Books

Brittney Griner’s memoir is slated for a spring 2024 release. In it, the basketball star will detail her experiences being arrested and imprisoned in Russia. In February 2022, the WNBA All-Star flew to Moscow to play for the Russian women’s team UMMC Ekaterinburg, a common offseason activity for WNBA athletes that sometimes earns them almost

In Home Away From Home, Newbery Honor author Cynthia Lord returns to some of her signature storytelling themes: displacement, friendship, families, animals and summer. Fans of Rules, A Touch of Blue and Because of the Rabbit will enjoy learning about the intriguing animal at the novel’s center, a white gyrfalcon typically seen in the Arctic.

If you’ve been following book banning news, you recognize the name Llano County, Texas. They come up frequently in our Censorship News Roundup, including for banning In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak, barring community members from observing what should be public library board meetings, firing the library director, and more. Llano County library users also

“Every mother and daughter should have conversations that change their lives. This book will win your heart!” -Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Hotel Nantucket A mother and daughter on vacation in Paris unpack a lifetime of secrets and hopes–with a giant Pattersonian twist at the end! Every daughter has her own distinctive voice, her inimitable style,

On April 4, the international book community went in mourning when Book Depository announced that it was closing at the end of the month. Readers have until midday, April 26, 2023 to buy any books from them before it shuts down. For international readers, this news is far from welcome: for over 20 years, a

The books I’ve written so far began almost accidentally. Not the day-to-day, year-to-year accumulation of words—no accidents there. But the inciting moment or the controlling idea that ended up as the buttress for the whole contraption was unplanned, and usually came from me just playing around with words. With Big Fish, I was passing the

If you spend a good amount of time in manga circles, you may have heard the term dōjinshi before. And you may have certain assumptions about what it is, which I fear is quite common, particularly for those in the west. But for those who’ve ever been curious about dōjinshi and want to learn more

Seventeen-year-old Alonda is a straight-A student who never gets in trouble and does whatever her strict, overprotective guardian, Teresa, asks of her—all while keeping her dreams locked up tight inside. But when the sweltering June heat has her fleeing to the window of her Coney Island apartment in search of a cool breeze, Alonda spots

Analog horror books are a riff off of the ever-popular found footage sub-genre of horror that came to popularity in the late 2000s notably on YouTube. The sub-genre is often full of grainy, “dated” looking footage, mysterious circumstances, and in the style of analog electronics like television, VHS tapes, FM radio, etc. Viewers are presented

Did you know that the margarita is a “tribute cocktail,” a drink named in honor of a person? In this case, the honoree is Margarita Henkel, daughter of a German ambassador. In Buzzworthy, Vancouver-based author Jennifer Croll (Free the Tipple, Art Boozel) builds on this concept, introducing cocktails inspired by female writers from the 19th

When book banning started to heat up two years ago, many wondered how long until a library worker would be seriously hurt over defending the right to read. Now, we know it’s not going to be long at all. Over the last month, several libraries have faced bomb and shooting threats as a direct result

Imagine if Elizabeth Cady Stanton had been distracted from her suffrage efforts because she fell in love, Hallmark movie-style, with a local Seneca Falls man. Or if Emily Dickinson contacted tech support but could only communicate in her trademark poetic style. Or if the Gettysburg Address had been written by “The West Wing” creator Aaron

The 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award winner has been announced. Out of 512 American novels and short story collections published in the U.S. in 2022, Yiyun Li’s book, The Book of Goose, was named the best novel by Tiphanie Yanique, R.O. Kwon, and Christopher Bollen, the writers who served as judges this year. The Book of Goose

John Randolph, a wealthy enslaver from Virginia, member of Congress for almost 30 years, strong defender of states’ rights and prominent public speaker, died in 1833. In the will that he created in 1821, he stipulated the freeing of every enslaved person on his plantation, which would amount to one of the largest manumissions in

