Happy First Week of Fall (and almost start of Banned Books Week)!

Hello my fellow bookworms,

Fall is upon us! Last Monday marked the start of a new season, and while some of the weather still has some remnants of summer, the cool mornings and evenings definitely feel like autumn. The leaves are starting to change colors, our pets are happier walking in the cool breeze, and the weather is perfect to find a good spot in nature and read! Also, today is National Coffee Day, so I hope you had some reading and coffee sipping time to yourself today!

Photo by ALA

This upcoming October 5th - 11th marks Banned Books Week! This year's theme is "Censorship Is So 1984. Read For Your Rights." It is a theme taken from George Orwell's cautionary tale 1984, a warning about the dangers of censorship, while also reminding us that the right to read belongs to all of us, so defend your right to do so! While many of the top challenged books for 2024 are similar to those of previous years, the week is a reminder to not allow censorship to influence your views. It is important to have items in the public that you may not agree with, whether it be politics, religion, or just a world point-of-view, in order to broaden your own horizon, your viewpoint, and to allow for open discussion. If we were in a world where we all thought and talked the same, how boring would that be? Open discourse is what drives us to strive for more, brings upon change and innovation, and teaches us new things each day. 

Below are the top 10 most challenged books of 2024, along with an updated information page, detailing the statistics and censorship trends. 

Photo by ALA

Photo by ALA

I was reading a very informative post by librarian Judi Moreillon online, which listed ways the community could become involved themselves with this week. If you are interested in participating in Banned Books Week, aside from reading books that are/were challenged and supporting your local pubic library, you could also:

• Sign up for the weekly post from the American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom (www.oif.ala.org)
• Sign online petitions and write letters to representatives, schools, and public library boards
• Advocate online using the hashtags: 
• #BannedBooksWeek 
• #DefendResearch
• #FreeSpeech
• #FirstAmendment
• #IntellectualFreedom
• #UniteAgainstBookBans
• Attend a Banned Books Week Event (https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/public-school-strong-partnership-will-connect-banned-books-week-events-to-advocates-nationwide/)
• Volunteer with the American Library Association
• ALA Council Intellectual Freedom Committee: www.ala.org/alsc/aboutalsc/coms/pg1childadv/als-if
• ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom: https://www.oif.ala.org/
• ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/
• Authors Against Book Bans: https://www.authorsagainstbookbans.com/
• Defend Research: https://defendresearch.org
• EveryLibrary: https://www.everylibrary.org/
• For the People: https://www.librariesforthepeople.org
• Freedom to Read Foundation: https://www.ftrf.org/
• Intellectual Freedom Round Table: www.ala.org/ifrt
• PEN America: https://pen.org/
• Unite Against Book Bans: https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/
• United for Libraries: www.ala.org/united
• We Need Diverse Books: https://www.diversebooks.org/

Some fun book news:

• Do you know someone who is blind, but enjoys to listen to movies and television? I just found out about this neat website run by volunteers called AudioVault. The website requires a login to download any materials and you are limited to 25 a day. Each item is uploaded by volunteers, some of whom are the ones providing the audio description! The website makes it easy for those who cannot see to hear their favorite shows or movies with the audio descriptions narrating along with the actors. AudioVault also tries to upload entire series, so it is easy to continue to binge listen. 

• Reading Rainbow is returning! The new host is none other than *insert drumroll here* MYCHAL THREETS! I personally think this is so cool, first to reboot a favorite show and also one of my school's alumni librarians will be hosting it! :D

• If you enjoy authors Ali Hazelwood, Christina Lauren, J.T. Geissinger, Ruby Dixon, Katee Robert, and/or Kimberly Lemming (all fantastic romance/science fiction/fantasy authors!), there is a new Amazon Original Stories section where each author wrote a creepy romantic fantasy novella! It is a series titled Scared Sexy, available free to Amazon Prime and Kindle Unlimited members! If you are not a member of either, you can still buy the entire collection for $5.94 online from Amazon. 

• As of this month, the Associated Press is no longer offering weekly book reviews. More details here. 

• If you remember reading The Baby-sitters Club, you'll be happy to hear there will be an official Baby-sitters Club Musical, with a score composed by the same composer of K-Pop Demon Hunters! I'm excited for it - if it is anything like the trending movie, we will be bopping to new music (that is hopefully faithful to the books)! Read more here from Deadline.

