The guests are Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Emmy-winning social justice storyteller Sarah Eagle Heart, President of Race Forward Glenn Harris, and President of The National Education Association Becky Pringle. The event takes place over Zoom at 7 pm EST/4 pm PST, and you can register now. Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.
All of the challenges come from fewer than ten individuals and the collective Eanes chapter of Moms For Liberty/Eanes Kids First. They come in the weeks prior to school board elections across the state of Texas, including Eanes, where more than one board seat will be determined on Saturday, May 7 (tomorrow). Only Granbury Independent School District and North East Independent School District have seen more challenges this school year....
PEN America President and author Ayad Akhtar opened, discussing the events held in the organization’s centenary year and its renewed mission to what PEN stands for in light of increasing censorship efforts. “In this hundredth year we have also found our mission reborn and our fight for free expression as vital and essential as ever [. . .] as state legislatures and school boards work to ban books and place gag orders on education, we have become watchdogs tracking the growing censorship in America today,” he said....
This holiday season, find the perfect gift for yourself or a reader you love with Kindle Exclusive deals up to 80% off. Discover page-turning thrillers like Right Behind Her by bestselling author Melinda Leigh, about a small town sheriff racing to stop a killer to protect the ones she loves, and coming-of-age novels like The World Played Chess by bestselling author Robert Dugoni, about breaking away, shaping a life, and seeking one’s own destiny....
As a lifelong crafter and teacher, I’ve honed my sense for what people can learn relatively quickly. I’ve tested my theories on the teens I work with at my local library. No one will give you more honest—some might say brutal!—criticism than a pack of prickly teenagers. Knitting and crocheting are my go-to crafts, but for every teen who has shown me their wildly creative handmade hats and scarves, there are probably a dozen who put down their needles and hooks and walked away....
I am mostly a literary fiction reader (that is not the problem — I very much enjoy it), which means that most of the books I read are standalone. And although I have read a few series, and I have enjoyed them, most of the times I’ve picked up a series they’ve ended early for me: I have either read two of the books in the series, or I stopped after the first, despite the fact that there are at least three installments to each of the series I chose to start....
Despite their penchant for violence, historically, pirates valued equality and democracy, including a system of checks and balances and a benefits package, as opposed to the extremely hierarchical life most had lived as sailors, enslaved people, or indentured servants. And those ideals of equality extended beyond governance, as well. There was even a pirate-specific term for same-sex civil unions, of a sort, referred to as “matelotage.” Maybe that’s not surprising, given the male-dominated world of piracy....
Besides, it’s usually more useful to know how people ask for those authors than the correct pronunciation. It’s always a mental battle to decide whether it’s worth correcting a customer on how they’re saying an author, especially if they’re way off — like, adding or subtracting multiple syllables off, or asking for books by Jane Eyre off. It’s always a lesson in humility, though, when a customer gently (or smugly) tells you that you’ve been pronouncing a name wrong for years....
But for every great villain, there are a few that never made it into the zeitgeist. This writer or that artist had an idea, a story, and then we never saw that villain again. Maybe they were just too silly or too dark. Maybe they were from an era that leaned hard into bad tropes. Maybe they were just a poor copy of a better villain. Sometimes these C- and D-list rogues come back, sure, but they never really gain any traction....
With winter comes cooler weather (depending on where you live) and all sorts of delightful seasonal activities and opportunities. Are you the sort who cannot wait to hit the ski slopes in the snow? Or is it your dream to spend all day comfy and cozy under a fuzzy blanket, with hot chocolate in one hand and a paperback in the other? Whatever your dream winter vacation style, let’s build it together in anticipation for your next day off!...
Lightning couldn’t strike twice, could it? After a terrible year, Madalyn needs clear skies desperately. Moving in with her great-uncle, Papa Lobo, and switching to a new school is just the first step. It’s not all rainbows and sunshine, though. Madalyn discovers she’s the only Black girl in her class, and while most of her classmates are friendly, assumptions lead to some serious storms. Don’t miss this relatable story from award-winning author Tanita S....
For a deeper dive into how beach reads got this reputation and some of their most common characteristics, take a peek at this essay on what makes a book a beach read. Generally speaking, beach reads are books that are considered good, fast fodder for that summer trip to the shore. Compelling? Sure. Unputdownable? Absolutely! But cerebral? Serious? Thought-provoking? Usually not. Happily, that doesn’t have to be the case. There are so many incredible new releases that you might take with you to the beach (or wherever you find yourself when you’re looking for your next book to devour) that have some serious ideas at their core....
But just because all kinds of books are great doesn’t mean they’re all identical. Each has its own strong points and provides the reader with a unique experience. Which book format are you most like? Take our neato quiz below to find out!
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. Once upon a time, back before I had really made any long lasting friendships, I would read YA books and yearn for a friendship like the ones I was seeing on the page. While there are many different kinds of friendship represented in YA books, perhaps the most significant and common one is that of The Best Friend....
I’ve recommended Rainbow before on Book Riot, and I was excited to learn more about the book and his other LGBTQ children’s books. Margaret Kingsbury: Your picture book Love Is Love has a similar theme to Rainbow but for older children. How did you go about deciding what story to tell for this younger audience? Michael Genhart: The inspiration for these books was really a number of things coming together: the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots [for Love is Love], the 40th anniversary of the Rainbow Flag [for Rainbow], and the explosion of rainbow families that we are seeing across the nation and world....
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!...
Books for New Dads The New Dad’s Playbook: Gearing Up for the Biggest Game of your Life by Benjamin Watson Written by an NFL player and huge proponent of the relationships between fathers and their children, The New Dad’s Playbook uses helpful sports analogies to walk fathers through the steps of bringing a child into the family. With an emphasis on supporting both their partners and the newest additions, fathers are shown how to expect the unexpected and become an active part of the plan....
I would (and did) start with The Boy in the Black Suit. Note: my father who has barely read anything aside from newspapers and technical books on engineering enjoyed it immensely—and English is not even his mother tongue. So, when I say this YA book has something for everyone, whether you are a reluctant reader or a 3-books-per-day kind of reader, I know exactly what I’m promising here. The book is not only incredibly funny, poignant, and gorgeously written, it is also remarkable for the fact that it places a Black boy at the forefront of a story about love, loss, and grief....
Pekar commenced to creating crudely drawn comics, which Crumb, and later other artists, then re-illustrated, and American Splendor was born in 1976. An anthology of the series won an American Book Award in 1987, and Pekar and his wife Joyce Brabner, a prolific comics creator herself, netted a Harvey Award for best original graphic novel for Our Cancer Year in 1995. American Splendor was adapted into an Oscar-nominated movie starring Paul Giamatti in 2003....
Trigger warning: abuse, sexual abuse, extreme violence The first book I read was Off Season, a straightforward story about a group of adults on an isolated weekend retreat in the Maine woods and a family of human monsters with a taste for human flesh, just waiting for the sun to go down. I don’t remember much about the plot, but I do remember reading the book at my parents’ house while we were all watching TV....
