Manga is appreciated by many for its endless range of genres, stunning art, and imaginative stories, but it can be difficult to find a manga that isn’t guilty of objectifying and stereotyping female characters. Shounen manga often depicts women with ridiculously large breasts and tiny waits, shown from revealing angles through the male gaze, or …
Dark academia is more popular than ever before — a blend of literary fiction and genre fiction, gothic and grounded. Dark academia books come in many styles, but they all share the theme of, well, dark academia. Putting a firm definition of dark academia can be tricky but it generally involves places of higher education, …
Supernatural stories, haunted tales, scary campfire stories of every kind are read and told at Halloween. Be they stories from myth, stories by horror legends like Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe, or stories you found online. But what are some of the best short ghost stories around? Unmissable Short Ghost Stories Ones that make …
The medium of manga (and comic books in general) is in a unique position to deliver horror to its readers like no other medium can, blurring the lines between prose that fuels the imagination and films that fling the terror at you in full force. You only need to flick through some of the best …
Since reading Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, I’ve been a big fan of the graphic memoir. Using drawing as a medium to deliver a message isn’t a new concept but I’m so grateful for the slew of comics in the last couple of years that deal with the more difficult concepts in life. Essential Asian Graphic …
Representation saves lives. For non-cisgender people, finding fiction and nonfiction that speaks to our feelings and lived experiences is important, uplifting, and validating. As a non-binary reader and writer, feeling seen and inspired by non-binary books has changed everything for me, and it can do the same for you. Essential Non-Binary Books to Read What …
The world wars are a fertile creative ground for literature. The politics, drama, trauma, and action of World Wars 1 & 2 provide the perfect backdrop for big themes and philosophical questions. This is evident by the sheer number of best books on World War 1 & 2 that are out there for us to …
Beastars is translated from the Japanese by Tomoko Kimura and Annette Roman The 2020 Netflix anime Beastars turned a lot of heads upon its release. Created by the animation studio Orange, Beastars stood out as being, arguably, the first great 3D animated anime series. Beastars also utilised experimental voice recording and sound engineering, a stunning …
There is no end to the surrealism, the beauty, the variety found in Japanese literature. Japanese authors and stories expose the human heart; they travel through time and place and dreams. And the best of these tales can be found in Japanese short story collections. Many of the best Japanese authors, known for their award-winning …
For several years now, YA fantasy authors have carved out a beloved and celebrated niche in the world of fantasy and science fiction literature. YA fantasy books stand on their own in this crowded genre, attracting fans new and old. However, like its parent genre, YA fantasy has also become a bustling space. Thus, separating …