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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.
How Booksellers Are Taking On Book Banners
Publishers Weekly recently highlighted efforts by some indie booksellers to combat local book bans and get banned books into people’s hands. Big ups to Charley Rejsek of Austin’s BookPeople and Valerie Koehler of Houston’s Blue Willow Bookshop for challenging HB 900 as unconstitutional and winning “a landmark preliminary injunction” in federal court, which was later affirmed by an appeals court. Also, a familiar name in here–Lauren Groff, author of Florida and owner of The Lynx in Gainesville set up shop to promote books that have been challenged or banned in Florida. A round of applause for all mentioned–check out the bookstores featured and consider paying them a visit when you’re in town.
Jeff Bezos’ Fiancé Sued Over Alleged Kid Lit Plagiarism
The plagiarism news won’t quit, but we’re leaving academia and entering the realm of children’s literature for this story about a lawsuit against Jeff Bezos’ fiancé, Lauren Sánchez. Author and yoga instructor Alanna Zabel filed a complaint against Sánchez alleging that her former yoga student stole her idea for her kids’ book, publishing it as The Fly Who Flew to Space. Between the allegations of jealousy-induced retaliation and celebrity knock-offs, and talk of Sánchez’s Kardashian-attended promotional dinner parties, this sounds like the stuff of reality TV.
Learn a Little More About Hillary Clinton
If you’ve been thinking about Hillary Clinton a lot lately and want to learn more about the major political figure and former presidential candidate, you’re in luck–she has a new memoir out. The New York Times offered a few takeaways from Something Lost, Something Gained, which is described as “an affectionate ode to the women in her life.” Find out what nickname she bestowed upon her spare tire (you read right), her thoughts on aging, and her distress about Israel-Gaza protests (I honestly can’t tell where she stands based on the snippet included).
Why Teens Across the Country Are Acquiring Brooklyn Public Library’s Free Digital Cards
Take a deep dive into Brooklyn Public Library’s work addressing America’s book censorship crisis, including through its Books Unbanned program, and into the data BPL collected from teens about why they wanted to get a digital library card as part of that program. The data is fascinating and full of insights.