Last and least is Going Further: The Incomparable Clarence Thomas by Ted Cruz. This seems like a good time to mention that Anita Hill, who spoke at the 1991 Clarence Thomas Supreme Court hearings about the sexual harassment she faced, has her own book: Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence. We simply don’t have the space to get into why it’s disappointing to see a book by Ted Cruz about Clarence Thomas on the bestseller list, but suffice to say, neither of them reflects the ethos of Book Riot.

This list continues to lack diversity on many levels, including being disproportionately by white authors. Some Indie Bestsellers you should know about are Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead, Taiwan Travelogue by Shuang-zi Yang and translated by Lin King, and The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

To get these numbers, we look at The New York Times, both Combined Print & E-Book Fiction and Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction lists; Amazon Charts, both Fiction and Nonfiction; Publishers Weekly; USA Today; and Indie Bestsellers, Fiction and Nonfiction, both Paperback and Hardcover.

Books On All Five Bestseller Lists:

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

Whistler by Ann Patchett

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

Books On Four Bestseller Lists:

Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty (Publishers Weekly, USA Today, NYT, Indie Bestsellers)

Books On Three Bestseller Lists:

Brain Damage by Freida McFadden (Publishers Weekly, USA Today, NYT)

Going Further: The Incomparable Clarence Thomas by Ted Cruz (Publishers Weekly, NYT, Amazon)

Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan (NYT, Amazon, Indie Bestsellers)

Strangers by Belle Burden (NYT, Amazon, Indie Bestsellers)

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth (NYT, Amazon, Indie Bestsellers)

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.

Anyone of any gender can be bisexual, so the named identity still has a lot of interesting, divergent experiences. When characters find out they have this trait in common, it’s both a bonding moment and a crystallization of differences. That’s a perfect setup for lovers to come together.

If you got through fellow contributor Rachel Brittain’s list last year, here are a bunch of fresh titles to fall in love with. This pile of bisexual reads for your TBR includes YA, adult romance, and a bonus polyamorous relationship novel to expand horizons even further.

Young Adult Bi4Bi Romance Novels

Solo Stan by Talia Tucker Kai and Elias are both huge fans of the band CYPHR, and end up going solo and sitting next to each other. Both are on the cusp of major changes: Kai is going to college, and Elias is living in Raleigh after spending his whole life in New York City. Because of a blackout, the two boys end up in a Before Sunrise-esque, all-night adventure.

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli Leah was my favorite character in Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, so I was thrilled to read the story of her coming into her own. She’s bisexual, but mostly focused on becoming a better musician and holding onto her friendships before she goes to college. She’s always had an antagonistic thing going with Abby, but there’s more going on than either of them could have anticipated. It’s a funny, sweet story about finding your sexuality as a teenager.

Adult Contemporary Bi4Bi Romance

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston I recommend this book constantly, and I will never stop. Exes Kit and Theo are forcibly reunited on a food and wine tour of Europe, and they agree to put aside the hurt from their breakup, be friends, and compete to see who can have sex with more hot Europeans. The pursuit of pleasure is not only in sex, and part of Kit and Theo’s reunion is over their shared love of flavor. Kit flexes his pastry skills while Theo shows off an encyclopedic knowledge of wine tasting notes. Feelings, obviously, re-emerge. Side note: McQuiston has posted on Instagram that they imagined Emma D’Arcy as Theo. Maybe they can act in a quick film before the next season of House of the Dragon?

The Stand-Up Groomsman by Jackie Lau Members of the wedding party falling in love at the wedding is a classic setup, and even better when they kind of hate each other. Vivian Liao is thrilled to be her roommate’s maid of honor, but deeply annoyed to have to deal with the groom’s best friend, Melvin Lee. Even though Melvin being an out Asian stand-up comedian helped Vivian’s own journey to becoming bi, she’s disappointed with the direction of his career. But they’re continuously thrown together, and find a lot to like about each other.

The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur In a sort of Pygmalion-esque tale, Tansy Adams imagines the perfect woman (based on a book cover model) and finds Gemma, who looks like exactly what she imagined. In a convenient twist of fate, Gemma needs to get married, and she decides Tansy is the perfect companion. The marriage-of-convenience setup leads both women to fall hard for each other, and figure out if they can make the imagined relationship into something real.

Isn’t It Obvious? by Rachel Runya Katz If you’re looking for another excellent podcast-based story with a You’ve Got Mail-inspired plot, this book is perfect. Yael has a podcast that she hosts as a secret persona called Elle, and she hires a remote editor to help her out. The editor goes by Kevin, but his name is Ravi, and Yael hates him. But as they connect over email, they meet in real life. They’re falling for each other, both in person and in the digital world.

