In honor of Memorial Day, we will be stepping away from the computers this weekend. We'll see you again Tuesday, May 26.

Joe, Nan, and Elena Hight have sold Best of Books in Edmond, Okla., to longtime employee Beth Latta, with Latta's mother Cindy Merrifield as a minority owner, the Oklahoman reported. 

Located at 1313 E. Danforth Rd. in the Kickingbird Shopping Center, Best of Books has been in business since 1984 and is a general-interest, all-ages bookstore. The Hights had owned the bookstore for close to 12 years, and Nan Hight, the bookstore's CEO, will stay on as a consultant for three months to help with the transition.

"We felt that the time was right to pass this treasured community store and resource to one of our employees," Joe Hight, Best of Books president, told the Oklahoman. "Nan, Elena, and I thought Beth was perfect for the ownership role given her passion for books and this community. We are thrilled to continue a tradition of employees taking over businesses, especially one like Best of Books."

On May 27, the bookstore will host an event celebrating "the Hights' ownership of Best of Books, the new era of Beth Latta, and previous owners such as Julie Hovis." The festivities will include hors d'oeuvres and live music.

Secret Gardens Book Store opened in early March in Parrish, Fla., WWSB reported.

The bookstore, which focuses primarily on romance, mysteries and thrillers, fantasy, and contemporary fiction, resides at 8267 U.S. Hwy. 301 N., inside of a plant shop called Fancy Leaf Plant Co. 

Store owner Libby Bolles also owns the plant shop, which she opened in 2021 after launching the business as a mobile store. Bolles hosts a variety of community events, including high tea and stationery painting, bingo nights, watch parties, author signings, and book release parties.

Bubble Tea & Books, a bookstore and boba tea bar, held a ribbon cutting ceremony last weekend in Lake Zurich, Ill., WBBM780 reported.

Located at 52 E. Main St., Bubble Tea & Books offers a curated selection of titles for all-ages. The tea bar side of the business serves boba, tea, and hot chocolate, along with pastries, ice cream, and other snacks. Recently it also added a photobooth. 

The store has hosted craft nights and boba art contests already. Going forward, it plans to add author signings and other community events.

Bubble Tea & Books made its debut in early December. The ribbon cutting on May 16 featured an appearance by musicians Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials.

The Conseil d'Etat, France's highest administrative court, rejected Amazon's challenge over minimum ‌book delivery fees, "as the country continues its battle to protect its cultural traditions in an age of global, digital commerce," Reuters reported. In October 2023, the French government had introduced the minimum €3 (about $3.50) fee on orders under €35 (about $40.60) to help indie bookstores counter ⁠competition from the online retailer, which had until then charged one cent on book deliveries in the country. 

The French book trade welcomed the decision, the Bookseller noted. In a joint statement, the French Booksellers Association (Syndicat de la Librairie Française), the French Association of Distributors of Cultural and Leisure Goods (Syndicat des Distributeurs de Loisirs Culturels), Fnac-Darty, the largest French chain of cultural product stores, and the French Publishers' Association (Syndicat National de l'Edition) said it confirmed the position they have always held.

The council decision "is not the culmination of a struggle, but confirmation that it is worth pursuing," the statement said. "To be effective, the law must be respected by all stakeholders (and) practices to circumvent it must stop." Free deliveries to lockers and to retail outlets not stocking books have been recognized by the Book Ombudsman as being out of line, the signatories added. They also called for the book industry to remain vigilant and for the government to adopt appropriate measures, notably through a forthcoming decree that the Culture Ministry has promised will strengthen enforcement of the 1981 fixed book price law.

An Amazon spokesperson called the decision "disappointing."

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Penguin Random House UK has named 44 independent bookshops as recipients of the Penguin Children's Bookshop Grant 2026, out of 159 applications. The Bookseller reported that the publisher launched the £150,000 (about $201,075) initiative in February to support indies across the U.K. during the National Year of Reading, with bookshops able to apply for funding between £1,500 (about $2,010) and £5,000 (about $6,700). Applications were assessed based on their innovation, impact and reach, inclusivity and accessibility, clarity of plan, and value for money.

Francesca Dow, managing director of PRH Children's, said: "It has been uplifting and exciting to see the enthusiastic response to the Penguin Children's Bookshop Grant and we thank every single bookshop that entered. The ingenuity of our independent booksellers and their steadfast commitment to supporting their local communities and the young readers within them is truly inspiring and was evidenced in all the applications submitted.

"I feel sure that the work set to be delivered by the grant recipients will not only have a lasting impact on children, families and communities but also help to spark further innovation and ideas across the country, helping even more young people discover the joy of reading for pleasure. That is our hope and our aim for this grant and we are excited to see the ideas come to life in their communities."

