We’re less than 100 days out from a very consequential election, so before we get to the fun stuff, I want to call your attention to Project 2025 and the impact it would have on education, books, and reading. This is extreme, scary stuff, and it’s going to take all of us turning out to prevent an administration that wants to take us back.
In mid-June, we wrote about how the Tattered Cover bookstore had filed for bankruptcy, and how it had accepted Barnes & Noble’s offer of $1.83 million. On July 30, the federal bankruptcy court the sale was waiting on approved Barnes & Noble’s acquisition of the indie bookstore, which includes four stores in Denver. Tattered Cover will be allowed to keep its name, branding, and its nearly 70 employees in the transition.
We’ve made it to August, y’all! Summer is almost over, which is hard to believe — even harder, I’m sure, for the students and teachers who are gearing up to go back to school here in the US. However, there is still some time to enjoy the last few weeks of summer. So I hope that you and yours make the best of them.
I have quite a few goodies for you today, including an adorable bookmark, a real-life book boyfriend, and some coffee-adjacent love. With that said, let’s get to it!
Recently The New York Times put out a list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, and it’s generated a lot of discussion — including why this list is coming out in 2024. Regardless, it’s a combination of more than 500 authors’ and literary experts’ opinions on the best books of the century so far, which is an interesting idea. They then followed it up with the Readers Pick list, which is the top 100 books according to everyday NYT readers.
There are 14 LGBTQIA+ books in total that I spotted, so I’ve highlighted all three on both lists as well as a couple from each individual list. If you’re curious, I posted on the Book Riot Instagram what my ballot would have been, along with other Book Riot staff (including two who actually cast their ballots!)
In celebration of true stories, I’ve collected ten of some of the most exciting nonfiction titles hitting shelves in August. You might be new to nonfiction or a true stories pro, but whatever the case, there’s sure to be something on this list that catches your eye.
Publishing works on such a long timeline that it can be hard to spot trends. The books coming out this week were likely acquired by publishers years ago — and may have been written years before that. If we rely on new releases to chart publishing trends, we’re always going to be lagging behind. So, how do we track the trends within publishing today — the ones that are driving acquisitions and that will inspire the books of 2025, 2026, and beyond? Book deal announcements, of course.