I am thinking of using Substack as a way to post in-between things and blog updates. What do you think? Do any of you have a Substack and like the experience?

I am currently reading Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto. I am enjoying it, as a music lover and romance novel enthusiast. What are you reading this lovely fall season? Anything you look forward to? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time - Happy Reading! :)

Happy 250th Birthday, Jane Austen!

Hello my fellow bookworms,

Photo by Photo by Leah Newhouse: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-assorted-books-1666320/Leah Newhouse from Pexels

This year marks the 250th birthday of literary icon, Jane Austen! While her birthday is technically December 16th, August is known for being "Romance Awareness Month," so I feel it is appropriate to celebrate earlier than later! Upon my own celebration, I have been wearing my Austen-like book earrings, wearing my Pride and Prejudice t-shirt from Litographs (which includes sections of the novel as blocks of text creating the photos on the front and back of the shirt!), and reading Austen's juvenilia novel The Beautifull Cassandra (yes, that is a purposeful two L's) and the graphic novel biography of Jane Austen, titled The Novel Life of Jane Austen, by Janine Barchas. I also finally watched Clueless for the first time, which as you know, is based on Austen's Emma, and is perfect timing as this year also marks the 30th anniversary of the movie. As if!

In terms of Austen's juvenilia, or works of the author while they are still young/before they became popular, I enjoyed reading Claudia L. Johnson's Afterword on The Beautifull Cassandra. The story was thought to be based on Austen's sister, Cassandra, which I thought could be true, given how close they seem from stories I heard and read. In the Afterword, Johnson commented on Austen's high intelligence and ability to play with words and write for all ages, even at a young age, how this short story was most likely written to amuse her family, and also on how people either like Austen's work or hate it (though I feel the same could be said of many novels, especially a recent book discussion I attended!). The takeaway from her analysis of Austen's writings is that The Beautifull Cassandra took a story and embraced the uneventful. It was a short, day-in-the-life following of a girl who took what she wanted (a bonnet, ice cream, a ride) and enjoyed her day, no matter the havoc that ensued. The events listed were not grand adventures, but a small adventure, nonetheless. Only, we embrace it in short sentences, are not told details, and everything is over just as it started. I read it as I would a children's picture book, as the copy I had borrowed from the library was illustrated, and enjoyed the short and simple story. It amused me, especially the dedication, and I was delighted to read something from an author I enjoy that I did not know previously existed. 

I work in a library and recently curated a Jane Austen anniversary display, in which I created fun Austen-esque buttons, with her books, movies, books based on her books, photos, and of course, Regency-like ribbons! I love to have fun with my work, and enjoy watching the smiles of others who interact with what I set up. The display sparked an animated conversation between me and a fellow fan, and I realized that not many people knew about the limited release of the new French movie, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. I was lucky enough to catch a showing in my area, and I loved it! It was released to DVD in late July, and I believe it is finally hitting libraries around now. If you are an Austen fan, you will love this romance that takes a bit from the author herself, while also giving a great homage to the work she did in her life and to those she inspired. It made me want to visit the estate!

Speaking of her estate...

You can visit Jane Austen's House as they celebrate the entire year with birthday celebrations! Each season is marked for a book of hers, such as the upcoming Persuasion and poetry festival beginning September 12th and ending on the 21st. The year ends with Austen's birthday celebration during the month of December, and an extra special one on her actual birthday, December 16th! If you are like me and missed out on tickets or cannot make it over to the United Kingdom, you can walk through a virtual tour, listen to their podcast, or if you are feeling especially enthusiastic, you can join the Jane Austen Society of North America, who are offering a free year membership to current students!

Whether or not you have Austen-mania, I hope your summer has been fun, that you have read many books (or at least enjoyed time reading), and have many fall things to look forward to! I am excited for the spooky season approaching and the lovely weather that beckons me to sit under trees with my cat and read.

Until next time, Happy Reading! :) 

Summertime is here!

Hello My Fellow Bookworms,

I hope you are all having a glorious summer so far! Long time, no see! I apologize for my not keeping on top of my blog. I find myself starting posts, but never finishing them. I hope to start my habit again of posting at least once a month. Life has been a little busy, but whose has not?

