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Book Recs If You’re Missing The Duke from Bridgerton

[Photo by Євгенія Височина on Unsplash]

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Bridgerton has returned to Netflix for a second season, but this time without the dreamy Duke who won hearts in season one. This is, in part, because the second season focuses on another Bridgerton family member, Anthony. Like the books, the series moves from Bridgerton to Bridgerton, and presumably, Simon and Daphne are living their happily ever after. However, this isn’t the only reason that Regé-Jean Page's Duke won’t be returning: the actor opted out of season two.

For those missing the Dashing Duke, though—or for those who will binge season two in a night and be left looking for more updated Regency goodness—these are the best books to fill a Duke-shaped hole.

Posted by Rose Moore

Middle Grade Fantasy Books with Asian Protagonists

 

[Photo by Yaroslav Shuraev from Pexels]

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Turning Red released earlier this month on Disney+, and as Pixar fans will know, it’s been 13 years since the studio featured an Asian lead in one of their films (remember Russell from Up?) and it’s the first time an Asian lead has the spotlight as the main character. This is a major milestone for not only Pixar (who’ve historically featured white, male or nonhuman protagonists), but American animated film in general.

Young audiences are searching for characters and stories they can relate to, and for young Asian viewers, especially girls, Meilin Lee’s sweet and hilarious coming-of-age story checked that box (see Tabitha Yuen’s review for Teen Vogue).

Similarly, books have the power to make readers feel seen. For any young readers looking to explore narratives with Asian protagonists, the following list of middle grade fantasy books is an exciting place to turn to after a Turning Red watchthrough.

Posted by Gabrielle Bujak

Iconic Bathroom Scenes in Literature and Pop Culture

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Poop is rarely the topic of polite conversation, but despite this, bathrooms (and especially toilets) have been the scenes of surprisingly iconic movie moments over the years! It’s not all toilet humor either. While this can certainly be the case, other movies manage to make awkward bathroom moments joyful, inspiring, vengeful, and even metaphorical.

Perhaps that’s something to take a cue from in how we talk about bathroom habits and bowel moments in general. That’s certainly what Julia Blohberger and Roos Neeter would like to see, and these yoga teachers and Ayurvedic practitioners have created Good Sh*t to help along the way. This guidebook to all things poop and health helps readers learn what our excrement can reveal about overall health and our bodies. It demystifies and lightens up the tendency to get very shy about something that literally everyone does!

In honor of Good Sh*t, we’ve got some of the best scenes that take place in bathrooms—and these are some good sh*ts too!

Posted by Rose Moore

Books by Black Authors to Read Based on Other Favorite Books

[Photo from BlackHistoryMonth.gov]

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Black History Month is back this February and with a little over two weeks left to celebrate, there’s no better time to revisit your TBR pile and slip in a few extra titles by Black authors. Better yet, bump them to the top of your TBR pile and dive right in.

Not sure which ones to start with? No worries! We’ve pulled select titles and paired them with readalikes to help you better judge which stories could be your cup of tea. And like we always say, whether you check the title out from your library or you purchase the book, e-book, or audiobook, every bit of support helps elevate Black creators and their individual stories, so keep on reading!

Posted by Gabrielle Bujak

Fantasy Recs Based on Your Favorite Vox Machina Member

[Photo by Stephen Hardy from Pexels]

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It’s the moment critters (Critical Role fans) have been waiting for for years. The season one premier of The Legend of Vox Machina is officially available on Amazon Prime, and old and new fans alike are pumped.

Not familiar with Critical Role or the new TV series? Here’s some quick details to catch you up:

  • The Legend of Vox Machina is based on the beloved Critical Role YouTube show, a D&D livestream starring eight well-known voice actors you may recognize from video games, anime, and cartoons.

  • The TV series started as a 20-min special kickstarter back in 2019 and earned over $11 million, making it the highest funded movie/TV kickstarter in history.

  • The show is based on the first campaign of Critical Role and has already been greenlit for season two.

  • The first Critical Role campaign has over 100 episodes, each averaging 4 hours, so the sheer amount of content may be daunting to some – that’s where the condensed TV series comes in.

  • Interested? Check out the show's trailer, clips (here and here), live reading from the cast, the extended cast (oof, there's some big names here), or title sequence. Be warned this show is 18+.

According to the Critical Role site, episodes will be released in batches over the course of four weeks, which means you’ll have plenty of time to fall or fall back in love with Vox Machina. While you wait for new episodes, why not pick up another high fantasy series? Scroll down and see which book we recommend based on your favorite Vox Machina member.

Posted by Gabrielle Bujak

A New Year with New Horrors for a New Horrified You

[Photo by ramy Kabalan from Pexels]

Time to test your resilience, kiddos! I don’t know about you, but I’m already crumbling under my new year’s resolutions… Perhaps 2022 isn’t the year to turn over a new leaf. Instead of trying to shed those extra pounds, how about we focus on basic human survival?

According to UPenn professor and best-selling author Adam Grant, watching horror movies is a kind of exposure therapy, and people are unintentinally microdosing fear and anxiety in harmless situations to build up resistance to the real thing. Here’s a handy-dandy list of movies available at horror-streaming behemoth Shudder, nicely paired with their literary counterpart, to help get you through this never-ending hellscape that is 2022.

Posted by Clay McLeod Chapman