Petra Mayer

We've got fantastic judges for this year's summer reader poll! Alexandra Petri, Aparna Nancherla, Guy Branum and Samantha Irby will take your votes and curate a final list of 100 side-splitting reads.

Take these books ... please?! Our famous Summer Reader Poll is back, and this year we're celebrating funny books. What makes you laugh — or giggle, or even just snicker quietly? We want to know!

City planner and Byzantine historian Arkady Martine puts her academic experience to work in a new novel about an ambassador from a small space station who comes to the court of a devouring empire.

Sure, it's great to celebrate love, but why not escape all the relationship pressures, buy yourself some chocolate and make a date with a good romance novel? Here are five our our all-time favorites.

The renowned British actor was nominated for five Oscars and two Tony Awards, among other prizes. His career spanned six decades, from understudying Laurence Olivier to appearing in a James Bond film.

Hey, hey, they were the Monkees, and by 1968 they were sick and tired of their manufactured boy-band image, so they took a sledgehammer to it in the surreal, angry, stream-of-consciousness Head.

The Book Concierge is back! Explore more than 300 standout titles picked by NPR staff and critics.

Other titles include Ling Ma's Severance and Elaine Castillo's America is Not the Heart. This is the second year for the prize, which focuses on fiction that addresses contemporary issues.

Legend says that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, England will fall. Luckily, ravenmaster Chris Skaife is there to care for them, and he's got a new book about these extraordinary birds.

Writer, critic and musician Juan Vidal grew up largely fatherless, falling in and out of trouble — but he found fellowship, poetry, and eventually guidance in the words of his favorite rappers.

ElfQuest is a comics industry institution — this saga of, yes, elves on a quest has been running since 1978. But now, creators Wendy and Richard Pini have brought the quest to an end.

Tangier Island, in the Chesapeake Bay, has been home to a small, self-reliant community of watermen for centuries — and now climate change is threatening to swamp the island and its way of life.

Critic and author Jason Heller's new book traces the considerable influence of David Bowie on the science-fiction inflected music of the 1970s, from "Space Oddity" to the glittery glory of Funkadelic.

In honor of Frankenstein's 200th birthday, this year's summer reader poll is all about horror — from classics like Mary Shelley's monster to new favorites, we've got something to scare everyone.

San Diego Comic-Con ended on Sunday, and our intrepid correspondents Mallory Yu and Petra Mayer report on an Eisner Awards ceremony (the Oscars of comics) dominated by women and writers of color.

Seanan McGuire has published dozens of books in the past few years that take place across multiple fictional universes. We meet up with her at San Diego Comic-Con, where she meets with fans.

On their third day at San Diego Comic-Con, NPR's Mallory Yu and Petra Mayer get into the spirit of things by dressing up as their favorite heroes and checking out the amazing costumes on display.

Our intrepid reporters Mallory Yu and Petra Mayer take on another day of San Diego Comic-Con, from immersive fan adventures to, yes, all the Doctor Who you can shake a sonic screwdriver at.

The huge fan convention that is San Diego Comic-Con kicks off today. NPR's Petra Mayer and Mallory Yu are there, and their look at Preview Night includes fandom, puppets and the aspirations of girls.

The famous, and famously cantankerous, science fiction writer Harlan Ellison has died. Over a 6-decade career, he won multiple awards for his fiction and television writing.