Essential Manga Series, Dark Fantasy and Horror Short Story Collections, and More
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Welcome to The Best of Book Riot, our daily round-up of what’s on offer across our site, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels. Not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone.
I am a human being with varied and excessive interests, so I peruse plenty of sites unrelated to books. One of my interests is window shopping, so I’m a frequent Wirecutter (a lot of us at Book Riot have a deep love for this site) and The Strategist lurker. Just about every newer gadget in my kitchen was recommended by Wirecutter, that’s how much I stan. The Strategist is my more nuanced guide to the best doodads and thingamabobs, and generally has more recommendations by parents for parents. I’m still in the process of replacing cheap (broken but useable with elbow grease) essentials purchased in my 20s and early 30s with quality, professionally tested products. This is important adulting, but I have a favorite feature at The Strategist that’s less for adulting and more for snooping: the celebrity shopping guide.
Even though I write about books for a living, sometimes I feel like I am never on top of the releases of books that I should know, and/or I stumble across a book that one of my favorite authors will be releasing and I was completely unaware that book was even going to exist. Perhaps it’s the weirdness of time post-2020. Perhaps it’s getting older. Perhaps it’s that there are just so many books that attempting to keep track is a Sisyphean task. Whatever the case, it’s been fun to find so many books that will be coming soon that not only am I eager to read but that I know other readers will be eager to get their hands on. If you want to get to the top of the library holds list or put in your ebook preorder so that these titles land on your device the moment they’re available, then this roundup of blockbuster summer and fall YA books is for you.
The past couple of weeks, we’ve been seeing finalists being announced for different book awards. I am a big proponent of not reading something just because someone “in authority” holds it in high regard, but there are some literary awards that I know I can go to for some good book recommendations.
And, if your book club likes to read the new, buzzy books, the ones I’ve rounded up below are perfect.
Today on the Book Riot Podcast, Jeff and Rebecca turn the time-machine dial to “2004” to pick the 10 books from that year that mattered the most.
Isn’t reading comics awesome? There are so many different genres and incredible artists, and one of the really fun formats of comics is manga. They usually come in small paperbacks (fun-sized!), and it looks really cool when you see a whole series on a shelf. There are many different types of manga, but today, let’s focus on essential manga! If you have always been curious about manga or are looking to add some titles you may not be familiar with to your collection, this list of nine essential manga series is a great jumping-off point!
Let’s take a break from the usual SFF Yeah format to share the Book Riot podcast’s Book Nerd Movie Club talking about THE NEVERENDING STORY!
Growing up, I’d always gravitated to witches. I think it was probably because—in addition to being drawn to the fantastical—I loved seeing powerful women. It was a little disheartening, though, that there weren’t as many brown-skinned magical girlies for me to fawn over, but I have been seeing more of them lately. There was, of course, Rachel True holding it down in the ’90s cult classic The Craft (she has a gorgeous tarot deck now, if you’re interested), but we’ve also gotten Tati Gabrielle as Prudence in the updated Sabrina show, and some of these witchy manga are getting adapted, which means even more representation on screen.
It seems like horror, sci-fi, and fantasy have all been growing in popularity for the past decade—and what a wonderful thing that is! This list offers up some tantalizing new dark fantasy and horror books for you to peruse as fall ushers in longer nights perfect for snuggling up with some scary reads.
