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The following is a short list of works by contemporary women writers, primarily women of color, pushing the boundaries of genre through experimental writing. Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler Fowler’s debut novel is the story of a young Brazilian woman growing up in London and navigating two distinct cultures. As a “stubborn archivist,” the main character chronicles her experiences, even seemingly small details of her existence. Fowler’s unusual coming-of-age narrative breaks formal conventions as several sections are written in free verse....

House of Trelawney by Hannah Rothschild (Bloomsbury) This sensational family saga about an English aristocratic family on the verge of collapse will take care of your Succession withdrawals. A cross between a trenchant social satire and an engrossing comedy of manners, you will devour this compelling read in one sitting. Big Girl, Small Town by Michelle Gallen (John Murray) An endearing tale of a girl who is unaware of her autism....

So I decided to guess what the books might be about based entirely on their covers. Please note: I have excluded any covers where the girl probably has a face and we just can’t see it, e.g. she is in silhouette or her hair is covering her face. I am sure these books are all lovely. I have not read them yet. A Breath Too Late by Rocky Callen Oh girl, no!...

Carina Adores is home to modern, romantic love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters. Learn more and download a FREE ebook today at CarinaAdores.com!

In Portugal, for example, we have what we like to call a “table culture:” we have good food, and we very much enjoy eating it, so when we make an appointment with someone — either personal or professional — we usually gather around the table. Meeting people is yet another reason to have great food, and our lunches and dinners can last for several hours. I can admit that I like a lot of things about the country I am currently living in, but the so-called table culture doesn’t exist here as much....

at Autostraddle: 8 Great Space Operas with Queer Women and Non-Binary Characters at Book Marks: 13 Books Where the Earth Comes Alive at Brightly: Green Books for Eco-Minded Kids and Parents at Bustle: Your National Poetry Month 2020 Required Reading List at BuzzFeed: 36 Great Books You Might Not Know About at Comics Beat: Shut In Theater: 8 comics about being stuck inside at Crime Reads: Eight Novels to Make You Question Reality at Electric Lit: 10 Unmissable Books From the “Flyover States” at Epic Reads: 38 Fantasy Worlds You Can Disappear Into Right Now at Get Literary: 6 Books to Read Based on Your Favorite Marvelous Mrs....

Profanity in speculative fiction runs the gamut, from nonsense words (“Tanj you!”) to phrases that hint at the world-building work an author has done. (“Blackened body of god!”) These invented curses can either trip up a reader by making them check a glossary at the back of a book, or act as Chekov’s Gun by giving readers important clues about a story’s mythology. Some are silly, some are shockers, but generally, I find that swearing in speculative fiction tends to fall into five dirty, dirty categories....

Because cold cases are not active, the investigator needs a reason to dredge them up. Although it’s possible that someone will come along to hire a detective to pursue a dormant case, many cold cases are personal to the one looking into them, whether that person is a detective or a bystander to the original crime. This raises the emotional stakes, making the danger more potent. There are heaps of cold case mysteries out there....

This installment comes from Morgan Macgregor. Morgan is a reader living in Los Angeles. She blogs at Reading in LA and is working on her first novel. Am I wrong in thinking that all genre kryptonite is basically aspirational narcissism for the reader? I mean, that’s why it’s kryptonite. Sci-fi addicts envision themselves as being just that much removed from humanity; Harlequin diehards imagine they must have been medieval countesses in their last lives, objects of blazing desire for kings and outlaws alike....

As I inched deeper into the literary community through studying, writing, bookselling, teaching, and contributing to online publications, my passion became more and more public. Suddenly, a Goodreads account made sense. I mostly began one for a wonderful opportunity with Tailored Book Recommendations. In case you’re interested, TBR is a quarterly subscription service that—based on reading preferences—matches the subscriber with a bibliologist, who then chooses personalized recommendations and pens letters with their book-nerdy hearts....

The Ring meets Scream in this terrifying, wickedly fun, and totally meta supernatural thriller about a true-crime tale that takes on a life of its own every 20 years. The story is told around a campfire in the ’50s, adapted into a movie in the ’70s, re-booted in the ’90s, and investigated on a true-crime podcast in the present day. We have 10 copies of The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman to give away to 10 Riot readers!...

This month I have one memoir—and it’s a doozy—and four novels for you. Two of the novels are reissues and were originally published in the 20th century. One is a debut novel from Canada, and another is a debut from Japan. I found the following books haunting. Whether it’s sexual assault, economic inequality, misogyny, racism, corporate overreach, or war, these books deal with some serious subjects. Not only do these books take up important subjects, but they do so using innovative forms....

The Hugo Awards, science fiction’s most prestigious award, were first presented in 1953 and have been presented every year since 1955. The winners are people or works from the previous year and are determined by the World Science Fiction Convention— or WorldCon— members. The 2022 Hugo Award winners are as follows: BEST NOVEL A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (Tor Books) BEST NOVELLA A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (Tordotcom Publishing)...

9 Horror Short Story Collections to Maximize Your Chills and Thrills

— Annika Barranti Klein (@noirbettie) July 7, 2019 I would suggest that if you hand your reluctant reader a copy of Flowers in the Attic, you might succeed in convincing them not to read Flowers in the Attic, but you won’t accomplish much else. (I suppose if you feel judgy about the book, this might be a good strategy. YMMV.) The letter writer is a London-based mother who wants her 16-year-old daughter to stop watching Love Island (a very very very terrible “reality” dating show), get off social media, and read a book....

I didn’t bear the news well…at first. While vacationing, I bought nine books from an independent bookstore (we were there for six nights). Retracing our tire tracks along the Gulf Coast, my dearest and I drove my literary souvenirs, including Alejandra Pizarnik’s Extracting the Stone of Madness, translated by Yvette Siegert, and Elaine Castillo’s How to Read Now home. We lugged the haul into our house, where we live among built-in and assembled shelves and surfaces crammed with TBR titles....

And, boy, do I love a theme. When there’s an opportunity to throw an elaborate party or, better, go overboard making something special for someone I love, I just cannot help myself. So when I had the chance to put together a perfect Winnie the Pooh nursery, I couldn’t resist. Winnie-the-Pooh went into the public domain this past year, freeing independent artists to create work based on the characters, so this is the perfect time to look for what new things are happening in Pooh’s world....

How To Hollow Out A Book There are many, many how-tos for this process available with a Google search. I have cobbled together several and added a step or two to assuage my own penchant for clean lines and finishes. You Will Need A hardcover book Newspaper for covering the book and also for keeping the counter clean Waxed paper (not pictured) Tape—painter’s, Scotch, masking; anything but duct (not pictured) A ruler A pen or pencil A craft knife of some kind (I’m using an X-Acto) Glue A small bowl A paintbrush A drill and your smallest drill bit (optional) 12″ of ribbon, cut in half (optional)...

Crochet is a handcraft with nebulous origins. At its core, it is linked knotwork, different from knitting and weaving, which are much more flat. It creates a thicker, more 3-dimensional fabric that is perfect for our purposes, as we want a sturdy book sleeve that can withstand a bit of banging around. It is also generally quicker to work up (“quicker” being a relative term if you’re very new to handcrafts, but stay with me here)....

The good news is that making your own fantastic-looking bookmarks doesn’t take any specialized art skills, design experience, or even special software. There is a very simple way that you can design them for free, and then download the files and print them either on your own printer or take them to print shop service of your choice. So whether you’re an author, teacher, librarian, bookseller, business owner, or just an avid reader looking for some personalized and customizable bookmark options that look polished and professional, I’ll walk you through how to make your own bookmarks in a cool free program called Canva....