Today in Books readers, I have an important update: this is the last week of this newsletter. Luckily, you can still follow all the book news by signing up for the Book Riot Newsletter, which goes out on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It’s the same book news curation, covered by the same Book Riot writers, but in an expanded newsletter with more content. See you there!
Which Book Will be an American Classic in 250 Years?
On the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, USA Today asked authors which books they think will be considered American classics in another 250 years. Some picked new releases that they think will stand the test of time—Casey McQuiston endorsed Palaver by Bryan Washington for its “soulful and sincere” writing and “restrained and attentive prose.” Others chose classics they think will still be relevant in 250 years, like Matt Dinniman’s pick, Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh.
I’m Canadian, so I can’t pretend I’m invested in the future of the Great American Novel, but Beloved by Toni Morrison feels like the obvious answer here. As for a new release I think will still be around in 250 years, I’m going to place my bet on Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. Historical fiction tends to age more gracefully, and it’s such a perfect snapshot of American history, including all the ugliness. I can imagine it still being taught in schools in 250 years.
The Most Popular Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the Past 3 Years
Goodreads has put together a list of the most popular SFF books of the past three years—that is, books that neatly fall into either sci-fi or fantasy (not romantasy) and were published between June 2023 and June 2026. They also need to have an average star rating of over 3.5.
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My reading taste is strange and particular, so I’m not surprised that I’ve only read about five of their 104 picks. I was pleasantly surprised by how many queer books I spotted here, though. Queer SFF has taken off in recent years and has really broken through to the mainstream, including with books like Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab and Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes) by Travis Baldree. Another one of my favorites that I was pleasantly surprised to see here is The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar, a queer fae murder ballad novella. (If that doesn’t hook you, I don’t know what will.)
Unsurprisingly, the sci-fi list is crowded with Matt Dinniman and Martha Wells titles, but alongside them are experimental and literary takes on sci-fi, like Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor, Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell, and The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami.
Bid in the Romancing the Vote Auction to Defend Democracy
This is the third Romancing the Vote auction, created by romance authors Courtney Milan and Kit Rocha to raise money for organizations fighting for every vote to count. This year, money raised will go to Vote Riders and The Southern Coalition for Social Justice. There are all kinds of items to bid on, from annotated books by your favorite authors to stunning crafts to writing consultations with experts. Bidding is open from July 1st to July 5th.
The Queer Books I Read in June
Every month, I do a recap of my reading for All Access members, which can be a little more revealing than I’d like. There’s no hiding my current hyperfixation while going over my reading list. Here are the seven queer books I read in June, plus some of the options on my July TBR.
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