Mara Franzen

Mara (They/Them) has accidentally on purpose made their entire life about books and stories. Mara graduated with a B.A in creative writing and theatre and is halfway through an MFA in Creative writing. In addition to writing for Book Riot, Mara also has written for The Independent Book Review, Wargamer, and The Other Half, to name a few. They also work as a fiction editor with The Minison Project. Nearly all of their published articles can be found here.

10 Sapphic New Adult Books To Read In Your 20s

These sapphic New Adult books, including Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera, explore the confusing world between being a teenager and being an established adult.

A Pride Reading Starter Pack: 10 Queer History Books to Read This Pride

When looking for books to read this Pride, make sure to add a few Queer history classics alongside the new releases, like Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton.

Is StoryGraph a Good Alternative to GoodReads?

If you've been using Goodreads for a while but are curious about StoryGraph, here's a great comparison on a few key points.

The Best Book Tabs! (And How To Use Them!)

From adorable animal-themed book tabs to soothing neutral sets, these are the best book tabs to annotate your reading.

Post-Cyberpunk Books You Should Add To Your TBR

Move over cyberpunk. The best post-cyberpunk books, like Nexus by Ramez Naam, are a bit more hopeful, a little less dark, and incredible to read.

The Most influential Poetry Collections of All Time

As subjective as poetry is, there are still some poets who inspire their contemporaries, and even generations. Here are a few of their works, like The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde by Audre Lorde.

8 of the Best Audiobook Adaptations of Graphic Novels

Audiobook adaptations of comics, like The Sandman by Neil Gaiman, often come with a full cast and offer a whole new perspective on the story.

How Video Games Helped Me Fall Back in Love With Reading

Exploring new genres through video games helped me to realize that I hadn't fallen out of love with books: I was just in a reading rut.

The Art of the Book Recommendation

We've all been there: a friend asks you for a book rec and you go blank! Here are some tips for giving excellent book recommendations.

12 of the Most Anticipated Science Fiction/Fantasy Books Out In April

If you love science fiction and fantasy books, you need to have these new releases on your radar.