Books

The Young Adult Library Services Association has announced their Teens’ Top Ten winners of 2022. These books were nominated and voted on by teenagers (ages 12-18) in book groups in 16 schools and libraries, and all the titles were published in 2021. YALSA also has an annotated version of the list available for download, making it easy for school and public librarians to pass this information along to their teen readers to help them connect with a book they’ll love. Find the full list of 25 nominees at the YALSA...

October is witchy season, of course, but that doesn't just mean fantasy novels or paranormal romance — it also extends to real-life witches. Presumably, that's why a ton of witch nonfiction is on sale right now on Amazon, from history books to witchy interior design to spell books. There's no indication of how long this sale will last, so take advantage of these deals before they disappear! A note: I've gone with the broadest interpretation of witch and magic nonfiction, so this includes books on brujería, hoodoo, and other practices....

It’s Monster Mash season, baby! My favorite time of year. Porches are decorated with pumpkins and ghouls, bowls of candy are everywhere you look, and the options for your costume are endless. And with that comes all of the scary movies, books, and comics just waiting at your fingertips. You want vampires, you’ve got them. You want aliens? You betcha. You want horror that’s also sad? Signed, sealed, delivered. Even for the scaredy cats, there’s lighthearted horror or the cozy aspects of the holiday. Hot chocolate and chocolate and sweaters...

In education there’s a distinct jargon used. Acronyms and idioms and particular turns of phrase. This isn’t unique to education, but ubiquitous in most occupations. While we do the best we can to reflect on our teaching processes and make corrections where necessary, sometimes we don’t even think about a term that needs to be examined because we’ve been using it for so long. This is not an excuse; it’s an explanation. “Reluctant reader” is one of those terms. It’s still in use for a few reasons. One, it does...

It was only a matter of time before the “Don’t Say Gay” bill of Florida and the wave of similar anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed throughout the country made its way to the federal level. Congressman Mike Johnson (Louisiana) introduced the “Stop the Sexualization of Children” Act into the House this week. The bill would “prohibit the use of Federal funds to develop, implement, facilitate, or fund any sexually-oriented program, event, or literature for children under the age of 10, and for other purposes.” The bill would disallow funding for any organization...

“We have all seen where these far-left thinking groups are going and taking our country. It will continue to get worse if we ALL don’t support each other and take a stand against what we know is wrong, honor God, and take a stand for our children and future generations. I thank you for your time in reading this and ask you to seek God for His guidance. There is only so much we can do at the federal level but if we all stand together to defend our own...

Amazon has been quietly making a series of changes to their Kindle policies regarding ebook returns, lending between users, ebook formats, and more. What’s afoot at Amazon, and what’s the future of Kindle? While the ebook giant may not be forthcoming with details about these changes, here’s what we know so far. Changes to Kindle eBook Return Policy The most recent change is one authors and publishers have been begging for: updating the return policy for “accidental” book purchases. Previously, Amazon allowed users to return any ebook within seven days...

There’s a twist in the air, can’t you feel it? Just a moment ago, you were picking up a loaf of French bread from the local patisserie and all was well with the world, but now? Is that a sinister sneer from the vicar across the lane?  You think that perhaps you should carry on with your errands — those flowers won’t arrange themselves, and you have nearly a dozen brown-paper parcels to pick up all around town — but the birds, who, just a moment ago were singing you...

Gabrielle Blair is the author of Ejaculate Responsibly, a new book out this week described as “moving the abortion debate away from controlling and legislating women’s bodies and instead directs the focus on men’s lack of accountability in preventing unwanted pregnancies.” On October 13th, she tweeted about some “book drama” happening around this title: several customers who had pre-ordered the book through Bookshop.org received something different in the mail: books from Focus on the Family, a Christian anti-choice organization. Bookshop.org replied to the customers who received these books incorrectly that...

Celtic mythology has been a source of inspiration for writers, artists, and historians for centuries. The tales of King Arthur and his knights are perhaps the most famous from the broad collection of stories that fall under the ‘Celtic mythology’ umbrella, but there are many other tales and characters that are just as fascinating, including legendary figures like Cú Chulainn and figures like selkies, giants, and the Fair Folk. These stories have sparked the imaginations of many different writers, both in fiction and nonfiction. There are a multitude of books...

Superheroes have been around a long time, and most of the characters and genre conventions are pretty well established. But did every character always look and act the way we expect them to today? In this series, I’ll be looking at the first appearances of iconic superheroes to see what’s familiar, what’s fallen by the wayside, and what’s goofy as heck. Today: Black Adam! Black Adam, like all of the Marvel Family, has a complicated history. I’ve written about it at length here, but the short version is that back...

If “book sanctuary” is a new phrase to you, it’s likely because it is a new phrase more broadly. Book sanctuaries are institutions committed to upholding the First Amendment Rights of all citizens, wherein book bans and challenges must follow through a specific procedure to be considered. They are places where books and the right to read them remains at the forefront of what an institution does, and well-funded, well-connected political groups do not get to wield their power in changing what is available. Chicago Public Libraries (CPL) declared themselves...

Barnes & Noble is currently holding a huge Buy One, Get One 50% Off sale applied to hundreds of titles, both in store and online. It includes classics like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, bestsellers of the past few years like Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, and new releases like The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco. Along with physical books, there are also ebooks and audiobooks included in the sale, like In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado on audio and A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair...

From Wednesday, October 12th to Tuesday, October 18th, Book Riot will be matching donations to Taller Sallud for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico, up to $2,500 USD. Read on to see why why we’ve chosen to support this organization and for instructions on how to donate. On September 18th, Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico. The Category 1 storm brought record rainfall, flash flooding, mudslides, and sustained winds of 85 miles per hour, tearing off roofs, collapsing bridges, and ripping up sidewalks before an island-wide power outage left Puerto...