No matter how small, we’ll take the morsels of good news where we can get ’em these days, folks. Bookselling has, like pretty much every industry in America, been punched in the throat by the worsening coronavirus crisis, and many Read more >
Bestselling novelist, friend to booksellers, and America’s highest-paid author James Patterson is . . . kind of a kidder. Case in point: these increasingly ludicrous TV spots he has recorded to promote his books over the years. And yes, these Read more >
I don’t know about you, but my reality TV consumption has skyrocketed under quarantine. I think I’m craving formula, and drama of the extremely low-stakes variety. And while I’ve been escaping from reality with reality, I’ve had some thoughts on Read more >
It is 100 years since Agatha Christie published her first novel, the droll Hercule Poirot whodunit The Mysterious Affair at Styles. According to a commemorative study recently commissioned by Harper Collins and completed by an independent research group, Agatha Christie’s Read more >
James Patterson has a long history of helping independent bookstores. In in 2014, he donated $1 million to indie bookstores, and staring in 2015, his Holiday Bonus program has given payments between $500 and $5,000 to bookstore employees each year. Read more >
There are no shortage of celebrities who’ve been using social media to read to children and fundraise for some of the kids most affected by the impact of COVID-19. Another luminous star (and her daughter) are next in line: Mary Read more >
With all this time on our hands, we can approach new books and other media with great care, taking note of things we might have otherwise missed. The most attentive among us have already proven up to the task. Greta Read more >
What is a bird library, you may ask? It’s a library for birds. It’s in Virginia. It has a tiny chair and a bookshelf and there are seeds all over the floor. Don’t overthink it. Here is the bird library. Read more >
Bored? Working from home? Perhaps you would be interested in knowing which fictional character you most resemble. I know, I know, you’ve heard this before, but let me tell you: this is no slapdash BuzzFeed personality quiz. The Statistical “Which Read more >
You told yourself that you were going to use this extra down time to Actually Sit Down and Write Something. And instead, you find yourself falling asleep on the couch night after night, drifting through several hours of Love Island Read more >
Today, the Booker Prize committee announced the shortlist for this year’s International Booker Prize—awarded annually to the best book written in any language, translated into English, and published in the UK or Ireland. The prize, £50,000, will be split evenly Read more >
If you’re looking to read more literature in translation, look no further than the Best Translated Book Awards longlists, which were announced today. The Best Translated Book Awards celebrates the best translated work of fiction and poetry of the past Read more >
Quarantine poetry: Cory Booker is doing it. Bob Dylan is doing it. Should you do it? That’s a question everyone must answer for themselves, but in honor of National Poetry Month, I created a flowchart to guide you as you Read more >
The judges for the 2020 National Book Awards were announced earlier today and among the twenty-five esteemed writers, translators, critics, educators, and booksellers signed on to read though the cream of this year’s literary crop is none other than The Read more >
Every year, April coughs up poetry month, only this will be a silent one, as far as readings go. I’m not going to pretend we all used to go to them groaning. If you’re reading this blog, a poem has Read more >
To all the writers with books coming out in April, May, June…November…2021….???: I know you’re worried. I know that one of the countless disheartening aspects of the COVID-19 shutdown is how little oxygen it leaves for other preoccupations, whether troubling Read more >
The real world isn’t looking so great right now, so here’s another option: escape into the Harry Potter universe for a bit with Harry Potter at Home, a digital hub for kids. Hosted at WizardingWorld.com, Harry Potter at Home has Read more >
With unemployment skyrocketing in recent days due to the coronavirus pandemic, and writers particularly vulnerable to financial loss, PEN America has re-launched the Writers’ Emergency Fund, a way to give money directly to those affected. PEN announced this week that it Read more >
America’s favorite book spokesperson LeVar Burton is taking his talents to Twitter to give readers of all ages a little escapism in the form of a soothing story hour. Burton announced yesterday that starting this Friday, he would livestream three Read more >
This morning, TODAY Show co-host Jenna Bush Hager announced her book club pick for April 2020: Elizabeth Wetmore’s Valentine. Wetmore’s debut novel is set in Odessa, Texas, in 1976, and follows the aftermath of a horrific attack on fourteen-year-Gloria Ramírez in Read more >
