Books

If someone in your life has just had a kid, and you’ve been wracking your brain with gift ideas, look no further! Board books are delightful gifts both for the parents and the baby. They are books that can be read to or even read by very small children. The pages are stuck to heavy

Babel by R.F. Kuang Set in an alternate Victorian Britain, R.F. Kuang’s standalone historical fantasy is an unforgiving examination of the cost of power. Everywhere With You by Carlie Sorosiak, illustrated by Devon Holzwarth Carlie Sorosiak and Devon Holzwarth’s flawless picture book rings with a tender truth: When you are with the ones you love, everywhere

As much as possible, I try to not let my reading be guided by challenges and goals. I read what I can, when I can, and I am (mostly) happy about it. But I would be lying if I said that in certain months I don’t try to find ways to add an extra book

All That Is You Bestselling author Alyssa Satin Capucilli offers an imaginative series of rhymed metaphors for love. Her text playfully twists colloquialisms (“you’re the wide in my world”) striking on heartfelt truths rather than cloying sentimentality. Illustrator Devon Holzwarth’s vibrant artwork matches the elegance and emotion of Capucilli’s prose and elevates All That Is

I’ve been on the bookish internet for more than 15 years, and in that time, I’ve watched platforms rise and fall. I remember talking about books on Livejournal, for Sappho’s sake. I started a book blog called the Lesbrary in 2011, because I couldn’t find an LGBTQ book blog that wasn’t 90% M/M books. Of

Because of the holiday in the U.S. this week, the roundup of book censorship news and insights will be shorter than usual. Although there are several right-wing groups eager to implement movie-style book ratings to library titles, the reality is, book rating systems are an exercise in futility and bias. Julia Rittenberg does an outstanding

Louise Kennedy, chef of nearly 30 years and author of the short story collection The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac, emerges with a debut novel that will fill every historical fiction fan with gratitude. Trespasses exposes the crushing realities of Northern Ireland during the “troubles” while paying respect to the people

As someone who is equally devoted to books and the internet, I am endlessly fascinated by the failure of online writing to live up to its potential as a form. Previously, I wrote about how interactive ebooks were once seen as the future of books, and how they have completely failed to live up to

As the sun sets and a full moon rises, three children venture outside, ostensibly to find their runaway dog but mostly to frolic in the nocturnal world beyond their gate. Author Dianne White and illustrator Felicita Sala’s Dark on Light is lyrical, charming and wonderful.  White’s text is more like a poem than a straightforward

Looking to score great deals for the book lovers in your life? Itching to create your dream reading space and style over the upcoming season? Welcome to the annual roundup of great Black Friday deals for book lovers in 2022. We’ve rounded up some of the best deals from across the internet and are bringing

Great Short Books Anyone who’s eternally time-strapped will treasure Kenneth C. Davis’ Great Short Books. This nifty volume highlights 58 works of fiction chosen by Davis for their size (small) and impact (enormous). Each brisk read weighs in at around 200 pages but has the oomph of an epic.   “Short novels,” Davis writes in the

On the same day news broke about the loss of YA author Marcus Sedgwick, the YA community lost yet another legend in the field. Ellen Wittlinger, who wrote groundbreaking, hard-hitting realistic YA featuring queer characters in an era where such stories were exceedingly rare, died November 17, 2022. Wittlinger’s career began as a playwright in

On October 31st, a federal judge ruled against the merging of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, saying that it would “substantially lessen competition” in publishing. While that was a blow to the merger, it wasn’t officially over: Penguin Random House had been planning to appeal the decision. In order to do that, they

You know those reading memes and cartoons that circulate regularly that say something to the effect of, “Reading is just staring at slices of trees and hallucinating vividly”? I never understood that. Not just because that’s not what hallucinations are, but also because I don’t really visualize when I read. I don’t have complete aphantasia,

Who would have thought a discussion about the intelligence (or lack thereof) of humans and animals could be so fascinating and fun? Such is the case in If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal: What Animal Intelligence Reveals About Human Stupidity (7 hours), thanks to the conversational prowess and keen (I’ll go ahead and say it) intellect

Sam Heughan, known to legions of fans as Jamie Fraser in the popular TV show based on Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, recently decided it was time to walk the rigorous West Highland Way in Scotland, a long-distance hiking trail that runs from north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. He wanted a