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How to participate in (and win) USA TODAY’s Spring Book Challenge

The flowers are blooming, the weather is warming and it’s time for another round of our book bingo challenge. Back by popular demand, you could win a $100 Bookshop.org gift card just by reading this spring. Our printable bingo card has categories across genres to expand your reading goals and is open from now until June 30.

Our last winner was Alison Vornsand, a reader from New Jersey, who was able to cross off bingo squares after reading “Onyx Storm” by Rebecca Yarros (a 2025 release), “Reckless” by Lauren Roberts (in a series) and “The Spanish Love Deception” by Elena Armas (set in a country you’ve never visited), among others.

Now if your TBR pile has you feeling lucky, we’d love to see your submission. Here’s how to enter USA TODAY’s Spring Book Challenge.

Click here for a printable version of the bingo board.

How to participate in USA TODAY’s Spring Book Challenge

To submit your bingo card, fill out this entry form and let us know your contact information and what books you’ve read to complete the challenge. Be sure to read all instructions and only fill the form out once.

Our Spring Book Challenge runs through June 30. Anyone who participates and submits their bingo card will be entered into a gift card giveaway. The winner will be notified via email within five business days of the drawing. Check out the full contest rules here. You must be 18 or over to enter.

The challenge includes intentionally varied bingo spaces so readers of all genres can participate. For example, you could read five books and clear the entire top row, or take advantage of the free space in the middle and check off four other boxes. Just know that each box needs to correspond to a different title – no counting one book in multiple boxes! Here’s an example of how I would fill it out:

We’d love it if you also tagged us on social media (@usatodaylife) with your filled out bingo card yourself (here’s how I made this on my Instagram story with screenshotted photos of book covers), but remember you still have to fill out the entry form for a chance at the giveaway.

Looking for your next great read? USA TODAY has you covered.

Taste is subjective, and USA TODAY Books has plenty of genres to recommend. Want a buzzy new title? Check out these new books released in March. Are mysteries your thing? Try these titles similar to “Verity” by Colleen Hoover or see if you’re brave enough for one of our favorite horror novels. Or if you want something with lower stakes and loveable characters, see if a “cozy mystery” or “cozy fantasy” book is for you. If you want the most popular titles, check out USA TODAY’s Best-selling Booklist.

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at [email protected].

April 1, 2025
What is recession pop? Kesha’s new song may be an economic indicator

All-night-long parties, bonfires and whiskey, belting karaoke: In their new single, Kesha and T-Pain may have single-handedly heralded the return of recession pop.

“Yippee-Ki-Yay,” released March 27, is a twangy, high-energy and country-infused hit that sees Kesha and T-Pain lighting a bonfire at a trailer park and singing “yippee-ki-yay, yippee-ki-ya-ya.”

It’s the latest offering from Kesha’s upcoming album, “Period,” set to drop July 4 as her first project under a brand-new label, Kesha Records, and following 2023’s “Gag Order.”

“There’s a two-for-one at the Dollar Tree / Double cupping straight gasoline,” the pop sensation and rapper sing in their new track. “Look around, the only ten I see / Is this barefoot baddie from Tennessee.”

The new song, produced by Nova Wav and co-written by Pink Slip, has gotten social media users talking. They’re saying the feel-good, upbeat pop track marks the return of a 2000s musical movement.

The tune does have some indicators of becoming a recession pop bop, but it’s a little more complicated than that.

What exactly is recession pop? We’re here to explain.

What is recession pop?

Recession pop is a subgenre of pop music, encompassing the feel-good, escapism-focused music released during the Great Recession, which occurred from 2007 to 2009.

As the market declined and the world experienced its most significant financial recession since the Great Depression, pop artists were keeping the morale high through quick-paced dance-pop tracks that continued into the 2010s.

Think of Lady Gaga’s track “Just Dance,” the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” and Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite.”

Tracks including LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” and Kesha’s hit “Tik Tok” — as well as the rest of her 2010 record “Animal” — were all seen as recession pop anthems.

