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I’ve been turning more and more to comics that take place in different countries. It feels like there’s a difference in the quality of drawing between a local and a tourist. Comics journalism also falls into this category: artists like Joe Sacco and Guy Delisle draw incredibly detailed visions of the countries they’re visiting to report on. Although I still read comics in other planets and time periods and universes, comics set in the real world that take place in different countries can feel just as far off....

These novels feature a variety of character struggles. The struggles include trying to survive being lost in a forest, a spring break trip gone wrong, having to deal with an enchanting, yet dangerous, predator, and a scary storm. Read on for thrilling young adult novels that will have you on the edge of your seat as you flip pages and ready to find out exactly what happens at the end....

I am not implying that buying books by Black authors is a substitute for the ongoing anti-racist work we need to do to make this country free and livable for all Black and other marginalized people. Getting educated about the history of race and racism in the U.S., providing financial or other support/solidarity to protestors and anti-racist organizations, and dismantling white supremacy in our lives, jobs, and relationships are all crucial....

There is nothing quite like the intensity of adolescence, and it gets even more when one has to attend a new school. From high school to college, change is inevitable, as is the feeling of a lack of control. I still think the month of September can be the most exciting, but it is my birthday month, so I could be biased. This list follows my reading pattern leading up to one of the first years in my life that I am not going back to a school of some kind—it reminds me what can be great and terrible about it....

Here’s a look at five Pulitzer-winning critics. For more collections of essays and criticism, check out this article from Julia Rittenberg. Robin Givhan Currently in her second stint as fashion editor for The Washington Post, Robin Givhan won the Pulitzer in 2006. Peruse her work and you won’t find just runway coverage. Givhan instead examines singers, movie stars and even moviegoers; her piece “Wookiee at me! Clothes make the myth,” dealing with Star Wars fans who dress up as their favorite characters at the latest movie’s opening, is a highlight....

In the inevitable times of confusion, anger, and pain that follow an unexpected loss, I’ll never forget what Joan Didion wrote in The Year of Magical Thinking. I read it years ago, long before any of this happened. In order to not feel so alone after her husband died of a heart attack, Didion turned to books. -Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking It makes total sense. Books provide comfort and guidance, and at no time is that more needed than in the wake of death....

The Bee Manual by Claire and Adrain Waring When I started learning to keep bees, The Bee Manual came highly recommended as one of the best nonfiction bee books. A Haynes Manual for beekeeping written by Claire and Adrain Waring, this instruction guide to beekeeping covers all the basics. Even if you never plan to keep bees, this is the place to learn the difference between queens, drones, and workers; pollen nectar and liquid gold honey....

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn The Alice Network was the first Maarleveld audiobook I read, and I picked it because it was making its rounds through all my community book groups. I was not disappointed—it’s the story of Charlie, an American woman in 1947 who finds herself pregnant and unmarried, so she consents to a trip to Europe to take care of it. Once in England, she ditches her mother and begins trying to track down her cousin Rose, who disappeared in France during the war....

Traditionally, josei manga are intended for readers in their late teens and older. Like other manga categories, it spans multiple genres. You can read a josei romance manga one day and then read an alternate history josei manga the next. With that in mind, I put together a list that incorporates a little bit of everything and features some titles you might not have heard of. Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju by Haruko Kumota Love stories about theater?...

“When people hear the word ‘Asian,’ Filipinos are rarely the first people that come to mind,” says Anthony Ocampo in his book The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race. Ocampo, who has a doctorate in sociology from UCLA, was rejected from participation in a study that involves Asian Americans. I am not a Filipino American, but when I read this in Ocampo’s book, I also got angry....

Before freshman year, most of the poetry I had encountered consisted of rhyming lines postering drab classroom walls and the work of dead white guys. I didn’t know where to discover contemporary poets and poems. Especially ones that I could connect to in those mysterious, and obvious, ways that swoop up bibliophiles into total book adoration. Whether you crave more poetry or simply appreciate striving for reading goals, these five poetry challenges can serve as that nudge to forge space for more poetry in your life....

I could keep gushing, but I won’t. Because reading Jericho Brown’s poems will be infinitely more enriching than my descriptions of them. 1.) “Hustle” 3. “Another Elegy” Excerpt: They lie like stones and dare not shift. Even asleep, everyone hears in prison. Dwayne Betts deserves more than this dry ink for his teenage years in prison. In the film we keep watching, Nina takes Darius to a steppers ball. I dine with humans who think any book full of black characters is about race....

I present to you this list of must-read coming of age books. So here goes, in no particular order. The Best Coming Of Age Books Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt “1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend....

For a detective returning to her hometown, fear and suspicion can run wild. Ten years ago, Joan Mason escaped an arsonist’s fire. Now a Philadelphia homicide detective, Joan is trying to put her past to rest. But when the arsonist is released from prison, gut instinct tells Joan he’ll strike again. To stop him, she must return to the past to face not only the man she fears but Detective Gideon Bailey, too: the man she loved and left behind....

Book Riot is teaming up with Harlequin.com to giveaway one $100 Books-A-Million gift card!

The pandemic impacted relationships in ways that I think many of us are still trying to figure out. We didn’t see family or friends for months or even more than a year. Our kids left school one day and didn’t return, and for some of us, our worlds shrank. For other people, their world expanded. There was easier access to events because of Zoom, easier doctor’s appointments because of telehealth, and greater general accessibility as things shifted online....

O’Farrell explains that the novel draws on the few facts known about Shakespeare’s life. It also incorporates timeless themes often found in Shakespeare’s works: family love, siblings — even siblings who switch places — and the loss of a child. If you loved Hamnet as much as I did, you might also love these books about plagues, familial love, grief, and Shakespeare himself. If you love Shakespeare, historical fiction, or pandemic literature, try these books....

Let me be clear: I have nothing against these popular audiobooks. I just realize that some of you, like me, want to listen to more literary books read by their creators, and, short of looking up every book you want to hear online, there is no great place to start. Michael Silverblatt from Bookworm said in an interview, “It is so important to hear an author’s voice…” With this comment, I very much agree....

Check out the best and brightest sophomore novels to add to your TBR list ASAP: Covering dual timelines and told from three differing perspectives, this exceptional psychological thriller is full of twists that will have you wondering which characters to trust and who to root for. Spanning three decades and multiple cities, What’s Mine and Yours offers a rich and empathetic portrait of race, identity, family, and the legacy parents leave to their children....