Books

Ash has always felt like an outsider. They have few friends at school, their interests in fantasy novels and environmentalism aren’t shared by their peers, and when they came out as nonbinary and changed their name, their parents didn’t quite get it: “When they don’t think I can hear them, they say the old name

The Hugo Awards are one of the biggest — and most controversial — sci-fi and fantasy awards. Last year, when the Hugos were hosted in China, several works were disqualified for political reasons. This year, almost 10% of the votes — representing tens of thousands of dollars in memberships — were disqualified when they were

Powerful in its nuanced details, Mina’s Matchbox is an immersive and poignant coming-of-age story. After the death of her father, 12-year-old Tomoko is sent to live with her aunt’s family in the coastal Japanese town of Ashiya, while her mother stays in Tokyo. Mina’s Matchbox chronicles Tomoko’s transformative year with her extended family, from 1972

Margaret Kingsbury grew up in a house so crammed with books she couldn’t open a closet door without a book stack tumbling, and she’s brought that same decorative energy to her adult life. Margaret has an MA in English with a concentration in writing and has worked as a bookseller and adjunct English professor. She’s

The back-to-back deaths of two childhood friends push Isadora Chang to leave her hometown for a life in the city—until her own abusive father dies, and she is brought back into the restrictive, judgmental community of Slater. Haunted by memories of her lost friends, Zach and Wren, Isadora is desperate to escape Slater again, but

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Here are the most popular stories from the past week. Walmart Gets Saucy If you’ve been wanting to turn your book club into an episode of Hot Ones, now’s your moment. Walmart, the big-box retailer

When I was a baby queer, freshly out at 15, I dreamed of one day being a professional queer. You know, the kind of person whose brand is queer and whose day job doesn’t just tolerate their queerness but centers it. Running a Pride-themed B&B, say. Or starting an LGBTQ bookstore. Today, I get paid

Know somebody who’s looking for a new gig? Book Riot is hiring an ad operations associate. Now let’s kick off the weekend with a round-up of the week’s best. After passing one of the most restrictive book banning measures in the country, the state of Utah has released its list of books to be banned from schools

Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Before we get into the news, Book Riot is hiring an ad operations associate. Check it out, share with friends, and apply if you’re a good fit. Authors Get In on Literary Activism Book bans—and

Felix Powell isn’t like most 8-year-olds. When his Nan gives him $5 to spend on anything at a thrift shop, he is drawn toward an old blanket. Additionally, he can communicate with his dog, the phenomenally named Mary Puppins. After he and Puppins try everything they can think of to discover the blanket’s secret magic,

Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She’s the editor/author of (DON’T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. View

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Walmart Gets Saucy If you’ve been wanting to turn your book club into an episode of Hot Ones, now’s your moment. Walmart, the big-box retailer historically devoted to ~family values, has created a line of

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Audible Testing AI-Generated Recommendations Audible announced today that it is testing a new feature that will offer users AI-generated recommendations based on specific search queries. “Maven” is being rolled out in beta to about half

If you had told T. Kingfisher a few decades ago that she would write a novel inspired in part by her love of Regency romance novels, she probably wouldn’t have believed you. After all, the author is best known for her work in horror and dark fantasy, two genres not exactly known for their similarity

Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside

★ Death on the Tiber In 2013, Lindsey Davis, the author of the Marcus Didius Falco mysteries set in ancient Rome, embarked on a new series featuring Falco’s daughter, Flavia Albia, who learned the sleuthing craft at her father’s knee. In the 11 years since, Davis released the same number of well-crafted puzzlers, but her

In need of a lil escape? Travel back to the 1970s with these graphic novels. Here are some more of the day’s highlights. Now that we are in August, there are many new releases to consider. So many that I really had to exercise restraint with this list. There’s the translated mystery Time of the

What was supposed to be an incredibly romantic first date with her longtime crush, Akilah, instead nearly becomes Marlowe Wexler’s undoing, when the custom candle she ordered in Akilah’s favorite scent explodes, burning down a house belonging to Marlowe’s family friends. Is it any wonder that Akilah breaks things off rather than dating an accidental

Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside

Oliver Jeffers is one of the most recognizable and innovative creators in children’s literature today, and The Dictionary Story showcases his vivid imagination at work in yet another collaboration with the wildly inventive Sam Winston (following A Child of Books). An authors’ note explains this picture book as the product of a team of “so

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Notable New Voices for Fall Fall is historically Big Book Season, and while we are awaiting releases from some big names in the next few months (Louise Erdrich is at the top of my list),

New York Times bestselling author Erica Ridley returns to her Wild Wynchesters series with a heroine who has a penchant for finding trouble and a shy, brainy hero pretending to be his cousin. Combine that pairing with a castle siege and the mystery of a missing will, and you have a delightful Regency romance that

If, like me, you spent a solid portion of your weekend watching the Olympics and exclaiming variations on, “How did they do that?!,” you’ve no doubt noticed that there’s a lot of downtime in between the dopamine hits. How better to fill the downtime than with some Olympic-themed reading? If that’s not your flavor, maybe

Back in September 2019, I set aside a day to organize the piles of books I knew I’d have to read in order to write I Am on the Hit List. “It’s like wilting spinach,” a friend said. We take everything we’ve read and chop and blend and season and simmer, and if all goes

Margaret Kingsbury grew up in a house so crammed with books she couldn’t open a closet door without a book stack tumbling, and she’s brought that same decorative energy to her adult life. Margaret has an MA in English with a concentration in writing and has worked as a bookseller and adjunct English professor. She’s

Nathan Newman challenges readers to reckon with all the cruelties and joys of human interaction in their debut novel, How to Leave the House. Newman’s protagonist is a young man named Natwest, but he’s not the only central character: The novel intersperses Natwest’s interior narrative with the stories of the many people in his town

Book Riot follows a lot of news every week in addition to the stories we cover for Today in Books. Here’s the highlight reel, accompanied by links to a bunch of other interesting news that didn’t get the full treatment this week, just for All Access members. All Access members, read on for the best

It’s time once again for your bi-weekly roundup of mystery goodness! I’ve got exciting new releases, multicast mystery audiobooks, and a link roundup. Bookish Goods Reading Heart Sticker by MirkwoodScribes I mean, the sticker does not lie. $4. New Releases You Shouldn’t Be Here by Lauren Thoman For fans of stories with missing person cases,

Kendra Winchester is a Contributing Editor for Book Riot where she writes about audiobooks and disability literature. She is also the Founder of Read Appalachia, which celebrates Appalachian literature and writing. Previously, Kendra co-founded and served as Executive Director for Reading Women, a podcast that gained an international following over its six-season run. In her