Four Horror Novellas, Perfect for Bite-Sized Frights
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.
4 Horror Novellas, Perfect for Bite-Sized Frights
The horror novella is a fantastic way to get a bite-sized fright. If you’re new to reading horror, or if you have a low tolerance for horror, novellas could be a way into the genre. Don’t get me wrong, though: novellas can still be as traumatic and terrifying as novels in utilizing horror, but you’ll get to the end much faster.
The Best Books of the Summer, According to the New York Times
Their list of 31 notable novels publishing this summer includes some heavy hitters—there’s Taylor Jenkins Reid (in space!), Southern noir king S.A. Cosby, and V.E. Schwab and her historical lesbian vampires. There are some lesser-known and debut authors as well. Overall, the list seems to have a little bit of something for everyone.
Psychics, Séances, and Tarot, Oh My!
Here’s a fun round-up, with mystery books with psychics, tarot readers, and seances.
The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week
Last week was the first time in a quite a while that Empyrean books were not represented in either the top five most read books on Goodreads or the top ten bestselling books—but that’s not true this week. The series still isn’t in the top bestsellers, but Onyx Storm has made its way back into the top five most read books on Goodreads. I really need to stop declaring the end of peak Empyrean.
How to Build a Voters Guide for School Board Elections: Book Censorship News, May 23, 2025
Today, I’m excited to offer this space over to Frank Strong, whose candidate guides in Texas have become indispensable tools for voters. Frank is a leader in the Texas Freedom to Read Project and he’s an educator himself. You can read his work on his Substack Anger & Clarity, where he often covers censorship legislation and policy and how it directly impacts young people.
How To Prepare For Pride Month in Libraries in 2025
We’re less than one month out from Pride month, and with it, the programs, book displays, and conversations about LGBTQ+ identity and history across the USA and beyond. For libraries, Pride has traditionally been a month for joyful displays of queer books, with periodic and predictable complaints. But several years into surging book bans, escalating violence, and rising fascism, it is important to prepare for the upcoming month of events to anticipate all that has, does, and might arise.
5 Romantasy Comics Full of Fantastical Flirts
Need to know where to start reading romantasy comics? That’s what this is all about. Here are five very different romantasy comics to dip your toes into this great pool of books. Old and new, Eastern and Western, these will give you a diverse taste of romantasy comics.
Nonfiction Book Recommendations for Mental Health Awareness Month
Because I know firsthand how a book can help with recovery, I’ve compiled five nonfiction recommendations for Mental Health Awareness Month. They each offer powerful perspectives, whether through memoir, research, professional guidance, or a mix of all three. If you’re looking to better understand yourself, a loved one, or mental health as a whole, I hope you find what you’re looking for within them.
Read This Book: The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson
This book lives up to its title: it’s violent. Really, really violent! In fact, this book examines violence from a variety of angles. There’s generational trauma, intimate partner violence, systemic violence, violence as entertainment, and indiscriminate murder. That last kind sets the book in motion.
