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I can’t believe the year is moving so fast, but here it is just about the end of June and once again my favorite day of the month: it’s new releases day! Normally I try to run the new releases newsletter the first Monday of the month but on the 5th this year we’re observing a holiday here in the states, which means no Fright Stuff. So I thought we’d kick this mid-summer must read list off a little early!...

I love reading, but I know that sometimes, it costs major spoons. If it’s a bad pain day, your wrists might hurt too much to hold up your big, beefy hardcover. Or maybe your vision isn’t great at the moment, and you’re struggling to clearly see the text. Whatever the reason might be, I’ve complied a list of five things that might help us put some spoons back in our drawers!...

i Miss you when I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott Published earlier this spring, Mary Laura Philpott’s heartwarming book of essays covers everything from anxiety, becoming an adult, existential angst, the ups and downs of married life, and the realization that sometimes following all of the rules laid out in your head gets you to the exact opposite of where you want to be. The perfect read for every detoxing perfectionist....

I’ve split up the books into sections for titles taken from the Bible, Shakespeare, poetry, and other novels. Though I have included women and authors of colour wherever I found them, the limitations of this article has meant that there aren’t as many of either as I would have liked. Famous Book Titles Taken from The Bible #1. Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner This quotation for Faulkner’s 1936 novel comes from the Books of Samuel – more specifically, 19:4 in 2 Samuel, which is in the Old Testament and relates some of the history of Israel....

From nonprofits that provide free books to children to organizations that help promote adult literacy, these six bookish charities are all worth supporting—and you may even have trouble picking just one! Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. Founded in 1966, this Washington, D.C.–based charity serves to promote literacy in America by boosting interest in reading among children. The organization provides resources, such as books, STEM-related classroom activities and other content, to underprivileged communities nationwide The largest nonprofit related to children’s literacy in the United States, RIF has reportedly distributed more than 415 million books to 50 million children as of winter 2019....

Luckily, some enterprising editors have refused to let the misconceptions stand. Some have brought together collections of these earlier stories, stories that might be lesser known, that went out of print, or that just need a new, modern spotlight. Others highlighted the enterprising women of the genre, or paid tribute to its pioneers, or brought together the earliest tales we have that featured women. The tales featured in these anthologies of early speculative fiction are queer, imaginative, and daring....

Libby Extras from OverDrive are here. It’s a new category of content with resources for continuing education, entertainment and more. Each unique digital experience is designed to immerse your library users and help you reach new audiences. Somehow it took me until then in my life to also discover that there is a rich variety of databases offered by public libraries across the United States. The offerings are not limited to those who are working on research (frantically, in my case); instead, there are databases for looking into genealogy, seeking out a variety of book recommendations, or finding key information about careers or business industries....

This was my third visit to New Orleans. The first time, I was a teenager, awestruck by everything I saw, heard, and smelled in a city so full of life and personality. The second time, I was a twentysomething, charmed by the brilliant musicianship spilling out of the bars and into the streets at all hours of the night. This time, as I wandered the Quarter, uptown, and the Garden District, I was struck by a sense of rich and diverse stories simmering in the streets, rooted in the region’s past and present....

You know how I’m feeling in 2021? Hopeful. Hopeful. Not because I think everything is magically better and every problem is in the rearview mirror…but because I feel like thing can get better. And in honor of that, here’s some books that give me that same feeling of hope, of looking forward. For more SFF recommendations, check out our Science Fiction/Fantasy archives! Do you need any more than that? In a world of water, a submarine pilot must rescue her dad and take down a corrupt government....

Lot by Bryan Washington, read by Bryan Washington, Dion Graham, JD Jackson, and Bahni Turpin (5 hours, 41 minutes) Bryan Washington brings a particular and unforgettable malaise to his voicing of a series of stories exploring an unnamed narrator’s coming-of-age in Houston. A trio of fantastic narrators (three of my all-time favorites) round out this unforgettable audiobook with their spot-on performances of the remaining stories, told from the varying POVs of a diverse cast of characters whose lives weave in and around each other....

Astrid has loved the stars and space for as long as she can remember. “I want to be an astronaut!” she says to everyone who will listen. While her mama is away, Astrid and her papa have fun acting out the challenges an astronaut faces on a space mission — like being in zero gravity, eating food from a kind of tube, and doing science experiments with the help of cookie sheets....

Book Riot is teaming up with Open Book to giveaway a summer reading prize pack which includes $100 giftcard to Bookshop.org Here’s a little more about the Open Book newsletter: We created Open Book to amplify BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other traditionally underrepresented voices in the publishing world. We ask writers to be open books about their lives, work, process, inspiration, and interests to help readers get to know new voices with a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and ideas that shape our society....

Many a time we feel like the work we do is not making any discernible impact, and in a capitalist world, that is the only barometer against which we can measure our worth. Asian literature dealing with the alleged uselessness of our existence assures us that we aren’t the first people to feel this way and certainly won’t be the last. It also suggests that our feelings may not be our objective reality....

Petra and her family have escaped and can begin again in America, in this country that promises so much. She leads her family from a smallpox-stricken refugee camp on the Texas border to the buzzing city of San Antonio and for the first time ever, Petra has a chance to learn to read and write.Yet Petra also sees attitudes she thought she’d left behind—people who look down on her mestizo skin and bare feet....

Needless to say, the show was cancelled before it aired. Vu Le, writer and thinker behind Nonprofit AF, explained the cancellation best: “Forcing activists to compete against one another in a Hunger Games for the crumbs thrown out by the wealthy. Measuring success through social media engagement. Having celebrities who know little to nothing about these issues judging activists with years of experience. And doing it all as entertainment.” I’m a journalist and writer; by day, I’m a fundraising researcher....

The 2014 English translation of this Japanese book brought Kondo’s minimalist philosophy into the limelight. Thoughts on sock-folding aside, it can be boiled down to this: keep only things that “spark joy.” While this idea has already proved helpful to me, the passages that linger in my mind dealt with how to let go of things that don’t spark joy and why. I always feel lighter after getting rid of stuff, but Kondo analyzes the mental blocks that cause someone like me to become a pack rat in the first place....

Which celebrity would you want to write a novel? While the celebrity novel is somewhat sparse a section, the celebrity memoir is a booming genre. We have a whole archive dedicated to celebrity memoirs. In their downtime, celebrities are bookworms, too! Check out this list of books recommended by celebrities for some more reading inspo. 

See? Rabbit hole. While activists have been trying to stop the demolition for months, one of their best chances for staying the demolition came in the form of a tiny bumblebee: the rusty patched bumblebee, to be exact. The rusty patched bumblebee was the first bee to be added to the endangered species list in the U.S., and since the queens overwinter in underground burrows, the demolition was delayed to give the bees a chance to wake up and find other places to nest....

Beautiful Boards: 50 Amazing Snack Boards for Any Occasion by Maegan Brown I don’t know how many turkeys you’ve roasted lo these many long seasons, but doing it right takes a freaking long time. Think four or five hours. Whilst the turkey becomes edible, your family will be quite glad for a smorgasboard, especially if it’s an attractive and festive addition to the living room. Eating this way is highly kid-friendly, and the laborious building process will occupy any errant adults you’ve got to manage, too....