All posts tagged: Books

5 Great New Books For Sci-Fi and Fantasy Beginners

5 Great New Books For Sci-Fi and Fantasy Beginners

Published by Jenni Sidey

One of the great pleasures of being human is finding out what things bring us joy, and the pursuit of those things. For instance, perhaps you love to read, but you haven’t picked up anything in the science fiction or fantasy genres yet. If that’s the case—welcome! Come on in, the water’s fine. For readers looking to get started in SFF, sometimes it’s best to begin with gentle, low-stakes novels. Like books with great characters and stories, but not so many characters and place names, or made-up words, that you need a glossary to keep track. (Those books come later, and they’re also rad.) So here are five great books released in 2026 that are perfect for readers new to the genres, or anyone just looking for an excellent read. Enjoy! Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson After a near-death experience, Green decides to leave city life and commune with nature for a while. But his journey into the Appalachian Mountains puts him in touch with more nature than he was expecting. As he explores …

Can You Guess Amazon’s All-Time Bestselling Books?

Can You Guess Amazon’s All-Time Bestselling Books?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Women rule Amazon’s list of the bestselling books of all time (where “all time” = since 1995), claiming nine of the top 10 spots and 27 of the top 50. The #1 spot belongs to The Hunger Games, and indeed, Suzanne Collins’s dystopian YA series dominates the top 10. Catching Fire and Mockingjay hold slots 5 and 4, respectively. E.L. James ties with Suzanne Collins, as all three Fifty Shades books appear in the top 10. Fifty Shades of Grey sits at #3; Fifty Shades Darker at #7; and Fifty Shades Freed at #10. The Book Riot Newsletter Join over 300,000 readers who get the latest book buzz, smart commentary, and must-read picks delivered straight to their inbox. Subscribe to Selected No Thanks Harry Potter makes his first appearance at #2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the boy wizard’s only appearance in the top 10, though all seven books in the series make the list. The only nonfiction book in the top 10 is Tom Rath’s StrengthsFinder 2.0, a perennial favorite of corporate …

Hong Kong booksellers arrested for allegedly selling seditious books : NPR

Hong Kong booksellers arrested for allegedly selling seditious books : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

The exteriors of the Greenfield Book Store is seen in Mong Kok district, Hong Kong, on Wednesday, July 15 2026. Kanis Leung/AP hide caption toggle caption Kanis Leung/AP HONG KONG — Hong Kong authorities have raided two bookstores and arrested five people on suspicion of selling allegedly seditious publications, local media reported Wednesday, in the latest step targeting independent booksellers. Videos and photos from multiple media outlets showed officers wearing vests marked with “Police” seizing boxes from the building housing Have A Nice Stay, a bookshop founded by former journalists. A bookseller was seen being taken away. A few streets away a similar scene played out, with boxes taken from the building housing Greenfield Book Store, according to a video by online news outlet The Collective. Police later said they raided two stores in Mong Kok district, without identifying them. They arrested two men and three women on suspicion of breaching the 2024 national security law, according to their statement. This is the third round of arrests linked to independent bookstores after similar operations in …

What are the Emma Lion books and why are they having a moment

What are the Emma Lion books and why are they having a moment

Published by Jenni Sidey

A confession: up until… three or four months ago, I had never heard of Emma M. Lion. But oh, has that ever changed. From the moment I read the first book, aptly titled The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1, I was hooked. Emma is a delightful character—she’s funny, charming, and strong-willed. The rest of the series was, of course, not far behind. I’m far from the only one to fall prey to Emma’s charms. Although it was first published in 2019, the series has been steadily gaining popularity over the last year. But why? What happened to make a self-published series a publishing phenomenon? Who is Emma M. Lion? Simply put, she’s the main character of the best-selling series The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, comprised of eight (so far) cozy historicals that follow four years in the life of a young woman who must deal with, in no particular order: her detestable uncle, the loss of her inheritance, the social scene in Victorian London, suitors, and her grief over the …

3 Must-Read Nonfiction Books for Disability Pride Month

3 Must-Read Nonfiction Books for Disability Pride Month

Published by Jenni Sidey

July is Disability Pride Month! Every year, we celebrate the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was passed in the summer of 1990. This month celebrates disabled resilience, shoves aside shame, and embraces disabled joy. There is no one way to be disabled—just check out our stories! This year alone, we’ve had a host of top-tier new books about disability hit shelves. In addition to Mother Tongue, which I highlighted a little bit ago, I have three more 2026 titles that are perfect for your Disability Pride Month TBR and beyond. I Identify as Blind: A Brazen Celebration of Disability Culture, Identity, and Power by Lachi Award-winning recording artist Lachi breaks down harmful stereotypes and assumptions with her new book, I Identify as Blind. A trailblazer, Lachi is the first openly disabled National Trustee of the Recording Academy and the CEO of RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities). With her signature humor and wit, Lachi highlights disability icons like Senator Tammy Duckworth, Breaking Bad star RJ Mitte, Microsoft executive Jenny …

A Manor’s Sinister Secrets, Love Magic Gone Wrong, and More New YA Books for July 15, 2026

