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Voters Reject MAGA Book Bans in Conservative California CountyA resounding win for the freedom to read, an indie bookstore's spin on summer reading, the week's best new books, and more. |
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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.
Book Banners Lose in Orange County
This week, voters in Huntington Beach, California moved to repeal a 2023 policy that allowed a 21-person community review board to remove children’s books it deemed inappropriate from public libraries. Nearly 60% of voters supported the measure , which came on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU against the city. Voters also moved to bar the city from being able to privatize libraries, with nearly 61% support. When the results are finalized at the end of June—the few thousand ballots that remain to be counted are not enough to swing the results—control of library materials will once again be where it belongs: in the hands of local librarians. The win is especially notable given that all seven members of the Huntington Beach City Council are MAGA-identified Republicans who refer to themselves as the "MAGA-nificient 7."
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Books, Pizza, Magic
The mother-daughter owners of a indie bookstore in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood have launched a summer reading program after millennials’ own hearts. Da Book Joint’s ReadUp challenge invites K-12 students to read at least three books per month in order to earn a free personal pan pizza from local spot Reggio’s Pizza. In order to be eligible for the pizza prize, participating students must log their books on the Da Book Joint’s website and attend a monthly meetup at Reggio’s. The program’s emphasis on community connection grows out of Da Book Joint’s owners’ desire to support literacy efforts and build partnerships with other local Black-owned businesses that share their values. May their efforts succeed!
Sunrise on the Reaping Gains More Star Power
Sunrise on the Reaping, which sold more than 1.5 million copies in its first week and has the highest average Goodreads rating of the five books in the Hunger Games series, is shaping up to be the biggest book story of 2025 and will likely be the adaptation story of 2026. Just hours after the book was announced last June, Lionsgate revealed plans for an adaptation that is set to hit theaters November 20, 2026. Casting announcements have been rolling out for months, and now we know that Glenn Close and Billy Porter have signed on to join the star-studded list that includes Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Ralph Fiennes, and Jesse Plemons. I fell off the series after Mockingjay made me so mad that I threw it across the room, but this phenomenon has me considering going back in. It’s a rare series indeed that earns higher ratings from readers as it goes on.
The Week’s Best New Books
Another summer Tuesday, another stacked list of new releases. Among the week’s best new books is one of my most-anticipated reads of the year, Toni at Random, about Toni Morrison’s work as an editor at Random House. I also can’t wait to get my hands on The Möbius Book, Catherine Lacey’s latest experimental offering.
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