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I’d imagine that for the most part, we all have been on both sides of this equation. Trying to get our friends to read books we think they’ll like, and getting recommended a million books. So, how do we recommend books without being so annoying? Let’s talk through some options! Strategy #1 You can not only recommend them the book, but you can buy it for them or lend it to them—if they don’t have the book already, of course!...

So I took a break. Buried myself in fluffy things like romance and fun mysteries. But the world has stayed difficult, we entered into a pandemic that doesn’t appear to have an end in sight. Reading has always been a constant throughout my life and I found myself feeling that I could either find ways to adapt or end up incredibly frustrated that my reading life was being altered. I didn’t want to keep avoiding tough topics all the time....

Women who were once content to remain unseen and unheard became radicalized after joining a political campaign or by becoming aware of the prescribed and very limiting choices in their lives. Yuri Kochiyama was a young teenager who never questioned her American identity until Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941. She then became painfully aware that to most of the country, she was an alien and her kind not to be trusted....

There’s not only a ton of new fantasy and sci-fi coming your way this fall, but also some very magical backlist so, if genre is your jam (it is most assuredly mine) you’ll be very much in luck when the time comes to make your selections. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com Publishing) Gideon came out a couple weeks ago and if you’re very quiet you can probably hear me screaming about it in space....

I come from a family of public school teachers, and I myself attended both public and private schools throughout my education. I also worked at a private school with very high-achieving students, though to my knowledge none of the students or their parents were bribing schools or paying people to take tests! But I have seen how exhausting and toxic academic environments can become when unchecked. It’s awful for everyone: children should not be subjected to such stress about their futures; parents should not feel like they have to one-up each other at every step of their children’s lives; school faculty and staff shouldn’t be put in the position of being the intermediary between unreasonable parents and high stakes schools; and of course, that’s without even getting into how college admissions in this country are already hugely problematic and contribute to the ever-growing class divide by limiting access, skewing expectations, and…oh, so many other reasons....

What I love most about the dark academia genre is how full it is of the distinct nostalgia of growing up and entering academic settings where fierce friendships bloom in the midst of too much homework and difficult courses. The excitement of what’s to come if only you can make it through the course or test or degree. The dream of what could be if only you pushed yourself harder, took on another extracurricular, networked with another professor....

Thankfully, we’re seeing a wonderful resurgence of retellings of popular myths and folk tales. I’m down for anything Madeline Miller writes; Circe is definitely one of my favorite books ever. And with that, I’m seeing more folk tales from all over the world retold and adapted. For me, I’m really thrilled to see the plethora of Jewish folk tales and stories finding new life with a new lens. Sometimes the story is not Jewish in origin but given a Jewish spin on it....

New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman returns with a story in the vein of Back to the Future! Mason can trace everything bad in his life to a terrible fight he had with his friend in 7th grade, and he’d give anything for a do-over. Mason knows do-overs are impossible, so he can’t believe when he wakes up and finds himself magically transported back to 7th grade. Mason’s determined to use this 2nd chance to do things differently....

A dark past. An impossible journey. The will to survive. For fans of Flight Behavior and Station Eleven, a novel set on the brink of catastrophe, as a young woman chases the world’s last birds―and her own final chance for redemption. Migrations has been named a “most anticipated” book by Entertainment Weekly, Vulture, Elle, and more. Emily St. John Mandel calls this powerful novel “extraordinary.” Start reading Migrations now. As a budding writer, I was inspired by Carson’s work....

A story for a new generation of Maximum Ride fans! 17-year-old Hawk is growing up hard and fast in post-apocalyptic New York City . . . until a perilous destiny forces her to take flight. Hawk doesn’t know her real name. She doesn’t know who her family was, or where they went. The only thing she remembers is that she was told to wait on a specific street corner, at a specific time, until her parents came back for her....

I’ve also divided them into YA and adult. Enjoy! Diverse Romantic Comedies: YA Diverse Romantic Comedies: Adult Don’t worry! We’ve got even more diverse romantic comedies for you to dive into when you finish these. I love the #OwnVoices Asian representation in this one! Both Winnie and Mat are Thai, and there’s a great chapter set during the annual Songkran Festival. In general, it’s a light, fluffy book perfectly calculated to cheer you up....

If you’re the same way, you’re in luck. Publishing in 2021 has truly delivered on the romantic comedy front — perhaps in part because of their escapist and uplifting nature. I’m excited to highlight just a portion of the best romcoms that have hit the shelves over the past year, along with a few books that will be released in the coming months for you to look forward to. These nine romantic comedies released in 2021 all have plenty of laughs and swoony moments....

Adam Silvera’s New York Times bestselling debut is BACK(!) in a new Deluxe Edition featuring an introduction from New York Times bestseller Angie Thomas, a new final chapter that gives readers even more of Aaron Soto’s unforgettable story, and an afterword. In this twisty, deeply moving debut, Bronx teen Aaron Soto’s life takes an unexpected turn when he falls for the new guy in the neighborhood, Thomas. Since Aaron can’t stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound happiness, he considers undergoing a revolutionary memory-altering procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is....

These are obviously choices from my own music collection and list of books I’ve read and in no way meant to be definitive. Enjoy, and share your own favorites if you’ve got ’em in the comments. “Frozen,” Madonna / Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson “Datura,” Tori Amos / Madapple, Christina Meldrum Is there room in my heart for you to follow your heart… [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-NLCfPAXIE[/youtube] “The Old Ways,” Loreena McKennitt / Hild, Nicola Griffith “Bitter Rivals,” Sleigh Bells / Dare Me, Megan Abbott You are my bitter rival, but I need you for survival… [youtube]https://www....

These incredible beach thrillers deliver all the compelling twists and turns you want from a summer read — not to mention, the memorable atmosphere. Each of these engrossing reads takes place in a tropical or coastal location that will make you feel like you are on your own beachside getaway, even when you’re reading from the comfort of your own couch or backyard. From a brand-new book about a bachelorette trip gone wrong in Greece to a clever 2019 send-up to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, these riveting novels are all worth picking up this summer....

“Judeah Reynolds is going to tell her own story. The story of what happened that day she walked to the store, and in the days that followed. The children’s book she’s writing with the help of the staff of Beaver’s Pond is set to publish in early 2021. ‘I’ve got a lot to express in my book. I can’t wait,’ Judeah said, sitting in her publisher’s bright, book-lined offices last week....

I must give credit to author James Lovegrove, a pioneer of the term, who has defined the genre as “books [that give] ancient gods a science fiction/urban fantasy twist”. With that in mind, here’s a list of some truly divine (wink wink) godpunk fiction.

Sure, there were other comic strips I enjoyed, but nothing captured my imagination quite like the adventures of Calvin, an imaginative 6-year-old, and his best friend Hobbes, a stuffed tiger that became real whenever they were alone. (Many descriptions describe Hobbes as “real only to Calvin,” but this is nonsense. Everyone knows that Hobbes was plenty real, he just appeared stuffed to everyone else. Sort of like a reverse Toy Story situation....

Jade, Jenny, Mads, and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of—until the night of Jade’s sweet sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Jade as their next target. They picked the wrong girl. Sworn to vengeance, Jade transfers to St. Andrew’s Prep. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one....

Welcome to Finale, the final book in Stephanie Garber’s #1 New York Times bestselling Caraval series! It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist. Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend. After uncovering a secret, Scarlett will need to do the impossible....