Books

I’ve been a fan of horror films since I was probably too young to watch them. I remember family trips to Blockbuster on Friday nights. Instead of grabbing Disney movies, I worked my way through the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street movies. I’ve watched a lot of horror movies over the

Susan Dennard kicks off a darkly magical, action-packed new series with The Luminaries, which introduces a mysterious world filled with monsters. It’s the story of a teen girl named Winnie Wednesday and her quest to rejoin the secret organization of monster hunters who keep her town—and the world—safe. Dennard chatted with BookPage about her novel’s

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,

One of the things Asia is most known for is horror. In fact, Japan and South Korea have produced many horror films throughout the years. Who hasn’t been terrified by The Ring or Sadako? Or those films featuring scary Japanese dolls? How about the zombies in Train to Busan? The Asian continent also has plenty

The mornings are crisp. The days are shorter. Tomatoes and peaches have been replaced by apples and pumpkins at the farmer’s market. And the fall books are here! Autumn is always a busy time of year for books, with publishers releasing their big titles in the hope of capturing the interest of readers shopping for

Gruenberg, the author of Hummer (2021), writes about three young siblings escaping the Great Michigan Fire of 1871 in this historical middle-grade novel. At church, 11-year-old Lyle Hemmis worries about going to hell as a raging forest fire threatens to overtake his town. His family includes his father; his pregnant stepmother, Winny; his brother, Rudy;

I love big, sprawling, fantasy series as much as anyone. But for the past few years, I’ve also been craving more self-contained stories that don’t demand as much time and attention from me. Which is why I began reading standalones — and let me say that they are more than capable of telling complete and

The Mennonite community is at once an evangelizing religious group and a “tribe.” As novelist Sofia Samatar (A Stranger in Olondria) explains, the tribe consists of the white descendants of its Swiss, German and Dutch founders, but the religion is growing fastest in Africa. Samatar embodies that duality: Her white American mother met her Black

It’s Monster Mash season, baby! My favorite time of year. Porches are decorated with pumpkins and ghouls, bowls of candy are everywhere you look, and the options for your costume are endless. And with that comes all of the scary movies, books, and comics just waiting at your fingertips. You want vampires, you’ve got them.

It’s difficult to have a conversation with Ross Gay and not think of a moniker he’s picked up over the years: “the happiest poet around.” Gay is relaxed, genial and clearly excited about his second essay collection (and sixth book overall), Inciting Joy. With its 14 chapters, or “incitements,” covering subjects as disparate as death

by Colleen Hoover ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 18, 2022 After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father. Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was

In education there’s a distinct jargon used. Acronyms and idioms and particular turns of phrase. This isn’t unique to education, but ubiquitous in most occupations. While we do the best we can to reflect on our teaching processes and make corrections where necessary, sometimes we don’t even think about a term that needs to be

Poet Ross Gay’s powerful sixth book and second collection of essays, Inciting Joy, opens with an imaginary house party to which people bring their sorrows as plus-ones. Soon the living room becomes a raucous dance floor, and in the middle of this unexpected mirth, Gay poses two central questions: What incites joy? And more importantly,

It was only a matter of time before the “Don’t Say Gay” bill of Florida and the wave of similar anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed throughout the country made its way to the federal level. Congressman Mike Johnson (Louisiana) introduced the “Stop the Sexualization of Children” Act into the House this week. The bill would “prohibit the

Twelve-year-old Lula Viramontes longs to be heard. She’s scared to use her raspy voice to stand up to her volatile Papá, who has decided that Lula and her sister will stop attending school so they can work in the grape fields of Delano, California. Lula is also worried about her Mamá, whose sudden illness has

by Walter Mosley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 2020 A grandmaster of the hard-boiled crime genre shifts gears to spin bittersweet and, at times, bizarre tales about bruised, sensitive souls in love and trouble. In one of the 17 stories that make up this collection, a supporting character says: “People are so afraid of dying

“We have all seen where these far-left thinking groups are going and taking our country. It will continue to get worse if we ALL don’t support each other and take a stand against what we know is wrong, honor God, and take a stand for our children and future generations. I thank you for your

The four Singh sisters help their twice-widowed father run the Songbird Inn, a quaint but charming vacation spot on Orcas Island, Washington. In the year after the Songbird wins an award for most romantic inn in the country, each member of the family finds themselves on the edge of romance. As they navigate relationships old

I don’t read the cover copy because I like surprises. The author has spent months, maybe years, writing this story. Working out plot holes and tweaking dialogue. They’ve workshopped it with friends and colleagues. They reorganized, edited, and revised, spending more time with these words than I will during my first reading. All this hard

Christina lives in Grangeview, Texas, population 12,000, where she’s used to being one of the only Asian American students in her classes. She’s dealt with teachers who struggle to pronounce her last name and classmates who make fun of her lunch. When she explains that her dad is from Thailand, another student corrects her: “I