The News Book Riot Covered This Week

Here Come The Public School Closures

Targeting books in public schools and libraries is purposeful. Create a frenzy over lies and disinformation about the content in libraries and classrooms, then profit by claiming students are being indoctrinated, then utilize those lies to push for voucher programs because your student shouldn’t have to be around that kind of stuff. See also: demand a book be banned, claim that books like those are proof the schools are incapable of doing their job, take time and money away from schools to put the book through the review process, complain about the time and money wasted on such a review process, and repeat the cycle until the money, time, and people are all gone.

The 2024 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards

Presented annually since 1967, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards are among the most prestigious given to books for young readers. They are given every year in June in three categories: picture book, fiction, and nonfiction. These awards are limited to books published in the United States, though the creators of those books can be from any country. Winners are selected by three judges selected by Horn Book’s editor in chief.

The 2024 awards were announced June 20. Here are the finalists and honors in each category.

The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week

This week, the most read books on Goodreads list has been shaken up a little bit. After weeks of the same books being only slightly reordered week to week, this time a new release has jumped two books by the same author into the top five.

Libro.fm’s Bestselling Audiobooks of All Time

Libro.fm, the independently owned audiobook service that lets you choose which indie bookstores receive a portion of your audiobook sales, has released a list of top 10 bestselling audiobooks of all time to commemorate their 10th anniversary. The list is based on sales reported to Libro.fm from over 3,000 indie bookstores and includes thought-provoking nonfiction, celebrity memoirs, fantasy, and more.

Midwest Tape/hoopla “Clarifies” Their New Ratings System

The filters will not be patron facing but for use with librarians in states where ratings are necessary for purchase. Again, as of writing, only one state requires this and those materials are already rated via the publishers. These filters will also not override the ratings already provided by publishers. That further begs the question of why if there is already a noted system in place.

With Print Sales Up, These Were The Bestselling Books in May 2024

Book sales in May 2024 were up over the same time in May 2023, thanks in part to a large increase in the adult fiction print market. Unit sales increased by 3 million, thanks to demand for books by authors like Stephen King and Kristin Hannah. Despite a bump in sales for Julia Quinn books, thanks to Netflix’s release of the next season of Bridgerton, her books did not make the top ten in sales for May.

Barnes & Noble Just Bought a Beloved Indie Bookstore. Now What?

A Tattered Cover owned by Barnes & Noble but otherwise just being Tattered Cover will be the biggest challenge yet to the indie v. everyone else dichotomy that has been in place for the last 30 years. I don’t think anybody can guess how it will play out–or what to hope for.

JAMES by Percival Everett Will Be Adapted for Film

Percival Everett’s novel James, which reimagines The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved man who runs away with Huck to seek freedom and reunite with his family, is set to be adapted for the big screen by Steven Spielberg’s production company, Amblin Entertainment. Everett will write the screenplay, and Taika Waititi is in early talks to direct.

Two Vague and Dangerous Book Ban Bills in South Carolina Target Public and School Libraries

South Carolina has positioned itself among several other states nationwide putting restrictions on access to funding for libraries that do not comply with censorship demands. There are currently two pieces of legislation directly targeting the work of public libraries and school libraries in different ways–and through completely different means.

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

For once, this bestseller list is fairly different from last week’s. Some of the reigning champs, like Funny Story by Emily Henry, have fallen to only being on three of the five biggest lists. Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez went from being on all five lists last week to not making this round up at all. We also have a few new releases, including Eruption, which is based on notes by Michael Crichton and written by James Patterson — put those two powerhouse author names together and you have an easy win. The movie rights are already in a bidding war.