How to fight book bans (This week in books)

This week! Books!

The resurgence of book bans remains distressingly rampant as parents try to control not just what their own kids read, but other kids as well. As Jamelle Bouie notes, what some are calling “parents rights” is really “when some parents have the right to dominate all the others.” Alyssa Rosenberg has some strategies for fighting book bans in your community.

You will likely recall the spirited debate a few weeks back about updates to Roald Dahl’s books. If you “own” the e-book versions, you may not have noticed that your library automatically updated with the changes. For Reggie Ugwu, it’s a reminder that you don’t really own your e-books, you are merely licensing them.

Authors tend to loath trying to come up with comp titles. John Matthew Fox suggests drawing up on ChatGPT.

In writing advice news, Donald Maass delves into what drives our sense of connection with characters, and Stacy Frazer has advice on recovering from creative burnout.

And I really want to recommend that you subscribe to Cynthia Leitich Smith’s excellent blog, she has wonderful interviews and a terrific regular roundup of author interviews and craft advice.

This week in bestsellers

Here are the top five NY Times bestsellers in a few key categories. (All links are affiliate links):

Adult print and e-book fiction:

1. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
3. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
4. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Outlive by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford
2. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
3. Poverty, By America by Mathew Desmond
4. Spare by Prince Harry
5. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Young adult hardcover:

1. Five Survive by Holly Jackson
2. A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen
3. Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
4. Lightlark by Alex Aster
5. The First to Die in the End by Adam Silvera

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. Refugee by Alan Gratz
3. The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids
4. Two Degrees by Alan Gratz
5. Odder by Katherine Applegate

This week on the blog

In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:

• How to write clear physical description
• Precisely describe events (query critique)

Don’t forget that you can nominate your first page and query for a free critique on the blog:

• Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the Blog
• Nominate Your Query for a Critique on the Blog

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Twitter
• Follow my page on Facebook
• Join the Facebook Group
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally, here come more Star Wars movies.

Have a great weekend!

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Photo: The Huntington Library, San Marino, CA. Follow me on Instagram!