Author: Rebecca Joines Schinsky

A Chapter a Day Keeps the Reaper at Bay 

A new longitudinal study out of the Yale University School of Public Health indicates that people who read books live longer (in this case, 23 months longer on average) than those who do not. Researchers have been following the same group of more 3,563 adults aged 50+ for over a decade and speculate that the cognitive processes involved specifically in reading books provide a “survival advantage.” If you’re wondering about confounding factors, rest assured that the result holds even when controlling for income and education level. This study defined readers as those who read books for more than 3.5 hours per week, but it indicates that even 30 minutes a day can make a difference. Books: they’re what the doctor ordered!

American Library Association Updates Fact-Checking for the Trump Era

Not sure if what you’re reading is fake news or alternative facts? The CRAAP test, long used by librarians and educators to help students and patrons evaluate the reliability of sources, is here for you. (The oh-so-appropriate acronym stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Appropriate, Purpose.) In light of the President’s repeated dismissal of legitimate news sources and his complicated relationship with facts, the ALA is updating the test’s criteria to encourage added scrutiny of the authority component, determining if the creator/writer of the news source is actually an expert.

“Book” Your Next Airbnb Adventure

Peeping other people’s bookshelves is one of the unsung pleasures of staying in homes instead of hotels when you travel. This week, BuzzFeed rounded up 18 bookalicious Airbnbs around the world, guaranteed to satisfy all your readerly voyeuristic urges. Exhibit A: this bonkers gorgeous bedroom in a Garden District mansion in New Orleans.

Thanks to The Book That Made Me, edited by Judith Ridge, for sponsoring This Week in Books.

What if you could look inside your favorite authors’ heads and see the book that led them to become who they are today? What was the book that made them fall in love, or made them understand something for the first time? What was the book that made them feel challenged in ways they never knew they could be, emotionally, intellectually, or politically? What book made them readers, or made them writers, or made them laugh, think, or cry? Join thirty-one top children’s and young adult authors as they explore the books, stories, and experiences that changed them as readers — for good.

HarperCollins Introduces Two Book Rec Bots on Facebook

Jumping on the bandwagon of businesses incorporating Facebook Messenger into sales and customer service, HarperCollins has rolled out two artificial intelligence-powered book rec bots. The BookGenie and Epic Reads (YA-specific) bots purport to help readers find new (HarperCollins, natch) books to read based on their taste, mood, and past favorites. This feels like the future, but is it fully baked? One Rioter took it for a test spin.

Penguin Random House Lands Obamas’ Book Deal

After a heated auction reportedly involving several publishing houses, Penguin Random House has landed the deal to publish forthcoming books by both Barack and Michelle Obama. Rumor has it that the joint contract went for $65 million, though speculation about that figure–and the number of books the Obamas will write for it–abounds. From what we at Riot HQ can tell, this deal is historic for its price tag and its unique nature; when else has a publisher acquired separately-written books from two people in one go? (Know of an example? Hit reply tell us!)

Dr. Seuss’s Wacky Taxidermy

This week’s installment of Before They Were (Literary) Stars is one of the more memorable ones I’ve seen. Decades before he became Dr. Seuss, Theodor Geisel spent his childhood near the zoo where his father worked. When Geisel moved away to New York City, his father began sending him beaks, antlers, and horns from deceased zoo animals. Geisel created sculptures from papier-mâche and the assorted parts. The products are wacky and whimsical creatures that may reveal the origins of the imaginary beasts in his stories.

Thanks to Everything Belongs to Us by Yoojin Grace Wuertz for sponsoring This Week in Books.

Seoul, 1978. At South Korea’s top university, the nation’s best and brightest compete to join the professional elite of an authoritarian regime. Success could lead to a life of rarefied privilege and wealth; failure means being left irrevocably behind. In this sweeping yet intimate debut, Yoojin Grace Wuertz details four intertwining lives that are rife with turmoil and desire, private anxieties and public betrayals, dashed hopes and broken dreams—while a nation moves toward prosperity at any cost.

Long-Lost Walt Whitman Novel Discovered

In 1852, three years before the first publication of Leaves of Grass, an anonymously written serial mystery novel entitled “Life and Adventures of Jack Engle” appeared in the New York Times. Last summer, a graduate student at the University of Houston rediscovered the piece, and it was confirmed this week that the anonymous author was Walt Whitman. While the writing contains hints of the material Whitman would refine in the work that made him famous, this novel seems to be one of the “crude and boyish pieces” he wished to see, as he wrote in 1882, “dropp’d into oblivion.” Well, Uncle Walt, hope 165 years of oblivion was enough for you. Cat’s out of the bag.

Hero of the Week: Seattle School Librarians Raise 1000+ Books for the Homeless

Kate Eads is a librarian at Seattle’s Northgate Elementary School, where nearly one in four students in homeless. When one girl told her about how she spends her after-school hours at a family resource center called Mary’s Place–often wandering aimlessly with nothing to do–before returning to a tent city at night, Eads resolved to find a way to get books for the kids who want them. By partnering with a nearby school with a more affluent population, she created a donation that has yielded more than one thousand books for the kids and families who use Mary’s Place. Buoyed by their success, Eads and her partner librarians intend to extend the donation drive to other schools and resource center locations. Readers who wish to support their efforts can do so here.

Mall of America Seeks Writer in Residence

In celebration of its upcoming 25th anniversary, the Mall of America is seeking a writer-in-residence to “spend five days deeply immersed in the Mall atmosphere while writing on-the-fly impressions.” Don’t worry, this isn’t a Tom-Hanks-in-Terminal situation; the winner will spend their nights in the hotel attached to the mall (because that’s a real thing), receive a $400 gift card to buy food and drinks, and get a $2500 honorarium. There are a lot of ways this could go, and we’d love to see a scrappy young writer run off with it. Applications are open!

Thanks to Volumes for sponsoring This Week in Books.

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