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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.
Fact-Checking Chicken Soup for the Soul
Readers who grew up in the ’90s and early 2000s will likely remember the ubiquity of Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Each installment of the series, originally created and curated by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, was packed short, inspirational, almost universally dubious anecdotes. And there was an installment for (almost) everyone; a Quartz piece from 2019 documented at least 276 editions, with offerings for women, teens, pre-teens, mothers, nurses, golfers, parents of kids on the spectrum, wine lovers, chocolate lovers, NASCAR fans, Canadians, cancer survivors, dieters, military spouses, people going through menopause, brides, writers, teachers, and on and on. Turns out, this self-help series helped no one more than its authors, who, after somewhere between dozens and hundreds of rejections (depending on when you asked), got the first book off the ground by requiring attendees at their motivational seminars to buy copies. This and more deep-sigh details in the new episode of the American Hysteria podcast, which offers context and history I didn’t know I needed for this one-time staple of American coffee tables.
The Rebecca Yarros Cheat Sheet
Onyx Storm, the third book in Rebecca Yarros’s runaway hit Emyprean series, launches next Tuesday and is positioned to be the biggest book release of the year. If you’re watching the phenomenon from the sidelines or devouring the books and curious to know more about their author, here’s your Rebecca Yarros cheat sheet, courtesy of Vulture‘s Jennifer Zhan. While I’m personally not a fan (you can hear all about why on this bonus episode of the Book Riot Podcast), I appreciated learning more about her background, particularly how her experiences with disability and life as a military spouse have informed her writing.
US Postal Service to Issue Goodnight Moon Stamps
The United States Postal Service announced this week that it will issue Goodnight Moon stamps later this year. The beloved bedtime story, originally published in 1947, will join a pantheon of book-related stamps that includes everyone and everything from Walt Whitman to The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In its announcement, the USPS noted that “By celebrating everyday rituals rather than fantasy, this iconic picture book revolutionized children’s publishing.” If fantasy is more your thing, you’re also in luck: SpongeBob SquarePants is getting a stamp this year, too. Learn more about how the USPS picks its literary stamps here.
8 Monster-Free Horror Novels
Ain’t no shame in being a weenie. Get the thrills and chills without the creepy-crawlies with these monster-free horror novels.
Correction: yesterday’s installment of Today in Books said that Publishers Weekly confirmed reports originally featured in the New York Times that HarperCollins, Marvel, and W.W. Norton do not have future books planned with Neil Gaiman. The original Times piece only included confirmation from HarperCollins and Marvel. Publishers Weekly first confirmed that Norton will publish no further works by the author in a piece published January 15.
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