Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Here are the biggest headlines from last week, including the hottest summer books, an AI chatbot in Google Play Books, the winners of the 2025 Lambda Literary Awards, and more.
The hottest summer reads of 2026
over at Lit HubEmily Temple has compiled the 25 most frequently mentioned books on summer reading lists. Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, The New York Times, People, Goodreads, and more. I also had to shout out the subtitle of this article, which made me laugh out loud: “Even English Majors Can Connect Without AI.”
Reading makes you more attractive—and Americans are doing less of it
Well, I don’t think so “Booksmaxing“It’s a real thing as well as a catchy title, but there’s a take for granted that reading is sexy. Mentions of books in Tinder bios account for 29% of men overall and 41% for women. 75% of guys “find partners who read or indicate they’re well-read more attractive” – at least, according to a survey by a book summary app, so take this with a grain of salt. Book Clubs and Literary Holidays are also growing in popularity.
And yet, in a cbs poll36% of Americans report that they read less than they did ten years ago (40% say they read about the same amount, and 23% are reading more). The most popular activities people are doing instead of reading are: watching movies/TV, going on social media, and gaming. They report that they are too busy, too distracted, and have too little attention span to read much. These answers are not surprising. But they are clearly unsexy.
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Do you want an AI chatbot in your book? Google is betting on “yes”
Google Play Books has launched book insight“A helpful reading companion, designed with Gemini in mind.” It is currently available on “selected English titles”, which appear to be public domain books based on the examples given. Features including “Catch Me Up”, which provides a recap of what you’ve read so far, as well as the ability to ask questions while reading, such as “Was this character introduced earlier in the book?”
Meet the winners of the 2025 Lambda Literary Awards
I’m always interested in this Lambda Literary AwardWhich recognizes LGBTQ+ literature in various categories. However, this year I was especially invested in, because I was a judge! I helped choose the winner for the LGBTQ+ nonfiction category. (After much deliberation, we chose Guest Privilege: Bizarre Lives and Finding Home in the Middle East by Gar Adams, which I highly recommend.) I’ve only read five winners in 26 categories, so I need to get this corrected.
permanent heart failure trailer
heart arrester has been a hit on Netflix, and when it was revealed that the finale would be a movie instead of another season, the intrigue skyrocketed. movie trailer permanent heart failure Hit it today and it looks great. It’s so refreshing to have great queer adaptations, and it looks like this would be a solid addition to that canon (not to mention its own previous adaptations!).
Dungeon crawler Carl is officially getting a TV adaptation
Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series is ongoing, and now its popularity has soared bringing it to the screen. Peacock has given a straight-to-series order for a live-action adaptation. Or, as Peacock said in his announcement: “Surprise, bitch! It’s official. The apocalypse will be televised.” Dinniman is co-executive producer of the series, and is being developed by Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door and Universal Global Television. More details to come, including the most important casting decision of all: which cat will bring Princess Donut to life?
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