Our Most Popular Posts of the Week
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. Here’s what was most popular on Book Riot this week.
Slay, Girl: Horror About Monstrous Women and Girls
The books below feature many kinds of monstrous women and girls, including witches, vampires, cannibals, and ancient spider beings. All of them will make your skin crawl, but if you dig a little deeper, their portrayals of deeply complicated women and girls will haunt you in a different way.
9 New and Upcoming Books for Better Living
Your New Year’s resolution may already be a distant memory but do not despair. The wheels of publishing never stop turning, and that’s good news for all of us seeking new or renewed inspiration for personal growth. Here are 9 recent and upcoming works of practical nonfiction (a new term I just picked up, so much better than self-help, don’t you think?) to help get you closer to the life you want to live.
“I Think I’m The Luckiest Person in The World”: Celebrating 20 Years of THE GLASS CASTLE
The Glass Castle, with its story of growing up unconventionally, sometimes unstably, captivates and inspires readers to this day. Its themes of resilience and wonder, as well as its exploration of what it means to be a family and what it is to grow up and leave behind the past to build a different future, resonate with readers of all backgrounds and socioeconomic classes as much today as it did when it hit shelves 20 years ago.
Though the details may differ, both young and less-young readers who grew up in difficult situations have found themselves in the pages of this story.
Latine Women Authors for Women’s History Month (and an Introduction to Latine Lit!)
For the inaugural send of Latine Lit, I have a list of some of my favorite underrated Latine women authors. Since we are presently celebrating Women’s History Month here in the U.S., it felt like a good time to praise these phenomenal women and share some of my favorites from their body of work. But before we dive into that, let’s lay down a few simple guidelines and norms about the language you can expect from this newsletter.
Banned Historical Fiction Books
Considering book bans are as much a historical as modern phenomenon, you might not be surprised to learn that historical fiction isn’t exempt from censorship, either. Just because something is historically accurate or important doesn’t mean it’s safe. These four banned historical fiction books tell important stories about the history of this country and others — but there are people out there who don’t want you to read them. Which is, I think, all the more reason you should.
Are We Having a Romance Renaissance?
These sales numbers are just part of the story. The romance renaissance happening right now is a combination of fandom and market forces. Not only are fans loud and proud about what they love, publishers have been listening to them, writers get more attention, and romance bookstores provide a space for fans and readers to gather.
Backlist’s Back, Alright! 5 Great Older SFF Books To Revisit
When I was young, I never read a book again that I had previously read, and I always read one book at a time, start to finish. Now, I have five, six, sometimes ten books going, and I reread a book or two a month as well. You’d think it would be the opposite, that the older I get, the less time I have, so I would want to cram in as many new titles as I can. But there’s something magical about reading books again. You can revisit the way it made you feel or the time and place you were in your life when you read it the first time. And you can take new things away from a book, maybe a new favorite line, or a new favorite character. (I reread The Secret History by Donna Tartt every year, and let me tell you, middle-aged me no longer thinks Henry is romantic boyfriend material like I did when I was in my twenties.)
So in the spirit of rereading great books, for this post I picked the five great SFF books that I hope to pick up next. And maybe it will inspire you to read them again—or pick them up for the first time!
Time Loop Romances to Get Stuck In
So why do time loops work so well in romance novels? The love interests are forced by their circumstances to rely on each other to either break the time loop or find a way to live through the constant repetition. All that tension and puzzling tends to bring people together, plus time loops feel magical and whimsical. These romances are only a few examples of time loops in fiction, so don’t get stuck looking for the next one!
What We Love and Hate About Talking About Books Online
Traci Thomas, host of the beloved podcast The Stacks, joined me and Jeff O’Neal for a conversation about what we love and hate about talking about books online. Discourse! Algorithms! Community! Discovery!
