Every month, a deluge of new books comes flooding out from big publishers, indie houses, and self-publishing platforms. So every month, The A.V. Club narrows down the endless options to five of the books we’re most excited about.

When comedian and actor Dulcé Sloan isn’t corresponding on The Daily Show or captivating audiences with her straight-shooting stand-up, she’s digging into beloved Black cultural staples as the host of Starburns Audio’s The Blackass Show podcast. It’s an ideal setup for the Southern native, who gets to tap into her…

I don’t want to become one of those people who write to you complaining about how I married someone I wasn’t sexually compatible with ten years ago and now my sex life still sucks. I already know I need to break up with my boyfriend and I was about to do it when he got sick with the flu. This was at the beginning of…

This year’s Memorial Day is mainly be marked by what it lacks—but it shouldn’t be devoid of entertainment. A long weekend with nothing interesting to do or any interesting people to see is the perfect time to dig into all the great podcasts you haven’t gotten around to yet. This week on Podmass, we present five of our…

Throughout her life, Maggie Krause, the protagonist of Ilana Masad’s ambitious, cinematic debut novel, All My Mother’s Lovers, has been shaped by her mother, Iris, despite her best efforts to resist. Like her mother, Maggie has a hard time with commitment, in part tied back to Iris’ absences during long work trips…

We explore some of Wikipedia’s oddities in our 6,079,214-week series, Wiki Wormhole.

Just because we’re all stuck inside doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some live entertainment, so this week associate editor Laura Adamczyk is asking:

Over the past decade, Lucy Knisley has become a preeminent nonfiction cartoonist, creating charming, heartfelt comics about travel (Displacement, An Age Of License), food (Relish: My Life In The Kitchen), marriage (Something New), and motherhood (Kid Gloves). Her profile has also grown thanks to her savvy use of…

Here’s a non-COVID question for you: I’m a queer white female in a monogamish marriage. I vote left, I abhor hatred and oppression, and I engage in activism when I can. I’m also turned on by power differentials: authority figures, uniforms, hot guys doing each other. Much to my horror, this thing for power…

Somewhere near the beginning of the pandemic, a meme was going around to the effect of, “y’all needed a white person to tell you coronavirus is killing Black folks at an exponentially higher rate.” And, yes, maybe some folks do. This episode of The Ezra Klein Show is a demonstration of allyship, amplifying the voice…

In our monthly book club, we discuss whatever we happen to be reading and ask everyone in the comments to do the same. What Are You Reading This Month?

We explore some of Wikipedia’s oddities in our 6,079,214-week series, Wiki Wormhole.

It’s taken a lot to do this but here goes. I am a 38-year-old gay male. I have been dating this guy for one year and ten months. It’s been a lot of work. He cheated on me numerous times and he lives with me and doesn’t work and I’ve been taking care of him for seven months now. He always accuses me of cheating or…

You might not be familiar with the name Thomas Rose, but by the end of his new six-part audio memoir you won’t be able to forget it. Written and performed by comedian Tommy McNamara (Stand By Your Band), My Spectacular Life! A Memoir In The Key Of Storytelling chronicles the rise and fall of Rose, a legendary and…

We explore some of Wikipedia’s oddities in our 6,076,847-week series, Wiki Wormhole. 

And so we close another chapter of Riverdale. The early episodes seem so long ago—that lovely tribute to Luke Perry, Julian the porcelain doll, Chad Michael Murray on a rocket—and, yet, there’s no denying the fact that season four wrapped things up a little too quickly. That being said, “Killing Mr. Honey” ends things…

Webcomics are often dominated by the types of stories and creators that can’t access or aren’t welcome in the traditional print comics market, rendering them largely invisible if you don’t know what you’re looking for. That means plenty of readers have never heard of some of the largest comics audiences in the world.…

I’ve been with the same amazing man a dozen years. We’ve had our ups and our downs, same as any other couple, but these days life is better than it ever has been for us. Except in the bedroom. A few years ago he started having fantasies about sucking dick. Specifically, he wanted to suck a small one because his is…

In Samanta Schweblin’s new novel, Little Eyes, kentukis are the year’s must-have smart device. “Nothing more than a cross between a mobile stuffed animal and a cell phone,” she writes, they are cutesy avatars—moles, crows, bunnies, pandas, owls, and dragons—embellished in unique colors, textures, and sometimes…