Best of Book Riot

5 Books on the Virtues of Being Alone

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Welcome to The Best of Book Riot, our daily round-up of what’s on offer across our site, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels. Not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone.

How to Be Alone

While dictionary definitions tend to equate solitude with aloneness, I’d argue that solitude is aloneness with a positive valence. Solitude = aloneness + satisfaction/enjoyment/appreciation, if you will. That part about positive valence is where a lot of people get tripped up. Modern societies are not great at solitude, and they’re even worse at silence. We need connection, absolutely, but constant connection, largely mediated by devices and algorithms, is not it. We need to learn how to be quiet sometimes. We need to learn how to step back. We need to learn how to be alone. Here are a few books that might help.

The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists

Lately, the bestseller lists have had radically different ideas of the bestselling books of the moment. This week, though, they seem to finally be in alignment again. There are four titles are all five bestseller lists, so we can be confident those are the biggest books of the moment. One of those is The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, which had been sliding down the bestseller lists, but has had a boost lately. That may be because of recent news about the adaptation, which will star Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried.

Check Out The Finalists for the 2025 Edgar Awards

The judging panels for the Edgar Awards are comprised of members throughout the Mystery Writers Association and represent every region of the country, each subcategory of the genre being judged, and from every demographic to ensure as much representation as possible. Despite this, the majority of nominees in each category for this year are books by white authors.

Where to Start Reading Gail Carson Levine’s Bold and Magical Middle Grade Books

If you haven’t read any of her books or you only know her from the movie adaptation of Ella Enchanted, you are missing out! Here are three places you can start reading her books so you can rectify this situation. I’ve included two of the fantasy stories she’s known for (which are so delightful). And I’ve also highlighted a newer historical fiction middle grade novel that explores the experience of a Jewish girl living in 15th-century Spain. From reluctant tween readers to adults looking for new stories, everyone can gain something from reading her beautiful books.

The Coolest Spaceships, the Philip K. Dick Award Nominees, SEVERANCE Season 2, and More!

Hello, my little star jelly! In today’s round-up of recent sci-fi and fantasy links, I have stuff to share with you about which science fiction spaceships are the coolest, the books that made the Philip K. Dick Award nominee list, an excerpt of Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao, and more!

This Jane Austen-Inspired Graphic Novel Marries Queer Joy and Historical Accuracy

When I picked up the Jane Austen-inspired YA graphic novel I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner, I was expecting the former. After all, it has queer, nonbinary, and Black main characters living in Regency England. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is a joyful queer story that also is well-researched and faces the racism, queerphobia, sexism, classism, and other bigotries of the time head-on.

Gender-Swapped HOLES Series Coming to Disney+ and More Book News

Who’s looking for more exciting book news? You’ve come to the right place, friends. There are a whole lot of book things going on right now, so let’s just hop right into it!

The Best Recent Coloring Books, from Classic Fairy Tales to Streaming Series

Abstract patterns are popular overall, but I prefer coloring books based on novels, movies, or TV series. I find this style more interesting and less tiring than more intricate designs. If you also love coloring characters from your favorite series, you’re in luck. Random House Worlds and other imprints recently published coloring books based on popular streaming series. I especially enjoy recognizable scenes and characters. I’ll even match the colors of settings and clothing to the story if I remember them. Many line artists create art that closely resembles the actors.