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It’s no secret that school board elections right now are crucial. It’s also no secret that some school board candidates — even in nonpartisan elections — are being funded by right-wing political action committees to infuse the board with specific conservative agendas. Groups like Moms For Liberty run trainings across the country, hoping to get their agenda on the local level to further remove the voices of any non-white, non-straight, non-Christians from schools (and to help accelerate the process of destroying public school funding more broadly)....

Once I hit adulthood, I was determined to make the switch. I got my very own system and started buying high fantasy and sci-fi games. At that point, those were the only genres I read, so it felt like the perfect place to start out. Besides, I had gotten a little bored with reading those genres, so maybe playing some games would help me rediscover what I loved about them....

I don’t know about you but whenever someone treats a book this way, I die a little bit inside. As someone working in the publishing industry, seeing mountains of scattered books like what I have witnessed makes me recoil. Now, I hope you don’t strike me as sentimental and dramatic. There’s a reason why I feel strongly this way. My Early Days As a Publisher Fresh from college and bewildered, I saw books as what they are—something that will entertain me or provoke my thoughts....

My primary reason for rereading Catcher is I’m working on writing a novel that is an homage to Holden Caulfield and his bender in New York City. In my story, a college student misses the train home for Thanksgiving and must rough it out back on campus in Philadelphia. In revisiting The Catcher in the Rye, one of the main objectives I had was to get familiar with that “voicey” narrative voice that Catcher fans know and love....

It’s a shame there are so few illustrated books that aren’t comics in the world beyond picture books, but they do exist. We live in a world that presents multimedia experiences daily, and illustrated YA books allow readers to experience a story in a fresh, creative way. Let’s take a look at some outstanding examples of illustrated YA books. Some of these are going to lean into art more heavily than prose and yet still offer a reading experience wholly encapsulating of the teen years and all that adolescence has to bring....

I was jealous, because I used to have a problem with starting books and not finishing them. This wasn’t because I had any particular issue with the content. It was just that if they were long or arduous, I usually abandoned them halfway through for another book that was more appealing. Yes, I was the living embodiment of the “Distracted Boyfriend” meme. I wanted to finish all the books I started, but I just didn’t....

While February felt like the length of a year this time it was still the shortest month, which means I had to cram 30/31 days worth of reading into 28 days. Challenge was obviously accepted! And it’s a good thing because I read some excellent crime novels this month including two lady spies and two of my favorite authors had new releases! Plus, I have something for every reading taste including neo-noir, procedural, and nonfiction....

What was the Harlem Renaissance? During World War I, Black Americans moved en masse out of the Jim Crow south, arriving in the American West, Midwest, and the Northeast, like Harlem. This movement is now referred to as The Great Migration. Black writers found opportunities to publish for the first time. Black-owned and Black-led magazines, newspapers, and full-blown book publishing (courtesy of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association) focused on publishing Black writers, about not shying away from the racial turmoil around them....

The story in and of itself is worth talking about, as it’s not the first such incident this month. And in fact, it’s part of a long line of hatred and intimidation of queer people in public institutions this month alone: “Pervs work here” was spray painted on an elementary school in California In Montana, people are complaining that the state library association’s new logo is offensive because (wait for it) it has the colors red, blue, yellow, and green An Alaska library might lose funding for hosting a drag story time The library board for the Jennings Public Library demanded the Pride display be removed Macon County heard complaints about their Pride display Proud Boys showed up to a San Francisco area drag story time and threatened the performers, as well as scared the children in attendance Proud Boys showed up to a drag story time in Wilmington, North Carolina In New Hanover, North Carolina, protesters showed up to a Pride story time (worth noting that this particular story time was being targeted a month ago when the event was announced)...

Of the 11 Daggers awarded, seven are nominated by publishers and are judged by professionals from the industry rather than the CWA itself. The four remaining daggers — including the Diamond Dagger, the Debut Dagger, the Publishers’ Dagger, and the Dagger in the Library — are nominated by parties that are not publishers. So, without further ado, check out these 2021 CWA Dagger Award Winners! 2021 CWA Dagger Award Winners Diamond Dagger Martina Cole This most esteemed dagger commemorates a writer for a lifetime contribution to crime writing....

Whatever the reason, it was there. So, this was one of the first books I got when I started actively reading to my son. I was so excited to share it with him. When I mentioned it to one of my friends she quipped, “Oh you mean the book where Mom has boundary issues?” I laughed responding, “It’s still a sweet book.” Later that night, I snuggled up with him and gave it the first read through in years....

The statue, an objectively terrible eyesore depicting a weirdly tiny naked woman held up by a comparatively huge swirling mass of semi-formless women, has already proven rather controversial. Created by artist Maggi Hambling CBE and made of silvered bronze, it is the result of ten years’ fundraising and sits near the site of the girls’ school Mary Wollstonecraft founded at age 25 after largely educating herself. As of 2016, a mere 2....

(Here’s a tip: I put upcoming books into Google Calendar and send an email reminder when they come out, so I can request them from the library. Or, of course, you can preorder anything you’re especially excited about!) Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole (January 8th) I’ve heard such good things about Alyssa Cole’s books that she’s been on my radar for a while, but her writing an f/f romance finally bumps her up my TBR!...

Books by the letters other than L and G aren’t an almost nonexistent side section, but are integral to the store. The same for books by LGBTQIA+ folx who are POC, Disabled, Women, and so on. Whatever combination of identities you inhabit, you should be able to find books by and about folx like you. In the same vein as uplifting marginalised voices, there is a multilingual section. Books in some of the other commonly spoken languages in the store’s city, and books in braille....

I live on a small island with my dog, and I often listen to books while I’m walking her. I also garden for a living, which means I spent most of my days alone, tending to vegetables and flowers. Gardening and walking are both perfect activities for listening to books, and so, especially in the summer, I spend a lot of time reading while traipsing around the island. Because I visit the same gardens every week, and because I often go on the same walks over and over again, those places are now layered with my memories of books....

When asked which genres they read as children, the most popular one named was mysteries and thrillers: 40% said they read this genre, and 10% said it was the one they read most often as kids. Since most of the people who responded to this survey are 45 and up, this may be related to the popularity of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, along with similar series, in previous decades....

In this high-color middle grade graphic novel, Bridgitte’s life is uprooted when she moves to a new town. She’s hopeful that a new school means lots of new friends, but her first day makes an impression that leaves her locked in a storage closet and with the class bully breathing down her neck. Plus, there’s something in the woods right outside the school… something especially creepy, and definitely from space!...

The majority of new releases come out into the world every Tuesday. It’s like a holiday every week! Let’s start with a brief look at how to find out about them, because there are a lot of ways to find out about upcoming books. How To Find Out About New Book Releases Book Riot has several great ways for you to find out what’s coming up and coming out. Here’s great advice on how to keep up with new book releases, how to find new LGBTQ releases, and how to find upcoming book releases by date....

I work weekends in a bookshop, and I recently noticed that whenever a customer asked for a kids’ book recommendation, I would almost always suggest stories with a dark twist. This was true no matter what the age group; from picture books like Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, to the more mature Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman, it was all a little bit unsettling. Why were nearly all the books I loved as a kid so scary and strange?...