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Having discussions about the realities of sex work is extremely important in order to destigmatize it. If you are interested in feminism and sexuality, or you participate in the world of the sex industry, I can recommend any of these books. The best way to begin the conversation around sex work is to listen to the workers speak. General content warning for these books; mentions of violence, homophobia, transphobia, sexual assault/abuse, drug use, and pedophilia....

But here’s what I’m saying: be careful. I’m not talking about avoiding those elbows to the face while jockeying over toys marked down 70%. Nor am I referring to the damage you might do to your wallet. I’m talking about murder. If fiction tells us anything, it’s that shopping can be deadly and those bargains you seek may be the last things you find on this mortal coil. It’s not too late....

“Why can’t they leave politics out of it?” these benighted fools moan, right before waxing nostalgic about Captain America punching Hitler in the face. “Remember the good old days when comics weren’t full of social justice warriors?” No, as a matter of fact, I don’t remember. Because that time never existed. This article takes you on a whirlwind tour of superheroes’ long history of battling for social justice. It’s not always pretty, but it’s important to remember—especially these days—that superheroes are about more than power fantasies and colorful costumes....

“Need a fun mental break? We’ve created six digital jigsaw puzzles through Jigsaw Explorer that feature a few favorite images from our collection. Play them right here on our blog or use the links to expand an individual puzzle. Each puzzle is set to contain about 100 pieces, but they are customizable for any skill set. Hit the question mark icon on a puzzle for more information. We’ve tested these with staff (and kid volunteers!...

I wish I could tell you every way devoting my August to poetry has inspired me, but time and word count and my thumping mind. In “The Sealey Challenge” via The Rumpus, Sealey, the challenge’s founder, reminds participants, “Whether the book is your taste or not, there’s something to learn from each.” In this reflection, my goal is to honor every poet’s work that I spent time with, so whether you’re participating in Sealey September, “an offshoot” of The Sealey Challenge, or simply want to stock up on poems, here are the words I basked in....

Supergirl: Being Super by Mariko Tamaki and Joelle Jones Kara Danvers is Supergirl—she crash landed on Earth as a baby, and now lives with her adopted parents in Midvale. It’s a little hard hiding her powers to pretend she’s a normal 16-year-old, but it only gets more difficult when a horrible earthquake shakes up some long-buried secrets about Kara’s past. Out July 7 One Year at Ellsmere by Faith Erin Hicks In this boarding school adventure, Juniper wins a scholarship to the prestigious Ellsmere Academy, and she couldn’t be more happy for a studious, scholastic utopia....

As yet another person stepped onto the sidewalk to ask, I wondered what band they thought we were lining the streets for. Well, I thought while noticing the girls chatting reasonably behind me with bags full of books, I guess there isn’t quite enough of a screaming mob for it to be One Direction. A few weeks ago, I met Leigh Bardugo. (She is author of Six of Crows and King of Scars, for those not inducted into the Grishaverse....

Getting a book box is basically a dream. Personally, I’ve always wanted to get one, because of the way everyone did their unboxing videos and showcased the goodies inside. I’m easily influenced into getting books and things on the internet, that’s not a secret. If you’re like me, a book box is the perfect little box filled to the brim with treasures and magic. All of these companies provide book box subscriptions that will bring a smile to your face....

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker is an extraordinary novel about two kinds of families: the ones we are born into and the ones we create. With unforgettable characters and a mystery at its heart, We Begin at the End follows one man’s return to his small hometown after 30 years in prison and the trouble that follows. B.A. Paris raves it’s “Incredible with characters so brilliantly drawn they jump off the page....

I know I’m not the only book lover out there who’s had this thought. So to get some answers on the art of ghostwriting — what the process entails, how it plays into the literary world, and what it’s like to work as a book ghostwriter — I talked to two experts of the craft. Angie Ransome-Jones (Path to Peace: A Guide to Managing Life After Losing a Loved One) is a national best-selling author and ghostwriter; delmetria millener is a freelance writer, ghostwriter, teacher, and #TeenWritersProject Founder....

Some History on Community Reading Programs According to the U.S. Library of Congress’s Center for the Book, Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl started the first community reading program. She called it “If Seattle All Read the Same Book” and organized the first one in 1998. As someone who remembers the 1990s clearly, that doesn’t seem that long ago. However, the idea has had some time to develop and is still going strong....

Whether you’re in the mood for a little retail therapy for yourself or working on holiday gifting for the readers on your list, we hope you’ll find some discounts here to make your shopping a little easier on the wallet. What kinds of deals can you expect? Just like our Black Friday deals roundup, some of the items featured here are goods directly related to books and bookishness. Others are gifts that help make the reading experience a bit more comfy and cozy....

Looking for more excellent YA book recommendations? We’ve got you covered—and here are even more found family books for readers of all ages. And if you’re hoping for more recommendations on specific topics, such as found family YA books, check out TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations. TBR is a great service that offers quarterly personalized book recommendations based on what you want to read more of. All you have to do to get started is fill out our reader survey, and then you’ll be matched with an expert Bibliologist who will hand-pick three books just for you, and write you a recommendation letter....

That being said, given that she has an extensive catalog—it can be difficult to know where to start. You can absolutely read in publication order, starting with Songs of the Humpback Whale. Jodi Picoult books are stand-alones (with a few recurring characters, more on that later) and can be read in any order. So if chronological is your thang, you can find a list on her website to go off of....

Eight years ago (in 2003), BBC held a search for their nation’s most beloved books of all time. Once the reader-contributed titles were tabulated, they formed a Top 21, Top 100, and Top 200. Over the past (almost) decade, these lists have been republished, discussed and argued about on literary sites and blogs across the world. As far as the book world is concerned, it is still one of the most searched for lists in Google....

Born March 4, 1954, Catherine Anne O’Hara was a member of the Second City comedy group in the 1970s and a founding cast member of their television experiment, SCTV. She has gone on to have a decades-long career in motion pictures, television, and other media. She is a beloved household name, whether you know her by her own name or as Delia Deetz, Moira Rose, Cookie Fleck, or Mrs. McAllister....

I can tell you the plot very quickly, in that it is as much premise as plot and little beyond it: Jim Burgess is a defense attorney who was, briefly, a celebrity lawyer for a famous case. Now, he is older and callous and hard to get along with, and very unkind to his brother. Bob Burgess’ life creaked to a halt when he got divorced some years earlier and he’s never quite gotten it fired up again....

Editor’s Note: This post was written prior to our decision to stop promoting the works of J.K. Rowling in light of her transphobic statements. 1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone First line of Harry Potter: “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” It might seem odd to begin a series about the wizard world talking about the boring old Dursley’s....

Body Talk was put at tier one, the lowest rating, because it only includes side characters who are queer. Unfortunately, this categorization is wrong–Body Talk is nonfiction, and both its editor and several contributors identify as LGBTQ+. At the same time our real lives are being slotted into a book rating system based on the level of queer content, the very people behind the system manage to erase our queer experiences....

In the last couple of years, a library near me has switched from limiting checkout periods and keeping the library-specific professional development books in the reference area to giving them the same checkout length as the rest of the collection and interfiling it with the same. It’s been great to have better access to so many of these books, but often, these texts have further reading sections. I really enjoy my field, so I want to learn as much as I can, but not all of these books are available at my library....