Here are the 10 Most Challenged Books of 2024
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These are the 10 Most Challenged Books of 2024
The American Library Association has released its list of the most challenged books of 2024. It’s part of the 2025 State of America’s Libraries Report, which also revealed that most of these bans and challenges are not initiated by students or parents. Pressure groups and government entities were responsible for a whopping 72% of censorship attempts.
These Upcoming Horror Books Already Have Us Scared for 2026
Horror fans, we’re just hitting the second quarter of 2025, but the book news heading into 2026 is already piping hot. You might have your TBRs set for the rest of this year, but get ready, because we’ve got a whole slew of new horror books that should definitely be on your radar in 2026.
These might not have specific release dates or cover reveals just yet, but we already know everything we need to know to get excited for these spooky books.
Readers Advisory Resources For All Ages
I’m doing some spring cleaning with my Check Your Shelf notes. I’ve found a bunch of announcements, lists, and resources to help you with your reader’s advisory work, whether you work with kids, teens, adults, or all of the above! Divorce memoirs? Passover picture books? A James Patterson & MrBeast collaboration? We’ve got all that and more
The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week
The Empyrean series has finally been dethroned from the #1 spot on the Goodreads Most Read list this week—can you guess by which book?
Please Don’t Feed Your Easter Bunny Uranium Carrots
Atomic Rabbit #1 was published by Charlton in 1955 at the height of America’s fascination with nuclear power and fear of the supposedly immoral influence of comics. The latter situation explains this note that appears on the book’s first page.
8 Great Mystery Series to Listen to on Audio
Audiobooks require a lot from their performers. Narrators balance the task of maintaining tension with not making the story seem overly stressful. The performer, who knows the ending, has to ensure that the revelations sound like they, too, are discovering them for the first time. Narrators may also sometimes emphasize the clues placed throughout the book that help you solve the case, without overly insisting on them. The magic of a talented writer, a compelling character, and a great narrator make for an amazing audio mystery, like some of the series rounded up here.
The Complexity of Race and Gender in Appalachia
But Appalachia is a complex region, full of people from all walks of life. Sometimes though, like the rest of the country, it’s not welcoming to people from marginalized groups. So what does it mean to exist in a place that may not want you there? What is it like to love a place that often doesn’t love you back?
It’s Like Howl’s Moving Castle Meets Birdbox
This richly imagined dark fantasy draws inspiration from Polish folklore and the tale of Baba Yaga. Novik introduces us to a 17-year-old village girl named Agnieszka who lives in the country of Polnya. A dark and dangerous haunted forest separates Polnya from its rival country, Rosya. While most wizards in this fantasy world reside at court, the prickly wizard known as the Dragon lives in a tower in Agnieszka’s valley. With the wood attempting to absorb people or even entire villages in its malignant spread, the Dragon works to keep the wood at bay.
