The most effective strategy of book banners to this point has been to pass (or cite existing) laws with vague language to remove books from public libraries and classrooms far in excess of what most Americans actually want. To this point, such laws have been on the local level, from school district to state.

That changed last week when House Representative Mary Miller of Illinois introduced House Resolution 7661, the "Stop the Sexualization of Children Act." The bill would seek to prohibit the use of public funds to “to develop, implement, facilitate, host, or promote any program or activity for, or to provide or promote literature or other materials to, children under the age of 18 that includes sexually oriented material, and for other purposes.”

Astute readers will see that "sexually oriented material" could encompass any number of things, from the mere inclusion of gay characters to any mention of sex and gender. Those who would wield this law will not go after every mention of sex or sexuality: just those that they do not like, understand, or can control.You can read the full text of the bill here and crucially find the 17 Republican co-sponsors of the bill . If you (or someone you know who might care about this) live in one of those representative’s districts, your/their calls to their office would be the most effective direct action you can take. Right now. -KJ

Here’s a flood of new releases to kick off a new month. Among the many highlights this week:

• 🌟 A Far-Flung Life by M.L. Stedman: The author of The Light Between Oceans returns with a family saga set in the Australian outback
• 💞 A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert: Contemporary romance from a star of the genre about a prickly, autistic heroine who is the black sheep of her small English town
• 🙌 The Glorians by Terry Tempest Williams: Reflections on how to move through this difficult moment in history with grace from a beloved writer, educator, activist, and poet.
• 💿 Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae: An award-winning musician presents a picture book about the power of music
• 🔪 Want to Know a Secret? by Freida McFadden: The BookTok-famousauthor is back with a thriller about a famous YouTube baker who has some dark secrets

There’s also a new Rebecca Solnit documenting the social, cultural, and political changes of the last 75 years, an epic work of narrative nonfiction about the Syrian revolution, a collection of award-winning sci-fi and fantasy stories from Rebecca Roanhorse, and Christina Applegate’s memoir about her life, work, and living with Multiple Sclerosis.

🔓 Unlock even more exciting new books and track your most anticipated titles with the New Release Index, available to All Access members.

For readers of Carmen Maria Machado and Shirley Jackson, The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts by Kim Fu is "high-brow horror that’s still a page-turner" (from a starred review in Kirkus).

After buying a house as her mother instructed, Eleanor thought she had found the perfect home. Until the rain came. As the water seeps into the house, secrets and stories are flushed out, and the line between what is real and what isn’t gets washed away. Start reading The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts, on sale now from Tin House.

In another life, Andy Weir might still be working as a software engineer. He wrote his first novel in college, a “dystopian future” story that, by his own admission, wasn’t very good. He began his second book after being laid off from AOL in 1999, when a generous severance package and stock options gave him the freedom to write full-time for a bit. Three years later, he’d failed to get that book published, and so Weir returned to the software industry. It seemed the writing life wasn’t meant to be—until it was.

In the early aughts, Weir built himself a website, a blog where he posted original comics, short stories, and serials. In 2011, he began releasing chapters of a story he’d been thinking about for a while, one he’d eventually upload to Amazon where it caught the attention of an agent at Crown. That story was The Martian, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today, we’re weeks away from the release of Project Hail Mary, a buzzy film adaptation of Weir’s most recent published novel. In this week’s episode of Zero to Well-Read , we discuss what makes this space thriller a singularly fun reading experience, Weir’s knack for blending hard science with humor and humanity, and why we need more interstellar bromances. -VD

Terry Tempest Williams is the author of one of Book Riot’s most-anticipated books of the year, The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary, which is out today. Below, she shares the unexpected sources of inspiration behind it.

What if we wrote a sequel to each book we write composed of what we didn’t say in the first book? Would they be comprised of secrets? Offensive passages? The truth beyond the truth? After the facts and beyond the craft of the narrative we have constructed, what did we omit, what did we forget, and what did we come to discover, uncover after our book was published?  

Here is how I would begin the sequel to The Glorians: Visitations From The Holy Ordinary now.

In the fall of 1973, I enrolled in my first poetry class at the University of Utah. Robert Mezey was a visiting poet. He was blunt and self-assured around our workshop table, and at times, a captious man. The literary critic Dana Gioia described Mezey as “brilliant, mercurial and often rebellious.”