And the one thing all of the recession pop tracks have in common? They’re catchy, optimistic, party-focused and centered on living in the moment.

“Just dance, gonna be OK” and “I gotta feelin’ that tonight’s gonna be a good night” were the messages the world needed to hear at the time — and they led these songs to the top of the charts for that very reason.

The term “recession pop” went viral on TikTok in 2024, though it appeared in an article with Lady Gaga in the Irish Independent back in 2009.

Last year, searches for the term skyrocketed on Google, and it has since become a widely discussed category of music.

One TikTok user wrote, “New Hunger Games Book, Kesha and T-Pain hit, Recession.”

Another key cultural element of the Great Recession was “The Hunger Games” book series by Suzanne Collins, released in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Coincidentally, Collins released another book, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” earlier this month.

Other social media users are noticing the cultural congruencies in past recession times, too.

“Happy 2009 everyone!” another TikTok user wrote. “America is collapsing, everyone is obsessing over a new Hunger Games novel, Gaga is about to go on a world tour, new Final Destination on the way and Kesha is dropping club anthems featuring T-Pain.”

Is a recession coming in 2025?

America is not technically in a recession right now, but some economists fear that one is around the corner.

On Sunday, Goldman Sachs warned clients that it sees a 35% chance of recession in the next year — a warning that increased from the previous 20% prediction, CNN reported.

A March CNBC Fed Survey said the probability of recession was at 36%, which is up from 23% in January.

Earlier this month, J.P. Morgan’s chief economist said there’s a 40% chance of a U.S. recession occurring in 2025.

A recession may be coming. It’s not too late to prepare.

The economy was able to recover from a brief recession after COVID-19 three years ago, and while some experts were worried the economy would take another plummet after Russia invaded Ukraine and inflation spiked, America managed to avoid a serious recession.

Now fears are back.

Consumer spending is down, President Donald Trump’s current policies include tariffs on certain imported goods and the GDP (gross domestic product) forecasts are down.

When asked about the possibility of a recession on March 9, President Trump told Fox News he “hate(s) to predict things like that.”

“There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big,” he said. “We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing. And there are always periods of, it takes a little time. It takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us.”

Who will be our 2025 recession pop icons?

If we are headed into a recession, at least there’s plenty of glamorous pop music to keep us all company.

But who will join Kesha as potential recession pop icons?

All signs point to “Pink Pony Club” singer Chappell Roan, whose country song “The Giver” is currently No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Gaga and fellow pop princesses Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande could also make waves.

Meanwhile, K-pop stars Jennie, Rosé and Lisa of Blackpink — who continue to gain momentum in their solo careers — also have the potential to keep producing the carefree bops that keep us going if the economy takes a turn.

(This story was updated to correct an inaccuracy.)

April 1, 2025
Steve Kornacki leaving MSNBC for NBC News and NBC Sports

Steve Kornacki is jumping on board full time at NBC News and NBC Sports, leaving his longtime home at MSNBC.

A rep for NBC News confirmed Tuesday that TV’s “big board” guy will join NBC Sports as chief data analyst, covering the network’s marquee events such as NFL football, the Olympics, and the Kentucky Derby.

He is also set to continue as a regular contributor on “Meet the Press,” “NBC Nightly News,” “Today” and the NBC News Now streaming channel. The move comes as MSNBC, along with most of parent company Comcast’s other cable networks, is spun off into a separate, still-unnamed company.

God-like days’ are over for big name anchors: Norah O’Donnell signs off, Hoda Kotb’s out

Kornacki currently pulls double duty at both MSNBC, which he joined in 2012, and NBC News, where he was hired as a national political correspondent in 2017.

Kornacki’s profile rose during the 2020 presidential election, with his data-driven analysis and whiteboard squiggles becoming a favorite among viewers, as networks waited days to declare a projected winner in the race between former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump.

Will the ‘khakis’ be making a comeback this Election Day? Steve Kornacki says ‘we’ll see’

Steve Kornacki recently opened up to USA TODAY about election night, ‘Kornacki khakis’

Kornacki recently opened up to USA TODAY about the buzz surrounding his “Kornacki khakis.”

