The Book News We Covered This Week

Five years of banned books data, the bestselling books of the week, Huntington Beach's $1 million censorship loss, and more

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The Book News We Covered This Week

Five years of banned books data, the bestselling books of the week, Huntington Beach's $1 million censorship loss, and more

Vanessa Diaz

May 17, 2026

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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. Here are the stories we covered ourselves on Book Riot this week.

Five Years of Banned Books Data and What Do We Know?

The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists

Most of this week’s bestsellers are familiar titles, and there are five that all the lists can agree on, including the tradwife thriller Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. Two titles appearing here for the first time: King of Gluttony by Ana Huang, which is the sixth book in the Kings of Sin romance series, and Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About: A Memoir by Isabel Klee. I really enjoy Isabel Klee’s videos about fostering dogs, so I’m glad to see her memoir is doing well!

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Huntington Beach’s $1 Million Censorship Loss and More Library Updates

The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week

The most read books on Goodreads this week are familiar titles, but with a new entry leading the pack: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke shot up to the top spot last week, and it’s holding onto that position. There’s a big gap between this tradwife thriller and the book in the #2 spot, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Unsurprisingly, there’s already a movie adaptation in the works for Yesteryear, starring Anne Hathaway.

The Divergent Series Returns, The Black YA Renaissance, and More YA Book News

Go from Zero to Well-Read with New Guided Read-Alongs

Today, we’re thrilled to announce Zero to Well-Read Guided Read-Alongs, which will be available exclusively to Patreon members at the Office Hours level ($10/month) and above. These read-alongs are designed to help you tackle books you’ve always meant to read and enjoy them more deeply without turning reading into homework.

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And for All Access members, here are all the interesting links we bookmarked that didn’t make the cut for full Today in Books coverage.

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