Book Riot’s Most Popular Posts of the Week

Here are the Book Riot posts that readers read the most this week.

5 “Classic” Comics You Can Skip (and What to Read Instead)

Comic book sales—and comic book readership—get bigger every year. And yet if you look at a list of “where to start with comics” or “the best comics of all time,” you’ll probably see the same handful of comics recommended over and over again. Comic book fans are extremely resistant to change, and like every other medium, comics have their classics—the books that longtime readers insist you mustcheck off to be a real comics fan.

The 50 U.S. Writers I Would Bet on to Win The Nobel Prize. Someday.

I took a crack at making a list of the 50 U.S. writers who I think the best chance of winning a Literature Nobel some day. There might be, what 2-3 U.S. laureates that will win in the four or so decades I might expect to be around. I will consider it a successful exercise if I get one of them right.

Coasty Mysteries: New, Nordic Mysteries and Thrillers to Read this Fall

As the genre has continued to develop, many Nordic mysteries and thrillers have tackled contemporary social issues, such as the strains of loneliness and the tensions between existing populations and immigrants, as well as the history of indigenous groups like the Sámi who have often been overlooked by their government. This has brought forth new, multicultural authors into the Nordic novels space, which you can learn more about here.

10 Delightful Witchy Romances

I like a witch romance where their powers are relevant to the story and have an impact on both the witch’s character and their eventual romantic relationship with whomever they fall in love with. As a fan of early 2000s paranormal, I tend to like a bit of plot too. The following delightful witchy romances are a mere sampling of my favorites, but I hope you have a fun time with them nonetheless.

8 Must-Read Books That Went Under the Radar Last Year

Of course, “under the radar” is a nebulous term. It can be hard to gauge the popularity of a title, especially in an era of social media bubbles. The book all your friends are talking about might only be popular in your echo chamber, and the biggest bestselling books are often titles getting very little attention from bookish social media. (Think: business books and the latest John Grisham mystery.)