The Best Queer Books to Read This Pride Month, Chosen by People Magazine

Barnes & Noble 2026 Discover Award Finalists Announced

B&N’s Discover Awards focus on debut authors who have “published extraordinary, thought-provoking stories that leave a lasting impression on readers.” The long list of six books is an interesting mix of topical fiction titles (in the case of Caro Claire Burke’s Yesterday, a super hot one) and titles you don’t often see in the book world. One work I was particularly interested in reading was Upward Bound by Woody Brown (which was selected for Jenna Bush Hager’s book club). It depicts the daily life of the disabled community in Los Angeles. The book was also written by UCLA’s first nonverbal autistic English major. As a sibling of someone with autism, the representation of autism I’ve encountered in fiction is often very monotonous, so I’m glad more writers have the opportunity to share their perspectives.

Book club books are also being distributed to pajamas and fan festivals.

Let’s start with pajamas. Printfresh has teamed up with Emily Henry’s Camp to create a range of helpful pajama sets (complete with tote bags and eye masks) for fans. A partnership collaboration like this with a best-selling author can be a very obvious (and kind of weird) money grab, but I can’t say I’m upset about this. I like a good pair of pajamas, and if I’m a big fan of Emily Henry, I wouldn’t mind having one (I have to be pajamas) really big However, fans will be happy to know that the set costs around $170).

Now, in case you were wondering why I mentioned Fan Festival in both the subheadings and what it has to do with Emily Henry’s pajamas, here’s a little bit of relevance. The fan festival is called STORYfest and is a four-part event that begins June 16th at Manhattan’s Hudson Yards. The event, hosted by Reese Witherspoon’s lifestyle brand Hello Sunshine, will feature talks and autograph sessions with Reese Book Club Featured authors, including Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (co-authors of Pair of Aces). There is a connection there. “Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life” was Reese’s nominee for the May 2025 book club. However, it is not yet clear whether Henry will be attending any of the festival days. That being said, I’m interested to see how far Reese can go with his book club empire. she’s finished a lot.

Picture book about Juneteenth

I’m embarrassed to say how old I was when I finally learned about Juneteenth, but I also want to chalk up what I learned belatedly about the false and deceptive education about history we receive in America. But with this list of picture books about Juneteenth, you can start making small adjustments. Young children can learn about historical moments and current holidays through quilts, centered around one family’s celebration and set to the rhythm of “The Night Before Christmas.”