I recently saw a review of a book I love that claimed the reader had been promised lesbians and got none, and it made me angry. After all, right in the novel, there was a queer protagonist who thinks women are hot and jokes often about her sexuality. There was a side character who flirted with her and they both liked it. Another female character admitted to a crush on another woman....
Michael Morpurgo shared the impact that her books had: The beloved author and illustrator died peacefully at home at 94, after a short illness. Shirley must have began the reading lives of so many millions. That moment when you’ve read a book like Alfie and sit back and think ‘that was wonderful, tell me another’. Thank you Shirley from all of us, children of today and children of yesterday. — Shirley Hughes (@ShirleyHughes_) March 2, 2022 Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books....
Some of these challenges have gone well. Some have been less successful (why does this lace pattern scarf suddenly have 107 stitches? I don’t…damn it). As I was contemplating the sum total the other day, however, I realized I hadn’t yet done any sort of comics challenge. And thus Comics A–Z was born. We’ve finished up our first challenge: pairing comics/graphic novels. This week, we’re finishing part two of challenge number two: a hero for every letter of the alphabet....
I think the villains deserve a chance to shine. After all, they’re the ones who keep things interesting, aren’t they? What fun would the heroes be if they didn’t have anyone to challenge them? A: All for One In addition to his stolen quirks, All for One’s abilities include: enhanced strength, speed, and durability; enhanced senses; and genius level intellect. B: Briar, Yuri C: Catman D: Dracula E: Elektra Villains are so much fun, aren’t they?...
It’s the last few days of her vacation in Pakistan, and Amina has loved every minute of it. The food, the shops, the time she’s spent with Thaya Jaan and cousin Zohra—all of it holds a special place in Amina’s heart. But the school year is starting again, and while she’s sad to leave, Amina’s excited to share how wonderful Pakistan is with her friends back home. Once Amina is returns home, though, it seems like Soojin, Emily and Rabiya don’t want to hear about her trip....
But do not ask me what my favorite book is. I understand this may be an innocent question, and what more could a book person want than to talk about their favorite book? But it’s my worst nightmare. Maybe you mean my “all-time” favorite book, which I default to as Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, the book I will read again and again and learn something new each time I open its pages....
Created by agent Beth Phelan, DVpit is a Twitter pitching contest for diverse voices. Pitching contests are Twitter-based events where writers who have already written a full manuscript, revised it, and gotten it ready for agents can pitch their books. They can only use the 280 characters of Twitter to do the pitching, and in those 280 characters they have to include genre, age category, and of course the hashtag #DVpit....
Spy fiction as a genre originated in the 19th century and has remained a favorite ever since. This genre sheds light on politics and history through a new lens. It also brings into focus the forgotten sides of history and the incidents that history textbooks often fail to accommodate. It is rife with intriguing central characters who topple governments, speak multiple languages, and engage in other interesting activities for what they believe is the greater good....
So by all means, keep the Sherlock trains choo-choo-ing all the way, but also add more trains. I’ll even help and make it easy. I’m going to list, off the top of my head, nine works below that I’ve read and can imagine on the big screen and/or the home screen. That’s right, I know what age we live in, and streaming series are just as worthy of a giant tub of popcorn....
I’ve poured over the catalogs and galleys and highlighted just some of the best fall 2022 new releases in translation, and because there’s just so much to choose from, I’ve added notes for others you should seek out as well! And whether it’s just something about publishing this year or my ever constant love for works of short fiction, but there are a lot of new short story collections that caught my eye....
Without meaning to, I have probably read or listened to at least 10 or more memoirs from stand-up comedians. As someone who is most definitely never ever going to do stand-up comedy, I have still really enjoyed these. Here are a few of my other favorite funny memoirs, because who couldn’t use more laughter in their lives these days? When Tina Fey’s Bossypants came out, I was already a fan of her comedy so I definitely wanted to read her book....
With the current mood I’ve been in, I am feeling the need for books that never fail to make me smile. For me, re-reading books has always been a bit of a comfort thing; something I do when I just need a ‘pick me up’ and want to return to an old familiar favorite. That leads me to my recommendations for this week. These are some of my favorite romances that always put a smile on my face and I can always re-read....
Born in Kentucky on September 25, 1952, she attended segregated schools. She moved to California where she attended Sanford University, then earned her Master’s at the University of Wisconsin and her PhD at University of California Santa Cruz. Her pen name was her great-grandmother’s given name, which she styled in lower case so that the substance of her work was foremost. Renowned for her philosophical work defining the intersections of race and gender, hooks published her first book in 1981: Ain’t I A Woman: Black Women and Feminism, titled after Sojourner Truth’s famous “Aren’t I A Woman” speech....
Bonus: Kit is queer, so this book counts towards the Read Harder challenge to read historical fiction with a POC or LGBTQ+ protagonist.
Enter: Friday Fund Days. Book Riot readers have helped fund hundreds of classrooms over the last few years, and we’ll help bring funds to hundreds more. Each Friday, we’ll highlight two classrooms or other literacy-focused, important projects in hopes you’ll help them reach their goals to bring literature, advocacy, and education to others. Even if you can’t spare money, any social sharing you can offer to the projects each week absolutely helps: you never know who’ll find it and have the means by which to make the project’s fundraising goals reached....
Who is Gabriel García Márquez? Born in Aracataca, Colombia in 1927, García Márquez started his career as a journalist, penning many acclaimed short stories and works of nonfiction throughout his career. His biggest breakthrough as a writer came with the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, published in 1967. The novels Love in the Time of Cholera and The Autumn of the Patriarch similarly received great acclaim upon publication. He was a writer who explored the themes of solitude, both physical and mental, as well as the mysteries of death in his work....
As always, this list of new winter 2021 YA books will not be comprehensive, especially as book publication dates are still periodically shifting. With printing challenges due to paper sourcing and COVID-19, this might be the reality for a bit. Use this list less as definitive this season and more as pretty accurate with some potential changes. Then preorder any book that strikes your fancy. This is more important now than ever before....
We knew there was more coming, of course we did. But I don’t think anyone expected Kevin Feige to drop quite as many major bombs about Marvel Phase 4 as he did during the studio’s Hall H panel on Saturday. Let’s catch up on those announcements as well as some of the less well known elements of those announcements, shall we? Marvel Phase 4 Announcements at SDCC WARNING: There is a Spider-Man: Far From Home spoiler in the Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness section, which is beneath the Shang-Chi and a relatively short WandaVision section....
Grab your headphones and your TBR and prepare to get these book titles on your playlist and in your mind. 2020 YA Book Titles That’ll Get Stuck In Your Head Breathless by Jennifer Niven (October 6) There’s not a cover yet for Niven’s upcoming romance novel, but it’s about a summer romance that happens amidst a teen girl working through the divorce of her parents before she leaves for college....
Just because life may be out of order, doesn’t mean it’s broken. Oona Out of Order is a remarkably inventive novel that explores what it means to live a life fully in the moment, even if those moments are out of sequence. We’re giving away five copies of Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore to five lucky Riot readers! This sweepstakes is open to residents of the United States (excluding Puerto Rico and all other U....
