Books

Sometime in the early morning of April 7, an anti-book ban billboard in Abita Springs, Louisiana, was set on fire. The billboard was created by a woman involved with the St Tammany Library Alliance and designed by her trans child. It was meant to raise awareness of book bans in the Parish and it was located on their private property. The joyful billboard featured a red headed child with a brightly colored book. The text beside it reads “Ban Hate, Not Books.” The only word remaining following the fire was...

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 countless number of us have relied on Book Depository’s enormous catalogue and, more importantly, free shipping to get a good portion of our books. So what happens now? Are there any truly comparable Book Depository...

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 about the medium, here is a quick and easy guide to what it actually is, where to find it, and even a few recommendations! What Is Dōjinshi? The term “dōjinshi” is derived from the Japanese...

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 with fake news reports or “documentary” style videos that start seemingly normal and then delve into depicting things like alien invasions, cryptid sightings, or all kinds of mysterious happenings after being taken over or corrupted...

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 of the books housed in their collections. Books that were reviewed by professionals and deemed appropriate for those school and public libraries. Books that, of course, feature queer and/or BIPOC writers and characters who do...

What states invest the most money per capita into their public libraries and how is that reflected in the number of visits per person at those libraries? Thanks to a new report pulled together by Scholaroo, a team who helps students find and acquire scholarships, we can get a sense of where and how people use one of their finest public goods. Utilizing data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Scholaroo first looked at the number of visits to public libraries per capita. Click on the image above...

I love a good YA paperback, so I’m really excited to see such a wonderful assortment of 2023 spring YA paperbacks. What I don’t love about paperbacks, though, is their rising costs; it’s becoming too clear that even the “cheaper” option for buying books is becoming untenable for so many, especially teenagers (and if your first response to that is “they can use the library,” let me direct you to how this increase in prices in conjunction with the increase in book bans at school and public libraries doesn’t give...

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 for North American customers looking to buy UK titles or UK covers without paying a hefty shipping fee. The shut down comes in the context of Amazon eliminating jobs in the Devices and Books section...

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 can wield their words, building an entire atmosphere. Perhaps it’s a haunted village or a broken shipwreck, waiting to be explored and looted for treasure. As you listen, you know dangers lurk and enemies are...

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 is just the ticket for seasonal blues. Sometimes, though, I want a story to whisk me away to the polar north, like the full cast performance of Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass. While other times...

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 35, and more. That’s for good reason, because in a speech that lasted only a few minutes, she’s effectively demonstrated what’s needed to fight back against censorship. Kelly Jensen is taking a much-needed break this...

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 Davis Published by HarperAudio AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR Unprotected, written and narrated by Billy Porter Published by Recorded Books, a division of RBmedia BEST FEMALE NARRATOR Rosamund Pike for The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan Published...

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 from several genres. There are stories that feature horror based on Mexican folklore, queer space operas, romances with exes to lovers, musical mysteries, and much more. Also In This Story Stream...

Emily Henry is a household name for her bestselling romance novels Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation, and Book Lovers, with her newest novel, Happy Place, coming out in April. Fans will rejoice to hear that one of her novels is getting the feature film treatment: the movie rights for Book Lovers have been sold to Lia Buman’s Tango production company. As the title suggests, Book Lovers is a reader’s romance: it follows Nora, a literary agent, and Charlie, an editor — but sharing the same industry is about...