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So it’s really cool to find books written by authors of adult fiction (by which I mean fiction for adults, not necessarily “adult” fiction like erotica) that are aimed at younger audiences. As an avid (adult) reader of middle grade (MG) and young adult (YA) fiction, this is an exciting trend. As a person with a young reader at home, this is exciting in more ways than one. Sometimes works like this type of book — written for younger audiences but attracting adult readers — is referred to as “crossover fiction,” but you can call it whatever you want....

We did similar things throughout my childhood: I had two bread-baking stints in grade school. The first went along with a picture book I got from the library. There was a mouse who, while trying to make bread, fought with the yeastie beasties that were making her bread rise. (I’ve never been able to find that book again! If you have any ideas, let me know!) My mom and I made a modified version of that mouse’s bread....

Whether you’re dealing with a sexy monster (think Twilight or True Blood) or a terrifying one, the fact of the matter is that people love their monsters. Why? Well, there are lots of theories, but some of the most prevalent revolve around Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s ideas in Monster Theory: Reading Culture, where he talks about monsters as the embodiment of society’s deepest fears. According to Cohen, we create monsters (on screen, in literature) again and again to help us explore our anxieties....

Pym by Mat Johnson I know. It made Salon’s list of the Best Fiction of 2011. But that’s the first thing I’ve heard about it in months, other than when I was sitting in on Johnson’s panel at the Texas Book Festival in October. The novel is a modern-day reexamination of Poe’s only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, which is mostly noted for being terrible. Johnson uses Poe’s problematic story as the inspiration for his tale of an out-of-work scholar trying to find redemption....

Middle grade fiction, to be specific. Enter children’s author Trudi Trueit (The Sister Solution, Detecting Disasters: Volcanic Eruptions) and Explorer Academy. “Adventure, danger, and a thrilling global mission await 12-year-old Cruz Cornado as he leaves behind his home in Hawaii to attend the prestigious Explorer Academy, where he and 23 other kids from around the globe will train to become the next generation of great explorers. But for Cruz, there’s more at stake....

Whether you’re into music, movies, or sports, you’re sure to find something to pique your interest in these memorable nonfiction works: Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith, September 24 Relive one of Patti Smith’s most transformative years in this moving memoir. It picks up following a run of New Year’s performances at the Fillmore in San Francisco and zooms in on the details of a pivotal 12 months during which Smith turned 70 and lost two of her close friends....

Why A Graphic Novel Winning The NewBery Award Matters In 2018, children’s graphic novels and comics accounted for 41% of all comic book sales, far surpassing any other comics category. Yet, comic books are rarely considered for major awards like the Newbery Award. This is despite numerous research studies demonstrating how graphic novels can be gateway reading for reluctant readers, can foster critical thinking skills on multiple levels, and can effectively tackle tough social issues....

Now imagine when more than one book has the same title or super similar titles! Yup, my brain melts. Just kidding. But seriously, copyrighting book titles does not exist. And it shouldn’t because that would be absurd and we would certainly run out of titles and then start ending up with super long titles like usernames: The Missing Girls_875924. Plus, how would different publishing houses even know what is being worked on at the same time at another publisher?...

Early Days I grew up in a house full of books, but my mom was an “I’ll read anything except romance” kind of reader. You know the type; they’re the literary version of music lovers who listen to “everything but rap and country.” Looking back, I can see she was depriving herself; internalized misogyny isn’t easy to dismantle. She adored books I now recognize as romance-adjacent, in that they trafficked in relationships and included sex on the page....

I think there’s a lot of overlap between the two terms, though, and I’m not sure many people differentiate between them. I don’t even think I differentiate between them, although if I think about it, I’m probably more likely to use the term geek than nerd, though I’m not exactly sure why. I didn’t even think about this stuff until I started getting into Star Wars, about five years ago....

I cannot speak for all book clubs, but most book clubs will have drinks of some sort, food or snacks, good conversation, and discussions about books. This, in my opinion, is pretty great and will be awesome if the company is good and if the books being discussed are great. The mistake I made last year, however, was setting a goal to read only nonfiction for my book club. Attendees were on board, but the books chosen proved to be problematic because discussions were not as lively....

On Episode 94 of The Stacks podcast, “How We Understand Loneliness,” host Traci Thomas asks Kristen Radtke, “What do you wish more people understood about graphic books?” Radtke answers, “That they’re as serious as prose books.” The author of Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness continues to say, even if a reader isn’t familiar with graphic books, “they can still glean a lot from them.” I return to graphic books late and with icebergs of regret....

— Emily Stochl (@brumeanddaisy) April 27, 2019 I thought, if anyone, the readers and book lovers at Book Riot might enjoy the whole story. So here it is. Curtis and I met in May 2012. Now, keep in mind, Tinder was not released to the public until September 2012, so we had to meet the old-fashion way: through Facebook. 😉 Curtis and I went to the same small, liberal arts college....

Since then, I’ve re-read a few of the novels (Sula and Paradise–my favorite–many times), and I’ve noticed that, though I have now been a non-student reader for many more years than I was a student reader (my high school English classes were rigorous, but we all know that college is a whole other level), I can’t seem to shake my student reading mentality with Morrison. It’s my notes that are revealing this to me....

“Another bad word around that time was…“pants.” Read points to numerous newspaper articles referring to trousers with words like “unmentionables” or “inexpressables.” In one 1848 account, “Mr. B. dressed himself in a new bright blue coat and a pair of large and showy unwhisperables.” (It apparently wasn’t until the early twentieth century that similar euphemisms came to refer to underwear.)” Taboo words based on place and time. “I highly recommend Bang by Daniel Peña, Butterfly Boy by Rigoberto González, Mean by Myriam Gurba and The Moths and Other Stories by Helena María Viramontes, all of which are by Chicano writers who have dedicated themselves to researching, exploring and writing about and around the border and immigration....

UNIQUELY MINDFUL I heart Heart Advice for Difficult Times is because it reads like it has been translated for you by a lovely hippy aunt with whom you could sip tea. Pema uses a lot of ’60s-era slang. Like far out, heavy, scene, and don’t lay such a big trip on yourself. She’s on to you nonsense, to your scene. Pema (and I feel like I can call her first name, like Oprah) writing on the spiritual life is like, Lighten up, man....

The instant New York Times bestseller from Del Rey Books. After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin, socialite Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. Her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region. Yet, there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness and may soon find it impossible to leave this enigmatic house behind....

Maybe you’ve loved all the time at home. Or maybe you’re longing to get back to the office gossip next to the community Keurig machine. Either way, it looks like we’re starting to return to some sort of version of “normal.” That means offices are back open, and businesses are getting back to that shared workspace environment. It means it’s time to say goodbye to working from home in your underwear....

As Danika argues in this essay, reading a challenging book now and then is a good thing. Literary fiction, in which authors experiment and innovate, is especially attractive for readers aspiring to be writers, since these books can open our eyes to the countless ways in which we can think about narrative style, structure, and plot. In this quiz, I invite you to dream up some details about that book you have always wanted to write, and to take home a literary fiction book recommendation....

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!...