Books

On October 31st, a federal judge ruled against the merging of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, saying that it would “substantially lessen competition” in publishing. While that was a blow to the merger, it wasn’t officially over: Penguin Random House had been planning to appeal the decision. In order to do that, they

In her fascinating and frank debut, Butts: A Backstory, journalist Heather Radke ponders why this body part is so polarizing, the collective cultural obsession so enduring.  As the author notes in her introduction, “Butts are a bellwether. The feelings we have about butts are almost always indicative of other feelings—feelings about race, gender, and sex.”

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

With President Joe Biden pardoning thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession and the rise of microdosing psychedelics as a treatment for mental illness, now is a good time to dive in to some books about drugs, especially of the recreational variety. Originally I wanted this list to be science-heavy, full of cool, weird books

Game On Give this to a reader who has a competitive streak, whether it manifests on the field, in the classroom or at game night.  Game On: 15 Stories of Wins, Losses, and Everything in Between highlights the importance of “playing the game” to find yourself. In each tale, characters interact with a game, from

Robots and children’s stories have gone together for decades, but in the modern era, it’s no wonder that robot books for kids are more popular than ever. A strong candidate for the first fictional robot comes from children’s fiction, before the word ‘robot’ itself even came into use — Tik-Tok, a mechanical character in L.

by Andrew Young & Paula Young Shelton ; illustrated by Gordon C. James ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 2, 2022 Before growing up to become a major figure in the civil rights movement, a boy finds a role model. Buffing up a childhood tale told by her renowned father, Young Shelton describes how young Andrew saw

Alan Rickman had no idea who I was and that was probably for the best because neither did I. I have just finished reading Madly Deeply, the Diaries of Alan Rickman. In the last few weeks, I have had to work through what he actually meant to me beyond that I loved him when I

There are a lot of YA books that feature music. This might be the theme of the book or it might be a motif within the book. It could also be what introduces each chapter or a playlist that comes at the end of the book or as a bonus feature as part of the

Adam Rutherford (A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, Humanimal) earned his undergraduate degree and Ph.D. from University College London, including several years studying in the university’s Galton Laboratory. This straightforward sentence hides a deep irony. As readers of his book How to Argue With a Racist know, Rutherford is passionately anti-eugenics—while Francis Galton,

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

A warning: this quiz is not for the faint of heart. It was made for those who know their covers and to which titles those covers belong to. It was made for those who can spot a detail and hold it fast in their memory. It was made for those who like a challenge and

Actor Constance Wu (known for her lauded roles in “Fresh Off the Boat,” Crazy Rich Asians and Hustlers) narrates her thoughtful and revealing memoir in essays with an endearing blend of passion and playfulness.  Throughout her career, Wu has learned that life is a series of scenes that shape us; we don’t shape the scenes.

This week, PEN America sent a letter to Missouri school boards and the state legislature, demanding a reversal to a spate of book bans enacted thanks to the state’s Senate Bill 775. The bill makes any material with “visual depictions” of “graphic material” illegal for schools to have available. This is why so many graphic

Elly Griffiths’ third Harbinder Kaur mystery finds the detective inspector eager to prove herself after relocating from West Sussex to London. Her latest case begins when a reunion at the posh Manor Park School in Chelsea results in politician Garfield Rice’s murder.  Griffiths alternates between Harbinder’s perspective and that of Cassie Fitzgerald, a former student

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

HarperCollins Union, which represents more than 250 employees from different sectors of the publishing house, has been on strike since November 10th. Their demands are for better pay, diversity initiatives, and more security for unionized workers. Salaries at HarperCollins start at $45,000 pretax, well below a living wage in New York City, with an average

Sam Heughan, known to legions of fans as Jamie Fraser in the popular TV show based on Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, recently decided it was time to walk the rigorous West Highland Way in Scotland, a long-distance hiking trail that runs from north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. He wanted a

British award-winning author Marcus Sedgwick has passed away unexpectedly at the age of 54. Sedgwick wrote over 40 children’s books, was nominated for more than 30 awards, and won the Printz award in 2014 for Midwinter Blood. He described his latest series, Be the Change, as a “brilliant interactive and accessible resources for kids to

All hell broke loose when Casey Parks came out to her family. But amid all their weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, there was a bright spark that came to dominate Parks’ personal and professional life for over a decade, which she recounts in Diary of a Misfit (14.5 hours). Parks’ stern, conservative grandmother