There is so much to complain about in the book world at the current moment, from Amazon’s stranglehold on book retail to the increasing usage of generative AI to replace writers and artists of all kinds. But you’re reading this column on Thursday; I turned it in on Tuesday, Election Day. I have no idea what the world looks like for us right now, but what I do know for sure is that we could all use some good news. Here are some things that are making me feel optimistic about book culture in general.
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We are mobilizing against book bans.
If book bans have been wildly proliferating over the past few years, then a broad coalition of organizations have emerged to oppose them. From PEN America and the ALA to We Need Diverse Books to Authors Against Book Bans, these groups have been empowering librarians, parents, students, and authors alike to fight back. And now a publisher has created a role specifically devoted to the fight against book bans. Penguin Random House has hired Rosalie Stewart as a senior manager of public policy to join PRH’s Intellectual Freedom Taskforce. Here’s hoping that more litigation, brought by a corporation that can afford the expense, will follow. No matter who has won this presidential election, we have a lot of work to do, so it’s nice to know that so many of us are gearing up for a fight.
Book blogging is back.
The popularity of newsletter platforms like Substack and Ghost will not cure all of what is wrong with current day media, but their success has, at least, brought back a kind of personal writing that I thought was gone forever. But now it feels like voice and personality-driven blogs that had their golden age in the early aughts are officially back. And with more blogging comes exposure to voices different from the ones that are regularly published in traditional publications, or the ones that are the loudest on social media.
If you’re looking for inspiration, I love reading criticism by Becca Rothfeld, John Warner, BD McClay and Anne Trubek, among others, as well as criticism by authors like Elif Batuman, Tembe Denton-Hurst, Sarah Thankam-Matthews, and Patrick Nathan, all of whom I feel I’ve gotten to know so much better off the written page. I enjoy the musings of Priyanka Mattoo, Elizabeth McCracken, and Mary Gaitskill, who write about their day-to-day lives in delightful ways, not to mention writers like Esmé Weijun Wang, Lincoln Michel, Jami Attenberg and Alexander Chee, who write specifically about craft.
Many film adaptations are in the works, and a few of them might actually get made.
I know, we can’t count on announcements of literary adaptations to be accurate predictors of what we will actually one day see on our televisions. But still it’s so fun to speculate about what could be, and we could use a little fun right now. Most recently I was awed by a recent announcement of a TV version of The Corrections starring Meryl Streep, which comes twelve years after HBO’s high-profile acquisition and subsequent cancellation of the adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s 2001 novel. I have to believe that with Meryl attached this version will actually get made, but I’ve been wrong before.
Other exciting possibilities include adaptations of R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface with Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body) attached to direct, and Rufi Thorpe’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles starring Nick Offerman, Elle Fanning, and the reigning queen of prestige TV, Nicole Kidman. Sooner and less theoretical than all the previously mentioned titles: the film adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s Nightbitch starring Amy Adams will be out in December, as will Colson Whitehead’s Nickel Boys, which is already receiving raves.
The books will be good.
Here is the most important point: the thing that makes me feel most optimistic about the world each and every day is that new art that continues to get made each and every year despite all odds. For all of the problems in the publishing world, there is a steady stream of books coming soon that I cannot wait to read. In 2025, we’ll see new ones from some of my favorites including Melissa Febos, Karen Russell, Hanif Kureishi, Torrey Peters, Suleika Jaouad, Omar El Akkad, Susan Choi, Ron Currie, and Katie Kitamura, to name a few. Not to mention all of the books by writers I haven’t heard of yet, and the joy I will take in discovering their unique talents. This is why I’m here, and this is why I’ll always feel more hopeful about the future than I might have otherwise. I hope we can all take just a little bit of comfort in that fact.
