Since 1950 the National Book Foundation has awarded the National Book Award to authors such as Colson Whitehead, William Faulkner, Beverly Cleary, and Jesmyn Ward. The Foundation also runs several programs for readers and writers, including the BookUp after-school reading program. In March 2016 the Foundation hired Guernica publisher Lisa Lucas as executive director. We talked to Lucas about how she runs the Foundation day to day.

Speculative fiction is the literature of change and discovery. But every now and then, a book comes along that changes the rules of science fiction for everybody. Certain great books inspire scores of authors to create something new. Here are 21 of the most influential science fiction and fantasy books.

Summer is the perfect time to sit back and relax with a good book, but how do you pick the good book to relax with? If your reading list is currently empty and you're not sure what to pick up next, check out this handy flowchart that will have something for all types and levels of readers.

The sale season continues with Cyber Monday deals appearing all over the place. Amazon has a bunch of deals on offer across a number of calories. Here are few of the best to pick from.

As parents, the list of things we want to teach and instil in our kids is endless. We want them to grow up to be people who brush their teeth twice a day — and floss. We want them to clean up after themselves and do their best in school (while also not being too hard on themselves). We want them to surround themselves with people of high character and replace the roll when the toilet paper runs out.

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, one of the U.S' most famous used bookstores, recently showed off one of its most expensive titles, a first American printing of The Fellowship of the Ring for sale at $5,497.

On their Instagram account, they pointed out the telltale signs of this rare printing, including specific printing mistakes, as well as its special features, including a fold-out map of Middle-earth.

I recently read Walter Isaacson's biography of Lenoardo Da Vinci. If you don't know Isaacson, he's the author of a number of interesting biographies, most notably the Steve Jobs biography that was released shortly after Jobs' death. I think the Da Vinci book is far better written - I suspect the Jobs bio was rushed to market before the editors had really finished their job - and there are several lessons I learned from Da Vinci.

I have to admit that I don't do as much reading as I'd like but I have found that being able to carry books on my tablet has helped immensely. When I travel, being able to bring two or three new books and comics along help pass the time on a long flight. Amazon has a Spring sale on Kindle books with titles from well-known authors seeing for less than a cup of coffee.

You can get sale alerts for all the books on your Goodreads "want to read" list. Whenever one of them is discounted on Kindle, iBooks, Nook, Google Play, or Kobo, you'll get an email. (This only works for ebooks, not physical copies.)

Every week, our friends at Booktopia highlight an exclusive book deal for Lifehacker readers. This week: 27% off Fire And Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin!

A third of today's teenagers don't read books for pleasure, reports a survey from the American Psychological Association. That's nearly triple the number reported in the 1970s. And yet teens are reading — perhaps more than ever before. Glued to screens, they're voraciously consuming words in the form of texts, photo captions, hashtags, notifications and news snippets splashed on social media.

Every week, our friends at Booktopia highlight an exclusive book deal for Lifehacker readers. This week: 38% off Saga Book One by Brian K. Vaughan!

Last night, I read my daughter a story before bed, like I always do. I picked an old favourite from her bookshelf — Giraffes Can’t Dance. But this time, a musical cast accompanied my narration.

If you’re looking to change up your bedtime story routine, this Alexa skill can help. Short Bedtime Story will read a, you guessed it, short bedtime story to your child, using his or her name.

What’s the name of that book again? You know the one. From when we were kids. It was a children’s chapter book about a family that moves into an old schoolhouse?

Every week, our friends at Booktopia highlight an exclusive book deal for Lifehacker readers. This week: 37% off Art of Atari by Tim Lapetino!

Android/iOS: I have a reasonable but not overwhelming amount of media: Mostly books, followed by video games, followed by some collectable vinyls and CDs that I keep around. I also have friends who have rooms full of stuff: Stacks of books and floor-to-ceiling bookcases that are nearly bursting from overuse.

All of us could benefit from checking out Libib, a free service you can use to scan and catalogue your books, movies, music and video games.

Every week, our friends at Booktopia highlight an exclusive book deal for Lifehacker readers. This week: 23% off Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Visual History by Daniel Wallace!

How much do you read? A book a year? A month? A week? A day? It probably won't surprise long-time bibliophiles to hear this, but reading can make you smarter in a lot of different ways. From emotional intelligence to giving your brain a full on work out, here's why you should think about picking up a book (or even some poetry) a little more often.