On the End of the Canon Wars This think piece by John Michael Colón examines the question of whether and, if so, how a “liberal education” (which really means study across the humanities) benefits students. Categories: Literary Criticism, Literary History, Literature & Culture, Reading A dinosaur is a story “in science as in fiction, the […]
The Dreariness of Book Club Discussions Novelist and critic Naomi Kanakia, who belongs to two book clubs, uses the context of her book group discussions to examine why we read fiction. The point of novels, she writes, “is that something happened. Something was at stake in this story. Characters made decisions. Those decisions had consequences.
PEN America Rejects Calls to Cancel Coney Barrett Book Last week’s Literary Links included an article about Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s book advance as well as an article about PEN America’s report on diversity in the publishing industry. This week we have a link to Publishers Weekly’s news that PEN America has condemned the
Book Banners Are Weaponizing Legitimate Resources: Book Censorship News, October 28, 2022 Danika Ellis writes, “One of the strategies book banners are using that makes me nervous is that they are weaponizing resources that were never meant to defend book banning.” She’s particularly concerned about “resources that were specifically made to help teachers and parents
Today’s suggested topic for Top Ten Tuesday is a Halloween freebie. I love Halloween just as much as the next reader, but I published my Suggestions for Spooky Halloween Reading early in the month, and that’s all I’ve got on that topic. So today, instead of Halloween, I’m presenting another topic I’ve been interested in lately,
#TopTenTuesday 10 Lists of Books About the COVID-19 Pandemic Read More »
8 Cozy Books That Will Make You Think Sharon Van Meter writes: “I have discovered a whole subgenre of books that propose hard-hitting philosophical questions while enveloping readers in a homey, inviting atmosphere. It’s the best of both worlds, a cozy read that will make you think!” Read her list to discover what books she
Opinion Have we forgotten what a public library is for? The executive directors of the Michigan Library Association and Michigan ACLU reflected on the recent vote to defund a public library outside of Grand Rapids over its display of LGBTQ books. Categories: Censorship, Libraries The Ultimate Guide to Wondrous Independent Bookstores Shortly after opting out
The Queen of arts: Elizabeth II in fiction “It wasn’t until 1988 that the Queen began to make appearances in fiction, but since then she’s had many, largely sympathetic portrayals” Categories: Fiction, Literary History How Will Overturning of Roe v. Wade Influence Book Trends? “Without Roe v. Wade, we probably never would have gotten the
How Librarians Can Counter Lies from Book Banners This problem isn’t going to go away any time soon, so we need to stay informed. Categories: Censorship, Libraries 5 Messy Characters You Can’t Help But Love My favorite phrase for describing humans is “deliciously messy.” So I immediately zoomed in on this list by Zeniya Cooley:
American Library Association’s New Book Censorship Data Released in Advance of Banned Books Week As you have probably already guessed, the statistics are pretty grim. Category: Censorship Series on Historical Fiction from The Atlantic On the occasion of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, The Atlantic carries a series of feature articles about historical fiction.
