Despite the name and supposed purpose of my Goodreads TBR, it’s actually somewhat unusual for me to refer to the list to decide on my next read. I add books with good intentions, imagining myself returning to the list to be reminded of books that looked interesting when I discovered them. But the reality is, my interests shift so rapidly that by the time I rediscover a book on my TBR, I’m no longer invested in reading it....
Middle Grade My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich by Ibi Zoboi (August 27, 2019 from Dutton) The first middle grade novel from the author of YA best-sellers Pride and American Street. Ebony Grace has an imagination as big as the sky, but it’s easier to daydream about sci-fi fantasies than find her place amidst the hip-hop explosion of 1980s Harlem. If only real life were as easy as dreaming of spaceships....
Yoshiya was a revolutionary. Her writing made romantic feelings between women palatable to mainstream Japanese readers, and while her stories may not have radically challenged gendered expectations, her real life did. Clémence Leleu’s Pen Online bio explains that Yoshiya’s success made her financially independent, and she was more androgynous in her hair and clothing style than most women were at the time. She was openly in a lesbian relationship with Monma Chiyo throughout her writing career, yet she was never adopted as a modern queer icon....
Currently anyone I can corner like a pusher into a book conversation I push The Good Lord Bird on them with, “Do you like historical fiction? American history, specifically the tumultuous years leading up to the Civil War? Character? Idiomatic language you’ll carry over into your day to day — you’ll start calling alcohol ‘joy juice,’ and about a hundred and fifty other things, and your mouth your ‘little red lane’?...
The purge began with the closets and bureau drawers. Old clothes that hadn’t been worn in a year or more were discarded. Next came the kitchen. Gone are unused dishes and old kitchen appliances. My file cabinets have a bit more space in them too now. It has been very cathartic. There is one area of my apartment, however, that does not get spring cleaned – the pile of unread books in the corner of the living room....
For the first time, I was struck by how the personal and political can intertwine in memory. Then again, that’s what oral history is about: stories, both personal and of the period, that offer fresh perspectives. What is oral history? Oral history refers to spoken accounts of events, be it historical, personal, or familial. Due to the subjective nature of these narratives, they are often rich mixtures of facts, opinions, and eye-witness accounts....
Pokémon was created in 1996 by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori, and was inspired by Tajiri’s childhood spent exploring nature. The franchise would go on to have a popular TV series, trading cards, and more than 360 million video games sold. A ninth generation of Pokémon will debut when the new games Scarlet and Violet release this fall, increasing the total number of Pokémon to about 1,000. The archivist position, which offers a salary range of between $77,000 and $118,000, may have been filled as it has been taken down from the site....
The Plan If you convinced every politician in this country that they needed to catch a live goose with their hands and teeth to become president, we’d all get to see many of our elected officials get their asses kicked six ways to Sunday by birds. (After that, I assume we’d welcome our goose overlords into the Oval Office and things would get better.) Reading a book is nothing compared to that....
I tried to include as many different genres as possible here. You’ll find fantasy and memoirs, essay collections and short stories, mysteries and romance, contemporary novels and historical ones, YA and adult books. I did include a few buzzy titles, but I mostly focused on books from indie presses that don’t get as much attention as the bigger-name releases. What better way to celebrate Pride than to preorder a whole bunch of fabulous queer books?...
Behind A Mask by Louisa A. Alcott Originally, Alcott published this wicked little book under a pseudonym. No wonder: it’s a delightfully twisted tale starring a governess who weaponizes sexism so effectively that nobody guesses her true aim: to secure the family manor for herself! A darling of feminist academics, you won’t believe how this book grips you. The Book Of Dragons by E. Nesbitt Nesbitt also wrote the classic children’s book Five Children And It, which still sometimes appears in school libraries....
A deliciously disarming debut novel about a twenty-something Londoner who discovers that she may have been looking for love — and pleasure — in all the wrong places (i.e. from men), In at the Deep End is an unforgettable and audacious odyssey through the pitfalls and seductions we encounter on the treacherous path to love and self. Happy Pride Month! We’re here, we’re queer, and we want to read some books that don’t make us cry, geez!...
Meet Libby. The one-tap reading app from your library, powered by OverDrive. Downloading Libby to your smartphone allows you to borrow thousands of eBooks and audiobooks for free anytime and anywhere. You’ll find library books in all genres, ranging from bestsellers, classics, nonfiction, comics and much more. Libby works on Apple and Android devices and is compatible with Kindle. All you need is a library card but you can sample any book in the library collection without one....
Like the climate fiction that arose in the late 1800s, reading about societies ravaged by climate change feels necessary. Most of the books I’ve collected on this list fall under the umbrella of speculative fiction, but they all have some didactic and hopeful qualities, like a lot of climate change reading. There are triggering apocalyptic incidents, but they also present that the general degradation of the world is human-caused. The themes of these books focus on what comes after the disasters that could change everything we think is familiar....
You’ve undoubtedly heard of the hero’s journey and its associated story archetypes. What I love about Moreno-Garcia’s novels is how they more often than not follow a distinctive heroine’s journey. You start with a willful female protagonist, beset by circumstances and placed in a (literal or figurative) claustrophobic setting. She is then sent ever downward—physically or emotionally—on a quest to realize her full self. Moreno-Garcia writes women I want to read—and women I want to be....
It wasn’t that they were unkind to me but that internally, I couldn’t make myself feel comfortable being seen as a girl. I cut my hair short and was happy without knowing why when substitute teachers mistook me for a boy. When Halloween came, I dressed up as male characters and was finally comfortable — so rare that I recognized it and felt increasing dread. I worried that I was different in a way I’d have to keep secret if I didn’t want to lose my friends....
The Last to Vanish opens with the disappearance of a journalist who is investigating a string of vanishings in the resort town of Cutter’s Pass—will its dark secrets finally be revealed? So tell us: What are some of your favorite outdoor thrillers? Which thrillers have scenarios and settings that, if you were honest, might change you? Come shout them at us on Facebook and Twitter, then we’ll round up your answers and be back next week to share a roundup with your fellow Riot readers....
Being as how Brigid has so many amazing books to catch up on, it’s hard to pick three to get you started with her tales. But, you will realize that every single one you pick up is worth your reading time and you’ll be intrigued until the last page. Below is a reading pathways to Brigid Kemmerer books, which introduces you to three titles that will truly take you on a journey and help you get to know this young adult author much better....
But no people and no era is a monolith: just like today, there were plenty of people who disagreed with the dominant ideologies. Some even had the courage, the talent, and the means to publicly challenge prevailing narratives that justified and even encouraged thoughtless fearmongering. Shock SuspenStories was published by EC Comics from 1952 to 1955. Many issues contain horror tales about, say, dissatisfied spouses murdering their partners in grisly yet ironic ways....
Barbie and Ken debuted in 1962. The series was published by Dell, which was known for its comics based on licensed properties, including Disney and various TV shows. The covers all feature the dolls in various poses, but the interiors have actual drawings. Ken is so dead-eyed he looks like the model for the dad in The Christmas Tree. Yeah, I totally want to play with that toy! The title may make you think this is a comic about Barbie and Ken having lots of cool adventures together....
If the recommendation is of the “for you” variety and it’s off the mark, lucky you. Here’s an opportunity to explain more about your tastes to your friend. Maybe the book was glacially paced and you like your books to be a little zippier. Or maybe you don’t like to read on-page sex scenes and the book was explicit. That’s helpful information for your friend to know, and they’ll likely be glad to try again, taking these new findings into consideration....
