Monthly Archives: November 2024

Texas Library Re-Classifies Nonfiction Native American History Book as Fiction: Book Censorship News, November 1, 2024

Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a transplant from Nashville, TN that has settled in the North East. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentorship, and providing test prep instruction free to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is spent looking for her next great read and planning her next snack.

Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.
View All posts by Erica Ezeifedi

While Kelly Jensen is off this week, editors Danika Ellis and Erica Ezeifedi are covering censorship news. The first three stories are from Erica and the last three are from Danika. The roundup is a mix of heartening stories (New Jersey making strides to prohibit book banning and protect librarians) and stories that make you wonder what timeline we’re in (classics banned from a Tennessee school, Texas labelling Native American nonfiction as fiction, etc., etc.).

Montgomery County in Texas had everyone and their mother calling their citizen committee out for a decision they made last month to officially move Colonization and the Wampanoag Story by Linda Coombs from children’s nonfiction to children’s fiction. A signed letter by 13 organizations and several weeks of public complaints later, the Montgomery County Commission reversed their decision and re-classified the book as nonfiction. The county commission also approved having a committee created to reconsider the policy that led to the existence of the citizens committee in the first place.

The book itself was published in 2023 and refocuses the story of “New World” colonization from the perspectives of Native Americans. The author Linda Coombs is a historian and part of the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah.

Bill A3446 Acs, aptly titled the “Freedom to Read Act,” is now on the New Jersey governor’s desk. If passed, the bill would make it so the education commissioner of New Jersey would have to develop policies on the library material selection process and how book challenges are evaluated. Then, school and library boards would develop their own policies using this model. The bill will also prohibit removing books based on “origin, background, or views” reasoning, and make library staff immune to civil and criminal liability for decisions they make in good faith.
The bill faced heavy criticism from republican senators but was able to progress with a vote of 24-15. Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-Middlesex), the bill’s sponsor, said, “You and all New Jerseyans have the freedom to choose what you want to read, and parents have and will continue to have the freedom to choose what their children will read. But no one gets to decide that for you — not now, and not ever.”

Literary Activism Newsletter

News you can use plus tips and tools for the fight against censorship and other bookish activism!

Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.

Last month in Eagle City, Idaho, one person filed 23 requests to move books in Eagle Public Library, which the trustees obliged by moving them to the adult section. And, interestingly, the city of Eagle is choosing to keep this person’s identity private. Their reasoning is the state law that prohibits information being shared about what people use from the library, but it’s not clear whether this person ever actually checked out the books they challenged.
This is part of a larger issue that surrounds people who challenge books — while public libraries protect the privacy of their patrons when it comes to what they check out, it’s not clear if this same privacy policy should be applied to people who challenge books.

Bucks County is a familiar name for anyone who’s been keeping up with Kelly Jensen’s Censorship News coverage. Last year, they ousted Moms for Liberty and elected a Democrat school board, but as The New York Times reports, they are still mostly following in the footsteps of the school board before them. Teachers are still banned from displaying rainbow flags. Diversity, equity, and inclusion training has not resumed.
The superintendent has recently announced even more book removals, including dozens of manga books. Some books banned by the previous board have been reinstated, like Beloved by Toni Morrison, but others remain banned.
Adrienne King, a parent activist against censorship, said, “Change is very slow and almost not evident.”

Together with PEN America, Jodi Picoult released a statement on Instagram about why book lovers need to vote in the upcoming U.S. election. PEN America told her that her novel Nineteen Minutes was the most banned book in the country last year. The book is about a school shooting, which Picoult says is “something that our kids, unfortunately, do not need a book to learn about.” She adds that hundreds of teens have reached out to her to let her know that her book made them feel less isolated and even stopped them from committing a school shooting themselves. The book is often banned because it includes a date rape scene, which in book bans is often labelled “porn.”
Picoult goes on to say that Project 2025 aims to take book bans to the national level, and that BIPOC and LGBTQ books are usually the most affected. “We know from history that a way you control a nation is by controlling what its citizens read,” she said, encouraging book lovers to vote for books this election.

With the passing of House Bill 843, Wilson County has removed almost 400 books from all its schools for supposedly not being age appropriate. You can see the full list at the link above.
They include books that have been read and loved by students for decades, award-winning literature, the most popular YA and children’s books, and so much more. There are a lot of LGBTQ books, like Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda and Felix Ever After. There are also a lot of books that address racism, like The Book of Unknown Americans.
Classics did not escape the purge, either. Some banned classics include The Handmaid’s Tale, Slaughterhouse-Five, and The Color Purple.
As I browsed through the hundreds of titles, including books by Stephen King, Sarah J. Maas, and George R. R. Martin, I thought about how bare these libraries will be without the books that students are most excited for. How many of them will be turned away from reading entirely, when all these books disappear from the shelves?
If you’re reading this newsletter online and want book censorship news in your inbox, sign up for Literary Activism here.