A Manor’s Sinister Secrets, Love Magic Gone Wrong, and More New YA Books for July 15, 2026

Published by Jenni Sidey

If you haven’t yet blocked out a day or a weekend or longer to toss aside your responsibilities and spend the day reading–be it in bed, a hammock, poolside, or a café–here’s your reminder to do that. Even if it feels like it would be impossible to do with your schedule, consider where or how you can dedicate lunchtime or post-dinner hours to doing nothing but reading what you’d like. Prioritizing it makes it more likely to become a habit. I know that when I began 2026, my goal was to read more every day, and while that’s gone up and down (normal), I always feel better at the end of the day when my hour before bed is spent reading and not scrolling. It really does help me reach for a book during my lunch time, too, rather than passively scroll. It’s not like the digital device is going to deliver good news, while I know the act of reading itself will always be satisfying. One bit of good news, though, is that we’re …

The Best LGBTQ Books of the Year So Far

The Best LGBTQ Books of the Year So Far

Published by Jenni Sidey

How to Date a Fanatic by Aruni Kashyap (Queer Guy Fiction) Fixer Chao by Han Ong (Gay Fiction) (Reissue) Chosen Family by Madeleine Gray (Lesbian Fiction) Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyễn (Sapphic Trans Women Satirical Fiction) (Paperback release) The Other Wife by Jackie Thomas-Kennedy (Bisexual Woman Fiction) (Paperback release) The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Queer Fiction) (Paperback release) Please Don’t Touch the Body by Emily Doyle (Sapphic Short Stories) Killer Vibes by Jack Friday (Bisexual Guy Mystery) Running on Empty by Leigh Hays (F/F Romance) Journey to Amazonia by Ali Vali (F/F Romance) The Case of Elmwood Ranch by Deanna Grey (Bisexual F/F Paranormal Romance) A Voice of Wrath by Brittany Cook (M/M Fantasy) Misery’s Wife by Joan Tierney (Queer, Trans Woman Fantasy) The Dragon Has Some Complaints by John Wiswell (Asexual/Aromantic Fantasy) After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine (Novel) Vol. 3 by Liu Gou Hua (M/M Historical Fantasy) The Stars Will Be Our Ocean by Lizzie Blackwood (Pansexual Woman Science Fiction) The Assassin’s Guide to Dating (The …

8 Short Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books for Summer Fun

8 Short Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books for Summer Fun

Published by Jenni Sidey

Ah, summer. There’s so much to do, so much fun to be had…and a lot of it cuts in on reading time. So while you’re off at the beach, or camping, or playing pickleball, or visiting amusement parks, or whatever you get up to when the weather is nice, here are eight slim science fiction and fantasy novels you can read in one sitting between activities. (Don’t try reading on the teacups, though. You’ll hurl.) Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi If fairy tales are your favorite flavor of fantasy, pick up this fun one! The marriage of Prince Ambrose and Princess Imelda has lost its magic—but it’s not their fault. Their love has been taken by a witch, in return for surviving a curse placed on them. In order to get their love back, they’ll have to go on a dangerous magical quest. But is it worth it? The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark This is an exciting dark fantasy about assassins and honor. Eveen the Eviscerator is a professional …

The Chatbot That Foretold Why People Share Secrets With ChatGPT

The Chatbot That Foretold Why People Share Secrets With ChatGPT

Published by skeptic

In the 60 years that ELIZA has been influencing computation and culture, conventional accounts portray it as the earliest example of what we now call chatbots, one that could converse as an automated psychologist. The deceptively simple program is known for “fooling” even the secretary who watched MIT professor Joseph Weizenbaum create it. That’s how the story goes. However, in all those accounts—even after all its adaptations across programming languages and research fields, in classrooms and popular culture—one essential piece of the story has been missing: the source code for the ELIZA program itself. Our new book, Inventing ELIZA, recovers this source code from the MIT Archives, offering for the first time a close reading and discussion of that code along with newly uncovered dialogs for ELIZA scripts beyond its popular “DOCTOR” persona. This investigation revealed many ELIZAs: in its different program versions, designed to run a wide variety of scripts or personas, built using a series of technical innovations. Inventing ELIZA seeks to correct and to complicate ELIZA’s history and influence by exploring the …

The Best New Summer Romance Books

The Best New Summer Romance Books

Published by Jenni Sidey

MIRA In Summer People by Sally Blakely, five college friends reunite each year at a California beach house with one rule: no dating within the group. Everett and Sutton broke it in secret for years—until heartbreak ended everything. Five summers later, old traditions pull them back under the same roof, where buried feelings, forbidden chemistry, and the one love they never forgot threaten to break the rules all over again. There’s something about summertime that nudges me in the direction of romance reads. While I sadly don’t get the extended summer break of my school years anymore (I will forever mourn this), there’s still a lightness in the air, an excitement, a feeling like anything’s possible during summer. I’m more at ease, more open to adventuring, and especially ready to squeeze in some extra summer reading. During this time of year, I find my “relax and read” mentality leaning towards summer romance books. Submerging myself in these stories feels like sinking my feet into warm beach sand or biting into that perfectly toasted s’more. There’s …