Books

In the summer of 2016, the speculative magazine Fireside Fiction published #BlackSpecFic: A Fireside Fiction Company Special Report. The findings were deeply troubling: Out of more than 2,000 stories published in 2015 in mainstream paying markets, only 38 were by Black authors. To put it bluntly, that’s less than two percent. The dearth of BIPOC

Digimon, as a franchise, has always had the perception of being Pokémon‘s less successful younger brother. That’s bound to happen when two Japanese media franchises choose to name themselves after the pneumonic of “Adjective + Monster,” with Pokémon meaning “Pocket Monsters” and Digimon meaning “Digital Monsters.” That perception, however, isn’t entirely fair. Digimon never reached

When it comes to science fiction, there is a fine line for the suspension of belief. To truly sit within the science fiction genre, you have to have some element of realism with your science. Otherwise, it is simply fantasy (which is okay and I have no problem with this, but at least be honest

Food cozies are one of the most popular sub-genres of cozy mysteries including themes based on everything from ice cream to grilled cheese to cupcakes, and even a cannabis bakery! Food brings people together. Imaginary food, even more so. Plus, there are often recipes that you can really try.  But how much do the cozies that

The steampunk genre has been my jam since I first laid eyes on the epic airships of the Final Fantasy IX Playstation game as a kid. I loved nothing more than watching my brothers play it. Sometimes I would play too, but it was less effort to sit back and watch the game unfold in

The winners of the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Awards were announced last night at the New School. Books published in English in 2022 were eligible to win in six categories — Nonfiction, Fiction, Biography, Autobiography, Poetry and Criticism. Additionally, the best first book won the John Leonard Prize award, and this year is the

For years, hundreds of high-profile manuscripts — including early versions of books by Margaret Atwood and Sally Rooney — were stolen in a phishing scheme. The most puzzling part of the case was that nothing seemed to come from these thefts; uthe manuscripts were not leaked or sold, as far as anyone could tell. So

There are a lot of suspicions that during this era of book bans, we’ll begin to see a different output of material from publishers. They may pull back on queer books and/or books by people of color, those books which approach “sensitive” topics like sex and sexuality, and even graphic novels. Unfortunately, because of how

The official trailer for the Bridgerton prequel series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story was just dropped by Netflix. It shows a young Charlotte, played by India Amarteifio, as she questions why she was chosen to wed King George, played by Corey Mylchreest. As she begins to familiarize herself with court life, she meets familiar characters

Rebekah Weatherspoon’s novels are such a gift to the romance novel community. I feel like she can do it all. From sweet, lighter romcoms to deeply emotional erotic romance, I’ve loved every single Rebekah Weatherspoon romance I’ve picked up. I found out about Rebekah Weatherspoon on my first visit to The Ripped Bodice, a romance-only

Kodansha, the publisher of widely popular manga like Attack on Titan, Ghost in the Shell, Sailor Moon, Akira, and others, is set to launch a new app May 10th this year. The manga reader app will start off with 400 titles and give early access to newly released chapters for ongoing popular series. Though Kodansha

March is Women’s History Month, and I couldn’t stop thinking about witches this year. Okay, so the connection between witches and a month celebrating women may not be readily apparent. I get that. But here’s the deal: witches are making a bigtime comeback, y’all. It’s true that historically the label “witch” has been used to

When I’m not reading, one of my favorite past times is watching movies and consuming media about movies. Among my favorite YouTube channels is WhatCulture, an online culture magazine covering film, gaming, TV and more. They make top 10 lists that send me down rabbit holes for hours. Seriously, I watch these videos enough to

Taylor Jenkins Reid has dominated bestseller lists and BookTok for a few years now, and for very good reason: her books are juicy stories of Hollywood, the rich and famous, and every day women going through impossible situations. Reid has an almost supernatural ability to craft stories that make readers want to keep turning the

Are you the kind of person who browses through Zillow to dream about the perfect property — and judge rich people’s weird decor choices? If so, you’re definitely not alone. Of course, the ultimate dream of book lovers is an elegant home library, with built-in bookshelves and a rolling ladder. That was the takeaway from

Vivian Stephens is a name that all romance novel fans should know, but it is one that doesn’t come up enough. I’ve noticed her name popping up over the last few years on romance novel podcasts, blogs, and, perhaps most prominently, when RWA (Romance Writers of America) renamed their top award “The Vivian” in her

When we’re told to work on “loving yourself,” we have every right to be confused. The term is loaded and confusing. For my purposes here, I’m discussing our feelings about the way we physically present ourselves to the world. Having a healthy self image is so complicated, requiring an alignment of personal affirmations and positive

Thanks to social media, bookish celebrities, and marginalized book lovers, there are now lots of options for book clubs, for many kinds of readers. You can find enough monthly book clubs that you can’t do them all (although “challenge accepted” sounds fun). Depending on your schedule and needs, you can participate as much or as

If you’ve spent any time on the internet during the past 10 years, then you know about the “This Is Fine” comic. We’ve all seen it: a two-panel strip of a dog in a bowler hat, holding a mug, and calmly saying “this is fine” as the room is swallowed up by flames. Although the

In case you’re new around here, you should know that we love a good cover trend at Book Riot. Pantone color of the year? Check. Best covers of the year? You betcha. Books with sexy, suggestive fruits on the cover? Uh, yeah. This time, let’s take a look at some wonderful minimalist book covers coming

This article contains nothing but Shazam! Fury of the Gods spoilers. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a big movie. It’s essentially a team movie, with not only Billy Batson, but his entire foster family bringing a total of six superheroes to the table (not to mention the presence of Djimon Hounsou’s Wizard). And they’re