Welcome back, library friends. We have another wide-ranging list of updates to keep you at the top of your game. These include censorship updates, more AI lawsuits, booklists for Nonfiction November, reading trends, and a very entitled bear that wandered into a library and helped itself to the staff members’ snack stash (a reminder to always keep your snacks locked up if you live in bear country!).
Library & Censorship Updates
- Prison censorship in an era of increased book bans.
- What happens to a book that’s challenged but not removed in a high school library?
- A Harford County (MD) Circuit Court judge has ordered the county school board to reverse its decision to remove Flamer from library shelves.
- Jefferson County Schools removed 34 books from circulation in compliance to Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act. You can find the full list here.
- Dallas Independent School District (TX) has removed multiple books in response to pressure from Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.
- Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson has allocated nearly $31 million to the Chicago Public Library system in his 2027 budget proposal, which would help with significant collection and staffing shortages.
- In less heavy library news, a black bear wandered into the Mammoth Lakes Library in California in the early hours of the morning before the library opened, helping itself to the staff’s snack supply.
Publishing & AI Updates
- Mother Jones is suing OpenAI.
- New York Public Schools have banned AI use through eighth grade.
- The AI “ghosts” contaminating academic publishing.
- Anthropic is trying to “destructively scan all the books in the world.” How worried should we be?
- Unsealed files show that Open AI and Microsoft knew that training their products on copyrighted works was illegal and would ultimately harm human authors economically.
- Literary translators brace against the AI push in publishing.
- Nearly 300 authors have sued Meta for AI copyright infringement.
New & Upcoming Titles
- John Grisham’s next thriller is coming in Fall 2027.
- James Patterson is co-writing his first romantasy novel with Hazel McBride.
- Barnes & Noble has their Best Books of 2026, in many, many categories.
- New cozy books to read with your book club.
- New queer Latine books out in 2026.
- The best new horror novels for book clubs.
Readers Advisory & Genre Resources
- The New York Times has a starter pack of space operas.
- The 10 best books by Rachel Cusk, ranked.
- Why are so many contemporary novelists not naming the narrator?
- Stephen King on Stephen King.
- The essential Clive Barker.
- When horror met rom-coms.
- How horror romance embraces the deadly side of desire.
- Where to start with reading the work of Colson Whitehead.
All Things Comics
- 7 meaningful comics for tweens and teens on big topics.
- 4 queer romance graphic novels.
- 4 thought-provoking graphic novels.
- Cozy fantasy manga.
Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists
Nonfiction November
- 10 World War II books every history buff needs to read.
- Is nonfiction in crisis? These 14 books say otherwise.
- 4 nonfiction odysseys through the ancient world.
- Nonfiction books for football fans.
- Books about connecting in the digital age.
- Nonfiction about AI and social media.
- BIPOC nature writing.
Fantasy
- The best noir fantasy novels.
- Undead romances involving ghosts, vampires, and spirits.
- 5 fabulous books featuring fantasy circuses.
- 5 excellent mundane fantasy novels.
- Horror books for fantasy readers.
Mysteries & Thrillers
- Mystery books for 6-8 year olds.
- Twisty mysteries to satisfy your Agatha Christie craving.
- Lucy Foley and Agatha Christie book pairings.
- Science fiction/fantasy mystery novels.
- Espionage novels for fans of Slow Horses.
- 5 mysteries with seances and tarot.
Reading Numbers & Trends
- Schools are assigning fewer novels in favor of excerpts – are excerpts just as good?
- Gen Z is reading more, and they actually prefer physical books.
- Are we in a reading monoculture?
Want even more? You’ll want to check out this handy guide to Daniel Kraus books and explore the world of healing fiction.