Caffeine Of all the substances that keep people awake and alert, caffeine is the most effective. If you don’t believe me, then believe the U.S. military, which long ago figured out that an army actually runs on thousands and thousands of gallons of coffee. In case you’re new to the wonderful world of stimulants, there’s caffeine in coffee, tea, chocolate, and energy drinks. In general, chocolate is a poor vehicle for caffeine....
Traveling presents a great opportunity to go out into the world and meet other books. It might mean going halfway around the world to go to a special bookstore that was a former theatre or to gawk at beautiful illuminated manuscripts. Or maybe it’s a chance to read a book somewhere besides your couch or bed. But the biggest problem that bibliophiles face is the daunting question: How do you pack books for a trip?...
Starting a boozy book club can be quite fun. You and your club members get to decide the name of the club, the books that will be read and, most importantly, the drinks that will be consumed! Will it be BYOB or will the host of each month’s meeting supply the drinks? Will you drink beer, wine, or spirits? Or all three? The possibilities are endless. At the public library I am employed at, we have a pretty awesome boozy book club named “Libros & Libations....
Did you enjoy this Game of Thrones character quiz? Check out more Book Riot quizzes and more Game of Thrones content.
When the pandemic began to sweep across the country in mid-March, libraries big and small were forced to adapt all their programs to online platforms or completely scratch them off the calendar. Some libraries chose to alter pre-existing programs while others created new offerings entirely; take-home crafts, Zoom storytime, and personalized reading recommendations were suddenly popularly offered programs. Here are the stories of six American library staff members who are going above and beyond....
Once I’m close to halfway through a book, though, I’m unlikely to put it aside. I feel like I’ve already invested too much to turn around now (a classic sunk cost fallacy), so I tend to stick it out. By that point, I usually already know it’s impossible for this book to become a 5-star read on my personal Goodreads scale. Even if the latter half of the book is truly exceptional, it can’t make up for boring me in the middle....
Romance author Sarah MacLean drew our attention to this sanctimonious headline: Screenshot: “7 Clean Romance Novels that Won’t Make you feel dirty while reading” pic.twitter.com/JUXeJQUwdH — sarah maclean (@sarahmaclean) March 10, 2019 This thread from book blogger Vicky Who Reads has the conversation going in YA twitter: making YA more accessible to teens does NOT mean: – eliminating sex– eliminating cursing– eliminating drugs/alcohol/content that’s not considered “safe” if anything, making YA more relatable means showing a wide range of experiences....
Of course you could also put the book in question at the bottom of a stack of other books, put it in a drawer, put it in your closet (though given the propensity of closet monsters found in most houses, it is not recommended you give them reading material as they may remain indefinitely), bury it at the bottom of your hamper, or maybe even lock it in your car....
When I got older, high-school age, I found Sylvia Plath and ee cummings and my life changed. The music I loved . . . its lyrics were poetry. I tried to convince my English teacher of same, as utterly as I’d convinced myself, but he wasn’t buying it. (He just said the music I listened to sounded evil.) Plath and Amos, Cummings, DiFranco, Sexton, and Millay convinced me to write poetry, too....
Some of these bookish pencils are wrapped in the actual pages of books. Others are peppered with quotations from great reads or honor any number of reader-life habits and preferences. Celebrate the tricky bits of the English language with these grammar pencils. $9 for a set of five. The perfect set of pencils for writers. $9 for a set of four. How can you not love these Sylvia Plath quote pencils?...
There’s an elephant in the room with folk horror, one that a lot of people find easy to ignore: cultural appropriation, especially that of Indigenous cultures. How many horror stories end up with a setting being built on an “Indian burial ground,” with that being the reason misfortune befalls the main characters? And how many stories have we made w*ndigos the big bad in, which is something that Indigenous individuals have repeatedly asked us not to do?...
On the banks of River Ravi, under the sweltering heat of the summer, is a small city that holds the heart of Pakistan—Lahore. In a city where your hair sticks to the nape of your neck, and cold water gets warm faster than you can drink it, embarking on literary adventures is not on many people’s minds. That is what I thought, until I started exploring. At the center of it all stood a rich, literary city....
Capturing the attention of students is difficult with so many distractions out there. Luckily there is also a massive amount of great literature to read, books that can truly hook students and keep them coming back for more. The challenge for many schools, especially in the UK, is having the time and money to get access to these books. In the UK we have a situation where celebrity-written books are dominating the shelves at the local supermarkets....
Few characters are as whimsically fantastically and instantly recognizable as Alice, the White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, and the rest of the crew. Of course, you also don’t need to wait until Halloween to dress up – maybe you have a literary party you’re throwing, or you just want to shake things up at the office. Whatever your reasoning, here are some Alice in Wonderland costumes you can either buy or make yourself:...
I’ve recently found myself either placing a “disclaimer” on a few mysteries that have been labeled cozy, or shown up in reviews and publishing blurbs with the term “Millennial Cozy Mystery.” For years I have read a ton of readers’ wants, likes, and dislikes for Tailored Book Recommendations — we literally recommend books based on surveys filled out by subscribers — and I see a lot of requests for cozy mysteries, giving me a good idea of why readers like them....
As always, even if you aren’t a member of these communities, you can do something in support of intellectual freedom. This toolkit to how to fight book bans and challenges will give you ideas and actionable steps for ensuring all readers have access to the materials they deserve. The easiest step, especially as you read these stories, is to open up a materials request form at your library and request the titles mentioned here, if they’re not already in the library’s collection....
I’ve turned to memoirs when I needed to feel more connected to a subject or concept. A Chopped and Top Chef phase resulted in a wealth of tell-alls and reflections from talented women chefs, and, of course, my lifelong passion for true crime resulted in my reading the usual suspects like The Stranger Beside Me and The Fact of a Body. It is no surprise that when I started thinking about what titles I wanted to add to my Ramadan reading, memoirs resurfaced in my mind’s eye alongside more traditional, faith-based texts....
The good news is many companies are enforcing this accountability, with one of the most controversial measures in the literature and entertainment industries: Morality Clauses. What is a ‘Morality Clause’? A Morality Clauses (AKA Morals Clause) is a convenient exit for when a contractor or employee damages a company reputation. The purpose of morality clauses is to manage or guarantee the image of one party meets the expectations of another....
Me too. So in search of inspiration, motivation, and some comfort, I’ve turned to my favorite cookbook authors, the ones I’d trust with coming up with the recipes for my last meal on earth. I recommend every cookbook these talented chefs have ever written, but that’s a lot of cookbooks. So I’ve picked my one must-buy cookbook for each of them. These are the cookbooks I cook from day in and day out, the ones that are full of post-its and covered in splatters and stains....
My Hero Academia Clothing This U.A. High sweatshirt is a really great option for people who don’t want to go all out and wear the characters faces but still want a nod to their fandom on their clothing. My Hero Academia Accessories If you prefer your merch in jewelry format, these resin art necklaces are so pretty, and since they’re black and white, they’ll go with anything. You could also go for a keychain – these ones are meant to look like little Polaroid pictures....
