An Unbound mess (This week in books)

This week! Books!

I’m experimenting with a new hybrid format with the links with titles, publications, and commentary when applicable. Let me know what you think!

After Unbound’s Collapse, Boundless Faces Uphill Battle to Rebuild Trust – Ed Nawotka, Publishers Weekly / Unbound/Boundless Co-Founder Apologizes After Resignation – Katy Hershberger, Publishers Lunch – After Unbound collapsed, reformed as Boundless, and failed to make their authors whole, they’ve become a case study and cautionary tale about how publishing bankruptcies can leave authors in the lurch.

Audiobook Sales Rose 13% in 2024, to $2.2 Billion – Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly – The explosive growth of audiobooks shows no signs of stopping.

What Happens When People Don’t Understand How AI Works – Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic – I find it mystifying how many people are treating ChatGPT as an oracle these days.

Book Threads is Toxic. It Shouldn’t Be. – Kathleen Schmidt, Publishing Confidential – I largely logged off of Threads months ago for this very reason.

What Hot Dragon-Riders and Fornicating Faeries Say About What Women Want Now – Anna Louie Sussman, WSJ – Romantasy teaching women what they want from romance in real life? Sure, why not.

Novels Inspired by Opinion Polls? They’re Here, and They’re Weird – Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times – Tom Comitta’s People’s Choice Literature is a pretty wild experiment in giving readers what they want and don’t want… literally.

Summer Reading Challenges Aren’t Just for Kids – Anna Diamond – The New York Times – I’m a little dubious that reading programs/challenges for adults are an actual trend (haven’t they been around forever?), but it’s nice to see what bookstores and librarians are up to.

Luck and timing – Erin Bowman – From the Desk of Erin Bowman – A really great reminder on the vagaries of this business we’ve chosen.

Productive Terror: Ten Very Different Writers on How They Got Their Books Done – Alia Hanna Habib, Delivery & Acceptance – One of the great things about being an agent is seeing how

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. Never Flinch by Stephen King
2. Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts
3. Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
4. Releasing 10 by Chloe Walsh
5. Nightshade by Michael Connelly

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson
2. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
3. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
4. Mark Twain by Ron Chernow
5. Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

Young adult hardcover:

1. Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi
2. Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft
3. Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter
4. When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur
5. Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
3. Refugee by Alan Gratz
4. Growing Home by Beth Ferry. Illustrated by Terry Fan and Eric Fan
5. The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America’s Test Kitchen Kids

This week on the blog

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

• Your protagonist’s plans are useful, especially when they don’t pan out

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Bluesky
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally:

‘The Mozart of the attention economy’: why MrBeast is the world’s biggest YouTube star – Mark O’Connell, The Guardian – A genuinely interesting examination of the rise of Mr. Beast and what he says about, well, us.

Have a great weekend!

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Photo: Shanghai, China. Photo by me.