Spooky season is here! We love Halloween because it’s the perfect excuse (if you need one) to cosplay, and it fits our love of all things fantasy and science fiction. As fall sets in and the days grow darker, we like to read books that are a little darker, too.

It's summer, and we're in the mood for funny and light-hearted books! Most people might not think of fantasy and sci-fi books as "the perfect beach read," but we think they can be. So when you're grabbing your sunblock, towel, and flip-flops, don't forget some reading material!

For this blog post, we polled all of the Thinklings authors on what books are the absolute funniest ones they've ever read. We got recommendations of fantasy, sci-fi, and more. Here they are, in no particular order:

Have you heard? We've been working on a big project . . . videos! Our Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channel have grown by leaps and bounds! 

May is AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Heritage Month, so I thought I'd put together a list of my favorite books by AAPI authors. These are mostly fantasy titles, since it's my favorite genre. Here we go. . . .

From time to time, we poll our authors on their favorite books in a certain category. This time, we asked them about their favorite tales of myth and legend.

Here are their responses, in alphabetical order:

March is National Women’s History Month, and today is International Women’s Day. ​That means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For us, it means talking about our favorite women authors!

We’re a company founded by women, and (currently) most of our authors happen to be female. We adore strong female protagonists—and we’ve got a lot of those in our books. Today in our blog, Sarah talks about some of her absolute favorite women authors.

It’s Black History Month! While we should celebrate diversity all year round, we’re especially reminded of it at times like this.

“‘Diversity’ should just be called ‘reality.’ Your books, your TV shows, your movies, your articles, your curricula, need to reflect reality.” — Tananarive Due, author and American Book Award winner

​We’re half a month late, but it’s been 30 years since the release of Disney’s animated film Beauty and the Beast. The “tale as old as time” is still one of this book-loving brunette’s absolute favorite movies (I also adore the live-action version), and I have vague, fond memories of seeing it in the theatre when I was barely old enough to sit still for that hour and a half. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched it since, but Belle showed me that it’s not uncool to be bookish and smart, and princesses don’t all have to fit the same Cinderella mold.

If you’re an avid Beauty and the Beast fan like I am, and looking for some more written versions of this classic story, here’s a list I compiled of ten retellings that have high ratings:

From time to time, we'll feature book recommendation lists here in our blog. Many thanks to Catherine Butzen for providing this awesome list! Take it away, Catherine. . . .

​The Thinklings brain trust asked me to weigh in on the topic of book recommendations. This was a problem. Like most writers, I’m a voracious reader who will talk you to death if you give me half a chance!
 
However, if I talk my publishers to death, Shades of Immortality will never get its next installment. So once I’d calmed down, I managed to get a list together of a few favorites.

​Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Many people aren’t sure what this holiday is all about, so here’s a link to a great article explaining what Cinco de Mayo celebrates.
 
What we’re here for today is not tacos and cerveza but BOOKS, of course! (Although we might just be eating tacos for dinner....) We compiled a list of ten awesome sci-fi and fantasy books by Mexican and Latinx authors.