According to a recent survey, 62% of women would rather spend Friday night reading a good book than out on a date, and the similarities between how people talk about both reading and dating is fascinating. Given these similarities, and with the success of popular dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Match, Grindr, and eHarmony, Brant Menswar and Jim Knight, the founders of digital book marketing company BookstarPR, decided to revolutionize the world of book discovery with the new app Booky Call. “Booky Call is an innovative book discovery platform cleverly disguised as a dating app. By combining the proven psychology of dating apps with the innovative approach of giving books a humanized dating profile, we have created a book discovery platform that helps readers engage with books in a completely new way,” the Booky Call website states. Booky Call uses the same technology as popular dating apps to match its users with potential book “dates.” When first setting up the app, users answer questions about their preferences in different genres and categories. Then, much like the technology used on Tinder, users can swipe right or left on each book profile, indicating their interest or disinterest in each book, and the more you swipe, the better Boo, the app’s matchmaker, learns your interests and tastes. On the app, each book gets a humanized dating profile with a unique bio and first-person perspective answers to nine questions that come directly from dating profiles, such as “Who should swipe right on me?”, “What…

Sunshine and warmer weather are here, and that means it’s the perfect time to head outside, kick back your feet, and read a good book. There are plenty of new releases in fiction to be excited about. Here are some of the new releases I am most eager to read this summer from some popular genres of fiction. Fantasy – Witch King by Martha Wells Release date: May 30, 2023 From the breakout SFF superstar author of Murderbot comes a remarkable story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose. Kai’s having a long day in Martha Wells’ Witch King…. After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well. But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence? Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions. He’s not going to like the answers. Witch King is Martha Wells’s first new fantasy in over a decade, drawing together her signature ability to create characters we adore and identify with, alongside breathtaking action and adventure, and the wit and charm we’ve come…

It’s summer! The season of beach reads, page-turning suspense, and cozy reading at the cabin. Whether you travel far or stick close to home, it’s the perfect time to kick back, relax, and get into a good book. And there are plenty of new releases to add to your TBR list! Here are some recent releases across varied genres that I am excited to dive into this summer. The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, Jesse Kirkwood (Translator) – Literary Fiction/Cozy Mystery What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time? Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner serves up deliciously extravagant meals. But that’s not the main reason customers stop by… The father-daughter duo are ‘food detectives’. Through ingenious investigations, they are able to recreate dishes from a person’s treasured memories – dishes that may well hold the keys to their forgotten past and future happiness. The restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to vanished moments, creating a present full of possibility. A bestseller in Japan, The Kamogawa Food Detectives is a celebration of good company and the power of a delicious meal. One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware – Thriller A high-tension and ingenious thriller following five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them. Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure they won’t…