Leah Rachel von Essen reviews genre-bending fiction for Booklist, and writes regularly as a senior contributor at Book Riot. Her blog While Reading and Walking has over 10,000 dedicated followers over several social media outlets, including Instagram. She writes passionately about books in translation, chronic illness and bias in healthcare, queer books, twisty SFF, and magical realism and folklore. She was one of a select few bookstagrammers named to NewCity’s Chicago Lit50 in 2022. She is an avid traveler, a passionate fan of women’s basketball and soccer, and a lifelong learner. Twitter: @reading_while
When you want to get into the spirit of autumn, but aren't too keen on scary horror novels, check out these excellent gothic books, like Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
A look at how the USPS selects which stamps to make and how they do it, plus a deep dive into literary stamps through the years.
One reader reflects on the queer YA novels that she wishes she could send back to her young, anxious self, including When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey.
These 10 lyrical memoirs will stay with you long after you finish reading them, like How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones.
J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the most revered fantasy authors, and these are some of the best Tolkien quotes from LOTR, essays, and his other books.
Take a literary trip to España through the pages of these must-read books set in Spain, like The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
A reader recounts an in-class rebellion to fight for space to discuss queerness in Woolf's ORLANDO, and how that rebellion encouraged her as a reader.
Here's a small guide to help you ease into this formidable author's fiction, and to show you where to start with Virginia Woolf books.
Escape with a bit of virtual tourism as one traveler takes you around literary Barcelona, from a Hemingway haunt to bookstores and hideaways.
How one reader who thought she had grown out of borrowing books regained a passion for using the local library.