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Reel Australian Booksellers: Farrells Bookshop in Mornington, Victoria, shared an Instagram reel featuring the staff's responses to "a simple brief. A dangerous level of honesty. Booksellers getting real. Pick a book that best describes you... the results speak for themselves. Jokingly of course. We're all brilliant. Which one are you claiming?"

Canadian author Alan Bradley, who was best known for the Flavia de Luce mystery series featuring an 11-year-old detective, died May 19, CBC reported. He was 87. A Toronto native, Bradley was raised in Coburg, Ont., attended Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Toronto Metropolitan University), and worked as a TV and radio engineer before getting a position at University of Saskatchewan, where he taught for 25 years and became the director of television engineering.

Bradley retired in 1994, moved to Kelowna, B.C., with his wife, Shirley, and began writing full-time, publishing short stories for children and adults, the memoir The Shoebox Bible, and the nonfiction book Ms. Holmes of Baker Street (with William A.S. Sarjeant). 

In his late 60s, "an 11-year-old girl named Flavia de Luce first appeared on the page," CBC wrote. "Precocious and smart, Flavia was a minor character in a manuscript that captivated Bradley's wife. Shirley encouraged him to develop Flavia further and she ultimately became the protagonist of the bestselling mystery series bearing her name."

In a 2013 interview on CBC's The Next Chapter, Bradley said: "I'm almost ashamed to admit that she makes me laugh out loud because I don't know what she's going to do or what she's going to say. She just does it and I laugh and jot it down.... My wife Shirley will be sitting in the next room or at the other end of the same room and she'll say, 'Flavia's just done something outrageous'.... There is a sense of wonder I can remember from being 11. You are absolutely invincible. It's that age where you think that you can build a glider out of bed sheets and jump off the castle wall and you won't get hurt. You can do anything."

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, the first novel in the Flavia de Luce series, was immediately successful, winning numerous honors including the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award, the Dilys Winn Award, the Arthur Ellis Award, the Agatha Award, the Macavity Award, and the Barry Award. The 11 books in the series have sold more than six million copies and been translated into 36 languages.

In a 2024 interview on The Next Chapter, Bradley said his biggest accomplishment was the impact he had on the lives of readers who were inspired by Flavia: "I've just been absolutely flattened by letters and e-mails from girls of Flavia's age who have said that they've decided to go into science.... Now that the first book has been out for 16 years, I'm beginning to hear from girls who graduated, who are now very advanced in science. I think that's a wonderful achievement, inspiring young people to go into the sciences."

His Canadian publisher for the series was Doubleday Canada. In a statement, Kristin Cochrane, CEO of Penguin Random House Canada, said: "Alan's extraordinary imagination, generosity of spirit, and wonderful craft as a storyteller brought joy to readers in Canada and around the world for more than 15 years. 

"I am joined by colleagues across Penguin Random House Canada in our appreciation for Alan's great books, and our admiration for the care with which he shared Flavia with the world. We are profoundly grateful for the privilege of publishing Alan Bradley and will continue to celebrate his remarkable legacy by ensuring his stories endure for generations to come."

The final installment in the Flavia de Luce series, Numb Were the Beadsman's Fingers, will be published November 3, and a movie adaptation of the first book appears around the same time.

Katherine Applegate (with store owner Kenny Sarfin) at Books and Greetings, Northvale, N.J., where she promoted Wombat Waiting (Storytide).

Lovestruck Books & Cafe in Cambridge, Mass., shared photos on Facebook of a marriage proposal that occurred in the shop, noting: "Proof that the best love stories aren't just found in books. Congratulations to the happy couple on their beautiful next chapter: @jpags180 & @tinabibbo."

"If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need." That was the sidewalk chalkboard message in front of Wonderland Books in Bethesda, Md.

Stefani Szenda has joined the future of agency as marketing manager.

Ortiz's War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France by Nicholas Reynolds and Katie Sanders (Harper Horizon).

Last Monday, May 18, was opening night for Celebrity Autobiography, which features an ever-changing cast of celebrity notables reading excerpts from real celebrity autobiographies, Playbill reported, adding that the production, created by Eugene Pack and co-developed with Dayle Reyfel, "arrives on the Main Stem after several hit runs internationally, including an Off-Broadway run that won the 2009 Drama Desk for Unique Theatrical Experience and other bows in London's West End, Sydney Opera House, and more."

The opening-night cast included Scott Adsit (30 Rock), Mario Cantone (Sex and the City), Jeff Hiller (Somebody Somewhere), Jackie Hoffman (Only Murders in the Building), Christopher Jackson (Hamilton), Gayle King (CBS Mornings), Ben Mankiewicz (Turner Classic Movies), Andrea Martin (McNeal), Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live), Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Kenan Thompson (SNL), Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), and Rita Wilson (Sleepless in Seattle). Each night's cast and material is different, and unannounced special guests will appear throughout the run. 

