Barnes & Noble’s Buzziest Books to Look for This Fall

LeVar Burton, Mychal Threets and Obama enter the library

The dedication of the Obama Presidential Center was the talk of the town, and it’s not just on Chicago’s South Side. from largely Everyone from current presidents to Oprah to Quinta Branson to Stephen Colbert attended. But the moment that’s about to capture readers’ hearts can be found in this video summarizing a children’s story time at a large center’s public library branch. reading rainbow The account of my host and beloved librarian, Mychal Threets. two reading rainbow Icon included in one storytime? What a moment. The Obama Presidential Center Branch features President Obama’s favorite books, a reading room, and a maker space.

Essential American Literature, by P.W.

Publishers Weekly created a list of 15 important works of American literature by surveying its staff and identifying the top works. These are books published in the United States after 1776 (the year in which the Declaration of Independence was promulgated and the reason for the U.S.’s quincentenary celebration this year). You’ll find an interesting mix of books on the list, including personal favorites and widely loved classics. their eyes were on god Written by Zora Neale Hurston. A book that my sister and fellow nature enthusiast read in high school and still talks about. silent spring Written by Rachel Carson. This book won Colson Whitehead a Pulitzer Prize and made me a lifelong fan. subway; and a best-selling work of queer trans fiction that became an instant classic. Detransition, baby Written by Torrey Peters. I’m very interested in this list.

First of all, who are public libraries for?

Earlier this year, I wrote about how public libraries are redefining YA books and moving them to adult sections of their collections, further disenfranchising teens from the literary and public spaces designated for them. 404 Media added to this discussion this week with an article that explores how public libraries are increasingly being targeted, not through direct state-level laws like school libraries, but through policies and requirements to move books intended for young readers to adult sections of libraries.

Granta won’t publish Lit award winners due to AI speculation

Granta has announced that the literary magazine will end its external publishing partnerships amid the AI ​​controversy surrounding the 2026 Commonwealth Prize winner. Granta published the work of this year’s Commonwealth Short Story Award regional winners, and condemnation of the use of AI abounded on platforms such as X and Bluesky, including the growing debate surrounding Jameel Nazir’s The Serpent in the Grove. Meanwhile, most of the shortlisted writers quickly rejected these claims, with Nazir later emailing ObserverErica Wagner talks about his “unusual” writing process. Oops. AI remains troublesome.