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Translations matter because they remind us of shared values among different cultures, revitalize our own languages, and help us grow by breaking stereotypes we may have accepted unintentionally. It is in literature where we have opportunities to imagine what it is to live other lives. And it is often in translated works where we learn to drop the expectation that writers from non-dominant countries (literary or politically) write only to bring representation to their culture....

After picking up Braiding Sweetgrass — which made for a wonderful book club discussion about a multitude of things — and after stumbling upon The Only Good Indians in my search for great horror reads, I knew it was imperative that I started reading more works which included Native life, culture, and knowledge. The impact both these books has had in my life is such that I keep referencing and recommending them to others, and I even went as far as writing a love letter to The Only Good Indians because I can’t stop thinking about it....

Few indie writers get to coin their own genre. But when you have a presence as large as Gabino Iglesias, you look at the lit world and say, “I write barrio noir.” And the lit world responds, “Yes, sir, you do.” So we sat down with Gabino to talk about his new book, Coyote Songs, and how his barrio noir is leading an influx of great indie lit about the immigrant experience....

Dana Chamblee Carpenter started the Bohemian Trilogy with Bohemian Gospel and The Devil’s Bible. Bohemian Gospel won the 2014 Killer Nashville Claymore Award while The Devil’s Bible won the 2017 Silver Falchion Award. Book of the Just is the last book in the trilogy, released in October 2018 of this year. We are happy to have Dana Chamblee Carpenter with us on Book Riot. The Book of the Just is the third in a trilogy, to wrap up the story....

Rachel Rosenberg: Can you tell me a bit about your individual creative process? Terry Blas: I’m an illustrator. That’s what I got my degree in, but the bulk of my work consists of writing now. In terms of story, when I have an idea that can’t escape from my brain I start writing down notes and answering a lot of questions about the characters. That leads me to write a very thorough synopsis—sort of like my blueprint....

Note what you’re reading, what you want to read, favorite quotes, new vocabulary words, and more. Book Marks also includes a variety of charts and lists, reading recommendations, and a handy punch-out bookmark. Get yours now.

Some of the terrible movies featured on the show have literary connections, because hey, not all book-to-film adaptations can be The Godfather. I’ll be looking at a few of these today. And if any of the episodes mentioned here pique your curiosity, you’re in luck! Most of them are available for free (in North America, anyway) on Shout Factory’s website. Happy riffing! The Castle of Fu Manchu Fu Manchu is an awful villain invented by the awful Sax Rohmer in 1912’s awful The Mystery of Dr....

What It’s About Evening in the Yellow Wood is the first-person tale of Justine Cook, who leaves her southern Michigan town for a mysterious little burg of Lantern Creek. Ten years prior, Justine’s father abandoned the Cook family on the eve of Justine’s twelfth birthday. And when an adult Justine sees a photo of her dad in the Lantern Creek newspaper, a decade of unanswered questions compels her to seek out her father, along with a whole new set of questions....

As I’m sure we all know, March is Women’s History Month. This was established in 1995 to celebrate and recognize the contributions that women have made. Technically, I think this was started specifically for women in America. If we’re being honest, though, it is something that should be celebrated worldwide. Despite the limitations that society has historically tried to put on women, there have always been boundary pushers all over the world and to this I say Huzzah!...

Book Revue, Huntington, NY A post shared by 📚Book Revue (@bookrevueli) on Jun 10, 2018 at 4:47pm PDT What’s better than an independent bookstore? One with a café attached, of course. The moment you walk into Book Revue, Long Island’s largest independent bookstore, you’re overwhelmed by the smell of fresh coffee and endless rows of books. My favorite part about this bookstore is that it not only sells new releases but has a large collection of used and discounted books....

Before I dive in, a quick note: There are far more than three adaptations. I picked these three because they were the most easily accessible to me and I am a lazy person. PBS has a more complete list. Finally, be aware this will spoil some major plot points for the book. It is over 150 years old, though, so. I Have a Favorite… …and it’s not the one I expected....

Even I’m starting to chafe at the restrictions of social distancing, which…I can’t even imagine what it’s like for the extroverts among us. I mean, my extrovert friends have told me, and I’ve seen how much worse my extrovert kiddo’s anxiety had gotten the longer they’ve been kept physically separated from their friends. But just as no one who hasn’t experienced phonophobia can understand it completely, which is frustrating to me when I’m in the midst of it, I’d be a pretty giant jerk if I pretended I understood extrovert anxiety completely....

Aries (March 21–April 19) You’re quite the charmer this month, Aries! People are often drawn to you, but your charisma is off the charts in May. Opportunities for new friends and business connections abound, and single Aries may meet attractive new romantic partners. You may also soon receive an exciting gift. Check out Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors (May 7, William Morrow) by Sonali Dev, a modern, gender-flipped retelling of Pride and Prejudice....

A moving true story!When the Germans invade Ukraine, Zhanna, a young Jewish girl, must leave behind her friends, her freedom, and her promising musical future at the world’s top conservatory. With no time to say goodbye, Zhanna, her sister Frina, and their entire family are removed from their home by the Nazis and forced on a long, cold, death march. When a guard turns a blind eye, Zhanna flees with nothing more than her musical talent, her beloved sheet music, and her father’s final plea: “I don’t care what you do....

My teacher had a chronic illness, and throughout the year, she missed stretches of days, until she missed nearly two full months of teaching as her multiple sclerosis rendered her unable to stand. Despite the inconsistencies across the board, my teacher was so likable, so engaged, and tried her damndest to make everything stacked against the year stay stable. She was a mega proponent of reading, and she encouraged us to read in our free time in class and outside....

“As the Library of Congress puts thousands of hours of Native American recordings and thousands of photographs online, some Native American groups are saying culturally sensitive material, often taken without the tribes’ consent, should be a part of the tribal traditional property. In the first half of the 20th century, anthropologists and sociologists made a substantial number of tribal recordings and took numerous photographs, often without the knowledge or consent of the tribes, material that ended up in the Library of Congress, according to public records....

Plenty of Hugs by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Kate Alizadeh (14 April 2020) This one surprised me by how much I liked it. The marketing copy compared it to LOVE YOU FOREVER, a book I strongly disliked, so even before opening the book I was already predisposed to dislike it. But I read it anyway and loved it. It’s about a toddler going about a normal day with his two mums, doing things like riding bikes, going to the zoo, eating dinner, and going through the bedtime routine....

I’ve mentioned this before, but I have developed a hopefully abiding obsession with mystery, suspense, and thriller novels during the pandemic. Like romance novels, mysteries as a genre tend to follow a broad pattern: the antagonist has committed a crime, a sleuth of some kind — usually an amateur but not necessarily — does an investigation, and after a few bumps in the road that may or may not involve danger to said sleuth or their cohort, the sleuth solves it....

As August approached, only 16% of my finished books consisted of poetry. I suspected a couple reasons. In March, I started saving titles for The Sealey Challenge, when participants read a collection or chapbook every day during August. Also, I vowed to strive for balance across the genres in my 2022 reading. Anticipating I would gobble poetry soon, I indulged in prose. As expected, August was a whirlwind of words, lines, and stanzas....

Of course not every book is going to work for me. Meeting books where they are doesn’t mean indiscriminately loving every book I read or feeling guilty for not liking a book for one reason or another. It just means that I’ve stopped trying to make every reading experience my favorite reading experience. It means embracing variety. It means taking the time to step back and ask why a book is the way it is before deciding that I don’t like it for the way it is....