More Library and University Bomb Threats

Becky Albertalli’s The Upside of Unrequited is getting an adaptation.

Renee Zellweger is starring in the series adaptation of James Patterson & Mike Lupica’s novel, 12 Months to Live.

Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Blood series is getting an adaptation.

Here’s a first look at the Rosemary’s Baby prequel, Apartment 7A, which is the first I’m hearing about this!

The adaptation of Uglies finally has a release date after 18 (!!!) years.

Trailer for The Perfect Couple.

10 shows like Bridgerton to watch next.

Censorship News

Books about disability are popular banning targets. ​

Former ALA president Emily Drabinski writes about how defending libraries fights capitalism.

The real targets of Project 2025’s war on porn.

Why would a private university be leased public library space? Retaliation.

(Paywalled): 5 books have been banned in Katy ISD (TX) since April.

In their effort to redesign public education, the Florida Department of Education included Pride and Prejudice on a list of “American Pride” reading recommendations. Who wants to tell them?

Florida has eliminated references to climate change in some of the middle school science textbooks used by the state.

“In a key battleground in the larger debate about removing and restricting school books, plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Escambia County School Board [FL] asked a federal judge this week to order officials to return to the shelves seven titles that have been off-limits for over a year.” Nearly 180 additional books are under restricted access.

(Paywalled): Carroll County (MD) parents are trying to get a pair of banned books returned to school library shelves; meanwhile, the school board has voted not to allow the books to be used in the school’s family life curriculum because they depict gay families.

Rockingham County School Board (VA) voted to retain several challenged books, but they did vote to remove A Court of Mist and Fury.

(Paywalled): The King William Board of Supervisors (VA) has voted to withdraw from the Pamunkey Regional Library system due to the belief that the library system allows “inappropriate books” to be shared amongst its member libraries.

South Carolina county libraries are now required to certify to the state library “that their children’s section does not contain any books or materials that appeal to the prurient interest — defined in state code as ‘a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or excretion and is reflective of an arousal of lewd and lascivious desires and thoughts’…’We’re not saying that a library can’t buy a book that we don’t like or we think that is somehow not appropriate for kids. We’re just saying that a parent needs to be involved,’ Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R–Spartanburg, said.”

“Cobb County School District [GA] documents showed that at least 30 recently-acquired books with LGBTQ themes and characters were removed from high school libraries in August 2023, and revealed that classics, including works by William Shakespeare, were flagged for review.” These removals were in response to Georgia’s “divisive concepts law,” which was passed in 2022 and restricts classroom discussions on race and politically divisive topics.

“As the Alabama Public Library Service works to create its own library bill of rights, the Alabama Library Association beat them to the punch.”

More residents are pushing for the Madison City Council (AL) to pull funding from the public library; one resident complained that the library’s challenge process “is onerous and doesn’t allow a single patron to quickly submit multiple forms. She also said the process lacks oversight because the committee reviewing the concern is made up of librarians who put the book on the shelf to begin with.” She’s really complaining that she has to put some work into her bigotry.

Tennessee adds new requirements to its Age-Appropriate Materials Act for public schools.

Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, received a pair of emailed bomb threats “in the name of Donald Trump” on Monday.

A 63-year-old Dayton (OH) man has been charged with nearly two dozen crimes, including leaving racist graffiti at a local school and making a bomb threat to the public library.

The Metropolis City Council (IL) appointed two new members to the library board, but thankfully they seem to be candidates who care about reading, books, and supporting the library.

Menomonee Falls School District (WI) voted to remove Love Makes a Family from the curriculum after one parent complained that it showed a transgender couple lying in a bed together. (The article includes a photo of the controversial image, and y’all…I can’t believe a parent raised such a fuss over this image.) The book has been used as a supplemental resource in the district for several years without complaint.

Schools in northwest Wisconsin have managed to avoid the surge of book challenges so far.

“Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has filed a brief in federal court on behalf of 14 states defending an Arkansas law that prevents ‘indoctrination in K-12 schools.’”

Oklahoma State Senator Mary Boren is considering legal action against the state school board and State Superintendent Ryan Walters for violating the state’s Open Meetings Act.

In other Ryan Walters news, Walters has announced that national conservative media personalities and right-wing policy advocates will develop Oklahoma’s academic standards for social studies. This will involve an emphasis on “American exceptionalism” and eliminating EDI “though he gave no explanation of what specifically would be removed.” One of the newly appointed people is the president of The Heritage Foundation, which created an innocuous little document called Project 2025.

Idaho libraries are changing their policies to comply with the state’s book ban.

“A citizen’s committee charged with reviewing challenged books for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District [AK] has completed its work. The committee reviewed 35 books over the last year and voted to permanently remove 19 from school libraries. A lawsuit over the removed books is ongoing and is set to go to trial next year.”

Books & Authors in the News

Trump has named JD Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy, as his running mate. Not surprisingly, the adaptation of Hillbilly Elegy is getting a lot of attention on Amazon and Netflix.

Renowned sex therapist and author Dr. Ruth Westheimer has died at 96.

Revisiting the impact of Jaws on its 50th anniversary.

Numbers & Trends

Sarah J. Maas sold more books this year than the top ten new books combined.

Romance novels are shaping teens’ views on love and relationships, thanks to social media.

The most-read books on Goodreads last week.

The best-selling books of the week.

How much time do Americans spend reading per day?

Award News

James McBride will receive the 2024 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.

The 2023 Shirley Jackson Awards were announced.

Shōgun leads all 2024 Emmy-nominated shows with 25 nominations.

Authors are pulling their books from consideration for the Giller Prize in protest of Scotiabank’s investment in an Israeli defense contractor, but the Giller director has said she will maintain the partnership with Scotiabank.

Pop Cultured

Fitness guru Richard Simmons has died at 76.

Actress Shelley Duvall has died at 75. The Stanley Hotel (aka the inspiration for The Shining) set up a memorial to her in the lobby.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

Behind the scenes of Barack Obama’s reading lists.

On the Riot

On feeling like an unserious reader.

And Here’s a Cat Picture!

Jonesy has Dini in quite the headlock, but Dini seemed to enjoy the head kisses. It’s great having two cats who kinda sorta like each other!

All right, friends. Back next week!

—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.