Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
It’s the Most Notable Time of the Year
The New York Times‘s annual list of 100 notable books of the year is, for my money, the very best of the end-of-year offerings. Evenly divided between fiction and nonfiction, it has a diversity of genres, subjects, and tones; a healthy mix of popular, commercially successful titles and under-the-radar gems; enough books to be useful as you select your next read or shop for the book lovers in your life but not so many as to be overwhelming. If you read widely and pay attention to the bookish zeitgeist during the other eleven months of the year, you’re likely to find validation for some of your faves alongside new-to-you picks and reminders of the “Oh, I’ve been meaning to read that!” variety. This time around, there are also boxes to tick to indicate whether you’ve read a book or want to read it. I’ve notched 23 of the 100 so far, and I’m proud to report that Jeff and I scored 11 out of the 15 titles we identified as shoo-ins when we predicted the list on a recent episode of the Book Riot Podcast.
Costco to Keep Book Sections in Some Stores Year-Round
After announcing this summer that they would begin restricting in-store book sales to a seasonal model in the final quarter of the year beginning in, Costco has decided to reverse course, kind of. The big box retailer now plans to maintain year-round book sections in 100 of its 600+ locations. The remaining stores will still move to the Q4-only model. Per Publishers Weekly, Costco has not offered comment or explanation for the decision, which will certainly offer an interesting A/B test.
Publishing executives see 2025 as an important year for the future of books at Costco. If sales remain strong and a more user-friendly model is created, Costco could return full-year book sections to more stores. If sales decline, however, book sections across the chain could all move to the holiday season model.
Let the 2025 Anticipation Begin
A fun byproduct of best-of lists being released earlier and earlier (the first ones dropped in mid-October this year) is that most-anticipated lists for the new year have started showing up well before the end of this one. In a cute twist, People asked bestselling authors to share the books they’re most looking forward to in 2025. Are these probably books written by their friends, MFA classmates, and folks who have the same agent? Don’t think about it too much.
Help a Queer Bookstore Survive
Here’s a bit of literary activism you can participate in right now. Mosaics is a nonprofit bookstore in Provo, Utah that works to support and celebrate the LGTBQ+ and BIPOC communities and elevate marginalized voices. The store, which is owned by Drag Queen Tara and their partner, is also home to the United Drag Alliance. Since opening in 2023, Mosaics has received bomb threats, the owners have had to move after being doxxed out of their home, and their health has been negatively impacted by harassment and threats of violence. Now, Mosaics is at risk of closing, which would be a tremendous loss to the community of Provo and beyond. Here’s how you can help save this queer bookstore.
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