Welcome to 2025, my fellow book dragons! I'm hoping that this year won't be as fraught with pain and suffering, and will instead be a record year for reading good books! I love that people are banding together all over the US to fight censorship and book bans, and that there are also many people determined to keep America inclusive and diverse and kind to those disadvantaged folks who are poor, or elderly or chronically ill, or all three. Keep fighting the good fight, my friends!
I love that Jones had a big win at the end of the year! Good for her!
A
Legal Victory for That Librarian
Louisiana
library and activist Amanda Jones, author of That
Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America,
closed out 2024 with a big win. In 2022, Jones
filed a defamation suit against
two men who accused
her of grooming children and promoting pornographic material after
she pushed back against efforts to ban books containing LGBTQ-related
themes from her town’s public library. A
district court judge dismissed the case before
arguments began in September 2022. Now, following a failed appeal
attempts, the
Louisiana Supreme Court has revived the case,
noting that, “The
burden will be on defendants to prove that plaintiff did in fact do
the acts they have publicly accused her of.”
That’s
going to be a tall order for book banning advocates, who often
conflate
any mention of sexuality with being pornographic and obscene
and have targeted
librarians around the US with harassment, abuse, and unfounded
allegations.
And that is precisely Jones’s point. She is seeking just $1 in
damages and an apology. This case is about the fact that words mean
things and actions have consequences. Jones
explains:
“We teach our children to report and speak out against bullying,
and that is what I am doing. I am doing this on behalf of myself, and
on behalf of the countless other librarians across the country who
have been targeted and harassed simply for standing up for
intellectual freedom and standing up for our school and public
libraries.”
A
win here would set an important precedent. May her efforts succeed.
I always liked Jimmy Carter, as did my father, when Carter was president. The man lived his core values, and the world is a less kind and spiritual place without him in it. RIP Mr President.
In
Memoriam: Jimmy Carter, Author RIP
We leave the longer tributes to the
late Jimmy Carter to others, but we
want to note that in his long
"retirement," among the many things that
the former President did was write
books, more than 30 altogether, on a
range of subjects, from Bible study and
the importance of religion in
his life, to memoirs of his Presidency
and early years, to fly fishing
and aging as well as peace, foreign
affairs, and the Middle East. His
best-known titles were An Hour Before
Daylight: Memoirs of a Rural
Boyhood, Our Endangered Values:
America's Moral Crisis, Palestine: Peace
Not Apartheid, A Full Life: Reflections
at Ninety, Faith: A Journey for
All, and The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture.
He also wrote The Hornet's Nest:
A Novel of the Revolutionary War, the
first novel by an ex-President,
and Always a Reckoning and Other Poems,
the first book of poetry by an
ex-President.
He wrote some titles with others,
including Everything to Gain: Making
the Most of the Rest of Your Life, with
his wife, Rosalynn, and the
children's book The Little Baby
Snoogle-Fleejer, which his daughter,
Amy, illustrated.
Carter also was nominated 10 times for
Grammy Awards and won three, in
the best spoken-word album category,
for Our Endangered Values, A Full
Life, and Faith.
Carter promoted his books with national
tours and is remembered by many
booksellers as an exemplary author and
person--respectful, curious, and
friendly to all staff and customers as
well as an efficient, quick book
signer.
I have always HATED the denigration of writers (and famous playwrights) by this ridiculous urban legend of a bunch of monkeys being able to eventually churn out quality prose just by dint of time and mathematical probability. I'm thrilled that another modern math whiz has disproven this ugly theorem. Writing is an art and a craft, and it's not easy if you're doing it right. Those that believe that it is should stuff a sock in it!
Turns Out Shakespeare is Safe
You’ve probably
heard it theorized that on an infinite timeline, an infinite amount
of monkeys pecking away at typewriters would eventually stumble onto
reproducing all of Shakespeare. It’s known as the infinite monkey
theorem—man, it’s great when science takes a silly thing
seriously—and was first posited by French mathematician Émile
Borel in 1913. Now, Stephen Woodcock, a mathematician at the
University of Technology Sydney, has tested the theory—using PCs,
not primates— and concluded that Shakespeare’s
legacy is safe .
“There is simply not enough time until the universe expires for a
defined number of hypothetical primates to produce a faithful
reproduction of “Curious George,” let alone “King Lear.””
Delightful.