20th Century Studios is developing a Choose Your Own Adventure movie, based on the interactive book series, with Radio Silence (Ready or Not franchise) on board to direct and produce, Deadline reported. The production company's Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will work from a script by Tom Bissell (Andor, The Disaster Artist). There are no details yet regarding the movie's plot.

The Choose Your Own Adventure book series officially launched at Bantam Books in 1979 with The Cave of Time by Edward Packard. Deadline noted that between 1997 and 1999, more than 184 of the gamebooks were published from 30 different authors, "with stories set everywhere from the ocean to outer space and myriad fantasy worlds.... Choose Your Own Adventure has had an enduring cultural impact, as a series at the vanguard of interactive storytelling, with Netflix's Black Mirror: Bandersnatch being one of the most notable recent projects implementing this basic framework to break into the mainstream."

Finalists have been selected for the 2026 CLMP Firecracker Awards, which "celebrate the books and magazines that make a significant contribution to our literary culture and the publishers that strive to introduce important voices to readers far and wide." To see the finalists, click here.

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Gliff by Ali Smith (published by Vintage in the U.S.) won the €100,000 (about $116,185) Dublin Literary Award, which is sponsored by Dublin City Council to promote excellence in world literature and honors a single novel published in English. Nominations are chosen from public libraries around the world and recognize both writers and translators. The prize is presented at a special ceremony during the International Literature Festival Dublin.

"Gliff is a remarkable and deeply powerful work from author Ali Smith," said Lord Mayor of Dublin councillor Ray McAdam. "At a moment when democracy across the world can too often feel fragile, this novel is a powerful reminder that freedom, dignity and democratic values should never be taken for granted."

Smith commented: "This is an award prized among writers, who know that the Dublin Literary Award's formation, its ear and eye for what matters most, and its profoundly literary legacy, all make it the best--an award that dares always to be international and that knows the importance of translation--the beating heart of all writing. It's an award whose nominations all always come from worldwide public libraries and their readers--in other words from the open heart of communal thought and imagination. It's also an award that's built, over its years, its own astonishing library of nominated works by a roster of writers I'm grateful now to find myself among."

photo: Kate Dollarhyde

Sarah Gailey is a Hugo- and British Fantasy Award-winning author of speculative fiction, short stories, and essays, including Magic for Liars, Just Like Home, The Echo Wife, and Upright Women Wanted. They have written comics for Marvel, EC, and BOOM! Studios. They are the editor and publisher of the newsletter Stone Soup and the essay series Love Letters: Reasons to Be Alive. Their novel Make Me Better (Tor, May 12, 2026) is an eerily seductive look at the desire for community connection and self-improvement.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

The best version of you is within reach. All you have to give up is your sorrow. At Kindred Cove, they'll show you how.

On your nightstand now:

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. I've been revisiting her work recently and it's been such a treat. Also, Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake, which is exactly the kind of gossipy family drama I need right now.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton was a big hit for me. I think I was probably drawn to the idea that a piece of construction equipment can be your friend, and to the idea that you can solve the problems you have created for yourself and your loved ones if you make yourself economically useful. Those are both themes three-year-olds are into, right?

Your top five authors:

I will read anything by Tana French, and I will read it the day it comes out.

H.A. Clarke, who is also published as August Clarke, writes incredible, confrontational, irresistible books. Metal from Heaven is a book I greet as a friend when I see it in the wild. I have a parasocial relationship with that particular book. I feel like I know it personally, even though it is a book and is concerned with its own affairs.

This is hard! Why are you making me do it!

Clive Barker is a legend of horror for a reason. His work shaped me as a reader and a writer. His work for young readers is celebrated, but not enough. The Thief of Always is a master class. The first paragraph alone is something I meditate on when I want to feel like I'm watching the moon landing happen live.

Kate Dollarhyde is one of the greatest writers I have ever encountered in my life. Her work makes me feel the most wretched, visceral, necessary emotions. Her short fiction is transformative, and her narrative design instincts knock me flat on my back.

Hm. One left. Impossible choice, but:

I will go with Gloria Naylor, who wrote Mama Day, which is one of the best books I have read and, I know for a fact, is one of the best books I will ever read. Her power over language is otherworldly. I know it must have been hard-won, that kind of skill always is, but it reads as effortless in the way of the masters.