Two’s Better by Viano Oniomoh This friends-to-lovers story delivers high spice and a hilarious friend group. At the end of their time in university, Uzezi and Ofure haven’t had sex. So she decides they should lend each other a helping hand. They commit to keeping their friendship first, but feelings start to arise the more often they fall into bed together.

Historical Bi4Bi Romance

A Delicate Deception by Cat Sebastian Sick of the vagaries of the social life of London, Amelia relocates to Derbyshire and commits to a life of quiet and meandering walks. Sydney, a civil engineer from the area, interrupts her solitude. Sydney and Amelia are both living on the outside of society’s expectations. Despite their growing connection, land ownership and past grievances threaten to tear them apart.

Trouble by Lex Croucher I was surprised and delighted by this Regency-era story of a governess and a widower from Lex Croucher, both because I love The Sound of Music and because both main characters were bisexual. Emily Laurence arrives at Captain Edwards’ house assuming the role her sweet-tempered sister was supposed to take. Even though Emily is hardened, she bonds with the children and starts to connect with the captain. Like all of Croucher’s books, queerness, class, and gender roles come into play as part of the happy ending.

A Bonus Polyamorous Romance

The Threefold Tie by Aster Glenn Gray If you are interested in exploring bisexuality in fiction past the pairing, this is a great polyamorous romance novella to start with. Jack and Everett were comrades-in-arms in the Civil War, and closer than average soldiers. After the war, Everett moves to New York and marries Sophie, whom he does love, even as he holds a candle for Jack. When Jack reappears in their lives, both Everett and Sophie are attracted to him. The struggle is finding a way to be together with all the possible struggles that will entail.

To keep the party going, you can also look for more books with bisexual characters, bisexual comics, and the most influential queer books of all time.

Fifteen years ago, I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins in preparation for the release of the first movie. I was 18 years old, just a couple years older than Katniss’s character. Of course, I fell in love with the trilogy, devouring the next two books and seeing every movie in theaters. Nine years later, Suzanne Collins gifted the world another Hunger Games book with the release of her prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. She offered a window into the 10th annual Hunger Games through the eyes of President Snow as a young man. After reading it, I wrote an essay about how the Hunger Games prequel helped me realize I’ve changed. Flash forward five years, and she’s published another Hunger Games prequel called Sunrise on the Reaping. This one draws us into the 50th Hunger Games, back when Katniss’s mentor Haymitch gets chosen as a teen tribute.

Reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2020 triggered quite a bit of self-reflection for me. The tragedy of the Hunger Games and the violence against children affected me more viscerally as an adult and as a mother than it did when I was a teen reader. This helped me feel more deeply the ways in which I had changed as a person. I went as far as to say that I would probably not reread the series again.

And yet, with the publication of the new Hunger Games prequel last year, I couldn’t help but feel intrigued. As I began to hear more of my friends talk about loving Haymitch’s tale, I felt my old interest perk up. The teenage me that still lingers in the fibers of my being began to tug at my peripheral. Haymitch is a more admirable character than Snow after all, and a prequel exploring his time in the Hunger Games before becoming a mentor sounded like a solid premise.

My tipping point happened this summer. I work at a library, and when one of my library patrons checked out Sunrise on the Reaping, I asked him to let me know what he thought. With the film adaptation on the horizon this November, it has been on my mind more as of late. A few weeks later, the patron returned, raving about how much he loved it. He said it was his favorite of all of them. His enthusiasm was the flint striker I needed to revisit the world of the Hunger Games.

I checked out a library copy and submerged myself within its pages. Before long, I began to feel that mesmerizing tug, that elusive feeling when a story catches you and yanks you in, like my pockets and sleeves on every drawer in my kitchen. I found myself falling in love with another Hunger Games book.

So What Makes the Sunrise on the Reaping Stand Out?

Suzanne Collins has achieved something that’s hard for many authors to do. She’s written a prequel that reads just as good, if not better, than her original popular trilogy. She did an exceptional job of tying together Sunrise on the Reaping with the characters and plots of Snow’s prequel and Katniss’s story. She threaded in new lore about the mysterious Lucy Gray Baird from Ballads, along with interesting development of characters from the original trilogy like Effie Trinket, Plutarch, Beetee, Wiress, and Mags. I find myself wanting to return to the original trilogy and reread it, something I once thought I wouldn’t do again.

Collins layered more depth into this prequel as well. Her literary allusions shine and become more apparent in Sunrise. Like Lucy Gray Baird’s connections to Wordsworth’s Lucy Gray in Songbirds, Collins connects Lenore Dove from Sunrise to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven.