What I remember most about my first writing professor was his first pronouncement: “I know you want to be poets, some of you will be, most of you won’t. But here is my one piece of advice: Never write about a dream.” 

Somewhere within the DNA of my eighteen-year old self, I registered this advice as a protest. It took me 50 years to finally write about a dream...

Read the rest of Terry Tempest Williams’s essay on Book Riot.

Edgar Award-winning author Sujata Massey returns to 1920s Bombay with a mystery steeped in the glitter and intrigue of the early days of Bollywood. When a movie censor is murdered and India’s biggest silent film star vanishes amid a brewing contract scandal, Bombay’s only female lawyer, Perveen Mistry, is drawn into her most high-profile case yet.

As Perveen begins to investigate the developing murder case, she finds evidence of blackmail, deception, and romantic affairs. Even her best friend, Alice, seems to be keeping secrets. Will Perveen be able to separate the truth from the lies while protecting herself—and her closest friend? Find out in The Star from Calcutta , on sale now from SoHo Crime.

Get signed books by your favorite authors and have your money go to a good cause with the Lit for Queer Liberation virtual auction! Here’s what you need to know:

Lit for Queer Liberation is a virtual auction where lovers of books, art, and music uplift LGBTQIA2+ folx facing financial hardship. By bidding on signed books, query critiques, artwork, vinyls, and more, your support directly fuels Queer Liberation Network’s work to empower queer and trans people in Texas and beyond.

QLN’s work changes lives. When queer and trans people achieve financial liberation—whether that’s affording rent, getting out of debt, or escaping abusive relationships—our community can thrive.

Some of the items up for auction include a signed copy of They Both Die at the End plus an Ask Me Anything call with Adam Silvera, a manuscript critique by Roxane Gay, and signed books by Khaled Hosseini, Angie Thomas, V.E. Schwab, Jodi Picoult, to name just a few. There are hundreds of signed books available to bid on!

The Lit for Queer Liberation auction is happening now, and ends on March 7th. -DE

Haley Pham is a content creator who has been building a dedicated online community for over a decade. Below, she shares her journey from YouTube to BookTube to writing her first novel, Just Friends—out today!

My love for making YouTube videos and my love for words have stayed separate for 12 years. I posted my first YouTube video when I was eight years old, the summer before third grade. Fourth grade is when I rediscovered my love of reading fiction. In high school, my YouTube  channel took off, but my familial life was rocky, which led me to write poems and essays. Still, the two stayed separate.  

It wasn’t until 2021 when those two interests crossed paths. I went to Key Largo, Florida, picked up a book at the airport, and vlogged my experience reading Beach Read by Emily Henry. In the video, I described the experience of reading two characters falling in love as “falling in love myself.” I devoured it, then proceeded to the nearest CVS—the only place that sold books on the Florida peninsula—and bought a Nora Roberts novel. (The only kind of romance books they sell.)  

I had no idea that I was beginning a new love affair. With books, writing, and love stories.  

When I got home, I tried to continue with my video-making as per usual. But all I could think about was reading. I specifically remember one day when I was supposed to be working: I sat on a beanbag and read The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake for six hours straight. This obviously left me with  zero progress on a new YouTube video. 

The next month, I posted a video titled: “i read 18 books and tell you if you should read them”  to my second channel. That second channel, Haley Pham Vlogs, was like my experimental playground. All this to say, I didn’t post it on my main channel. That’s how little I believed people would care about my book reviews. 

Five years later, the types of videos I post are primarily book-focused, on my "main" channel, and my debut novel Just Friends is coming out. I felt pretty directionless in 2021, and then I picked up a book. I didn’t know it’d lead me here. I just followed my joy.

Level up your reading life with Book Riot All Access! Unlock the industry’s best deep dives, join in with community features, explore new books with the New Release Index, and conquer the Read Harder Challenge alongside fellow bibliophiles. Get more from your reading life with All Access. Join today!

📚 Make your mark with a customizable ex libris stamp for your book collection.

🔍 Investigate the best new mystery and thriller books out in March.

💪 American Library Association employees are forming a union.

🔪 Stephen Graham Jones recommends 13 slasher novels.

👛 Coach’s book charms are already sold out.

🐵 Chimpanzees apparently enjoy Dr. Seuss books.

📕 How Hannibal Lecter became a household name.

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