"I don't quite have the hubris to think that we can take down the empire, but the great thing about what we're trying to do is you don't need to take down the empire to change the way bookstores are sustainable. Really all you have to do is steal a crumb from the giant's mouth and it will feed the entire ecosystem of small bookstores. You just have to make sure that there's still a space for them and they can defend themselves and that they are able to live in equilibrium. That's what I'm focused on now.

"In the beginning, people didn't think we could take 1% of their market share. Now we're at almost 2% of their market share. If we can get to 5% of their market share, that would be incredible for small bookstores."

Donald Trump has fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, the first woman and first African American to hold the position, the Washington Post reported, adding that she "was informed of the decision in a terse, two-sentence e-mail" sent late Thursday. 

Carla Hayden

Hayden was appointed to the position in 2016 by President Barack Obama. Her renewable 10-year term would have expired next year. Hayden was also the first librarian by profession to be appointed to the job in decades. A Library of Congress spokesperson confirmed her dismissal to the Post, but declined to elaborate. Hayden and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The e-mail from the White House deputy director of presidential personnel, which was seen by the Post, said: "On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service."

The Associated Press noted that earlier yesterday, the American Accountability Foundation, "a conservative advocacy group that had vowed to root out those standing in the way of Trump’s agenda," had posted on X: “The current #LibrarianOfCongress Carla Hayden is woke, anti-Trump, and promotes trans-ing kids. It’s time to get her OUT and hire a new guy for the job!"

In a separate e-mail seen by the AP, Robert Newlen, the principal deputy librarian, said he would serve as acting Librarian of Congress "until further instruction."

House minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D.-N.Y.) said in a statement that Hayden "is an accomplished, principled and distinguished Librarian of Congress... Donald Trump's unjust decision to fire Dr. Hayden in an e-mail sent by a random political hack is a disgrace and the latest in his ongoing effort to ban books, whitewash American history and turn back the clock."

In a statement, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D.-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, called for the White House to explain its decision: "Every Member of Congress I know--Democratic or Republican--loves and respects Dr. Carla Hayden. A 'fighter of freedom' and a guardian of our nation's truth and intellectual legacy, Dr. Hayden was just abruptly and callously fired by President Trump.... Dr. Hayden's tenure has been marked by a steadfast commitment to accessibility, modernization, and the democratization of knowledge. Her dismissal is not just an affront to her historic service but a direct attack on the independence of one of our most revered institutions."

Expresso Books and Beans opened earlier this spring in Holland Township, Mich., WOOD-TV reported.

Located at 3006 West Shore Drive, the coffee shop and bookstore carries all new, general-interest titles. In addition to coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, Expresso serves specialty lattes with literary names, such as the Snow White and the Death in Venice.

Owner Katelyn Coffey opened Expresso with the help of her parents. Coffey works in publishing and will continue to do so as the bookstore and cafe grows and finds its footing. She also intends to start hosting writing workshops, game nights, and book club meetings at Expresso.

"I work in the publishing industry, so I have a lot of connections with authors and publishers," Coffey told WOOD-TV. "And I've always loved books. My parents were always the coffee people, they love coffee and they always dreamed of opening coffee shops. And we just decided to do a coffee shop and a bookstore together, because it's the best of both worlds."

Last month, Amazon held its second Amazon Book Sale (the first was in May 2024) for six days, overlapping with Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday. Although a spokesperson for the online retailer claimed the overlap was unintentional, the coincidence was suspicious.

"Scheduling a sale on the biggest day of the year for independent bookstores seems to be a predatory tactic to hurt small businesses," Ray Daniels, chief communications officer of the American Booksellers Association, told Retail Brew. "Trying to dim their light isn't just bad for indie bookstores, but it's bad for readers and communities."

In anticipation of 2026, Retail Brew reported that it recently posed questions in writing to Amazon: "Would Amazon agree to not have its book sale week happen any time within the month prior to Independent Bookstore Day? If not a month before, would Amazon commit to not having it anytime within three weeks before? Two weeks before? One week before?"

Amazon PR manager Ale Iraheta responded: "We are always listening to feedback. This is the second year we've hosted the Amazon Book Sale which was only in the U.S. last year. In expanding the event to additional locales, dates were selected to accommodate all 10 countries and we unintentionally overlapped with Independent Bookstore Day."

