Links to Click: September 1, 2023
Library bomb threats, book banning apps, and corduroy.
It has been a week here. As I write to you, I’ve locked down Twitter due to being inundated with checkmarks who are purposefully misreading tweets and calling me every name you can imagine. Why? Because I told public librarians to lock down their social media accounts, as I have a friend dealing with being FOIA’d at her public library by right-wing bad actors. She works at a library that’s dealt with more than one bomb threat lately, too, and I have a feeling she is far from alone in this experience right now.
But what do I know? I’m just a groomer and a pedo.
Ahem, anyway.
Because this has been a long week of writing, as you’ll see below, there will not be a long form piece for Sunday. My fingers and brain need a little TLC for the long weekend.
If there’s a topic you’re interested in, be it libraries, censorship, mental health, books, or something else in my wheelhouse, I’d love to hear from you. You can always hit reply or comment. I am usually not able to respond to everything on social media, but I am making a concerted effort to do so in this space.
Onto the links!
My Work This Week
Let’s begin with the BookmarkED app, purported to be a “solution” to the book bans happening in US schools. Turns out the app is a handy way to help further book bans, with sketchy information about where they are
stealingscrapingacquiring their information about book bans “in real time.”In the time it took me to write about the number of public library bomb threats this week–I wrote it Tuesday morning–there were at least two more reported to me. In one of those instances, the library did not shut down and the police decided not to sweep the facility because “they’ve all been hoaxes.” There’s a liability lawsuit waiting to happen. It’s also a federal crime to make such a threat.
Over on this week, a how to guide to alerting your local school and library boards about right-wing extremists in your community. That, plus the lengthy roundup of book ban news.
A federal judge has blocked the Texas READER Act, which would require book ratings and allow for easy book banning.
If you’re ready for something lighter at this point, I do not blame you. How about a look at the bookish life of Lindsay Lohan?
I was on the All The Books podcast, talking about some of the best new books that came out this week. Just Do This One Thing For Me is one of my favorites of the year, even if the marketing for it has not been good (it’s not a thriller! You can call contemporary realistic books just that!).
What I Consumed This Week:
I dig the podcast and as someone who just bought a very discounted pair of corduroy pants for fall, this episode about corduroy kept me hooked. It’s got a little of everything, from a secret society to Harry Styles and more.
Although this CNN piece is essentially an advertisement for a book, I loved it. It’s a look at one of our most intimate spaces: our bedrooms. This photo series reminded me a little bit of a favorite photo project book of mine, The Oxford Project by Peter Feldstein.
This is a great piece about what is happening in public education right now–it’s extremely conservative, more expensive, and more local than ever. None of that is good.
One of the best stories of book bans and the use of BookLooks to create a narrative around “naughty” books. I was so grateful to Amanda for the work she put into this–she talked with me and several others and truly gave this what it deserved.
Thanks for being here. Stay well.