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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
In an era where library access is being hindered nationwide, one way some communities are pushing back is through developing public school and public library partnerships. We saw this in Des Moines last year–which resulted in legislative backlash this year that, fortunately, did not progress to law. Now, Chicago is getting in on the action. All public school ID cards for students grant them access to the Chicago Public Library. The pilot program they began in 2022 has now been rolled out districtwide. Rad!
I always love when writers and other literary folks land on lists of the most influential of any given year. For TIME‘s annual “most influential,” we’ve got not one, but two authors whose names you’ve absolutely heard many times over the last year. Check out why Tayari Jones, Yiyun Li, and Freida McFadden made the list–and maybe my favorite part is looking at who wrote up these pieces. E.L. James on why Freida McFadden is one of the most influential people of the year!
One of the biggest prizes in children’s literature is the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and not only does it come with great acclaim, there’s a pretty solid check administered too (to the tune of about $750,000). The award goes to a person or organization making an outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature. This year, the winner is illustrator Jon Klassan. Klassan announced that he’s got a series of new board books coming the same day he was named the winner.
It’s a very special week on Zero to Well-Read as Jeff and Rebecca pick up one of their shared favorite novels, Marilynne Robinson’s magisterial meditation on life, death, family, and faith. They discuss why a book where almost nothing happens is impossible to put down, how Robinson examines the great mystery of existence without ever getting heavy or preachy, and the reasons Gilead has stayed with both of them for more than twenty years.
What are you reading? Let us know in the comments!
