Coffee and Writing Prompts
Tammy Evans’ Sunday Coffee post was a nice way to start my Monday morning. It’s a cozy post talking about recent updates in her life, and writing prompts. Best read with a cup of coffee or tea.
Spike in Book Bans
The ALA reported a huge increase in book bans in 2023, according to Publisher’s Weekly. I’m completely against book banning. Even though I’m sad about the increase in book bans, I’m not surprised. ALA will unveil its new list of top 10 challenged books during Library Week, starting April 7.
On that same note, Trussville Library recently had to defend their position on pulling challenged books from their shelves. After carefully reviewing 41 challenged books, they ultimately decided to only pull 11 books, and that was because of low circulation, not content. One quote from Marine Corps Matt Georgia stood out to me:
“I did four deployments overseas into combat zones where I was sent to defend freedom…I did not think I would have to come back to America and continue to defend that freedom so that our children could read what they want to read. We as parents can decide what is appropriate or inappropriate for our children without input from the community.”
Matt Georgia, Trussville Tribune
Your Absence in Darkness
The Washington Post’s review about Your Absence in Darkness by Jón Kalman Stefánsson piqued my interest in this Icelandic novel. The descriptions of the book, mixed with beautiful and powerful quotes, make for a great reading experience. Reading this review in a quiet moment at work was a nice reprieve from my usual Monday.
How to Tackle Longer Books in a Social Media World
As someone who has spends too much time scrolling on social media and not enough time accomplishing my goals, including reading goals, this was a good post for me. Peter Biles talks about how we can learn to break down longer books chapter by chapter to make it less overwhelming, and more likely we’ll read it.
What Makes a Great American Novel
New Orleans Book Festival unveiled an ambitious project: defining the Great American Novel. 136 books are included on the list and panelists talk about it here.
She Learned to Read at 60, Now Author of Six Books
All the time, I see people who worry they’re too old to pick up a new hobby, side hustle, or career. Sometimes, I fall victim to that kind of mentality too. But life doesn’t end at 25. And Jiang Shumei makes that very clear. She learned to read at 60 and is now an author six times over. She proves that it’s never too late to learn new things or do what you love.