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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. Today, we’ve got stories about who the public library belongs to, tips and insights for overcoming reading slumps, and more.
Who Are Public Libraries For, Anyway?
Earlier this year, I wrote about how public libraries were redefining what YA books were, moving them to adult sections of the collection and further disenfranchising teens from the literature–and public spaces–designated for them. 404 Media adds to this discussion in a piece this week that explores how public libraries are becoming targets not through direct state-level legislation like their school library counterparts but through policies and demands to move books for young readers into the adult sections of the library.
I don’t think public libraries are pushing adults out or being developed as exclusively for children, even if more and more YA books are put into adult collections. I think the opposite is actually what’s happening: they’re becoming places exclusive to adults, as more and more books, programs, and even physical spaces for young people are relocated, removed, and stigmatized as “inappropriate.” It’s “parental rights” champions pushing their perspectives on who is and isn’t allowed to participate in democracy, and that’s exclusively them.
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In talks I’ve done with high schoolers, they’ve named the public library as one of two places they can be in public without 1. having to buy something and 2. without being seen as inconvenient or unwelcome. Those were Illinois teens; I suspect in states like South Carolina–referenced both in my piece and in 404’s–that isn’t a response that those high schoolers would be giving.
Find Yourself in a Reading Slump? Here Are 5 Ways to Get Your Book Joy Back
It’s been a minute since I’ve thought about the website Upworthy, but this is a really great primer on why book slumps happen and where/how you can get back into the habit of reading. All of the reasons listed for why reading may be challenging make sense–stress/anxiety, fatigue, life transitions, reading as a key component of one’s work day, and so forth–but sometimes it can be easy to forget there are plenty of reasons, internal and external, that we slump. I’ve always been on the mindset if I can’t get myself to read, that’s a sign that I don’t need to be reading. The desire and interest in reading always comes back.
My favorite tip on this list: reframing what your TBR means. I recently saw someone liken the TBR to a menu, rather than a homework assignment, and I really like that metaphor. It’s a selection from which to choose, rather than something you’re stuck with (as someone who doesn’t keep a TBR, there’s that option, too!).
Quirky Vocab Book Gets a TikTok Bump—40+ Years After Publication
Thanks to forgetting the title of a book that he read in elementary school, a humor columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune turned (naturally) to his TikTok followers for help. Little could he–nor anyone else–expect that the 41-year-old vocabulary book, The Weighty Word Book, would become a viral sensation. The book then hit the Amazon bestseller chart and the publisher has reported they’ve gone back to print five times. Wow!
Though I love the story of the forgotten book being found and that it saw a surprise rise in interest, my favorite part of this story is that it reunited the columnist with former classmates and the retired teacher who read the book to him all those years ago.
Now We’re Cooking With Heat
Anthony Bourdain wasn’t trying to change restaurant culture when he wrote the viral essay that would become the basis for his bestselling debut memoir Kitchen Confidential, but change it he did. This week, on the occasion of what would have been Bourdain’s 70th birthday, Rebecca and Jeff roll up their sleeves to revisit the book that revolutionized food writing and reshaped how we think about eating and travel.
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