Kornacki, 45, told USA TODAY “he truly did not get” the frenzy over his choice of outfit during the last election cycle. The NBC and MSNBC national political correspondent had gone viral on social media for his near ’round the clock election analysis and signature Gap khaki pants during the 2020 presidential election.

“I was amused by the interest,” Kornacki said. “I never really understood it. It’s not like I had (a) lifelong attachment to these pants. They were just what I happened to be wearing that day.”

NBC’s Vicky Nguyen pens ‘love letter to America,’ immigrants in memoir ‘Boat Baby’

Like CNN’s John King and Fox News’ Bill Hemmer, Kornacki told USA TODAY that it’s the adrenaline rather than food that fuels him on election nights.

“The reason I love doing election nights is that we spend so much time in the run-up to it, trying to figure out what’s going on, and coming up with all sorts of different theories,” he said. “That’s truly where the adrenaline comes in. For me, it’s ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen, but we’re going to find out.’”

Contributing: Saman Shafiq

April 1, 2025
Pierce Brosnan, Tom Hardy celebrated 'MobLand' ganster premiere and Sting showed upTV

Pierce Brosnan, Tom Hardy celebrated ‘MobLand’ ganster premiere and Sting showed upTV

April 1, 2025
'Karate Kid: Legends' trailer: Ralph Macchio, Jackie Chan team upMovies

‘Karate Kid: Legends’ trailer: Ralph Macchio, Jackie Chan team upMovies

April 1, 2025
Watch: Pierce Brosnan says it's 'pruning time' in 'MobLand' sceneTV

Watch: Pierce Brosnan says it’s ‘pruning time’ in ‘MobLand’ sceneTV

April 1, 2025
No, Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox did not name their kid that

Machine Gun Kelly is setting the record straight on the name of his newborn daughter.

The singer, who welcomed a child with ex-fiancée Megan Fox on Thursday, initially shared the news in a post captioned: “she’s finally here!! our little celestial seed.”

After fans took the post to mean the baby’s name was literally Celestial Seed, Kelly responded with a post to his Instagram stories Monday writing: “Wait guys… her name isn’t ‘Celestial Seed,’” accompanied by the laughing emoji.

In the comment section for the original announcement video, fans had begun to speculate. “Not me wondering if they named her celestial seed 😂,” one user wrote. “Awh little Celestial Seed,” another chimed in.

“Her mom is gonna tell you the name when we’re ready,” Kelly wrote in his post, clearing up the rumors.

Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly welcome first child: ‘She’s finally here’

Kelly and Fox, who got engaged in January 2022, have since called off the union. In an interview on “Call Her Daddy” in March 2024, Fox confirmed that the pair had ended their engagement, though at the time she wouldn’t go into detail about their current relationship status.

This marks Fox’s fourth child after having three children with actor and “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum Brian Austin Green − Noah, 12, Bodhi, 11, and Journey, 8. Kelly shares daughter Casie, 15, with his ex Emma Cannon.

The news of Fox’s pregnancy came about a year after she shared that she and Kelly previously suffered a pregnancy loss.

“I’ve never been through anything like that before in my life,” she told “Good Morning America” at the time. “I have three kids. So it was very difficult for both of us, and it sent us on a very wild journey together.”

When announcing her pregnancy in November, Fox posted a photo of herself cradling her belly and wrote, “nothing is ever really lost. welcome back.”

Contributing: Edward Segarra, Brendan Morrow

April 1, 2025
‘Mobland’ gangster puts Irish back in Pierce Brosnan with Tom Hardy

Many James Bond debates will never be resolved. But even in a movie universe that sparks hair-splitting debate, Pierce Brosnan stands atop the superspy actors who’ve played Bond with the best mane of hair — especially when you factor in Brosnan’s high-volume 1980s hair days in NBC’s “Remington Steele,” his breakout role.

So when Brosnan, 71, finally worked with fashionable English gangster specialist Guy Ritchie (creator of Netflix’s “The Gentleman”), who directs episodes of the Paramount+ TV series “MobLand” (streaming Sundays), the follicles were going to fly when the esteemed actor got clipped.

