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As PBS releases new shows, our To-Be-Watched queues will fill again. However, if you’d like to live within your favorite Masterpiece Romances a bit longer, check out these books. Romantic novels often help comfort me, especially during this current period of social-isolation we face. I hope one of these may provide solace to you too. For Fans of Sanditon (Based on Sanditon, by Jane Austen) Edenbrooke By Julianne Donaldson In need of a regency romance with a plucky heroine like Sanditon’s Charlotte Heywood?...

Everyone’s favorite nerd, Peter Parker, debuted 59 years ago in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Today he is Marvel’s premiere character and arguably the most beloved, recognizable, and profitable superhero in the world, along with Batman. The third movie in the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy, No Way Home, hits theaters this month and is likely to be another blockbuster despite, you know, the continuing pandemic....

One of the best things about vampires is their transient ability to shapeshift into whatever allegorical purposes are required at the time of composition. Sometimes a deceptively dashing Romantic figure symbolising the excessive wealth and lechery of the upper class, often a progressive, subversive threat to the status quo of imperial power, the vampire thematically survives in literature due to the immortal variance they provide. Like a shadow, wherever society goes, the vampire will follow and take the form of that which blurs our comfortable boundaries; the only constant they provide is how they permeate the public consciousness, fangs and all....

A post shared by The Folio Society (@foliosociety) on Jan 19, 2020 at 1:48am PST What goes into a Folio edition? How are books selected for the treatment? What’s the history of The Folio Society? Let’s take a peek behind the curtain to see how Folio editions move from farm to table. A History of The Folio Society The Folio Society began in London in 1947, with the aim of publishing special editions of the best books from around the globe....

Whatever your interests, and wherever in time and space you like your stories to take place, there’s more than a few sci-fi thrillers out there for you. Whenever you’re looking for more niche reads and ultra-specific genres, check out our Tailored Book Recommendations service. TBR matches you with an experienced bibliologist who will find the perfect book for you, whatever your criteria! If you’re looking for more scares in space, check out our rundown of 14 Space Horror Books....

Please note that I will not cover larger categories here, so there is no YA (for example) as young adult fiction can be any genre. I have, however, made an effort to include stories from as many age categories as possible. Also please note that many genres have a ton of crossover, and I’ve done my best to include a variety of stories without including literally every possible sub-genre because good lord, there are so many....

What: Second Annual Queer Blackathon When: Saturday, June 19 (AKA my birthday Juneteenth), 2021 and through the weekend How Long: For however long you want to participate across the 48-hour period As a queer Black woman with an enormous, never-ending TBR, I’m always happy to find a way to hone and refine said reading list, and things to join that will help me dig through it. And Jesse and Starlah have come up with ways that anyone who wants to join can take whatever time they want and whatever avenue they’d prefer to celebrate and acknowledge the lives of Black queer folks living and lost....

In an effort to lift my own spirits and inject some joyfulness into an uncertain time, I’ve rounded up some bookish items to celebrate back to school. I hope you find something to get you excited the inevitable return to classes! Back to school means you need some fresh pencils. Why not choose this colorful set featuring bookish phrases? $15 If you’re looking for something more functional, try these pencils with common grammar reminders....

Of course, another option for if you can’t let go of the Locked Tomb trilogy is to start making your own stories set inside of that world! Fan fiction is always a worthwhile fan pursuit, but you can make it interactive by creating a roleplaying game set in the Empire! It’s a perfect setting to add a creepy (and queer!) tone to your campaign. Besides, who can resist playing through a “space fantasy murder mystery adventure”?...

I am notorious around my workplace for recommending Mamma Mia! to any person I come into contact with. It will forever be my lasting mark on this world and I can die happy knowing that. Everyone deserves to see the Dad-esque weird head-nod dance Pierce Brosnan does while Donna and the Dynamos sing “Super Trouper.” Everyone. And you haven’t known joy if you haven’t seen Meryl Streep (and Lily James) wander around a Greek island, overall-clad and singing ABBA songs....

Sometimes the news can leave us feeling helpless and hopeless. If you’re craving meaningful connection and opportunities to deepen your practice of intersectional feminism, check out Feminist Book Club, a monthly subscription box, weekly podcast, and community for progressive readers. Three lucky winners will receive three months of feminist books, products from woman- and queer-owned small businesses, and access to our video chats and discussion group. We’re not just another subscription box....

The acclaimed author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower returns with an epic work of literary horror. Single mother Kate and her son Christopher think they’ve finally found a place to settle down: the small community of Mill Grove. But then Christopher vanishes for six awful days. Finally Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. There’s a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a tree house in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone in the town will never be the same....

My Dark Vanessa explores the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself. Enter for a chance to win an early audio download of this extraordinary debut, performed by Grace Gummer....

Terry Pratchett’s birthday is on April 28. It’s been several years since he passed. I mourn that day, even though we knew it was coming. Terry had Alzheimer’s, and he died from related complications. Then his daughter destroyed the hard drive that contained his unfinished works. Remembering to Laugh It’s hard to read some of Terry’s serious works when you know that he can make you laugh. And then you remember that he’s not here to enjoy our mirth....

Personally, I love ‘em. While I might not find aging quite as cute anymore, I can’t help but shake my love of a day that is all about being celebrated. Birthdays let us find creative, thoughtful ways of showing our loved ones that we care about them — from being attentive and present to choosing a love-infused gift. Not only do I love my birthday, but planning for a friend’s birthday can also be so wonderful because you know that you are doing something that will make your loved one feel good!...

This is the first federal-level coverage of today’s book ban culture and it involves a host of special guest witnesses. Among them are Civil Rights activist and author Ruby Bridges, three high school students from Pennsylvania and Washington, as well as a librarian, a teacher, and a parent from Virginia and Pennsylvania. More witnesses are expected in the days leading up to the meeting. The deluge of book challenges, state-level legislation aimed at school and library curriculum, and educational gag orders have hit a fever pitch in the 2021-2022 school year....

The death of the author movement attempts to reread texts while ignoring the screaming ghost of the author at your chamber door. It’s all very nice and convenient, but it ignores the fact that by simply reading the damn text you contribute to the author’s legacy. For some authors, it is enough to simply throw up your hands and say “well, perhaps they were a bit problematic,” but for other authors, specifically authors you read as a child, the subject is trickier....

A 2019 article in The New York Times suggests that the reason for this indie bookshop resurgence is pretty simple: they’ve become part of their local community in a way that big companies couldn’t. The New York Times quotes Oren Teicher, the chief executive of the ABA, writing: “The thing that distinguishes indie bookstores is the engagement with the community they are in.” In the last few years, consumers have begun to embrace The Buy Local movement; among many other benefits, supporting a local business often means less transportation of goods, better quality of service, and investing in businesses owned and staffed by friends and neighbors....

“Perhaps the answer in this case is a different question: how many words do speakers of a language know? That answer is similarly murky, but according to at least one study, the average 20-year-old native English speaker knows an average of 42,000 words. In a 2011 interview with the BBC, lexicographer Susie Dent estimated that while an English speaker may know around 40,000 words, they only actively use about 20,000 of them....

What you’ll need: An Audible account with at least one audiobook in your library An Apple Watch (obvi) with the Audible app downloaded An iPhone connected to your Apple Watch with the Audible app downloaded Bluetooth headphones or speakers How to Download an Audible Book to Your iPhone To download an Audible book to your Apple Watch, first you’ll need to download the title to your iPhone. Go into the Audible app, click on My Library at the bottom, and click on the download arrow at the lower right hand corner of the audiobook’s cover....