Since this didn't answer its questions, Retail Brew asked again whether the company "would go on the record that it wouldn't schedule its book sale at the same time as Independent Bookstore Day in the future."

Retail Brew reported that in response, "Iraheta thanked us for following up--and added nothing to her statement."

In a poll, Retail Brew asked its readers if they thought Amazon should schedule its biggest annual book sale to coincide with Indie Bookstore Day, with 93.4% voting against the idea and only 6.6% supporting it.

With the widespread success of Independent Bookstore Day this year, ABA's Daniels was asked whether the publicity surrounding Amazon's intrusion might have actually helped indies. "Amazon doesn't help independent bookstores. Period," he replied. "It has a chokehold on the book industry."

The U.S. Postal Service recently unveiled new stamps, based on Clement Hurd's artwork from the classic children's book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, at The Rabbit hOle museum and bookshop in North Kansas City, Mo. Derry Noyes, an art director for the Postal Service, designed the pane of 16 stamps using existing art by Hurd. 

"These nostalgic stamps not only celebrate the timeless charm of Goodnight Moon but also highlight the enduring relevance of both stamps and children's literature in a digital age," said Lisa Bobb-Semple, the Postal Service's stamp services director. "The enthusiastic response from the public about these stamps has been exciting--a reminder that the joy of stamps continues to inspire all generations."

Pete Cowdin, co-director of the Rabbit hOle, said the Great Green Room exhibit was an ideal setting for the stamps' unveiling: "We knew that the Great Green Room exhibit would kindle a powerful emotional connection with some of our visitors, but the impact of the room has exceeded our expectations. Walking into the exhibit is like walking into the book itself, a time machine that sets free a flood of memories and reconnects adults with their families and their own childhood. It reaffirms what we know already--that Goodnight Moon is not just an American classic but a cultural touchstone that celebrates and spans all generations and all demographics."

At the unveiling, Thacher Hurd, children's book creator and son of Clement Hurd, read the book and discussed his father's legacy. "I'm sure Margaret and Clem would have loved the beautifully designed stamps created by Derry Noyes and USPS," he said. "And it's wonderful that the unveiling of the new Goodnight Moon stamps will take place at The Rabbit hOle, with its delightful Great Green Room. It's the perfect place for this exciting happening."

Porter Square Books Boston Edition hosted a standing-room-only launch celebration for Lori Gold's novel Romantic Friction (Mira). The event, held in the GrubStreet event space, included a social hour for writers, book clubs, GrubStreet students, and industry professionals, plus readings by GrubStreet students (pictured, l.-r.), Melinda Baker, Lily Goldberg, Lori Gold, Robyn Lynch, and Ellen Comley. (photo: Florann Estiler)

The two most popular books in April at Reading Group Choices were The Lilac People by Milo Todd (Counterpoint) and The Disappeared by Rebecca J. Sanford (Blackstone Publishing).

"Buy Mom a book* (or our socks...). *It will definitely make you her favorite." That was the Mother's Day chalkboard message at Athena Books, Old Greenwich, Conn., which noted: "Mom wants a book this Mother's Day!"

"The cool and sunny spring day is a great time to scoot on over to Loyalty! Pop on your headphones and take a stroll in the breeze, we'll catch you in the stacks!" Loyalty Bookstores, Washington, D.C., posted on Instagram.

Nellie Kurtzman has joined Macmillan Children's Publishing Group as executive creative director, brand marketing. Previously, she was at HarperCollins Children's Books.

Today:
All Things Considered: Fredrik Backman, author of My Friends: A Novel (Atria Books, $29.99, 9781982112820).

Angelina Jolie will star in a film adaptation of Fredrik Backman's bestselling novel Anxious People. Deadline reported that Marc Forster, who directed A Man Called Otto, based on the author's novel A Man Called Ove, is helming the new project. Netflix made a Swedish TV series version of Anxious People in 2021.

The new film, which has been adapted for the screen by David Magee (A Man Called Otto, Life of Pi, and Finding Neverland), reunites "some of the key players behind the 2022 feature adaptation of A Man Called Otto ($110M global box office).... Hope Studios' Fredrik Wikström Nicastro (A Man Called Otto) and Renée Wolfe (A Man Called Otto) of 2DUX2 will produce, with Forster, Magee and Neda Backman executive-producing."