Book you've faked reading:

Oh, this one's awful--The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. When I was a teenager, I overheard some college kids at a bookstore talking about it, and I figured it must be a book that really, really smart people read. When I think back on the conversation I was eavesdropping on, it's obvious that they were just posturing for each other, trying to seem smart and interesting in their pretension. But at least they read the book they were being pretentious about. Can you imagine a 13-year-old telling you how much they loved The Fountainhead? Mortifying. I was also trying to get into hats at the time, with an equal level of dignity.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller, which I think everyone should read.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Honestly, about half the books I buy in person, I buy for the cover. I am a simple animal; I love going into a little bookshop and looking for ripe fruit in the bushes. I bought The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld because of the cover. I didn't even peek at the flap before I bought it. I just wanted that cover in my house. The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He also snagged me with the cover. I love a good cover. I buy wine based on the label. More fun, maybe, to talk about books I love that have absolutely terrible covers--but no, I shan't be evil. We will pretend those don't exist.

Book you hid from your parents:

None! It was never necessary. They never told me there were things I shouldn't or couldn't read. Like all kids, I self-selected out of books that weren't right for me, like the really steamy romances--I vividly remember thinking "All this lady cares about is 'members,' whatever those are! Boring. I wonder if there's a new Goosebumps out yet?"

Book that changed your life:

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles by Mark Russell and Mike Feehan. Yeah, that Snagglepuss. This is a graphic novel that reimagines Snagglepuss as a closeted playwright during the McCarthy era. It's stunning and sad and slapped me right in the heart. Comics can be this! Books can be this! Unbelievably beautiful and brilliant and unexpected.

Also, The Godfather by Mario Puzo, which I have reread every year for the past 20 or so years; Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen, which I suspect was instrumental to my eventual radicalization; Seven Demons by Aidan Truhen, which reshaped my approach to prose; and Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel, which shocked me awake as a writer in a moment when I was professionally drowsy.

Favorite line from a book:

"The great grey beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive." --first line from The Thief of Always, Clive Barker

Five books you'll never part with:

The Godfather by Mario Puzo (I have two copies just in case)

Jade City by Fonda Lee ("What if The Godfather was nine billion times better on every conceivable axis")

The Lucius Beebe Reader as compiled and edited by Charles Clegg and Duncan Emrich

Codex Seriphinianus by Luigi Serafini

We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

Abhorsen by Garth Nix. I can't remember a time when I hadn't read it. I feel like I was born reading it. I wish I could encounter it for the first time.

According to a 2024 report by the National Registry of Exonerations, of the 142 people on its registry freed from death row, 25% were condemned after the testimony of a jailhouse witness. Catch the Devil is ProPublica and New York Times Magazine journalist Pamela Colloff's measured but disturbing account of the outsized role one man played in the Florida court system to send at least 27 defendants to prison, including four to death row, through a series of fabricated confessions.

Colloff recounts the sordid story of Paul Skalnik, a serial con man, pedophile, and bigamist who displayed a preternatural talent for obtaining confessions from fellow inmates and parlayed his usefulness as a witness at their trials into bargaining chips to win favorable treatment for himself. Skalnik began his career as a snitch in his native Texas in the 1970s, but he wreaked most of his damage aiding prosecutors in Pinellas County, Fla., home to the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

Colloff focuses on Skalnik's role in the case of James Dailey and the decades-long fight to spare him from execution. Dailey, who served three tours of duty in Vietnam, returned from the war bearing severe emotional trauma and turned to alcohol and drugs. He moved to Pinellas County after his divorce, and in 1986, along with his friend Jack Pearcy, was charged in the savage stabbing death of 14-year-old Shelly Boggio.

With no physical evidence linking Dailey to Boggio's murder, and only the dubious testimony of his co-defendant to establish his involvement in the crime, prosecutors turned to Skalnik, who already had a strong track record as an informant. They arranged to move Dailey to Skalnik's cell block, and their star witness soon miraculously related a "brief but lurid account" of the crime he claimed came from Dailey's mouth. Five days after the trial ended in a conviction, Skalnik was a free man.

While Colloff stops short of establishing outright corruption in the prosecutors' repeated willingness to turn to Skalnik to buttress their cases, she makes it clear that their reliance on his highly polished testimony was questionable at best. "What made him so dangerous," she argues, "was not his intelligence or cunning, but rather how readily the institutions that were supposed to uphold the law and protect the most vulnerable had amplified his lies."

Catch the Devil is a sobering glimpse inside a criminal justice system bent on securing convictions at any cost. This troubling work is animated by a spirit similar to Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy and David Dow's The Autobiography of an Execution, exposing inequities in the U.S. system of capital punishment. --Harvey Freedenberg, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: Pamela Colloff paints a disturbing portrait of fabulist Paul Skalnik and the role his manufactured confessions played in sending nearly 30 defendants to prison, four of them sentenced to death.