“We wanted to deconstruct the look of Brosnan, somewhat of a signature part of my life as an actor,” Brosnan tells USA TODAY. He pondered shaving it all off, but changed his mind. After consulting with Ritchie, Brosnan let his hair stylist go on a cutting spree. “I said, ‘Just go for it.’ And she did. And then Guy saw it and said, ‘Very good, very neat,’” he says.

What role does Pierce Brosnan play in ‘MobLand’?

The “peculiar, dramatic, angular, cubist hairstyle” is not only versatile — Brosnan combed it to look his usual dapper self at the “MobLand” March 31 New York premiere. But it’s also the perfect topper for the mercurial crime head, patriarch Conrad Harrigan. “It’s a fascist haircut,” says Brosnan.

He joins other top-notch talent going gangster, including Helen Mirren as wife and Machiavellian matriarch Maeve, “House of the Dragon” ruler Paddy Considine as Conrad’s tattooed son Kevin, and Tom Hardy as the family’s fixer Harry Da Souza.

Under Ritchie’s direction, the multi-generational story of a crime family protecting hard-won turf makes Brosnan a highly dysfunctional John Dutton-style patriarch. Brosnan appreciates the “Yellowstone” comparison, once it’s fully explained. “I haven’t been watching too much TV to tell the truth; I’ve been busy working,” he says. “But my character is very damaged; the whole family is damaged. Then you mix that in with drugs and violence.”

Is ‘MobLand’ a twist on ‘Yellowstone’?

The twisted Yellowstone comparison is amplified by co-star and onscreen conspirator Mirren (who recently lashed out at the Bond franchise, saying it was “born out of profound sexism”).

Mirren, 79, is also currently starring as the wholesome but steely matriarch Cara Dutton on the “Yellowstone” prequel series “1923,” protecting the early Dutton ranch with husband Jacob (Harrison Ford). In “MobLand,” Maeve retrieves cocaine, hidden in her bra, to console her maverick grandson Eddie (Anson Boon) and encourages the family to expand into the fentanyl racket. “She wants to make money. But she loves the lifestyle, living in the country, the cars, the clothes,” says Brosnan.

Between scenes, the two revered actors discussed how juicy the gangster parts are. “It’s very dark, with an almost operatic theatricality,” says Brosnan. “This really lets you play as an actor.”

The duo has their Harrigan couple backstory. Conrad was raised on a farm and met the fellow wild-child Maeve. “He was crazy; she was even crazier,” says Brosnan. They moved to London, where Conrad became a car thief and gangster with his wily wife rising the criminal ranks alongside him.

‘MobLand’ began as a ‘Ray Donovan’ spinoff

The series initially began as “The Donovans,” a loose generational backstory to Showtime’s “Ray Donovan.” But Irish novelist and creator Ronan Bennett (“Top Boy”) switched the family to the Harrigans, based in London and the serene Cotswolds. Conrad might fish off the dock of his lakeside Gloucestershire pile, but he’s Ireland-born, just like Brosnan.

Brosnan tried to talk to Ritchie about Conrad’s accent on the haircut day. But the discussion went unresolved until months later, on the first day of filming.

“Then Guy said, ‘Go Irish,’” Brosnan recalls. He had already dialed up his dialect coach and based Conrad on a real-life Irish politician that he won’t name. It took work to hone the County Kerry accent. “My father was a Kerry man. Brosnan is a Kerry name,” he says. “But my Irish accent is very soft and has diminished over the years into the back of my memory.”

Working with the enigmatic Hardy, who propels the action in the series, was the final major piece of the puzzle for Brosnan. As fate would have it, his actor-producer son Sean Brosnan, 41, is best mates with Hardy. The screen pairing was like a warped homecoming.

“Tom is like a son to me,” Brosnan says. “We had a wonderful time. And he has such a powerful presence. The atmosphere he creates around himself is intoxicating. It’s sensuous.”

