Classic Love Poetry Books 1. Rumi: The Book of Love: Poems of Ecstasy and Longing by Rumi, translated by Coleman Banks There is no shortage of love poetry books featuring the work of Rumi. A Persian poet in the thirteenth century, Rumi is well known for writing about all kinds of love—from the romantic to the religious. 2. The Sonnets by William Shakespeare Obviously, we can’t talk about love poems without talking about the sonnets....
And there are so many characters to love! Some of the most classic, iconic and beloved characters of our times come into our lives through the books we read, which means books can offer up an endless supply of ideas for Halloween costumes, for kids, teens and adults alike. (Hello, where do yo think you are? Of course we’re all about the books here.) But hey, it’s 2021. There’s a pandemic (still) on, the world is (still) burning, and things are hard....
The winners in each of the five categories—Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Fiction—will be announced November 18, 2020, in a virtual ceremony. Acclaimed novelist Walter Mosley will receive the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Carolyn Reidy, the late Simon & Schuster CEO, will be honored with the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community. Fiction Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam — National Book Foundation (@nationalbook) October 6, 2020 A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu...
Procedural The Unquiet Dead (Rachel Getty & Esa Khattak #1) by Ausma Zehanat Khan, Peter Ganim (Narrator) The start of a fantastic Canadian procedural series, starring two detectives handling minority sensitive cases, that takes you around the world—Full review. (You can marathon four of the five books) Raven Black (Shetland Island #1) by Ann Cleeves, Gordon Griffin (narrator) This is one of those satisfying from beginning to end murder mysteries where you get to know a handful of people in a remote area—Full review....
The best reading quotes The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries. —Rene Descartes The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. —Dr. Seuss (More You Know Wall Decal from WallumsWallDecals) Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift....
Below are 24 books which, by virtue of their plot, characters, or setting, stand out from the crowd. 24 Unusual Historical Romances 1. Morganna by Jackie Ivie Ever since the massacre of her clan when she was a child, Morganna KilCreggar has wandered disguised as a boy. She has only one goal: to take revenge on the FitzHughs who murdered her family. Nothing else matters, and she is perfectly willing to expend her own life in the pursuit of this aim....
“Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath Excerpt: I have done it again. One year in every ten I manage it— A sort of walking miracle, my skin A paperweight, My face a featureless, fine Jew linen. “Planetarium” by Adrienne Rich, read by astrophysicist Janna Levin “Marrying the Hangman” by Margaret Atwood Excerpt: She has been condemned to death by hanging. A man may escape this death by becoming the hangman, a woman by marrying the hangman....
“We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over.” —Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 “Why wasn’t friendship as good as a relationship? Why wasn’t it even better? It was two people who remained together, day after day, bound not by sex or physical attraction or money or children or property, but only by the shared agreement to keep going, the mutual dedication to a union that could never be codified....
The debut adult novel by the bestselling and award-winning YA author Nina LaCour, Yerba Buena is a love story for our time and a propulsive journey through the lives of two women trying to find somewhere, or someone, to call home. For Educate Yourself Book Club — where we read books on subjects like racism, feminism, LGBTQIAP+ identity, fatphobia, and ableism — we pick fiction and nonfiction books we want to read together, and then we discuss what we have learned, bringing the books and our personal stories to the table....
But this forgotten and omitted violent history has come to light within the last few years with educational non-profits like Refusing to Forget paving the way. “Although historians estimate that several thousand Mexican Nationals and Mexican American citizens were killed, this period of violence has received little public attention.” But Latinos can no longer stay silent. This violent history deserves to be researched and put out there for the world to see and acknowledge....
We’re giving away $100 to the bookstore of your choice! Enter to win by signing up for Unusual Suspects, our mystery/thriller newsletter about new releases, book recommendations, book deals, and more. Enter here. Huzzah for exciting new books to help us brighten up the snowy darkness of winter! February may be the shortest month of the year, but we’re definitely not short on February YA releases for your library holds list....
Book Riot is teaming up with Macmillan’s Nightfire newsletter for a chance to win a Horror Lover’s prize pack containing a $200 Visa gift card and copies of the following: The Living Dead by George Romero and Daniel Kraus, Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Slewfoot by Brom, Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, and The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward. Simply sign up for the Nightfire newsletter and fill out the form here to be entered to win....
The Oscars happened! Apparently they were very bad. I was rewatching old episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race at home, so I did not watch. But what an appropriate time to look at books that inspired Academy Award–winning films. So we shall do so!
59 Quotes about Libraries and Librarians Libraries allow children to ask questions about the world and find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the doors to learning are always open. —Laura Bush Ray Bradbury typewriter quote on library card by ClairvoyanteBisous Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future. —Ray Bradbury Schools and libraries are the twin cornerstones of a civilized society....
And then there’s the matter of money: no matter the history of a piece, someone will buy it, making art theft an attractive crime to commit. A few weeks ago, a man walked in to a gallery in San Francisco, took a Dali etching off the wall (the gallery doesn’t alarm its work), and departed with it. Whether or not he’ll be caught is questionable, despite the theft having been captured on security cameras, and despite photos of the piece being broadcast on the internet....
Since falling in love with In the Dream House, I’ve been on the lookout for books that give me that same feeling—the wonder of experiencing an entirely new kind of writing. The books on this list—some fiction, some nonfiction—are all books like In the Dream House in the ways they use language and topple expectations and conventions. These are books that refuse to be boxed into neat, easily-definable categories. They recreate and reinvent ideas about memoir, genre, queerness, and identity....
Book Riot is teaming up with FSG’s Work in Progress Newsletter to give away a year’s subscription to TBR at the hardcover level! Our book subscription service pairs you with a professional book nerd who creates your own tailored book recommendations. You get the best books you didn’t know you were looking for, and a reading experience that’s expertly-curated with recommendations that are as diverse and exciting as books and readers are....
Good news, everyone! I have a solution. Graphic nonfiction! The Life of Frederick Douglass: A Graphic Narrative of a Slave’s Journey from Bondage To Freedom by David Walker (Ten Speed Press) I’ve mentioned this book in a couple of different articles. I want to give it some good airtime because I feel as though readers may have slept on it a bit; I’m not sure I’d know about it if I hadn’t heard Walker speak about how important he felt it was to disseminate history in a format that is accessible to everyone, regardless of reading ability or level of education....
Isabel Allende, From Why We Write “I need to tell a story. It’s an obsession. Each story is a seed inside of me that starts to grow and grow, like a tumor, and I have to deal with it sooner or later. Why a particular story? I don’t know when I begin. That I learn much later. In all my books there are strong women who have to overcome incredible obstacles to have their own destiny....
