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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.
The Life-Changing Celebrity Book Club
On the cusp of Oprah selecting her 111th book club pick, The Cut has a piece out that essentially ranks the effectiveness of a few (of the seemingly endless) celebrity book clubs. I wrote about The Cut‘s earlier piece focusing on how Marissa Stapley’s life and career were changed when Reese’s Book Club selected her book, Lucky, and Reese’s is one of the book clubs at the top of the list where there’s the greatest potential for impact. Lucky, for instance, is getting an adaptation starring Anya Taylor-Joy (Reese Witherspoon has a media company, Hello Sunshine), and honestly it sounds like a blast to be among Reese’s author cohort with gatherings and long-term support. The iconic and long-running Oprah’s Book Club is up there as well, of course, as is Read With Jenna and Good Morning America. According to the authors and industry insiders The Cut spoke to for this piece, these four get books on bestseller lists and lead to development deals.
Pay Attention to This Small Press Doing Big Things
For the past few years, I’ve been trying to read more works in translation and have found the experience of reading books not written for English-speaking audiences eye-opening. This is one of many reasons I’m rooting for the continued success of Tilted Axis, a small publisher bringing its titles to the U.S. this year. Tilted Axis publishes the kinds of works in translation that tend to be ignored by bigger publishing houses or houses unwilling to take risks on works that don’t fit a certain mold. Tilted Axis, on the other hand, publishes more and different Asian works, including queer and feminist reads, and looks beyond white academia when it comes to the translators themselves. They’re working to not only get works previously inaccessible into the hands of English-speaking readers, but also to broaden the horizons of publishing. The publisher’s willingness to take risks has paid off in award-winning and critically acclaimed books. They’re a publisher to take note of and I personally look forward to checking out their catalog. If you need a reason to read more works in translation, here’s this, from Tilted Axis’ publisher Kristen Vida Alfaro:
At a moment when nationalism and isolationism are rising in both Europe and the United States, the window that literature can provide into other cultures feels essential, Alfaro said.
“What we publish, and who we are and the community that we’ve created, it’s exactly what this climate is trying to eradicate,” she said.
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Don’t Mess With Dolly
Funding for the Imagination Library, Dolly Parton’s program to encourage early literacy by sending children under five years old a free book each month, is not in Indiana’s proposed budget. The State of Indiana had previously supported the program, which Parton started in 1995 inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, through a funding match. Over the past two years, the Imagination Library has reached more than 125,000 children in Indiana alone. Urging Indiana Governor Mike Braun to reconsider, Parton said this:
”The beauty of the Imagination Library is that it unites us all—regardless of politics—because every child deserves the chance to dream big and succeed.”
With U.S. literacy on the decline, we could use all the help we can get.
Anti-Book Ban Legislation Proposals 2025
Keep up to date with states that have anti-book ban bills proposed in the legislature this year, and help protect access to LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and other books by lending your voice and showing up to support these bills.
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