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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
TIME’s Best Books of the Year So Far
TIME published their list of the Best Books of the Year So Far and it’s a good mix of books considering they kept it to a mere 14 titles (how though?!). Katie Kitamura’s Audition seems to be required for any Best of So Far as does Ocean Vuong’s The Emperor of Gladness. Also, big kudos to my former PDX writing group peer Emma Pattee whose propulsive debut Tilt made the list! One of the books (I won’t say which just yet) is on my own best of so far, and a whole bunch more were on my list of anticipated reads for 2025. You can find the full list of titles here.
Carla Hayden Has Something to Say
Carla Hayden, the first woman and first African American to serve as Librarian of Congress, spoke with CBS about being fired by the Trump administration. If you were incensed by the news, let me tell you, this CBS Sunday Morning interview of Hayden about her termination will not quench those internal fires. The use of the DEI dog whistle and nonsensical lines drawn from the placement of “inappropriate books in the library for children” to the role of the Librarian of Congress from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt would be laughable if they weren’t so heinous. Hayden saying that, upon hearing these comments, she was concerned that there wasn’t awareness around what the Library of Congress does was beyond charitable. Hayden goes on to talk about how strange it is to hear inclusion spoken of in such negative terms, about the importance of young people seeing themselves in books, and about attacks against the freedom to read and democracy itself. What grace what poise what intellect. The Trump admin may have fired Hayden but they can’t erase her legacy.
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Stephen Colbert Launches a Book Club
Normally I’d roll my eyes and sigh, “Another celebrity book club,” but I have a soft spot for Stephen Colbert so I’ll skip the pettiness. As this announcement from the LateNighter points out, Colbert isn’t the first late night host to hit the book club–Jimmy Fallon’s book club has highlighted and promoted big hits like Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods (loved it) and Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone (also loved it). Colbert is launching his own book club with Orbital, Samantha Harvey’s Booker Prize-winning sci-fi novel. I’m not clear on how many viewers participate in these late night host book club hashtag campaigns, but I’m sure authors appreciate the extra attention their books get out of it. For all my eye rolling, a celebrity endorsement can make a significant impact on book sales. Also, I am so curious about how these books get picked–does Colbert have an advisor or did he simply choose a book he liked?
Judge Grants Trump Administration Win in ALA vs. Sonderling IMLS Lawsuit
While this news is nothing to celebrate, my colleague Kelly points out that the ruling for the Trump administration in the ALA’s fight against the dismantling of the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is more of a setback than an all-out win. Read about Judge Richard J. Leon’s decision and what this means for the case and IMLS here.
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