I have also learned that, since entering adulthood, I have always had a very deeply rooted anxiety surrounding growing up. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a worry that I can’t place about who I am and who I would become, and since I was very ill equipped on how to deal with that anxiety for a long time, I quite literally refused to grow up—for a long time....
I couldn’t imagine that anyone else could find these things frightening or experience ineffable horror because something was slightly off. All of these stories, which sound amusing in retrospect, were horrifying at the time and shaped my imagination. I developed a lifelong fascination with doppelgängers. What do all of these seemingly random, bizarre incidents have in common? They challenged what I thought I understood about the world. They made something familiar and natural its opposite....
I figured I could finish the whole essay collection on the plane ride home. But the essays themselves seemed to scold me for my plan. In that first essay Solnit writes, “It is the job of artists to open doors and invite in prophesies, the unknown, the unfamiliar.” She adds that there is an art “of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance amid surprises, of collaborating with chance, of recognizing that there are some essential mysteries in the world and thereby a limit to calculation, to plan, to control....
I’ll be the first to say that watching television can be a great thing; for instance, I’ll never have a problem with putting a show on while I’m cooking a great meal in my kitchen. A few months ago, I stopped picking up books almost entirely. I realized that, with the busyness of adult life, I only had time to read a little or watch a little television, and I knew that I saw benefits to reading over television....
I’ll admit I don’t know the answer to any of those questions. But don’t worry if you don’t know either; even hardcore Marvel fans would be hard-pressed to give you definite answers about the number of comics that exist (the other questions are, thankfully, a bit easier to answer). So let’s take a dive into the Marvel Comics universe, and see just how big it is. The First Marvel Comic I’ll get to the number of characters and heroes, but to know just how big the Marvel Comics universe is, we need to look at the history of Marvel....
Back in high school, I didn’t fit in. Yes, I know I’m a walking cliche when I say that, but I didn’t have people around me who shared the same interests as me. No one wanted to talk about the latest book I’ve bought, nor did they care about the upcoming book-to-movie adaptation that I was eagerly waiting to see. I didn’t have an outlet to speak about stories and the fictional characters I loved....
What is a book tasting? It’s an event where people come and “taste” different books and genres at tables as if they are sampling from a literary buffet. There are plenty of different ways to organize a book tasting. But the main point is to introduce people in a fun and quick way to new books they might not have discovered otherwise. Below are tips and step-by-step instructions for hosting a book tasting for adults at a public library....
Book Riot Insiders Book Riot has a program called Book Riot Insiders! And one of the perks available is the New Release Index curated by—wait for it—me! When I am not reading, I am spending my time scouring the upcoming releases for the ones that look the most interesting, and then I add them to the calendar. (There’s also a little cat eyeglasses icon you can click on to see the ones I have loved or am the most excited to read....
Get your need-to-know info here—let’s do this!
How To Read Manga 101 Luckily for me, many translated manga volumes included a little how-to-read-me infographics. Though it’s true that manga are just comics from Japan (mostly, at least), there are differences for newbies to keep in mind when dipping their toes in. One of the biggest differences is the genres stories are divided into, and if you’d like to know more about that, this primer is excellent. But there’s also a more mechanical difference: manga isn’t read the same way you’d read a comic....
A green witch embraces the power of nature, draws energy from the earth and the universe, and relies on stones, plants, flowers, and herbs for healing. In The Green Witch’s Garden, you will learn how to create your own magical space to enhance your witchcraft practice. In the end, it’s about their memories. I want the students to look back and remember that they had fun in the library, that they met a cool author and were maybe inspired to do something cool in return....
Nonfiction Women Book Club started in March with the book Sisters in Law, and just announced their June pick: Redefining Realness. We took some time to chat with them this week to learn more about the club and to discuss the current state of nonfiction. Sophia LeFevre: First, tell me about yourselves! RuthAnn Deveney: I’m RuthAnn Deveney, and I live outside Philadelphia with my husband and dog. I work in corporate learning and development, and I’m always reading several books at once....
A world of literature I have always been curious about is the one that Jane Austen created in her books. Austen is so adept at making the story all about her characters, their dialogue, their individuality that everything else fades away. But, after reading books like Jo Baker’s Longbourn, it feels like the blurriness is going away, and everyone else that made the stories of Austen’s characters go round is coming into focus....
I had no intention of becoming a thief when I woke up that morning (in fact I had no intention of becoming a thief when the crime took place). It was my April break and I was in D.C. to visit my penpal for the first time. We hit up all the major fun tourist spots that teenagers love (Holocaust Museum, Julia Child’s kitchen) but the crowning jewel for us was going to be our trip to the Library of Congress....
Dr. Sarah Bargiela, a clinical psychologist, teamed up with illustrator Sophie Standing for this remarkable collaboration. Dr. Bargiela is a member of the CTRL group, and Ms. Standing’s specialty is art about human sciences and psychology. Camouflage is a nonfiction graphic novel about autism in women, and their stories. What was the inspiration behind this collaboration and the book? Sarah: While working as a psychologist in a refugee service I needed some visuals to explain trauma to a patient and stumbled across the Trauma comic book that Sophie had illustrated for Steve Haines, and immediately loved it....
“Nerds everywhere: This one’s for us. For Louis Vuitton’s pre-fall look book, creative director Nicolas Ghesquière cast the brand’s muses as protagonists in their own imaginary horror and sci-fi novels. In this ‘wearable library,’ the clothing actually tells its own stories. [Cue the melodramatic synthesizer music].” My current obsession! “A new decade dawns, and rarely has it felt like we’re at such a critical turning point. The U.S. Senate opened a rancorous impeachment trial this week to determine whether President Donald J....
My very first vampire book was Twilight. My dad was a Scuba diver and he usually taught classes so other people could be divers too. One time, a girl a bit older than me was taking part in one of his classes, and instead of paying attention to his lessons, she was reading a book. You might guess which one. Yup, Twilight. He decided to buy me the first two books, to see if I would also gravitate towards the story....
It happens often that I’m watching a show or film and think “Oh, people who enjoy this should really read X book.” And I have similar thoughts when I read a book and immediately think the readers who enjoy it would also enjoy a show or film I’ve recently watched. This is probably one of my favorite things to write, because I love watching people discover something new to love based on something they already enjoy....
I’m so happy to see this. pic.twitter.com/xevZ7TYeGP — Bree (half of @kitrocha) (@mostlybree) March 17, 2020 Sargent’s email does not mention the COVID-19 pandemic directly, but as libraries across the country have closed their doors to achieve social distancing, digital loans are patrons’ only ways to access library books. Book Riot previously posted about the library ebook pricing changes, and the industry precedent set by Penguin Random House and Hachette Book Group....
To find out, I contacted some publishers, and they hooked us up with their mapmakers, who told us how they work with authors, how they draw maps, and what they’ve contributed to the fictional worlds they draw. So sit back, and prepare to travel without moving, as cartographers Tim Paul and Rhys Davies take us through the process of making a map of a place that doesn’t exist. Who decides to include the map?...
