This week! Books!
TikTok has been a somewhat unlikely boon to the publishing industry via its books-obsessed crowd, nicknamed BookTok, which has propelled authors like Colleen Hoover and Emily Henry to mega-bestsellerdom. So it likely sent a chill through the business that a federal court unanimously upheld a law that requires its parent company, ByteDance, to spin off TikTok to a non-Chinese company or be shut down. But is BookTok past its peak anyway?
Even in my beloved California, book bans and threats against librarians are having a chilling effect on the books schools and librarians are buying and shelving, and some schools have stopped buying books entirely. Utter insanity.
A certain healthcare CEO murderer turned Internet folk hero had a Goodreads page with a very “Gen Z podcast guy” vibe, if that’s the sort of thing you find interesting.
Interesting week for the New York Times to also feature an op-ed by David J. Morris on how we might miss literary men when they’re gone. Five years ago this essay might have set the internet ablaze, but I barely saw anyone talking about it.
One of my favorite annual features is here! Behold: Lithub’s very exhaustive list of the best book covers of 2024.
RIP to author and founder of AuthorBuzz M.J. Rose, who was a supportive presence in the publishing industry for many years.
Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware has a helpful primer on royalty rate contract language. Know what you sign!!
Ned Blackhawk won the National Book Award for The Rediscovery of America, which I am very much looking forward to reading, and he rounded up some of the best recent books on Native American history.
Giles Harvey at the New York Times Magazine has a deep dive on what legendary short story author Alice Munro knew about her husband’s pedophilia, which I have not yet summoned the stomach to read.
In writing advice news, Lincoln Michel has a terrific post on novel brain vs. TV brain and how to make sure you’re not infecting your writing, and Kate McKean tackles a real phenomenon in traditional publishing: when a publisher wants you to publish a different name because of your shaky sales track.
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:
- Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson
- Wicked by Gregory Maguire
- James by Percival Everett
- The Women by Kristin Hannah
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Adult print and e-book nonfiction:
- Cher: The Memoir, Part One by Cher
- Melania by Melania Trump
- Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
- Framed by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey
- The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan
Young adult hardcover:
- Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
- To Shatter the Night by Katherine Quinn
- Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli
- If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin
- Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter
Middle grade hardcover:
- Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
- The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids
- The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids
- The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
- The Bletchey Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
This week on the blog
In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:
And keep up with the discussion in all the places!
- Follow me on Bluesky and Threads
- Follow my page on Facebook
- Join the Facebook Group
- Check out the Bransforums
And finally, there are so many problems with our healthcare system it’s hard to feel surprised by a horror story, but you should really make some time to read J. David McSwane’s ProPublica investigation of an out of control Montana oncologist.
Have a great weekend!
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