I was 13 years old and astounded when, after my second or third book, I came across an edition with a note that said that Andrews had died before I was even born. They mentioned that a “carefully selected writer” would be continuing her work. I was a teenager with the internet so I learned as much as I could from now-paused sites like The Complete VCA. I later found a a book of criticism in my high school library....

via GIPHY 1. The “I’m Not Religious I’m Spiritual” 5 x 7 Incher You’ll initially be wowed by his wise declarations about life and spirituality, and maybe you’ll get a few coffees together. Soon enough you’ll realize that this book just wants someone to take home to meet his mother and that actually his I-separated-this-sentence-into-its-own-paragraph nuggets of wisdom all sound like variations on the same thing and that thing is that one day we’re all going to die....

Then in 2018, I read the Fantasy Trail of Lightning, Book One of the Sixth World, by award-winning indigenous author Rebecca Roanhorse. I tore through the thriller, recommended it on social media, and followed Roanhorse on Twitter. Trail of Lightning reignited my active support of indigenous people. (Make sure you read it, too! It’s okay if you don’t before you read Storm of Locusts, Book Two of the Sixth World, because Roanhorse gives a refresher throughout the book....

Fair to say, here be spoilers – or at least the risk of spoilers. Originally, Doctor Strange was a fantastic alternative to the conventional superheroes. His stories were far more abstract and obscure. They tapped into the mystical and unexplainable, which was pretty much the vibe of the 1960s. Every time you thought you finally understood what was happening in Doctor Strange, the story would take a hard turn into some wacky alternate reality....

My introduction to the strip occurred through social media (a common occurrence, apparently). People have posted a surprising number of strips where Everett displays a heartening progressive streak, readily beating the crud out of racists, animal abusers, and negligent parents. This has earned the strip a loyal and appreciative modern fanbase, who enjoy both seeing such an old character behave so nobly (in his own way) and the wish fulfillment of being able to whale on bigots and abusers indiscriminately....

Time travel: probably not the first thing you think of when you think historical fiction. Yet time travel in fiction interacts with historical settings in ways we might otherwise think of as historical fiction. When it comes to the mechanisms of making that happen, I think it’s safe to say that time travel resides pretty solidly in the world of speculative fiction. And I guess we could call it case closed there....

The day after my 27th birthday, I went into open heart surgery for the fourth time in my life. What followed was an incredibly difficult and bumpy road to recovery, one that I didn’t think I would reach the end of. All in all, from the time I first got sick to when I was finally well enough to be independent again, I spent close to six months hospital- and home-bound....

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books. But kombucha itself never goes bad With each passing day kombucha drifts from its lost heritage as tea and becomes more firmly kombucha — Cormac McCarthy (@CormacMcCrthy) July 8, 2021

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz Everyone is invited to cast a vote for a book, and the winner will be announced on the show on Monday July 19th. The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon will read the chosen book, inviting viewers to read along with him....

This isn’t Wattpad’s first venture into streaming adaptations: The Kissing Booth and After on Netflix both began as Wattpad stories. (After was a One Direction fan fiction.) Wattpad states that its stories come with “built-in Gen Z and millennial global fandoms” and that they hold a lot of data about the browsing habits of users, making it easier to spot stories that would perform will in an adaptation. The statement does not contain any details about how the authors will be compensated for their work if it is chosen to be adapted....

A study carried out by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center For Education (CCBCE) in 2018 found that children’s books had more animal characters than characters from diverse backgrounds. The study found that 10% of books featured African/African American characters; 7% featured Asian Pacific Islander/Asian Pacific American characters; 5% featured Latinx characters; and just 1% featured American Indian/First Nations characters. However, 50% of books featured white characters, while 27% featured animal characters or “other....

“I love Captain Hastings,” he said after one episode where Hastings momentarily forgets how mirrors work. “He’s so sweet, but so dumb sometimes.” “Oh yeah, he’s a great himbo,” I said. My husband tilted his head to the side. “What’s a himbo?” If you’re in the same boat as my husband (or just want a quick explainer on himbos), then I’m here to provide you with a hopefully comprehensive guide to himbos — himbology, if you will....

Brightly colored covers blare against sans serif fonts. Strategically placed asterisks keep it all above board. Many of these books skyrocketed to bestsellers lists, and parked for years. It all started with Samuel L. Jackson. If you were on the Internet c. 2011, you likely heard him read the satirical bedtime story by Adam Mansbach, Go the F*ck to Sleep. While gleefully imagining Jules Winnfield wrestling with an obstinate toddler, we had no idea just how commonplace it would all soon become....

“Adaptation Injustice” The best panel discussion of Sydney Oz Comic Con 2019 goes to “Adaptation Injustice”, about the best and worst comic book adaptations. The stage featured writer Tom Taylor and artist Nicola Scott (confession: it also featured two more participants introduced at the last minute. Unfortunately I didn’t catch their names and the website schedule has not been updated. Sorry!). The discussion was filled with passionate views on both comic books and adaptations; not surprising with the experience of those on stage....

M Lynx Qualey: How did this project come to be? Nora Lester Murad: You are right that the book is more like a project than a mere book, because there were so many major changes in the concept over time and because so many people were involved. The short version is that it was a story that was birthed from a writing prompt at a workshop taught by Randa Abdel Fattah at Tamer Institute in Ramallah....

For two, I’m a very moody reader, so I don’t bother to plan out what I’m going to read next. Forcing myself to read something I’m not in the mood for won’t do any favors to either myself or the unfortunate book I’m pressuring myself to finish so I can read what I actually want to. However, that’s just me. Some give the question of what book they’re going to start the year off with some serious, one might even say superstitious, level of thought....

From Toni Bentley, via the The New York Times Sunday Book Review: “Sit back and relax, will you? Naomi Wolf has got her orgasm back. Yep. I know you were worried. We were all worried. I mean, to lose one’s orgasm at a time like this, what with Syria undergoing mass civilian murder and Romney closing in on Obama, it is really enough to put a liberated gal’s thong in a knot....

But by the early 1960s, DC seems to have grown bored with Wonder Woman. Apparently, there are only so many stories you can tell about a super-strong woman from a mythical island filled with female warriors and fantastical inventions before you have to start resorting to gimmicks. A lot of cover art from this period features Wonder Woman’s early adventures as the teenage Wonder Girl and the toddler Wonder Tot....

What is guided reading? Guided reading is a method of literacy instruction that is generally done in a small group setting in a way that allows students to encounter and understand ideas and concepts they have not seen before. Working with their educator, readers might go over previously read text or words, apply known reading strategies to new texts, and/or engage in conversations about what they have read. For parents or guardians interested in working with their student, my recommendation would be to start by reading new texts together and then discussing what you’ve read....

Shang-Chi is one of the oldest and most prominent Asian heroes in western superhero comics, first appearing in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973) by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin. He proved popular enough that two issues later, the title of the book was changed to The Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, a title it would keep until it was cancelled with #125, which I believe also makes Shang-Chi the longest-running Asian headliner (DC’s Cassandra Cain is a distant second with 73 issues of Batgirl)....