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After all, my Gaiman book collection truly began when I found out about and acquired the original hardcover of the illustrated Stardust, Being a Romance Within the Realms of Faerie, which came out in 1998. The hardcover is breathtaking. Tall, with thick pages, it depicts Gaiman’s story of fallen stars, love, glass snowdrops, and devious witches, accompanied by stunning, full-page painted illustrations by Charles Vess. It’s an incredible work of art, gifted to me by my sister....

These authors read widely and diversely. Their book recommendations are loaded with stories staring people of color, trans and nonbinary characters, and queer folks. You’ll get great recs for fluff, romantic space opera, detective stories, wildly escapist historicals, steamy contemporaries, and so much more. And they don’t just read romance, either. I’ve kept this list to authors who are somewhat active on Goodreads, though some are more active than others....

Being woke is about recognizing and resisting oppressive systems. It’s about standing up for ourselves and others. It’s about making the world a better and more just place for everyone. Who wouldn’t want to teach these ideals to our children? Read on for seven books that will help your babies (and you!) to become more woke. A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara This alphabet board book is beautifully written and illustrated....

So…now what? Other than listening to the OBCR (Original Broadway Cast Recording) one million times, what’s a Renthead to do? Well, maybe this book list will help. I’ve focused on books about Broadway and books about HIV/AIDS. RENT by Jonathan Larson, edited by Evelyn McDonnell and Katherine Silberger This book includes the lyrics and book for Rent as well as behind-the-scenes photos and an oral history of the making of the musical....

If you’re looking to continue the excitement, rage, and girl power, check out these seven books that will fit the bill perfectly. Under the Lights and in the Dark: Untold Stories of Women’s Soccer by Gwendolyn Oxenham In 2004, Oxenham, a journalist and documentary maker (and former soccer star at Duke), joined the women’s soccer team Santos FC in Brazil, one of the world’s leading countries in football. But this team had to hitchhike, share farm fields, and only got hand-me-down uniforms and gear from the men’s team....

1. Ariel Bissett Ariel has a gift for talking about high-brow literature and poetry in an accessible way. She is extremely intelligent without being pretentious. She is also unapologetic about her tastes and opinions without being rude. One of the most unique parts of her channel is the way she connects literature and pop culture through videos like “Would George Orwell Have Listened to Lorde? 2. Books and Lala Watching Lala’s videos is like chatting with a friend....

Language evolves; it is not static. It has always changed, and this is nothing new. It follows, then, that writing and the way we think about it and teach it should also evolve and change. But change has been…very slow. MFA programs in particular seem to be guilty of this (don’t @ me, I’m not dissing MFA programs, I went to one — I’m just saying they could use some examining, like many other kinds of educational programs)....

I especially never saw myself in romances. Nor did anyone else, as evidenced by the fact that my own beliefs that I was undesirable and undeserving of love were confirmed again and again by the people around me who saw me as nothing more than homework help. Even if my own high school life had stayed exactly the same, I do wish I had had some exposure to just the idea that teenagers like me could have the same experiences we saw other teens having because not having that exposure continues to affect how I think of myself even to this day....

Book Riot is teaming up with Penguin Random House Audio to give away an audiobook bundle to one lucky winner! This bundle includes the following titles: Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki, Monster in the Middle by Tiphanie Yanique, and Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout. To enter, simply fill out the form and subscribe to the Penguin Random House Audio newsletter for a chance to win!...

What to do in the meantime? Good thing there are always books. Here are a few of which to partake if you too liked Carnival Row: The Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger (Random House) Pokémon meets Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legends of Korra meets post-Colonial diaspora fantasy in Kreuger’s second novel. Wars and revolutions steal lives and destroy families, just as happens during the human invasion of Tir Na Nog, the magic that could everyone forbidden to some, abused by others, and entirely banned by yet more factions....

From comics rising star Sarah Graley, a fresh and funny middle-grade graphic novel featuring a girl who must save a virtual world… and her own! Izzy has an incredible secret — she can enter the world of her new video game! She meets Rae, a robot who says Izzy is destined to save Dungeon City from the Big Boss. How is this possible?! And how can she fight for this virtual world when she’s got a whole real life to keep up with: her family and her best friend, Eric....

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. Visit mytbr....

Tallchief is the most famous of the group known as the Five Oklahoma Indian Ballerinas. The others are Maria’s sister Marjorie Tallchief, Rosella Hightower (Choctaw), Yvonne Chouteau (Shawnee), and Moscelyne Larkin(Peoria/Eastern Shawnee). Because I grew up knowing about them, I realized that ballerinas could be from any nation or race, but I also knew that many ballet dancers who were not Russian or European faced discrimination, especially in ballet’s early days....

Christmas is a winter holiday based on a human event — the birth of Jesus — and thus is celebrated only by people who are a part of the Christian religion. The winter solstice, on the other hand, is an event based on a nearly universal experience of humankind, with the exception of those living close enough to the equator that the shifting of daylight hours makes little difference. This allows anyone to celebrate the return of the daylight hours without reference to any specific religion or belief system....

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will focus on future President Coriolanus Snow at age 18, years before he became the fearful villain we all know. The house of Snow has fallen on hard times and it’s up to Coriolanus to change his fate. Being a mentor for the 10th annual Hunger Games seems like the last shot to do this, but his hopes are soon extinguished when he’s assigned to mentor the girl tribute from District 12....

Tharp later found out that because there was a rainbow on the front cover, the parent had assumed the book had LGBTQ content — they hadn’t actually read or even opened the book. Later, Tharp received an email that also asked that he not read from his book It’s Okay To Smell Good! The incident sparked a school district emergency meeting, where all the parents who attended argued in favor of the book....

Can we expect to see Jane wielding exactly same powers as Thor Odinson? To be clear, that is possible. This is the MCU, not the Marvel Universe, so they don’t have to (and rarely do) adhere strictly to what the comic books have done. That said, understanding the differences between these two Thors may give us some sense of what’s coming from Taika Waititi’s upcoming film. So what will the MCU version bring to Jane’s Thor?...

All of these books, at the time of writing, have fewer than 100 ratings on Goodreads. Goodreads ratings aren’t everything, but they can give you a sense of how widely known a book is. For comparison: In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado has 70,000 ratings, Here for It by R. Eric Thomas has 9,000, and The Fact of a Body by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich has 19,000. These are some of my favorite nonfiction books from the last five years, but they only the beginning....

In the number one spot is Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, a literary saga that follows the stories of two women, 100 years apart: the daredevil woman pilot who disappears in Antarctica and the disillusioned Hollywood actress cast to portray her on film. The reviews on this one are gushing, calling it “unforgettable,” “a masterpiece,” and “sumptuous…exhilarating.” Number nine on the list is one I’ve been hearing a lot about from friends....

And then came my current Kindle: a ninth generation Oasis I purchased two years ago for my 18th birthday. Although the latest model is a 2019 tenth-generation, the changes are very minimal. There’s now the option to have a warm sepia tone to the screen, rather than plain white, and there are 25 embedded LEDs lighting up the screen rather than 12. Apart from that the two ereaders are identical....