Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.

A New Heated Rivalry Book to Hold You Over Until the Second Season

The popularity of Heated Rivalry has surprised even TV executives. The HBO show is Canadian, gay, and super steamy. In its debut week alone, it gained around 30 million streaming minutes, and by the time the final episode was released the week of December 26th, streaming minutes had surpassed 324 million minutes. While the next season of the show is set to come out in a year or so, fans are now able to keep the good (and gay) times going with a new book coming out later this year titled Unrivaled. It’s the seventh book in the Game Changers series that Heated Rivalry is a part of, and takes Ilya’s and Shane’s romance to new heights. They’re out, and they’re married, but everything is not hunky dory. Question is, will the couple make it, or will their love dissolve?

The NCAA Is Donating Books to Libraries on Behalf of Their 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year Honorees

The libraries that are near and dear to the 30 top women nominated for the 35th annual 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year Award are about to get blessed. As a result of the partnership between the honorees and the NCAA, elementary, middle school, and public libraries across 22 states, Washington, DC, and a province in Canada will be receiving book donations that inspire and uplift young girls.

The New York Times Reports on the Prettiest Home Libraries

Looking at the libraries in the NYT‘s Great Spaces section has brought out the hater in me; I can admit it. They are indeed great, but also much more. They’re cozy, cute, grand, fab, and even a little of what the kids these days are calling nasty (complimentary). I may not be able to afford the houses they’re attached to—which are located in places that range from Los Angeles to Manhattan to Melbourne—just yet, but best believe I will be saving all of them to my Pinterest boards with the quickness.

The 20 Most Popular Libby Checkouts of 2025

With 2025 just in our rearview mirror, now is the perfect time to reflect on a year of reading. Libby—the free app that allows patrons to check out ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines from over 22,000 public libraries across the United States—has shared with us a review of their year in books, and there’s a very clear pattern that emerges.