"Fredrik's novels speak to our shared humanity in a way that really moves audiences, and we're proud to be able to deliver another heartwarming and hilarious adaptation of his work," said Nicastro.

Wolfe added: "Anxious People is a uniquely warm and heartfelt story that speaks to our chaotic times by asking us to step outside of our own stories and slow down enough to actually see one another.... Sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic and always entertaining, Anxious People is a book that has sold over six million copies worldwide and, with Angelina Jolie playing the lead and Marc Forster directing, will surely prove to be a movie that will captivate millions more."

The Story Circle Network has announced the winners of its Sarton and Gilda Women's Book Awards, which are open to women authors whose work is published in English in the U.S. and Canada. The Sarton Award recognizes books that "are distinguished by the compelling ways they honor the lives of women and girls and are limited to books published by independent authors and publishers." The Gilda Prize honors comedian Gilda Radner.

Winners receive a cash prize of $100, a commemorative award, gold seals, and a virtual seal for their websites, as well as advertising in SCN's e-letters and website and a year’s membership in SCN. This year's winners are:

Sarton Award 
Memoir: Hiding for My Life: Being Gay in the Navy by Karen Solt (She Writes Press)
Contemporary fiction: Almost Family by Ann Bancroft (She Writes Press)
Historical fiction: Traces by Patricia L. Hudson (University Press of Kentucky)
Nonfiction: Garden Inventories: Reflections on Land, Place and Belonging by Mariam Pirbhai (Wolsak and Wynn Publishers)
Young adult fiction: Don't Pity the Desperate by Anna B. Moore (Unsolicited Press)

Gilda Prize 
Nearly Departed: Adventures in Loss, Cancer, and Other Inconveniences by Gila Pfeffer (The Experiment)

photo: Amy Drake Photography

Danielle Teller is a Canadian who moved to the U.S. for medical training and never left. She worked in academic medicine for many years, but when the necessities of family blending landed her in California, she returned to her first love, writing. Teller is the author of a work of nonfiction, Sacred Cows, and a novel about Cinderella's stepmother, All the Ever Afters. Her latest novel, Forged (Pegasus Books, May 6, 2025), is a gripping and immersive tale about a Gilded Age con artist.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

In the Gilded Age, a poor, mistreated girl becomes a wildly successful con artist, but like the famed Jay Gatsby, real happiness eludes her.

On your nightstand now:

My husband and I both started reading Sum by David Eagleman and were so delighted with it that we decided to read the sections to one another at bedtime; it's become a joke that we're always too sleepy and have still not finished the book. It's not just still on my nightstand, but it has traveled to several other cities to enjoy nightstands abroad. I'm also currently reading The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth, which is wonderfully witty and informative, catnip for anyone who loves language. James by Percival Everett is our book club selection for this month, and I recently picked up Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee.

Favorite book when you were a child:

It feels impossible to choose, but I'll say The Once and Future King by T.H. White. I read it over a summer when I was close to the end of elementary school; I identified with Wart as a child being taught by Merlin, and I loved the tales of Camelot, but perhaps just as importantly, I was proud of myself for reading a tome that seemed very grown up to me at the time. It felt like a whole new world of literature was opening up for me.

Your top five authors:

I tend to have favorite books rather than favorite authors; I'm not a completist when it comes to authors' oeuvres. That said, Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro are favorite authors from my formative years whose work I still love today, though my heart may be poisoned by what has been revealed about Munro since her death. It seems a bit silly to name Shakespeare as a favorite writer, but what can I say, he is the GOAT. I will read anything written by Liese O'Halloran Schwarz or Kathy Wang, both authors I know personally and adore; when you have some insight into the lives and the thoughts of authors, it is such a privilege to delve into their creative work.

Book you've faked reading:

When I met my now husband, Astro Teller, I learned that while in grad school, he had published an epistolary novel called Exegesis; it tells the story of a young computer scientist whose AI develops self-awareness. Despite what I wrote above about the beauty of knowing authors personally, the subject of his novel didn't appeal to me, and I didn't read it. As Astro and I became good friends, it got too embarrassing to admit that I hadn't bothered to read it, especially as it's very short, so I just kind of pretended I had. (I did finally read it, and it's quite fun!)

