Books

Celtic mythology has been a source of inspiration for writers, artists, and historians for centuries. The tales of King Arthur and his knights are perhaps the most famous from the broad collection of stories that fall under the ‘Celtic mythology’ umbrella, but there are many other tales and characters that are just as fascinating, including

Marlene dreads Sundays, when she and her mom, Paola, spend most of the day at the salon undergoing the excruciating (and excruciatingly boring) ritual of getting their hair straightened. Marlene, who is Dominican American, has an imagination as vivid and untameable as her naturally curly hair, so she survives each week’s torture session by imagining

Superheroes have been around a long time, and most of the characters and genre conventions are pretty well established. But did every character always look and act the way we expect them to today? In this series, I’ll be looking at the first appearances of iconic superheroes to see what’s familiar, what’s fallen by the

As World War II recedes further into the past, Jonathan Freedland has revived one story from the Holocaust that’s both historically significant and a riveting read. Freedland, the author of several thrillers and a correspondent for The Guardian, writes with a novelist’s verve to tell the story of Rudolf Vrba, the first Jewish person to

If “book sanctuary” is a new phrase to you, it’s likely because it is a new phrase more broadly. Book sanctuaries are institutions committed to upholding the First Amendment Rights of all citizens, wherein book bans and challenges must follow through a specific procedure to be considered. They are places where books and the right

Author Elaine Castillo proposes an open-minded and inclusive approach to literature and film in her radical, refreshing book on critical thinking, How to Read Now (9 hours). Castillo urges writers and readers to understand that nonwhite characters don’t exist for the sole purpose of teaching empathy to white people, and that the excuse “it was

Barnes & Noble is currently holding a huge Buy One, Get One 50% Off sale applied to hundreds of titles, both in store and online. It includes classics like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, bestsellers of the past few years like Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, and new releases like The Sacrifice by Rin

Magic! Murder! Shipboard romance! The second entry in Freya Marske’s beloved The Last Binding trilogy, the queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light, is here. The most interesting things in Maud Blyth’s life have happened to her brother Robin, but she’s ready to join any cause, especially if it involves magical secrets

Bad Sisters on Apple TV+ is an absolute joy of a show. Did I just call a show about a group of sisters trying to kill their brother-in-law a joy? Yes, yes I did. It’s a high stakes feeling show without actually being high stakes, so it’s perfect during our very stressful current times. What

Actor Paul Newman was known for many things: acting, car racing, philanthropy through his Newman’s Own food business and, of course, his rugged good looks and piercing blue eyes. He was a beloved Hollywood icon, but he didn’t think of himself that way. In fact, he wrestled with internal demons throughout his life. Newman’s memoir,

The winners of the 2022 Harvey Awards were announced during New York Comic Con on October 8. The Harvey Awards, which began in 1988, are one of comics’ oldest running and most prestigious awards. They were named after Harvey Kurtzman, an American comics pioneer who is best known for creating MAD magazine in 1952. Outstanding

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins and The Cold Millions comes a stunning collection about those moments when everything changes—for the better, for the worse, for the outrageous—as a diverse cast of characters bounces from Italy to Idaho, questioning their roles in life and finding inspiration in the unlikeliest places. We all live like we’re famous

From Wednesday, October 12th to Tuesday, October 18th, Book Riot will be matching donations to Taller Sallud for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico, up to $2,500 USD. Read on to see why why we’ve chosen to support this organization and for instructions on how to donate. On September 18th, Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto

So, you made your way through not only “Bridgerton” but every other historical miniseries you could get your hands on, and now you’re faced with the daunting task of picking out a Regency romance novel from approximately one million titles. Don’t worry—we’re here to help. There are tons of terrific books out there, and because

Angela Lansbury played the mystery author and sleuth Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote for 12 years, along with countless other iconic roles in her life. She passed away in her sleep October 11, 2022, days before her 97th birthday. She was still acting into her 90s, including many bookish roles. She appeared in Disney’s

 The #1 bestselling, award-winning author of Life after Life transports us to a restless London in the wake of the Great War—a city bursting with money, glamour, and corruption—in this spellbinding tale of seduction and betrayal. 1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife.

If you’ve been reading manga for awhile, you may have begun to wonder about its Korean cousin, manwha, or webtoons. The popularity of different kinds of manga and manwha continue to grow, but there is one genre in particular that stands out: action. Like with manga, action manwha are some of the most popular and

True crime writer Gage Chandler, the protagonist of John Darnielle’s Devil House, jumps at the opportunity to live at the “Devil House,” a building where two gruesome, possibly satanic murders took place in 1986. Blamed on some rebellious teenagers, the case remains unsolved. Once Gage moves in and starts researching the murders, he’s drawn into

New legislation has been introduced that would expand access to school libraries and codify student First Amendment Rights. The Right to Read Act (S. 5064 and H.R. 9056), introduced by Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed and Arizona Representative Raúl Grijalva, would put a certified school librarian in every public school library across the country. Among the

When choosing something to read, it’s easier if you’re familiar the genre, or format, already. Because then, you only have to go into your TBR shelf and choose something that calls to you. But when it comes to dipping your toes into a new genre or format, I can understand if it suddenly becomes too

Once upon a time, in a galaxy not so far away, the hallowed institution of nerdom became mainstream. No longer are the niche predilections of geeks sequestered to the outskirts of pop culture; these die-hard fans have cultivated a recognized movement that can shift the cultural discourse. But for fans like New York Times critic-at-large

Carmen Maria Machado’s book, In The Dream House opens with the following quote:  I never read prologues. I find them tedious. If what the author has to say is so important, why relegate it to the paratext? What are they trying to hide? Reading this quote, I immediately warmed up to Machado: I, too, skip

We’ve made it to the home stretch of 2022, and while there’s still a ton of 2022 year fun to be had (hello, spooky season and the holidays!), we are winding down to the end of big release season with a lighter slate of offerings in our new YA comics and graphic novels releases. But

The Library of Congress has named 23 U.S. Poet Laureates since the position was renamed in 1985, and they have named their 24th: Ada Limón, author of six poetry collections, five of which have either won or been nominated for a multitude of awards. Limón is only one of eight female poets laureate, and the

Creepy season is in full swing, and it’s time to get those horror novel TBR piles ready. Of course, there are plenty of kinds of horror novels you could pick up to celebrate the best time of the year. You could go for vampires, zombies, monsters… but you know what kind of horror stories really

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — spooky season! I’m not usually one for seasonal decorating, but Halloween is the special holiday that gets me excited to pull out my skeletons and witch hats to spread the spine-chilling cheer. If you love books and the haunting magic of October 31, then these bookish

So why do book banners insist that they don’t ban books? Because the level of doubling down as book banning increases is, on one hand, impressive and on the other hand, is concerning about several key components of literacy. [embedded content][embedded content] During Banned Books Week, Tiffany Justice — one of the founders of Moms

USDish is offering a fan of fantasy the opportunity to win $2,000 plus a swag box worth $350. To win the prizes, first a fan must apply and be selected by USDish. They will then be expected to watch 40 hours of the following fantasy TV series over the course of 30 days: Game of

Sometimes books get their cover right the first time: they come out with an iconic image splashed on the front that will be forever associated with the story. Reprints preserve that artwork for future generations of readers. With the other titles, though, it takes a few times to get it right. There are many books