I love stories like this, of a chance encounter that has a meaningful impact on someone's life. President Carter was a generous and kind man, RIP.
A Jimmy Carter Bookstore Visit
Remembered
Tom Campbell of The Regulator Bookshop,
Durham,
N.C., from 1976 to 2017, remembers a
visit by the late Jimmy Carter.
Jimmy Carter came to The Regulator
Bookshop in 2003 to sign copies of
his latest book, The Hornet's Nest: A
Novel of the Revolutionary War. A
couple of weeks before he was scheduled
to appear, a woman came into the
bookshop and asked to talk to me. The
woman said she was the caregiver
for Juanita Kreps, who had been a dean
and professor of economics at
Duke, and Secretary of Commerce in
President Carter's cabinet for the
first two years of his term. Ms. Kreps
was suffering from Alzheimer's
disease, her caregiver explained, but
she still remembered her time as
Secretary of Commerce, and it would
make her very happy to see Jimmy
Carter again, privately, for a short
period of time.
I replied that I would try to make this
happen, and immediately got in
touch with people on Carter's staff. I
explained the situation to them,
and told them that they should convey
to President Carter that while Ms.
Kreps could still understand many
things, her ability to speak was
greatly diminished.
When President Carter arrived at The
Regulator on the evening of his
book signing, he and a member of his
staff and a Secret Service agent
came in through the downstairs back
door, where the door to the Computer
Cellar is now. (The bookstore at that
time took up both floors of the
building at 720 Ninth Street.) We had
arranged that no customers would
be allowed downstairs just then, so
when Jimmy Carter entered the
building, the only people there to
greet him were me, Juanita Kreps, and
her caregiver. Carter broke out in a
smile and proceeded to make quite a
fuss over Ms. Kreps, telling her things
like how great she had been in
his cabinet, how very glad he was to
see her again, how much she had
helped our country, how young she still
looked, etc., etc. I can only
describe her response by saying that
she simply lit up and glowed,
smiling all the while.
Since Jimmy Carter passed away, much
has been written about his kind and
caring nature. From what I saw that
night at The Regulator, I can
completely agree that he was indeed a
truly kind and caring human being.
This proliferation of romantasy, just as a way to get your book sold and published is heinous, and it must end. The New Yorker states the obvious, that it has become the most derivative genre, created just to be on trend, when a number of these books that I've read are really just horror or science fiction or mystery that has been edited into a romantic fantasy in order to sell copies by lying to the reader. It's awful, and this cringe-worthy bounty of "spicy" romantasy novels are starting to turn readers off of the genre, period.
What
is Copyright Infringement and What is Trope? A Romantasy Story
Oh
buddy, I guess romantasy is still the name of the game in 2025–we’re
kicking off the year with a New
Yorker
deep dive into a copyright infringement lawsuit from
the world of romantasy. What the piece really speaks to is the
difficulty of parsing true theft of creative work from the
proliferation and use of tropes that has become a mainstay of some of
the most popular books and successful publishers of romantasy and
other genres and categories. The piece in part argues that romantasy
has become so derivative that the genre exacerbates this existing
challenge. It also gets into the thorny territory of mass producing
books at breakneck speed to capitalize on trends. It’s a real doozy
and worth a lunch break read.
This, like a lot of Reese's picks, looks fascinating, and I will be on the look out for a copy ASAP.
Reese's
January Book Club Pick: The Three Lives of Cate Kay
The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate
Fagan (Atria) is the January pick
for Reese's Book Club, which described
the book as: "a journey across America as the elusive Cate Kay,
one of the most successful authors of her generation, finds her way
back home after a life on the run. Unexpected turns lead to
impossible choices that will keep you captivated to the very end."
Reese wrote: "This story swept me
away with its big dreams, love, and
unexpected twists."
I love all of Fannie Flagg's novels, as does my mother, so I'm sure both of us will be excited to see the premier of this movie adaptation of the delightful book.
Movies:
The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion
Wonder Project is developing The
All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion,
an adaptation of Fannie Flagg's 2013
bestselling novel, to be produced
by and star Reba McEntire, Deadline
reported.
Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise)
will direct from a script by playwright
and screenwriter Bekah Brunstetter
(Maid). McEntire is joined as
producer by Jeremy Latcham for Wonder
Project, as well as Khouri.
