Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Here are the biggest headlines from last week, including the buzziest summer reads, an AI chatbot in Google Play Books, the winners of the 2025 Lambda Literary Awards, and more.
The Buzziest Summer Reading Books of 2026
Over at Lit Hub, Emily Temple has compiled the books mentioned the most often on 25 summer reading lists, including Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, The New York Times, People, Goodreads, and more. I also have to shout out the subtitle of this article, which made me laugh out loud: “Even English Majors Can Add Without AI.”
Reading Makes You More Attractive—and Americans are Doing Less Of It
Okay, I don’t think “booksmaxxing” is a real thing as much as it’s a tempting headline, but there is a case to be made that reading is sexy. Book mentions in Tinder bios are up 29% overall and 41% for women. 75% of people “find partners who read or indicate that they are well-read more attractive”—at least, according to a book summary app’s survey, so take that with a grain of salt. Book clubs and literary vacations are also rising in popularity.
And yet, in a CBS poll, 36% of Americans report reading less than they did ten years ago (40% say they read about the same amount, and 23% are reading more). The most popular activities people are doing instead of reading: watching movies/TV, going on social media, and gaming. They report being too busy, too distracted, and having too short an attention span to read more. These answers aren’t surprising. But they are distinctly unsexy.
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Do You Want an AI Chatbot in Your Book? Google is Betting On “Yes”
Google Play Books has launched Book Insights, “a helpful reading companion, which is built with Gemini.” It is currently available on “select English titles,” which seem to be public domain books, based on the examples given. The features including “Catch Me Up,” which offers a recap of what you’ve read so far, as well as the ability to ask questions while you read, like “Was this character introduced earlier in the book?”
Meet the Winners of the 2025 Lambda Literary Awards
I’m always interested in the Lambda Literary Awards, which recognize LGBTQ+ literature in different categories. I was especially invested this year, though, because I was a judge! I helped choose the winner for the LGBTQ+ Nonfiction category. (After much deliberation, we picked Guest Privileges: Queer Lives and Finding Home in the Middle East by Gaar Adams, which I highly recommend.) I’ve only read five of the winners in the 26 categories, so I need to fix that.
The Heartstopper Forever Trailer
Heartstopper has been a hit on Netflix, and when the new landed that the finale would be a film, rather than another season, the intrigue was sky-high. The trailer for the film Heartstopper Forever hit today and it looks great. It’s been so refreshing to have great queer adaptations, and this looks like it’ll be a solid addition to that canon (not to mention its own previous adaptations!).
Dungeon Crawler Carl is Officially Getting a TV Adaptation
Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series is on a roll, and now its popularity is bringing it to the screen. Peacock has given a straight-to-series order for a live-action adaptation. Or, as Peacock put it in their announcement: “Surprise, bitches! It’s official. The apocalypse will be televised.” Dinniman is a co-executive producer on the series, and it’s being developed by Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door and Universal Global Television. More details to come, including the most important casting decision: which feline will bring Princess Donut to life?
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