Reading

Happy New Year, book lovers! For me, January 1st came and went like a flash, and my TBR pile hasn't budged one iota since the start of 2022. Not ONE. SINGLE. MILLIMETER. In fact, it's grown even taller. And the pileup on my e-reader? At this stage it's reached monumental proportions-a traffic jam of delectable books just waiting to be unleashed.

A growing number of states, cities, and districts are now requiring schools to teach phonics. In other words, to teach kids how to read. That's welcome news for a country that's suffered from dismal reading outcomes for decades and now also contends with persistent COVID-19-wrought learning losses.

Crime fiction is as popular with writers as it is readers. Fans of the genre often try their hand at writing the gripping noir and twisting tales they love. But writing crime fiction comes with its own unique challenges as crime readers demand tight plots, dark settings and gripping mysteries like no other.

Meanwhile, I was working on my column for Publishers WeeklyInternational news website of book publishing and bookselling including business news, reviews, bestseller lists, commentaries http://www.publishersweekly.com/. The theme: influencing readers-beyond BookTok. I certainly didn't expect to find a point of intersection with these two shows. Did I? Bear with me.

They arrive after school, still in their uniforms, in groups of up to 12. Mr Rubbo says the number of teenage girls coming to buy books has "increased exponentially".

What's going on? Well, ladies and gentlemen, reading is cool again. A growing online community of young book lovers emerged out of the video-sharing app TikTok during the pandemic.  Read more