Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Here are the biggest headlines from last week.
The Most Challenged Books in the US in 2025
Sold was published in 2006, and it is about a 13-year-old girl who is sold into sex slavery in India. In 2023, Patricia McCormick wrote an article in The New York Times titled “My Book Is Horrifying. My Book Is a Lifeline. My Book Is Banned.” In it, she describes how the book is based on interviews she had with girls in India and Nepal who were sold into slavery. Sold includes a description of a 13-year-old being sexually assaulted by an older man—which book banners erroneously claimed was “pornography.”
Independent Bookstores Make Quiet Comeback as Big Chains Dominate Retail
The past couple of years have felt like Big Business is winning, so I’m pleasantly surprised to see that indie stores are the ones actually having a moment. The American Booksellers Association reported that 422 new indie bookstores opened in 2025, a 31% increase from 2024. There are probably a few things we can point to as the reason for this. One of them is the shrinking of third places and the realization that going into a physical book store is more fun than buying books online from major retailers. Then there’s also the support that indie bookstores have been getting from organizations like Bookshop.org since the pandemic. More on that below.
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BookCon is Back, and it’s Leaving Attendees with Bruises
BookCon has been popular and controversial since it began in 2014. While most book conventions are aimed at professionals, BookCon is more focused on fans and bookish influencers. After a seven-year hiatus, it returned this year, and there has been a lot of discourse about it. Tamara Fuentes in Cosmopolitan describes some fairly minor critiques—long lines, not enough food options—as well as the more serious criticism: the chaos around ARCs.
30% of People Think Reading Regularly Makes Them Better Than Others
Take this statistic with a healthy helping of salt, because the entirety of the methodology is “To create this study, researchers from the Headway app surveyed 2,000 professionals of all genders, aged 18 and over.” (How did they source these respondents? Who counts as a “professional”? Are they all users of their app?) Regardless, I couldn’t resist the factoid “30% of people believe reading regularly makes them better than others.” Let’s be honest, that does align with a good portion of reading culture, online and off.
The Most Streamed Audiobooks on Spotify
In celebration of Spotify turning 20 this year, they released a list of their most streamed music, podcasts, and audiobooks of all time. It is a little funny to see the audiobooks list titled “Most Streamed Audiobooks in Premium of All Time” considering that audiobooks have only been part of Spotify Premium since late 2023.
The New BookTok Tie-In is… Crystal Light?
We’ve seen some unexpected bookish product tie-ins in recent years, like Walmart’s romance-themed hot sauces. The latest version is Crystal Light teaming up with BookTok influencer and debut author Brooke Averick to release three new drink flavors matched with popular genres on BookTok. There’s Hibiscus Lemonade for Romance, Prickly Pear Lemonade for Mystery, and Passion Fruit for Fantasy. Please place your bets now on what brand will do a BookTok tie-in next. Romantasy Eggo Waffles? A Freida McFadden-themed kitchen knife set? Hunger Games pool inflatables?
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