The 10 Most Popular Books on Book Riot in October 2024

Between all of our newsletters, podcasts, and on-site content, Book Riot recommends hundreds of books every month in a wide range of genres, formats, age categories, and more. Most of the time, though, we have no idea how successful these recommendations are. Which titles are you most interested in? We don’t have a perfect measure of that, but we do have a rough proxy: the books you clicked on the most. It’s not a perfect metric for popularity, since we don’t know why you clicked on them, but it’s the closest thing we have. So, here are the top ten most clicked on books on Book Riot last month.

But first, a quick shout-out to our most popular articles of the month.

The Most-Viewed Articles on Book Riot in October

Now, onto the most popular books on Book Riot last month!
The Most Clicked Books on Book Riot in October
#10:

James by Percival Everett

#9:

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Erica Ezeifedi recommends this as one of the biggest book club books of the fall as well as one of the best books out in October: “discussing the reality of Blackness in America can be depressing, but Coates does it so well. At the risk of sounding clichéd, his latest is timely. It’s a collection of essays that explores how the stories we construct distort reality. He travels to Senegal, South Carolina, and Palestine, contending with myth and reality in each place.”

Today In Books Newsletter
Sign up to Today In Books to receive daily news and miscellany from the world of books.

Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.

#5:

The Women by Kristin Hannah

This is another book that’s a staple on the Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week round-ups as well as the bestseller lists. It’s also a finalist for Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year. Erica Ezeifedi recommends it as a great book club pick: “In the ’60s, a young nursing student, Frankie, comes of age. When her brother is deployed to Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps, thinking of herself as serving her country. But the reality of war sets in, and she finds her friends and herself broken. What’s more, her return to the U.S. and normalcy is anything but—the country is divided on its involvement in Vietnam, making her and other women’s sacrifices that much easier to forget.”

#4:

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Most of the clicks for this one come from the Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week round-ups, though Jamie Canavés also shared some news this month about the upcoming adaptation. Mikkaka Overstreet recommends this as a pageturner you won’t be able to put down: “A woman becomes a housemaid for a rich family. She finds that the wife is a cruel, the husband is downtrodden, and the kid is a pawn. But here’s the twist: the housemaid has a dark secret that her suburban antagonist doesn’t know about. Who should you root for? Who can be trusted? Readers won’t know until the very last page.”

#3:

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki

Here’s a fun one! It was named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. Here’s how Liberty Hardy recommends it: “This charming novel was a runaway hit in Japan! How can you go wrong with cats? In this magical fantasy, being kind to cats really pays off. Because the legend goes, if you’re kind to the right cat, it will take you to a magical coffee shop that you can’t find on your own. This special shop is staffed by talking cats (purristas?), who will impart wisdom, read your star chart, and supply you with delicious food and drink.”

#2:

The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore

I hate to be a broken record, but this is another book that has shown up on this list because of its prominence on the October round-ups of the Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week. Courtney Rodgers recommends it as a cozy fall read: “Order your favorite seasonal coffee and curl up with this cozy mystery romance. Ready for a fresh start, Jeanie is thrilled when her aunt gifts her the Pumpkin Spice Café in the sleepy town of Dream Harbor. When things start going slightly wrong, Jeanie turns to a local farmer, Logan, for help. Logan just wants to get back to his normal routine, but he finds Jeanie’s charm irresistible.”

#1:

The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden

It’s no coincidence that this is also #1 on the the Most Read Books on Goodreads in October 2024. McFadden’s reign over the thriller category continues: she has two of the books in our top ten! This book follows Sydney, who just met the perfect guy…at the same time that news stories come out about a serial killer is dating women before murdering them. 

Those are the most clicked books on Book Riot in October. Do any of these surprise you?

More breaking news here

The Most Read Books on Goodreads in October 2024

Every week here at Book Riot, we share the top five most read books on Goodreads, and at the end of the month, we report the most read books over the entire month. If you’ve been keeping track of the weekly lists, this one will not be a surprise. In fact, the titles and order are identical to last week’s. To keep it interesting, I’ve also added the top five most read books in October in three countries across the globe. This time, we’re featuring Germany, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico.

I’m not saying the Malaysia has better reading taste than the rest of us, but they have both Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum and Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa in their top five, and everyone knows that books about books are reader catnip. It’s also always interesting to see the titles popular in one country that haven’t been translated yet. In Germany, 22 Bahnen by Caroline Wahl is one of the most read books of the month, despite being published in 2023. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be an English translation yet.The Goodreads most read list continues to be not very diverse in any sense of the word, so I’ve added a couple of great October new releases by authors of color at the end. Now, let’s dive into the top five most read books on Goodreads this week!

