jean shorts and climb to the highest branch I could brave so everyone would leave me alone, to a teenager who would check out classics at the library so I could pretend to be reading/have read them. As a kid, reading got me away from the world, where I was discovering just how different I was from my more athletic, less awkward friends and the cousins I played with all through the summer....

But one thing I have long held is that poison is the best murder weapon in murder mysteries. I’ve always been a fan of the Queens of the Golden Age, notably Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, who often use poison in spectacular ways (see Sayers’s Strong Poison and Christie’s Sparkling Cyanide). I even own a teacup that says “You’ve been poisoned” at the bottom of it with a saucer that says “Goodbye....

Since February is Black History Month, I like to celebrate it by showing as many awesome Black SFF authors as possible some pre-order love. So if you’d like to join me, here’s a non-exhaustive list of what’s coming up in 2022! (Please note that release dates seem to be… flexible these days.)

Perhaps you’ve felt that, too — whether because of recent global events, or simply because of the growing distance you have from your days of childhood wonder. There are many ways you can define magic, and many different types of magic that you can believe in. I’ll let you decide what that is for yourself. But no matter your preferred flavor, what I think unites all these types of beliefs is engaging with our imagination, and more importantly, learning how to believe in our imagination....

Sure, there’s some benefit to keeping a TBR list. With so many books in the world and so little time, they can help you keep from leaving a good book behind. I’ve definitely had times where my book buying budget did not match the amount of novels I wanted to read. In situations like that, I’ve often had to choose one book and sadly add the other to my TBR....

Poe’s stories convey in a few pages what some writers take hundreds of pages to tell. They contain wordplay and symbolism but also anticipate more realistic writers like Fyodor Dostoevsky. Before the formal field of psychology existed, Poe’s stories explored guilt, paranoia, delusions, and obsessions. Poe helped create the overlapping moods and genres of horror, mystery, historical fiction, slipstream, and science fiction and fantasy as we know them today. Known mainly as a literary critic in his lifetime, Poe worked for several literary journals....

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!...

Luckily, although snobbishness continues in pockets of the bookish internet, it’s no longer the default view. There has been an explosion of book blogs, BookTube channels, and BookTok accounts celebrating YA and genre books. It makes sense, since “genre” books make up by far the majority of books being bought. Most readers pick up thrillers and mysteries, romance novels, fantasy books — not literary fiction. I’m very glad that attitudes have changed, but I’ve noticed a strange trend: in some places, the pendulum has swung completely....

A self-proclaimed lifelong reader and accidental writer, Manguel has worn many hats in his life, a diplomat’s son, a ‘wandering jew,’ an Argentinian, a Canadian, the apprentice of Borges, and finally a writer. However, there seems to be one thing that supersedes all throughout his life: his identity as a reader. Reading has been his constant passion, and honestly what has differentiated his writing from that of so many other essayists, biographers, and novelists—I say that because Manguel carries all of these titles in his body of work....

“I write about love, yes, but not about tenderness,” she told the New York Times in 1990. Born in colonial Vietnam to parents who moved there to teach but quickly became destitute, the character of the scrappy young girl who must survive on her own is prevalent in her books. Duras struggled with alcoholism for most of her life. She died in 1996, at the age of 81. She is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery....

Linking to these sorts of things of course drives traffic, but you can access a .pdf of the full letter here via Google Drive. It’s not an enjoyable read, but it’s essential in understanding the playbook for censorship. You’ll see the cherry-picked passages from books, the use of language that suggests teachers and librarians are “using” these books (as opposed to making available), and they utilize specific language to make their case (obscenity and pornography are the most common, both of which are applied to queer books)....

Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, Hafsah Faizal’s We Hunt the Flame—first in the Sands of Arawiya duology—is a gripping story of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands. // “We Hunt the Flame should be on every fantasy fan’s bookshelf.” —Kiersten White, bestselling author of And I Darken. // “Filled with rich worldbuilding with stakes that will keep you at the edge of your seat....

This “charming, confident follow-up to Creatures of Will and Temper” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) picks up in 1927 Long Island, where Ellie West fishes by day and sells moonshine by night to the citizens of her home town. But after Ellie’s father joins a mysterious church whose parishioners possess supernatural powers and a violent hatred for immigrants, Ellie finds she doesn’t know her beloved island, or her father, as well as she thought....

Okay, I got a little carried away there, but it’s time to round up the best mystery, thrillers, and true crime of 2018, so I asked my fellow Rioters to tell me their favorites. This was a selfish request because I could not pick a top ten—I write the Unusual Suspects newsletter and I read like 200 crime books this year so this was not an easy task! So if you’re looking for murderous, or criminal, or heart pounding books, here are Rioters’ favorite mysteries, thrillers, and true crime of 2018—I finished off with some of my favorites that weren’t already mentioned....

But let me back up. Before we moved, I spent some time at Robert Frost Farm now and then. My autonomy was pretty limited as someone younger than fourteen and without a car, so my visits were few: occasional picnics with Mom (a then-stay-at-home parent), brother, aunt, and cousins; one or two Girl Scout field trips involving a tour of the building; walks around the forest trails that surround the property; and maybe moments parked in the car in the small, gravel parking lot to watch the stars with some fried seafood or ice cream frown down the road (rest in peace, Clam Haven; long live Pete’s Scoop)....