Welcome to Today in Books, our daily roundup of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media and more.
The New York Times The best books of the 21st century are Moving Units
I have received emails from booksellers and librarians (and also from regular book buyers and borrowers) who The New York Times The Best Books of the 21st Century list is driving people into shops and libraries in a significant way, and I’ve seen quite a few social media posts like this one that make me think this isn’t just a BR audience effect.
Well, now I have some data for you to back up these reports. According to Circana, the top 10 books on the list saw an average sales increase of 113% last week. Austerlitz by WG Sebald saw a sales increase of more than 600%, probably because it was one of the least known books at the top of the list. Pretty impressive.
Orbit Books is releasing horror imprint Run For It
I’m not sure if I’ve written about how horror is quietly the hottest thing in publishing outside of the world of romance. There are several new publishers, sales are great, and a new generation of horror writers is making a name for themselves. I’ve even talked to publishers who are releasing horror-related (light?) titles for younger readers, middle school age, and even as chapter books. Of course, the scare and gore factor is toned down, but horror is hot. In my house, a little light horror is a couch favorite (think Wednesday, for example).
Apple’s buying spree for original content may finally be over
Every streamer whose main business is making money from streaming has cut production spending, which has mostly been painful. The two players, Apple and Amazon, for whom making money from these projects is more of a nice-to-have than an absolute must, have still poured tons of money into huge projects, to mixed (favorable, he says) results and reviews. I’ve been waiting for the moment when these strategic players finally get tired of cashing in on relevance, and it looks like that moment may have arrived. I hope if you’ve had a thriller with a sophisticated concept or a third-tier fantasy series, you’ve already gotten your money’s worth, because the Golden Age of adaptations seems to be coming to an end.
Readers’ list of the 100 best books of the 21st century, Obama’s summer reading list prediction, and more.
In the latest episode of the Book Riot podcast, Rebecca and I are back to talk about The New York Timess list of the best books of the 21st century, go through the reader version of the list, predict which books we think are most likely to end up on Obama’s summer reading list, talk about their recent reading, and more.