#5:

The Women by Kristin Hannah

This book club favorite author has been a mainstay on the most read list since The Women released in February. In October, it was read by over 49,000 users, with a 4.6 average rating.
Germany: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Malaysia: Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
Puerto Rico: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

.container .newsletter-signup { background: linear-gradient(to bottom, #fffab9, #1fedff 95%)}

Book Deals Newsletter
Sign up for our Book Deals newsletter and get up to 80% off books you actually want to read.

Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.

#4:

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Book one in the Empyrean series is still getting plenty of new readers, likely because of its September paperback release. It was read by almost 57,000 users last week, and it has a 4.6 average rating.
Germany: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Malaysia: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Puerto Rico: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

#3:

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

Freida McFadden continues to be the biggest name in thrillers at the moment: she has two books in the top five this month! The first book in the Housemaid series was read by over 63,000 Goodreads users this month, with a 4.3 average rating.
Germany: Powerless by Lauren Roberts
Malaysia: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
Puerto Rico: The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore

#2:

The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore

The perfectly seasonal romance The Pumpkin Spice Café is enjoying a boost in popularity during October. More than 77,000 Goodreads users read it this month, and it has a 3.4 average rating.
Germany: ‎22 Bahnen by Caroline Wahl
Malaysia: The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
Puerto Rico: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

#1:

The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden

McFadden’s newest thriller, which came out in October, takes the #1 spot. It had more than 150,000 readers on Goodreads this month—almost double the readers of the title in spot #2—and it has a 4.1 average rating.
Germany: The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
Malaysia: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Puerto Rico: The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden

Two October Book Releases You Should Know About
Given how white the most read books on Goodreads list is, I wanted to highlight a couple of the most exciting new releases by authors of color that came out this month, recommended by a couple of my fellow Book Rioters. These both have October vibes—there’s a cozy fantasy about a witch and a haunted house horror novel—but they’re excellent reads any time of year.

House of Frank by Kay Synclaire

Cozy fantasy fans will want to pick up this hopeful story about a grieving witch at a magical arboretum. Saika has lost her connection to her powers ever since her sister died. Now, she’s been offered a job as a caretaker at a magical arboretum by the cardigan-wearing mythical beast named Frank. She’s secretly using a fragment of a star to cast the spells needed for her job. Slowly, she grows closer to the menagerie of staff members—including cherubs, elves, and half-witches—and begins to heal through community. —Danika Ellis

Model Home by Rivers Solomon

When Rivers Solomon offers their take on a haunted house novel, we have to drop everything and read it immediately, right? This book follows siblings Ezri, Eve, and Emanuelle Maxwell. Years ago, the Maxwells moved into a gated community outside of Dallas, Texas. Their white neighbors seemed welcoming enough, but immediately upon moving in, strange things began happening all around their house. Now, years later, Ezri, Eve, and Emanuelle’s parents have died, and the Maxwell children are forced to return back to the home that always terrified them growing up. —Emily Martin

If you’re looking for more buzzy books, check out The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists.
Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.

Book casts doubt on Hindus over Godhra incident: Rajasthan Govt withdraws book from schools

The BJP government in Rajasthan has ordered the withdrawal of the book ‘Invisible People – Stories of Hope and Courage’ by Harsh Mander, from state schools, claiming that the previous Congress government, led by Ashok Gehlot, introduced the book, which allegedly glorifies the culprits of the Godhra incidents while casting doubt on Hindus.With the directive, all schools must return all copies already distributed and cancel any pending purchase orders.Harsh Mander, author of the book, which narrates personal experiences depicting the Godhra train attack as a terror conspiracy and the subsequent hardships faced by Muslims. Mander resigned from IAS in the MP-Chhattisgarh cadre, following the riot and launched an NGO and has been engaged in its work sinceIt may also be noted that Mander, who has written over 25 books, was also subject to a CBI inquiry ordered by the Union Home Ministry last year on allegations of foreign donation law violations.Education Minister Madan Dilawar has argued that the book propagates misleading narratives regarding the Godhra incident, claiming it has the potential to create divisions within society. He asserted that the text glorifies individuals responsible for the train fire in Godhra and casts Hindus in a negative light, while also misrepresenting the actions of the Gujarat government during the incident. In light of these accusations, Dilawar has accused former Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra of deliberately incorporating such controversial material into the curriculum to mislead students. In response, Dotasra refuted these claims, stating he did not endorse the book during his time in office. His book includes personal experiences shared by people that depict the Godhra train attack as a terror conspiracy, describe the hardships faced by Muslims afterwards, including violence in relief camps, and claim that some children are still missing while many are forced to live in hiding due to their religious identity. Harsh Mander, who has worked in various capacities in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh before transitioning to non-governmental work post-retirement, after resigning from civil service.