Book you're an evangelist for:

I recommend Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey to anyone who will listen. It is imaginative, funny, gorgeously written, and deeply moving. Each short chapter is a polished gem that makes my heart sing. I never get tired of rereading it.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Whoever came up with the cover for The Idiot by Elif Batuman is a genius.

Book you hid from your parents:

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel was a tattered paperback handed among sweaty-handed girls at my Catholic middle school, making us all blush.

Book that changed your life:

As a budding adult, I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, and for the first time a novel caused me to think deeply about life, about romance, love, sex, youth, beauty, happiness. It was exciting as a young person to have epiphanies and to develop philosophies, and it was a revelation that a book, especially a book of fiction, could have such an effect on me.

Favorite line from a book:

"A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral." --Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Five books you'll never part with:

My most precious book is my mother's girlhood copy of Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, with Mom's wedding bouquet flowers pressed between the pages. The Golden Pine Cone by Catherine Anthony Clark is an out-of-print children's book that my parents read to my brothers and me, and which I loved reading to my children. We also have a very worn illustrated copy of the collected Narnia books by C.S. Lewis that I read over and over to my kids, and I get misty-eyed every time I see it. My older brother, who is not much of a reader, waited in a very long line at a book signing to get me an autographed copy of Warlight by Michael Ondaatje, knowing that Ondaatje is an author I really like. Warlight isn't my favorite of his books, but I was really touched by the gift. Finally, while it wasn't published, I treasure my copy of my grandfather's memoir. He translated his father's journals from Low German to English, and then he added his own memories of immigrating to Canada from Russia and making his way in a new country.

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

The Hours by Michael Cunningham is a novel that I have read more than once, but the first time was one of the most transporting and awe-inspiring reads I have ever had.

Catherine Lacey's sixth work, The Möbius Book, is a lissome philosophical experiment that blurs the lines of (auto)fiction through its two narratives: a novelette about two brokenhearted friends facing an existential quandary and a brief memoir. Though fundamentally discrete, they are linked by the aftermath of a breakup and some repeated imagery--a pay phone, a crowbar, a broken teacup--as well as themes of memory, religion, and autonomy versus risk.

Marie spies a pool of blood outside a neighbor's door but, disbelieving her eyes, puts it out of her mind during her friend Edie's visit. Edie split from her partner three months ago; Marie's infidelity ended her marriage to a woman. The characters' stories unfold via conversation and cogitation, in the vein of a Rachel Cusk or Sheila Heti novel. A major element is Edie's mystical piety: she pondered becoming a nun and once, in Greece, communed with a dying street dog, engaging in an inscrutable dialogue with it. Meanwhile, the question of the blood niggles.

Turn the book over for the companion part, more straightforward but equally cerebral. It opens on Lacey (The Answers; Biography of X) in the guest room of her home in Chicago, in shock after her partner of six years, "The Reason," dumped her for another woman, over e-mail. She moves to California and rebuilds her life on friendship and casual sex. Autobiographical vignettes ponder fear, coincidence, the body, and male violence. Like Lacey's abusive father, The Reason had a history of physical aggression (not to mention gaslighting and fat-shaming), and "if you're raised with an angry man in your house, / there will always be an angry man in your house." Lacey also recalls illnesses and accidents, and traces how anorexia and loss of faith exploded her childhood religiosity. Inspired by the work of William Gass and Gillian Rose, she contrasts the protective value of constraint with the joy of freedom.

As in Ali Smith's How to Be Both, the two storylines meet in the middle. The title makes the intention explicit: for autofiction and memoir to form a continuous text. Placing fiction alongside fascinating truth draws an unsettling parallel between Marie's neighbor and The Reason. Some readers may find this dual approach to storytelling profound; others may pinpoint pretension. Nevertheless, this potentially divisive work is sure to lure fans of high-brow and mesmerizing writing by R.O. Kwon and Sarah Manguso. --Rebecca Foster, freelance reviewer, proofreader and blogger at Bookish Beck

Shelf Talker: Catherine Lacey's experimental breakup book blends elliptical autofiction and stylish memoir as it meditates on faith, memory, betrayal, and male violence.