Her allusions go beyond poetry, though. She also continues to bring to mind classics in dystopian literature. Just as the Hunger Games nods to Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, and Peeta’s traumatic conditioning in Mockingjay calls back to Burgess’s Clockwork Orange, the piercing tone installed in Lou Lou’s ear feels reminiscent of Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron.” Collins has interwoven these allusions into her stories in ways that are emotional and thought-provoking.

Through Haymitch’s story, Collins also digs into grief, loss, purpose, and hope in ways that feel deeper and more nuanced than her previous works. Perhaps, it comes with her recognizing that the teens who fell in love with her books all those years ago have grown up now.

What’s Different About Me Now as a Reader?

When I was a teen, I read for entertainment. I read to lose myself in a book, to feel an imaginary world enclose around me every time I opened it. When I was in my 20s, I read for much the same reasons, though I started to expand my literary horizons, especially as I began working in libraries.

However, when I wrote my essay on The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2020, I was a 27-year-old mother to a two-year-old son. The two of us were living on our own together at the beginning of COVID. It was a hard time in my life. As the world shifted outside with the fear and isolation of the early COVID years, my internal world shifted as I adjusted to life as a new mother. Reading the tragedy within Songbirds at this time devastated me. While I enjoyed the story overall, especially Lucy Gray’s whimsical character, I couldn’t get past the darkness of the Hunger Games.

It’s been six years, nearly to the day, that I read that prequel and wrote that essay. Now, I’m a 33-year-old mother to an almost eight-year-old son. I’ve weathered more in life since I last fell under the Hunger Games’ spell, and I’ve continued to grow as a reader. While reading for entertainment and escape is still important to me, I also read to think and to feel something. I read books that help me understand other people’s perspectives, as well as stories that feel relatable to my own experiences. Through reading, I hope to see other people more clearly. I hope to feel more seen, too.

As I read Sunrise on the Reaping, I drew more meaning from it than I did Songbirds and Snakes. After much devastation in Sunrise, Plutarch reassures Haymitch, “You were capable of imagining a different future. And maybe it won’t be realized today, maybe not in our lifetime. Maybe it will take generations. We’re all part of a continuum. Does that make it pointless?”

These are the kinds of words I’ll carry with me. When I’m feeling the hardness of life, like I once did during those lonely COVID years, I’ll return to these words. That’s the kind of impact I’m seeking when I read a book now.

A Last Thought…

Reading Sunrise on the Reaping made me think and feel, and it enveloped me in a comforting nostalgia that I hadn’t tasted in a long time. While the story had many dark moments, Haymitch’s perseverance amidst it all reminded me of Katniss’s journey and how I felt reading about her as a teen, devouring the original trilogy with a ferocity I often miss now.

While the days as a teen where I could spend hours reading without a care in the world have passed, I felt an inkling of that spark again while reading this Hunger Games prequel. Despite all of the ways I’ve changed, I’m also still a girl who will read a book in a coffee shop and start crying as I reach the last page. I’m still a girl who spills tea on her library books and rambles about the stories she loves. We can grow as readers, and we can find ourselves again in the books we read.

Our feelings about fandoms like the Hunger Games may wax and wane like the phases of the moon. Yet as I read each Hunger Games book, I feel connected to something bigger than me. Suzanne Collins’s books have touched the lives of so many people, and I’m glad to be a part of that. For as Haymitch reflects upon one of Lenore Dove’s sentiments in Sunrise, “Each book’s as precious as a person, she says, as it preserves someone’s thoughts and feelings long after they’re gone.”

I know my son isn’t alone because when I started looking for picture books to celebrate Grandparents Day this year, I found almost 20 picture books featuring grandparents published in the last year alone. And there were probably even more! I thought it was so beautiful to read about how grandparents care for their grandchildren, offer them deep understanding, and pass down culture and family traditions. From a grandson’s invitation to slow down and spend time together when visiting Granddad to a Bubbe and Granddaughter making a summer bucket list, these five beautiful stories celebrate the amazing role grandparents play in children’s lives.

5 New Picture Books Featuring Grandparents

Spendin’ Time by Gary R. Gray Jr., illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell On a trip to visit his grandparents, a young boy and his Granddad leave the house with a list from his Nan of food to pick up for her to make dinner. But instead of completing the errand with maximum efficiency, as the boy expects, Granddad suggests going berry picking, and even sneaking in ice cream before dinner. And while they are “spendin’ time” together, Grandad points out the important places and memories in their Nova Scotia town. The sweetness continues when the duo is greeted by Nan’s delicious apple pie. Nobody will spoil you like your grandparents! And this book celebrates that special relationship and the connections older generations give young people to the past.

