Books

From the They Did What? series by Saundra Mitchell ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 10, 2016 Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory? Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of

Now that so many of us spend all day on screens, there’s something about using a paper calendar. From bullet journalling to maintaining a wall calendar, having reminders in a physical form can make them more effective — and it’s nice to get a break from screens and pinging reminders. Daily calendars (fun fact: “Page-A-Day

Blackmail, jealousy and murder haunt a luxury ski resort. Can two sleuths crack the case before a blizzard traps them alongside a killer? Darby Piper and Tate Porter are still getting used to working together as PIs when they agree to take on a case brought to them by Tate’s ex-girlfriend, Cecily Madd. Cecily’s husband,

Spanish philosopher George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Which is a great reason to read history books — they teach us about the past! And falling under the history book umbrella are historical fiction books. Just because they’re fiction doesn’t mean they don’t contain information about

The art of letter writing seems all but doomed in our age of digital communication, and one wonders where future literary biographers will turn for the singular insights that a writer’s correspondence affords. Scholars of John le Carré will have no such concerns. Le Carré, real name David Cornwell, who died in December 2020, was

by Valerie Bolling ; illustrated by Maine Diaz ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2020 Dancing is one of the most universal elements of cultures the world over. In onomatopoeic, rhyming text, Bolling encourages readers to dance in styles including folk dance, classical ballet, breakdancing, and line dancing. Read aloud, the zippy text will engage young

‘Tis the season for Best Of lists! We’ve discussed the top books of the year according to the New York Times, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and more, and today Buzzfeed has released their own. It was chosen by nine Buzzfeed contributors, reporters, and writers, including our own Margaret Kingsbury! The list is divided into genres,

In Lauren Groff’s Matrix, 17-year-old Marie de France becomes prioress of a run-down abbey in 12th-century England. Ill-suited to a life of privation, Marie struggles in her new role, but she forms strong bonds with the women in her charge, and the abbey begins to flourish. When tensions rise between the abbey and the outside

Now that December is upon us, you may find yourself still (or finally) shopping for gifts. And what better gift is there than books? Sure, we’re a little biased here, but still. Books make for wonderful presents, as I’m sure everyone reading Book Riot on a regular basis will agree. And although I have an

Science journalist Sabrina Imbler dives deep into the waters of human and marine life in their luminous essay collection, How Far the Light Reaches. In the book’s 10 essays, Imbler cannily observes the lives of sea creatures, drawing out lessons about resilience, survival and wildness and tying those insights to their own experiences as a

by Stephen King ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 6, 2022 Narnia on the Penobscot: a grand, and naturally strange, entertainment from the ever prolific King. What’s a person to do when sheltering from Covid? In King’s case, write something to entertain himself while reflecting on what was going on in the world outside—ravaged cities, contentious politics,

I’m a sucker for fairy tale retellings, from Cinderella to LGBTQ and gender-flipped iterations. What can I say? As far as I’m concerned, there are never enough. As long as there are writers and storytellers there will be creative new takes on the classic stories passed down through the generations. One of those stories that

For some reason, I’ve interpreted the umbrella of popular science books to mean speculative books with only a whisper of science in them. A better term, I thought, would be accessible science because these books aren’t fluff, but they aren’t hefty science journals, either.  Popular science books are written for the average person. They are

by Tom Fletcher & Dougie Poynter ; illustrated by Garry Parsons ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 17, 2019 Santa delivers a naughty boy his comeuppance in this yuck- and yuk-filled Christmas book. Santa is appalled at the length of greedy Danny’s list—especially since the lad already has a “mountain of toys.” Santa decides, “I’ll leave him

by Joshua Whitehead While in Toronto, a reporter, having researched me thoroughly, asked: “So Josh, can you tell me how the death of your grandmother has influenced your novel?” Being a fledgling writer at the time, I accommodated the request and reluctantly retold the story of my grandmother’s murder in the sixties — at which

A weakening journalism industry is one arm of the octopus which has allowed book bans and censorship to thrive in the current environment. It’s not just the loss of local news, though. Further contributing is the insistence of calling book censorship a matter of “culture war.” Censorship is not, nor has it ever been, a

Bake Though he’s best known as the “Great British Baking Show” judge with an icy blue stare fit to scare any hopeful contestant, Paul Hollywood is also an exceptional baker in his own right. With BAKE, he shares his go-to recipes for all the classics, from cakes and cookies to doughnuts, pastries and pies. There

by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015 A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon. A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck,

The grumpy / sunshine trope is nothing new, but watching Wednesday and Enid becoming the best and unlikeliest of friends in the new Netflix show reminded me of just how much I love that dynamic whether in friendships or romances. There’s just something about a hardened, stoic character being soft for that one overly optimistic

Evette Dionne’s anticipated second release after her celebrated children’s nonfiction book, Lifting as We Climb, is a bracing essay collection on the dangers of fatphobia and her personal resistance to its claims. The former editor-in-chief of Bitch magazine braids the personal with the political in Weightless: Making Space for My Resilient Body and Soul, breaking