Books

At long last, the Argylle author has been revealed! If you’re a little late to the latest bookish conspiracy theory, read this rundown to catch up. Essentially, there’s been a lot of speculation surrounding the true identity of Elle Conway, the listed author of the book that inspired the new spy action comedy titled Argylle,

Happy February, friends! Can you believe we’re already a month into 2024? If you’re keeping on track to complete the 2024 Read Harder Challenge, you should be done about two prompts by now. But if you haven’t, there’s still plenty of time to catch up! I’m about to go on vacation for two weeks, which

The Alabama Public Library Service has voted not to renew its American Library Association (ALA) membership. This comes after some in the state have accused the ALA — the oldest and largest library association in the world — of promoting Marxism, supporting keeping sexual content in libraries, and discriminating against religious organizations. In October, Governor

Almost from the moment it docked in Mobile Bay, Alabama, much has been written about the Clotilda, the schooner that brought 110 captive Africans to the U.S. in 1860, more than five decades after the slave trade had been outlawed. The illegal voyage was conducted with stealth, but the arrival of the ship was an

N. Scott Momaday was the first Native American author to win a Pulitzer Prize, with his novel House Made of Dawn. He passed away on January 24th at age 89. Momaday wrote novels, poetry, essays, and memoirs, and he incorporated his Kiowa heritage in his writing. He published House Made of Dawn in 1968, and

You might not immediately associate the horror genre with children’s books, but in fact, there may be no fan of scary stories more passionate than a kid. From the gentle introduction to the genre that is Bunnicula (now also available as a graphic novel) to the spooky Goosebumps series (also available as graphic novels) to

Some of Ben Guterson’s most treasured childhood memories center around two now-defunct grand old department stores in downtown Seattle: Frederick & Nelson and The Bon Marché. They “were absolutely places of magic for me,” the author reminisces in a call from his home in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. “At Christmastime, I would go

Alice Nuttall (she/her) is a writer, pet-wrangler and D&D nerd. Her reading has got so out of control that she had to take a job at her local library to avoid bankrupting herself on books – unfortunately, this has just resulted in her TBR pile growing until it resembles Everest. Alice’s webcomic, writing and everything

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

Cyrus Shams is, in his own words, “another death-obsessed Iranian man,” fixated on death—but more than that, on martyrdom. He needs his death to matter, for the act of his dying to have a purpose. Cyrus’ family inheritance is one of pointless death. His mother died when her plane was shot down by American forces

Argylle is a spy action comedy movie starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Henry Cavill, Dua Lipa, Samuel L. Jackson, and more in a star-studded ensemble cast. It’s produced and directed by Matthew Vaughn. The film is based on book four of the Argylle series by Elly Conway, and the author plays a central role in this

In her first picture book, You Broke It! (Rise x Penguin, $18.99, 9780593660409), New Yorker cartoonist Liana Finck takes an irreverent look at the endless barrage of reprimands that parents routinely fling at their offspring—“Sit still!” or “Get the hair out of your eyes!”—and twists them in ways that will leave both parents and young

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

Anna Sinjari is a Kurdish woman dealing with both office drone existential dread and the lingering trauma of the violence she escaped when she immigrated to America. Ssrin is an alien on the run, who immediately bonds with Anna when they encounter each other in Central Park. As a cosmic crisis looms, the pair’s uncanny

Brooklyn Public Library and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts launched an open call for submissions to a new project that’s in collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and Queens Public Library. The project, titled Anthem to US, is in honor of the country’s approaching 250th anniversary, and invites

As a 19-year-old undergraduate, Antonia Hylton read an academic paper that mentioned Crownsville State Hospital, known at its founding as the Hospital for the Negro Insane. That reference triggered an obsession with the hospital’s bleak history that has carried her through the 10 years it took to produce Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim

Jenn Northington has worked in the publishing industry wearing various hats since 2004, including bookseller and events director, and is currently Director of Editorial Operations at Riot New Media Group. You can hear her on the SFF Yeah! podcast nerding out about sci-fi and fantasy. When she’s not working, she’s most likely gardening, running, or

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles As the days become shorter, there’s nothing more comforting than immersing myself in a sweeping historical novel—the bigger, the better! When my book club recently voted to read Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow (Penguin, $18, 9780143110439), I welcomed the opportunity to escape nightly into the grand halls

Read Harder isn’t the only reading challenge happening in 2024, of course! That’s why I’m highlighting some of the other challenges you might want to add to your reading goals this year. Fellow Book Rioter Laura Sackton is hosting Queer Your Year 2024: a yearlong reading challenge that celebrates queer list. There are 48 challenges

What happens to a family after a dangerous, life-changing and historic journey? That’s the focus of Veera Hiranandani’s wonderful Amil and the After, which follows 12-year-old Amil and his family, who, during the Partition of India in 1948, have just migrated to Bombay from what would become Pakistan. It’s a worthy companion novel to Hiranandani’s

Julia is a professional nerd who can be spotted in the wild lounging with books in the park in Brooklyn, NY. She has a BA in International Studies from the University of Chicago and an MA in Media Studies from Pratt Institute. She loves fandom, theater, cheese, and Edith Piaf. Find her at juliarittenberg.com. View

Jaime Herndon finished her MFA in nonfiction writing at Columbia, after leaving a life of psychosocial oncology and maternal-child health work. She is a writer, editor, and book reviewer who drinks way too much coffee. She is a new-ish mom, so the coffee comes in extra handy. Twitter: @IvyTarHeelJaime View All posts by Jaime Herndon A

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

Ann Fraistat’s deliciously creepy, highly inventive YA gothic horror novel A Place for Vanishing has a killer first line: “Days like this made me wish I’d never come back from the dead.” It just gets better from there—at least for readers who revel in cleverly conceived supernatural horror, from scary seances to oodles of sinister,

On October 1st, Scholastic will publish an illustrated edition of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, with art by Nico Delort. This new edition of the bestselling, era-defining dystopian coming-of-age story will feature more than 30 black-and-white illustrations, and be published in the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. David Levithan, VP, Publisher, and

Last year I told everyone who would listen about a book I was reading—Breath by James Nestor—and how radically it had impacted my thinking. Most of us breathe poorly, and it’s a real problem. Another excellent, easy-to-browse resource to get your breathing back on track is Jean Hall’s Breathe: Simple Breathing Techniques for a Calmer,

After the cofounders of Angel City Press — an independent press that publishes books centered on L.A.’s cultural history — announced their retirement, the Los Angeles Public Library acquired the press. The L.A. Public Library is the fifth-largest public library in the country, and joins the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library

Like his mentor Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis had a dream. Amid the turmoil and violence of a segregated South and a nation embroiled in the struggle for racial reconciliation, Lewis envisioned and championed what he called a “Beloved Community” in America, “a society based on simple justice that values the dignity and the

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

The protagonist of Temim Fruchter’s remarkable debut novel, a queer grad student studying Jewish folklore, describes her work as collecting scraps. In the wake of her father’s death, 30-year-old Shiva decides to get her master’s, hoping to unravel the family mysteries her mother has kept hidden from her all her life. Shiva eventually travels to