The Explorers by Dee Hahn, illustrated by Ashlyn Anstee Etta and Grandma Maisie have been going on adventures together for years. Etta’s mom and dad think their love of earthworm castles, gnome mazes, and bizarre food combinations is a bit odd, but Etta and Grandma Maisie have always understood each other. This year, they are both facing big changes: Etta is going to kindergarten, and Grandma Maisie is moving into a retirement home. At first, both of them feel misunderstood and weird, and it makes them each avoid meeting new people. But both learn to let their guard down when they find a pair of kindred spirits at the Grandparents’ Picnic. And they decide that they can still keep some things special to themselves, while still making new friends as well.

Where I Grew by Jashar Awan, illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell A grandfather and granddaughter take a walk through the forest. As they walk, they make connections between different elements in nature and their own family’s story. The granddaughter reflects on how her family worked hard to find the perfect place to both literally and figuratively put down roots. And she thinks about how this has influenced her life and will influence the future generations of her family. With soft illustrations and beautiful, sparse text, this book is a beautiful reflection on how grandparents connect children to larger family journeys.

Becca and Bubbe’s Bucket List by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Sarah Lynn Baker  On the first day of summer, Becca learns about the concept of a bucket list from her Bubbe, who has crossed all but one item off hers. Together, they make a summer bucket list and work together to cross off Becca’s items. Having a water balloon fight is easy. And it’s delicious to order the giant ice cream sundae. But some items, like swimming in the ocean, are too hard to do without the help of Bubbe. And then at the end of summer, Becca gets the help of the other neighborhood grandmas to give Bubbe the chance to cross the last item off her bucket list.

The River of Caregiving by Jocelyn Chung, illustrated by Sarah Gonzales This story begins with the narrator’s A-ma telling her that in their family, care flows between members like a river. This causes the child to look closer at the ways different people within their intergenerational family unit take care of each other in their daily lives. Her A-gong picks her up from school, and she translates for him when he has a doctor’s appointment. Her mother helps to bathe and dress A-ma, the way A-ma dressed her mother when she was a little girl. With extended family, there are care packages, gatherings for celebrations, and thoughtful check-ins as signs of care. This story really highlights how central the grandparents are to setting the tone of the family’s values of love, care, and reciprocity.

These five new picture books about grandparents show that no matter what you call them, the love grandparents have for their grandchildren is both special and singular. If you are celebrating Grandparents Day this weekend with any young readers, I suggest picking one or more of them up. And if you are lucky enough to have grandparents still in your life, maybe give them a call or send them a card to let them know how much they mean to you!

And for more grandparent love, here are even more children’s books about grandparents, and some of our favorite literary grandparents.

One of the most iconic opening lines in young adult fiction is also a line that helped launch a century full of outstanding, boundary-pushing, prescient, and memorable books for teen readers. Written by M.T. Anderson, Feed is a work of dystopia about Titus and his friends having their spring break plans completely upended when the feeds inside them malfunction. What follows is a story about a girl who has always lived beyond the tech-designated range of human feelings, helping Titus, his friends, and the greater world find meaning and purpose after the hijacking.

Published in 2002, Feed was light-years ahead of its time in thinking about the role of technology in our world. The story resonates deeply today, with many of the very predictions made 25 years ago now real issues being grappled with. Themes of consumerism and algorithms as identity collide with deeply human experiences of first love, friendship, and adventure.

I first picked up Feed when I began my career as a teen librarian. I’d spent a day doing professional development on audiobooks, led by librarians who’d been leaders in reviewing, promoting, and awarding the best of the best in audio production. They urged those of us who hadn’t yet read Anderson’s novel in print to pick it up on audio, and those who’d only read it in print to go back and listen to it. Feed remains one of my gold standards not only for YA dystopia but also for excellence in audiobook production and performance. Listening to this with headphones is an especially trippy and memorable experience.

The book has stuck with me for the years since, and it’s one I could not be more excited to have nominated as one of the Best YA Books of the Century (So Far). It’s been wildly influential to YA as a whole, including to many beloved authors who’ve called Anderson’s book a masterclass in writing for teen readers. Years after first experiencing Feed, I coordinated a multi-library event with young adult writer Siobhan Vivian for teens. Anderson’s opening line was one she referenced when leading a teen writing workshop as part of the event–and she’s far from the only author who points to Feed as an example of getting it right.