"I've always been a fan of Fannie
Flagg and her writing, and it's been
an honor to call her my friend for the
past decade," said McEntire. "I
cannot wait to work with this
incredible team to bring another one of
her special stories to life on the big
screen."
The Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin is a YA romantasy that comes in a gorgeous embossed package of red/black and silver, with red and black end papers that make the whole trade paperback stand out. The prose is equally ornate and the plot flits along on decorated butterfly wings. Here's the blurb: I really wanted to love this beautiful book, but the female protagonist, Celie, is a self-sacrificing fool who is that horrid misogynistic cliche of the virginal innocent child who abhors violence, even to save her life or the lives of others. All the self sacrifice is for naught in the end, as the bad guys/necromancer and dead sister win, and the girlish protagonist bites the dust. Of course the male protagonist is the cliche/stereotype of the cold and cruel vampire who is gorgeous and super sexy, so the Celie can't resist him and falls for the evil creep. UGH. This is old territory for anyone who has read any YA romance or romantic fantasy. Manic pixie dream girl falls for evil badboy, and it doesn't end well...how unoriginal. I had such high hopes here, and was so disappointed, I'm going to have to give this book a C+ and only recommend it to those looking for a retread of all the other romantasy or YA romances they've read in the past 15-20 years.
Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang is not what it seems at first glance. At first blush it appears to be a dark academic paranormal fantasy, but on closer inspection, its a scathing indictment of colonialism and capitalism and the ruthlessness of white Europeans as they conquered native populations and decimated those groups of people for their own gain as a group. Here's the blurb: The stunning first edition hardcover features
red stained edges, gold and red foil on the jacket, a full-color
endpaper map, and an interior illustration of an in-world magical item
For twenty years, Sciona has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry.
When Sciona finally passes the qualifying exam and becomes a highmage, she finds her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues are determined to make her feel unwelcome—and, instead of a qualified lab assistant, they give her a janitor.
What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was not always a janitor. Ten years ago, he was a nomadic hunter who lost his family on their perilous journey from the wild plains to the city. But now he sees the opportunity to understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the privileged in power.
At first, mage and outsider have a fractious relationship. But working together, they uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first.
For twenty years, Sciona has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry.
When Sciona finally passes the qualifying exam and becomes a highmage, she finds her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues are determined to make her feel unwelcome—and, instead of a qualified lab assistant, they give her a janitor.
What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was not always a janitor. Ten years ago, he was a nomadic hunter who lost his family on their perilous journey from the wild plains to the city. But now he sees the opportunity to understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the privileged in power.
At first, mage and outsider have a fractious relationship. But working together, they uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first.
Wang's prose is full of vigor and excitement, and her plot filled with surprises that will leave you gasping. This poignant treatise on the inherent racism of many religions used by white Europeans to enslave and kill indigenous people will shock and appall you, and stay with you for a long time. Not only could I not put the book down once I began reading it, but I didn't see the dire ending coming at all. Like Sciona, I had hoped that people's minds and hearts and better natures would take over and allow them to change society for the better. But, as my son often says, "People are assh*les at heart" and unfortunately, the majority of them are willing to kill others to keep their own lives comfortable and easy. That makes me sad, but it also makes me think of ways that I can have an impact on society and making it a more equitable place. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who has studied history that wasn't written by white people, especially white religious men who used their holy books to justify genocide and misogyny.
Ink and Ore book 1 by Hayley Whiteley is a YA fantasy with just enough romance to keep it on the edge of romantasy, but without the spice required to keep most older YA fans interested. This book reads like it was written by a young adult for a middle school (12-13 year olds) audience of giggling girls. The prose is simplistic and the characters all tropes and cliches of characters in famed children's books. Sadly, this makes them seem dim witted and silly a lot of the time, but for a young pubescent audience, I'm sure it would be delightful to re-tread the same ground. Here's the blurb: Brenna and Katiel are hopelessly idealistic and naive, and their belief that two girls can stop a war created by grown men intent on their own interests is patently absurd. But of course they keep trying, and in the end, Katiel is able to use her powers to save the children of the royal family from certain death. While it was a laughably simple read, I did enjoy the background world building, and I think that the author will beef up her prose in the coming sections of the trilogy. I'd give it a B-and recommend it to young teens in search of a fantasy adventure about learning to believe in yourself.
