Big news in the book world. This week, PEN America has canceled its 2024 awards ceremony after almost half of the writers nominated withdrew in protest of PEN America’s response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Book Riot Editor Kelly Jensen also got into the best book covers of the year so far, and the winners of the 2024 O. Henry Prize for Short Fiction were announced. Below, I’ve got some fairly recent romances for your book club to discuss. There are delightful romantasies, professional haters finding love, queer rom-coms, and more. Nibbles and Sips: Cherry Italian Margarita I’ve n ..read more

The Gotham Book Prize is given to the best fiction or nonfiction book published each calendar year that takes place in or is about New York City. The prize grants its winner $50,000, and was created in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic by Bradley Tusk and Howard Wolfson. Past winners include Deacon King Kong by James McBride (2021), Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott (2022), The Sewing Girl’s Tale by John Wood Sweet (2023), and Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana (2023). This year, the Gotham Book Prize award ceremony will be held at Queens Public Library on June 5th. The Queen ..read more

$4.99 The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert Get This Deal $0.99 The Pursuit Of… by Courtney Milan Get This Deal $1.99 We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian Get This Deal $5.99 Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey Get This Deal $1.99 On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn Get This Deal $1.99 Snow Place Like LA by Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone Get This Deal ..read more

Today’s Featured Deals $1.99 Ellie Steps Up to the Plate by Callie Barkley & Tracy Bishop Get This Deal $1.99 Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods by Catherynne M. Valente Get This Deal $1.99 Over and Under the Rainforest by Kate Messner & Christopher Silas Neal Get This Deal $2.50 Marker by Anna Kang & Christopher Weyant Get This Deal ..read more

Today’s Featured Book Deals $1.99 Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert Get This Deal $1.99 Vox by Christina Dalcher Get This Deal $1.99 Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys Get This Deal $1.99 The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan Get This Deal $2.99 The Shambling Guide to New York City by Mur Lafferty Get This Deal $2.99 Rez Life by David Treuer Get This Deal $3.99 Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews Get This Deal $2.99 Haven by Emma Donoghue Get This Deal In Case You Missed Yester ..read more

Romantasy has taken over the book world, in no small part thanks to TikTok — and it’s easy to see why. These books combine high-stakes epic fantasy with swoon-worthy love stories. They have magic, dragons, and — often — steamy scenes. What’s not to love? Romance with fantasy elements and fantasy novels with romantic subplots are not new, but romantasy stands out for a couple of reasons: 1) good branding, and 2) in theory, a fairly equal focus on both the genres. There’s no reason this kind of genre mash-up has to be isolated to fantasy, which is why I predict the next hot new trend in reading ..read more

The Hanover County Supervisors has censored the honor they are giving to one of their young community members. Why? Because that student’s Girl Scout project is related to banned books — something that the local school board is actively engaged with and something that Commissioners themselves are currently engaged with at the public library. Hanover County School Book Bans Lead to A Teen Girl Scout Service Project Hanover County, Virginia, has become a familiar name in the book censorship world. In June 2023, the district adopted a policy to combat so-called “explicit” books in school librarie ..read more

I have yet to meet a kid who doesn’t love rocks. Any kind of rock, really. Gravel on a path, landscaping rocks, rocks in other people’s yards, gemstones and geodes — you name it, they usually love it. And if they’re anything like my kid, they’ll say things like, “I’m going to put this in my pocket to take home and save.” And then they’ll add it to their ever-growing collection on a shelf in their room. I mean, what’s not to love, right? Rocks can tell us all about the history of the Earth if we know what to look for. Plus, many of them are cool shapes and textures or just feel really good to h ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more