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What was the Spanish Civil War? Often referred to as a warm-up to World War II, the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) is a complicated and confusing period even for the historians who study it. It pitted Republicans—left-leaning, democratic supporters/loyalists of the liberal reform government—against the right-leaning, Roman Catholic Nationalists led by General Francisco Franco. Both sides formed alliances of convenience with other political groups. The Republicans joined with the Communists and Anarchists, while the Nationalist movement included among its members Monarchists, Fascists, the lesser known Falangists, and had the outside support of both the USSR and Nazi Germany....

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....

8 Bookish New Year’s Resolution Ideas 1. Read one book you own for every book you check out (or buy). I have a really bad—depending on how you look at it—habit of buying a bunch of books and then mostly relying on the library for my reading material. This means I accumulate lots of books and, because I don’t end up reading them (there are only so many hours in the day!...

With f/f relationships, there can be even more appeal to these stories. Sometimes you just want to read a story about two women in love, and skip over all the obstacles to getting together. If you haven’t seen a lot of representation of f/f relationships, it’s reassuring to see what that looks like: not just the lead-up and the fade out on a happy ending, but the day-to-day of that relationship....

Whitey and Cahoots, two sharks, convince giant tortoise Arlene to invest in their sure-fire, money-making scheme. Arlene takes the bait. So do all her friends, and they discover the hard way what a Ponzi scheme is. Research conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows that 4th and 5th graders with some exposure to financial education demonstrate different attitudes and behaviors towards money. Researchers claim that: Luckily, there is a wealth of resources and activities for the financial education of children....

However overwhelming this profession continues to be, teaching young people means we have an enormous responsibility. Public schools are set up to serve a very specific group of straight, white, middle class, neurotypical students and families. No wonder the job seems so impossible. The system works for so few. Where I live, teachers must have a Master’s Degree to maintain their teaching license, and despite all those classes, very few educators feel prepared to truly meet the needs of their amazing, diverse, creative, interesting students....

1. Goodreads Like many avid readers, I use Goodreads to keep track of my TBR and read negative reviews of books I love to make myself angry for fun. But there’s a lesser-known barcode scanner feature that lets you add books directly to lists without having to search for them. This is a great way to keep tabs on what you’ve already read vs. what you hope to read in the future....

Book Riot is teaming up with Harlequin.com to giveaway a Kindle Oasis to one lucky winner! Here’s a little more about Harlequin.com: Harlequin.com is the official Harlequin book site. Join us to see the newest novels, read exclusive free stories from Harlequin authors, connect with our community of romance book lovers, meet your favorite authors, buy romance books online and more! Bookmobiles in particular hold a distinctive charm. There’s something to be said for getting a visit from a mobile library squashed delightfully full with books....

Look, it’s been a week, and I’m mentally exhausted, so how about we just talk about some SFF books that have cats in them? Because I love cats, and cats are good. Even when they’re bad. Speaking of cats, the SFF blog File 770 has an entire tag that’s nothing but sleepy cats in proximity to SFF novels.

From the author of Annihilation, a brilliant speculative thriller of dark conspiracy, endangered species, and the possible end of all things. What I have for you are some picks that sometimes feature the present, and sometimes the future, but each tells the story of a looming threat we might be forced to exist in if the denial goes on for long. Each of these picks is also laden with themes of survival....

Lucky for us, there are picture books featuring characters who don’t give up on reaching a goal, even when the going gets tough. These stories can serve as guides for children and adults alike. So, if there are any kiddos you know who have a tough time staying motivated while pursuing a goal, whip out one of these books and they’ll be back at it again in no time:...

The concept is great. Build a little structure, fill it with books, and people can come and take books as they please. It’s always fun to investigate each one since no one free little library is the same. At least initially, the libraries reflect the tastes of their creators. Sometimes you find really unusual books there. This summer, someone put the legal textbook Children in the Legal System into a nearby free library; eventually, it disappeared!...

In The Christmas Doll, best-selling author Jason F. Wright shares a true story from the life of Gail Saxton Miller, billionaire businesswoman and owner of the Utah Jazz NBA team. But Gail’s childhood was vastly different from her life now—facing poverty in the 1940s, the Saxton family made ends meet by turning their small home into rental apartments and made do with hand-me-downs and secondhand items. Christmas is fast approaching, but in the Saxton home, there is no money for gifts....

Ana is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a high school that graduates the worlds best marine scientists and underwater explorers. Ana’s parents died while on a scientific expedition two years ago, and the only family’s she’s got left is her brother. Ana’s freshman year culminates with the class’s weekend trial at sea, the details of which have been kept secret. She only hopes she has what it’ll take to succeed....

In Lobizona, bestselling author Romina Garber weaves together Argentine folklore and what it means to be illegal “in a timely tale of identity and adventure that every teenager should read” (Tomi Adeyemi, bestselling author of Children of Blood and Bone). Want more “3 on a YA Theme”? We’ve got you covered!

Two brothers meet for the first time in months in the Australian outback; their third brother lies dead at their feet in this stunning new standalone novel from Jane Harper, the New York Times bestselling author of The Dry. As an only child, my fascination with siblings is second-hand, BUT this value was instilled in me from birth: you can fight with your family all you want, but when someone else comes in, y’all are on the same team....

I’ve gone ahead and separated my acronyms here into sections, which should make it easier to find exactly the right one. General Reading: TBR: To Be Read DNF: Did Not Finish (can be verbed as DNFd) ARC: Advance Review Copy DRC: Digital Review Copy TBB: To Be Bought OOP: Out Of Print MC: Main Character Genre and Demographics: SF: Science Fiction SF/F: Science Fiction and Fantasy UF: Urban Fantasy PNR: ParaNormal Romance MG: Middle Grade YA: Young Adult NA: New Adult...

The topic has been dissected since Rooney’s second novel, Normal People, was released in the U.S. in 2019. Google any combination of “Sally Rooney” and “Millennial” and “Writer” and you’ll be hit with a gazillion think pieces. But, friends, I’m here to tell you that Rooney isn’t the only voice of Millennials. Declaring writers to be the heralds of their generation is nothing new, of course. Ernest Hemingway for the Lost Generation, Jack Kerouac for the Beats, and, perhaps, David Foster Wallace for Gen X — at least according to John Warner at the Chicago Tribune....

Venice has a long and brilliant literary history, from writing like Casanova’s The Story of My Life (hint: he’s not all Lothario) to its veritable ownership of printing in the 15th and 16th centuries. Venice is where the modern page format was conceived, where modern punctuation came to life and where italics started their course into history. On top of that, the city has been the inspiration for everyone from Shakespeare (Othello, The Merchant of Venice) to Anne Rice....

Five friends cursed. Five deadly fates. Five nights of retribución. If Lupe Dávila and Javier Utierre can survive each other’s company, together they can solve a series of grisly murders sweeping through Puerto Rico. But the clues lead them out of the real world and into the realm of myths and legends. And if they want to catch the killer, they’ll have to step into the shadows to see what’s lurking there—murderer or monster?...