The National Book Foundation has announced the honorees for its 5 Under 35 list, which names “five fiction writers under the age of 35 whose debut work promises to leave a lasting impression on the literary landscape.” Honorees must have published their first and only book of fiction within the last five years. The writers

Sixteen-year-old Samantha “Sam” Kang has long felt like the odd one out in her family. Her older brother, Julian, is a “literal genius” studying science at Yale, while Sam is a B-minus student who’s more into podcasts and movies than college application-friendly activities like clubs or sports. Her mom, Priscilla, is a lawyer, and her

Book Depository is an online book retailer based in the UK that started in 2004. In 2011, it was bought out by Amazon, and by the end of April 2023, it will be shutting down for good. The online retailer was known for offering free shipping to 160 countries, and it was a useful option

Children’s literacy advocate John Schu and Caldecott Honor recipient Lauren Castillo celebrate the power of finding the perfect book—in a story that’s more relevant than ever. This is a word on a page.This is a page in a book.This is a book on a shelf . . . waiting.With a sea-horse kite in hand, a

Do you want to update your wardrobe for the changing seasons? If you’re the bookish type, chances are you have one — or manyyyyy — reader-themed tees you wear out and about or as loungewear in your home. As we shift into warmer days in the northern hemisphere, it makes sense that a closet update

Jessica Love (Julián Is a Mermaid) gently demonstrates the power of knowledge in A Bed of Stars, a picture book about a child whose father takes them camping in the desert. Every night before bed, the child imagines “the whole universe stretching on endlessly.” This recurring thought makes the child feel small and insignificant, and

Adding Dungeons & Dragons miniatures to your roleplaying game really brings the campaign to life! Dungeons & Dragons (or really, any RPG) is already the perfect medium for active storytelling. You are more than an audience; you are an active participant, shaping the story around you, crafting a WORLD around you. A great Dungeon Master

The lights started shortly after Matthew Vollmer’s mother died. It was the fall of 2019, and Vollmer’s father now lived alone, sleeping in the same bed where his wife of decades had released her final breath. He had spent 10 years caring for her as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases slowly took their toll. Now Vollmer,

In the winter, I love to sit in front of the fireplace show on Netflix and cuddle up with a good audiobook. I sip warm tea while listening to something like Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May, narrated by Rebecca Lee. Lee’s soothing voice with May’s comforting words

“I could see why so many stories were set in lighthouses,” thinks Julia, the titular narrator of Julia and the Shark, upon reaching her family’s unusual new home for the summer. “It’s a good place for adventures even before you go inside.” In this illustrated middle grade novel, award-winning British writer Kiran Millwood Hargrave (The

Grace Linn is a 100-year-old widow of a WWII veteran, a grandmother, and a craftivist. On Tuesday, she spoke at a Martin County, Florida school board meeting to protest the removal of 80+ books from the school library. Her statement has gotten a lot of media coverage, and she was later interviewed on MSNBC, Fox

Eb didn’t mean to mess up Flow’s brand-new shoes, and Flow would never hit a girl, but in Kelly J. Baptist’s Eb & Flow, an accident leads to angry words, then a fistfight and then a 10-day suspension from school for seventh graders Ebony (Eb) and De’Kari (Flow). As they stare down two weeks at

The 2023 Audie Award winners were announced Tuesday by the Audio Publishers Association. The award ceremony, in its 28th year, honors audiobooks in 26 categories, including Audiobook of the Year, Autobiography, Memoir, Best Female Narrator, Best Male Narrator, and more. 2023 Audie Award Winners AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR Finding Me, written and narrated by Viola

Although Leta McCollough Seletzky wasn’t born until eight years after the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she has always been haunted by the photo of that tragic night—one of the most recognizable images of the 20th century. And no wonder, since in it, her then 23-year-old father, Marrell “Mac” McCullough, can be

Goodreads has released its list of the most sought after new releases for the month. The editorial team assembled the list by looking at Goodreads’ members early reviews and how often books were added to the “want to read” shelves on the site. The list shows how eclectic Goodreads members’ taste is, and includes books