Librarians are struggling (This week in books)

This week! Books!

First up, please keep my favorite publishing sage Mike Shatzkin and his wife in your thoughts, as she shared news of his declining health on Facebook. Just a tremendous, extremely fun individual and font of knowledge. This morning, I loved revisiting my interview with him in the early days of the pandemic where, as per usual, he proved to be extremely prescient. Lots of love to Mike.

Hundreds of prominent authors signed an open letter decrying the genocide in Gaza and pledging to boycott Israeli institutions that are “complicit in violating Palestinian rights” and who “have never publicly recognized the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.” Other writers, including Lee Child and Bret Stephens, released a counter-letter against “against discriminatory boycotts.” And Jerusalem-based literary agents Deborah Harris and Jessica Kasmer-Jacobs wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Times, arguing that when the country is isolated the extremists only become more entrenched.

Publisher Ken Whyte argues that Taylor Swift self-publishing what will surely be the biggest book of the year exclusively through Target is “not so good for big-time book publishing.” Ken sums it up well: “Everywhere you look in book publishing, celebrities are side-stepping and out-clouting traditional publishers. More and more of them are deciding they either don’t need the resources publishers provide, or they can arrange far better terms than traditional publishing deals offer.” I agree, and am a little shocked at the collective yawn Swift’s announcement generated in the industry.

Meanwhile, an area where publishers are doing well is with Christian books, and Penguin Random House announced the creation of a new Christian publishing group.

Librarians across the country are struggling as libraries become hubs for social services and the culture wars. It’s just shocking to me how the U.S.’s lack of a safety net falls on people whose job isn’t to solve the world’s problems.

A new genre appears to be going mainstream that people are calling “LitRPG,” which includes gamified elements. I’m curious to check this out.

It’s nearly the end of the year, which means it’s time for publishers to release their disappointing diversity hiring workforce reports and pledge to do better. Every. Year.

If you’re curious how all those ghostwritten books work, Sophie Vershbow at Vulture has a rundown from a couple different vantage points.

And for some good writing advice, Susan DeFreitas has some great questions to ask yourself about your protagonist’s goal, and Kate Zambreno talks about friendship and the life of a writer.

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. In Too Deep by Lee Child and Andrew Child
2. The Striker by Ana Huang
3. The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
4. The Waiting by Michael Connelly
5. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Framed by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey
2. Brothers by Alex Van Halen
3. Patriot by Alexei Navalny
4. War by Bob Woodward
5. The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Young adult hardcover:

1. Lightlark by Alex Aster
2. Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter
3. Murtagh by Christopher Paolini
4. The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow
5. Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
2. The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
3. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
4. The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids
5. Priceless Facts About Money by Mellody Hobson

This week on the blog

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

• Before the storm
• What’s your favorite time of day to write?

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Threads and Bluesky
• Follow my page on Facebook
• Join the Facebook Group
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally, monkeys at a typewriter may well eventually write Shakespeare, as the old saw goes, but it would take longer than the lifetime of the universe. Thanks, science.

Have a great weekend!

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