In 2027, Feed will celebrate its 25th anniversary. Readers will be able to pick up a dazzling new edition of the classic next spring, featuring a brand new cover. I’m thrilled to share that cover exclusively.

But before doing that, a moment for the iconic 2001 design:

The cover features the back of Gregg Hammerquist’s head. Hammerquist has been working at Candlewick–Feed‘s publisher–since 2001, where he’s now the Senior Director of Group Graphic Production.

“Prior to the design featuring my head, there was an approved cover design which featured a group of young people,” said Hammerquist, “Literally, days before we needed to get files to the printer, there was a decision made to try a different direction. The designer grabbed our office camera (this was years before iPhones were a thing) and asked me to go to the wall and turn around. She snapped the shot, did some color adjusting, and crossed her fingers.”

Covers at the time were discussed in weekly meetings, and Hammerquist noted that their office was open concept. He overheard the conversation about his head taking center stage.

“When the designer (Caroline Lawrence) presented her comp which featured my head to the group, the Head of Editorial at the time (Liz Bicknell) said “I think we should make his neck thinner”. I immediately thought to myself “Good Grief!,” he said. “As someone who loves going to the gym and being strong, the last thing I wanted was parts of me to be made smaller/thinner.”

The good news is that the design team elected to keep his neck exactly as-is when the book went to press.

So what does the cover celebrating the 25th anniversary of a beloved story and a memorable cover look like? Is the head still there?

Wait no longer. Here it is:

You’ll immediately notice that the new look takes everything that made the original and cranks it up a few notches. While the title now takes up much more real estate, it doesn’t erase what made Feed‘s cover Feed‘s cover.

“We wanted our cover to be a proper celebration of the story’s enduring legacy,” explained Larsson McSwain, Assistant Art Director at Candlewick. “This is a redesign for M. T. Anderson’s long-time fans and new readers alike.”

The new cover plays into many of the trends we see in cover design right now–printed edges worthy of display on shelves and on social media posts. While it retains Hammerquist’s head, it tweaks the text running across the entire background. Where the 2001 edition uses words to show off the feed, the new edition turns to binary. It’s a smart choice. The binary numbers don’t detract from the bold title font and styling.

“Retaining the head was a no-brainer; but we revamped the color palette (electric!), updated the type design (bold!), and adorned the book with eye-catching effects,” said McSwain. McSwain emphasized that the design team knew that they “had to keep the head.”

For new and established fans of the book, using its first line is the perfect choice for the four-color printed edges.

The 25th-anniversary edition of Feed will hit shelves on May 11, 2027, but you can preorder it now. If this is a book you haven’t read, it’s one to make sure is on your TBR; if it’s a book with which you have familiarity, consider a reread–it not only holds up, but it remains an example of the variety of teen characters that exist in YA to entertain and challenge readers, young and not-so-young.

Want more? You’re in luck. Read this fantastic new interview with M.T. Anderson about Feed, its enduring legacy, and its 25th anniversary.

After season 1 of Heated Rivalry began streaming late last year, queer community response to the series ranged from unqualified raves to critiques about sex scene authenticity and obsession with the sexual identity of its two principal actors. For many of us, Heated Rivalry was a breath of fresh air from a mainstream TV world hardly abundant with stories of queer happiness—never mind gay male athletes in hypermasculine sports who are unafraid of being vulnerable with each other.

Season 1’s episode 5, where Scott Hunter calls his lover Kip down from the stands to the ice after he’s won “the Cup” to kiss him on live television, was huge. Outsports reported that viewing parties for that episode led to groups of gay men buying tickets to their first NHL games and others watching TV hockey despite knowing little about the sport. For the Cutting Edges, Vancouver’s LBGTQ+ hockey association, there was a massive surge of interest from queer folk wanting to return to hockey or play it for the first time.

Some even used Heated Rivalry to come out. 40-year-old Minnesota native Jesse Kortuem, who left the sport at 17 and later played competitively from the closet, had returned to hockey by playing in queer tournaments as a guest of the Cutting Edges and other teams. A Facebook post citing the Edges’ warm welcome and Heated Rivalry as factors in his decision to come out went viral, landing Kortuem an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. His host surprised him with a video greeting of congrats by Hudson Williams, who plays Shane Hollander. (Williams later reported that real-life closeted pro athletes, including hockey players, had reached out to him for inspiration.)

For others, Heated Rivalry was triggering. Former Ontario Hockey League and minor pro goaltender Brock McGillis—now in high demand on the speaking circuit—had a panic attack while watching the first half of episode 1, which reminded him of the years he’d spent fearful of exposure. He came to enjoy the series, but said it wouldn’t convince closeted NHL players to come out. So far, he’s right.

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