April 1, 2025
The Who star says he’s going blind

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this report misstated Pete Townshend’s role in The Who.

Roger Daltrey says aging isn’t all rock ‘n’ roll.

The singer behind The Who’s legendary sound opened up at a recent concert about losing his sight and hearing.

“The joys of getting old mean you go deaf,” Daltrey said at a concert in the U.K. on Thursday per Sky News. “I also now have got the joy of going blind.”

“Fortunately I still have my voice,” the 81-year-old rocker told the crowd at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

“Then I’ll have a full Tommy,” he added, in reference to Tommy Walker, the fictional titular character from The Who’s 1968 rock opera “Tommy,” who is blind, deaf and mute.

Roger Daltrey says live music is ‘the only thing that hasn’t been stolen by the internet’

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Daltrey for comment.

This is not the first time Daltrey has been candid about performing in older age.

In an interview with The Times in January 2024, the musician told the outlet that after achieving his dream and making sure his family was taken care of, he was at peace with a career that was winding down.

“You’ve got to be realistic,” he said. “You can’t live your life forever. Like I said, people my age, we’re in the way. There are no guitar strings to be changed on this old instrument.”

The Who, which rose to popularity in the mid-1960s, remained a successful touring operation for decades before Daltrey split out on his own in 2024 to perform some of the group’s greatest hits alongside a few solo tracks.

“I just want to make sure we give the audience a great time,” he told USA TODAY of his solo venture at the time. “It’s a tough old world at the moment and thank God live music is there and that it’s the only thing that hasn’t been stolen by the internet. I think all of the YouTube stuff is very unhelpful. I don’t think it enhances (getting) anyone’s bums in seats. I think people are much more likely to go if they don’t know what to expect.”

As for getting the full band back together, he wasn’t sure age was on their side.

“We’re too old,” he joked to USA TODAY “I’d have a go at it, but Pete (Townshend) would have quite a shock. In those days, what we lacked in technique, we made up for in volume, and we can’t do that anymore.”

Townshend was the group’s lead guitarist.

April 1, 2025
Tori Spelling slams Shannen Doherty Oscars in memoriam snub

Shannen Doherty’s in memoriam Oscars snub was a tough pill to swallow for Tori Spelling.

In an episode of the “Let’s Be Clear” podcast released Monday, the actress said it was “heartbreaking” and “truly shocking” that Doherty, her former “Beverly Hills, 90210” co-star, was left out of the in memoriam segment at last month’s Academy Awards.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “When the in memoriam stopped and she hadn’t been included, my heart dropped. It sank.”

Spelling went on to say that Doherty, who died from cancer last year, not being honored at the Oscars “personally felt a little triggering to me because this is the third person that I love that has been left out of the” in memoriam segment after her father, producer Aaron Spelling, and her former co-star Luke Perry were also not included after their deaths.

“For all of us watching that loved her and loved her work, it felt like not only was she robbed, but we were robbed,” Spelling said.

Though Doherty was perhaps best known for her television work on shows like “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed,” Spelling argued she should have been honored at the Oscars because “it’s really the big screen where her career thrived.” Doherty’s notable movie credits included “Heathers” and “Mallrats.”

Michelle Trachtenberg left out of Oscars’ in memoriam tribute

Spelling spent the rest of the podcast episode looking back at Doherty’s career, offering her the tribute she felt the actress was denied at the Oscars.

Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” died in July after a battle with cancer at age 53. She was one of a number of actors controversially left out of this year’s Oscars in memoriam tribute to those who died over the past year, with Olivia Hussey, Tony Todd and Michelle Trachtenberg also not included.

Shannen Doherty’s doctor reveals last conversation with ‘Charmed’ star

Perry’s absence from the Oscars’ in memoriam similarly sparked backlash in 2020 after the “Beverly Hills, 90210” actor died the previous year from a stroke.

At the time, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement, “The Academy receives hundreds of requests to include loved ones and industry colleagues in the Oscars in memoriam segment. An executive committee representing every branch considers the list and makes selections for the telecast based on limited available time.”

April 1, 2025