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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.
Barnes & Noble Picks Its Book of the Year
This year’s Barnes & Noble’s book of the year had been popping up a little even before it was one of the retailer’s finalists. And Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser feels a little like a throwback. It’s a novel about a a girl who is losing her vision and her grandfather’s quest to show her works of art, one a week for a year, across Paris’ museums. The cover is a close-up of a painting that appeared on another crossover breakout, and the theme of sucking the marrow out of life on the precipice of loss is not without precedent among books that have become sensations. And its publisher, Europe Editions, had a global bestseller that had a similar bittersweet, affirming message. Intrusive thought: did attention for this book have anything to do with people getting excited about the Louvre because of this?
You Can Stay in the Goodnight, Moon Room.
Is this the stuff of dreams or nightmares? Probably depends on how many times you have read Goodnight, Moon in the middle of the night to try to get a squirming toddler to go to sleep. The room is available for booking through February, 2026, but I have to admit I had a hard time finding a night that was available. In addition to the vibrant green walls and uncannily accurate furnishing, you will get a book-faithful bowl of mush. And if you read Goodnight, Moon in the Goodnight, Moon room, you might just rip a hole in the space-time continuum.
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Time’s 100 Best Books of the Year
Time puts together a nice browsing experience for its Best Books of the Year List. Good breadth that seems to pretty much cover the waterfront of books that have been in the conversation this year. If I were Czar of Books though I would institute the following: if you have a list of more than 50 books, you have to name a top 10. Curate your curation, folks.
The Year is Not Over Yet, Though.
Believe it or not, there are still books that have not been released this year, and while they were considered for the big year end lists, they haven’t made it in front of all of us yet. There might be something here that jumps your reading queue still.