I had started hosting a memoir writing group workshop at my local library for women. It is an endeavor I never thought I would do on my own, but once asked by my manager last year, I gave it some serious thought. It was a scary thing for me, as English was never my best subject, but it is also a human thing. Personal stories are so interesting, more so in the fact that women over a certain age are "forgotten" by society, and it should never be that way! Everyone is interesting and has purpose. As it is a workshop for women, I started it in March, in honor of Women's History Month. It has been a fun and yet emotional journey. I found myself writing memoir pieces along with them, and it has been challenging. I enjoy writing for myself, rather than only an academic purpose. Will I ever publish my pieces, though? Only time will tell. 

This year has been a crazy storm of news, both good and bad, that affects libraries, museums, and publishing in general. This year has been hard so far for libraries, with the cut of federal grant funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services ("IMLS"), the dissolution of the Special Libraries Association ("SLA"), and continuous book challenges. If you would like to say, "Hey, I love my library!," you can do so by letting your library know with a heartfelt card or letter, advocating on social media through hashtags such as #DrawnToFreedom or #FundLibraries, or even reaching out to your local representatives and letting them know you love your library! The ALA has a wonderful webpage filled with fact sheets, resources, and even your local representatives' contact information, which can be found here. 

If you are curious as to what the IMLS funded for Illinois, here is a lovely flier that the ALA created on a per-state basis:

(c) ALA, 2025

Want even more of a reason to love libraries? There is a new documentary that was released earlier this spring titled Free For All, and it is now up on YouTube for free via PBS! Sit back, relax, and enjoy this short history into the people who made libraries what they are today. You can also watch a conversation PBS had after you watch the film, if you would like more information into the film:

Miscellaneous book news:

• As of June 27th, the Supreme Court ruled to protect federal broadband programs. What does this mean for you? This decision preserves the current E-Rate program, funding for affordable, high-speed internet at libraries and schools across the country. With all the cutbacks that have been happening in libraries and grants, this win is quite a lot! You can find out more information from ALA here. 

• If you are an author, especially a self-publishing author, this will affect you! Publishers' Weekly no longer accepts books for review submission for free, as it had for over 100 years. Instead, it now costs $25 for each book you submit. More information can be found here.

• Be careful when purchasing new books on Amazon. There are AI clones of books that are floating around, which the original authors are not getting paid for. The covers are being swapped with a fake cover image, AI changes the original language of the book and rewrites the story using a different language, the name of the author is changed - but kept just close enough to confuse people buying the book, and the list of Bad Things AI does grows. Check out the original article from CBC here, if you are interested in learning more. 
  
  
• If you are a teacher or school librarian, you could be receiving audiobooks for free from Libro.fm! Libro.fm is giving away ALC's, or Advanced Listening Copies, to teachers or school libraries who work with students between the ages of 5-18. Interested? Check out the program details here (and also to sign up)!

• An interesting new app that I still need to test is out on the market, promoting that it can read any of your PDF articles out loud for you. It is called ElevenReader Plus and is free to download for both Android and Apple, and although you can pay for a subscription, you can use it for free for up to 2 hours of listening per week. Depending on usage, this is a pretty nice app for those who may need someone to read out loud to them!

• Feeling stressed? Too much "doomscrolling," or scrolling non-stop through social media and/or the news? The Calm app recently had an article stating how we should take a nature break - go outside, breathe the air, embrace the sunlight, go for a walk. All these things can lead to a better mood, less stress, and better cognitive function, and physical health. Bringing a book helps! I enjoy reading in the grass with my cat surveying the sights, or just lounging in the forest and watching deer pass by. It is summer, so enjoy the most of it while you can! (This is not sponsored, this is just something I think is very important for all of our mental health at this time - I am guilty of doomscrolling video shorts!)

I do not have a book review at the moment, but I am in the middle of several books right now. One of which is called Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier. It feels like a cross between Moana and How to Train Your Dragon. 

Also, I also am being sent a book in the mail that requires a review, so please look forward to it!

I hope you are having a fantastic summer filled with adventures both in your life and on the page. If you would like to, please let me know what you are reading in the comments!

Until next time - Happy Reading! :)

(c) 2025, Once Upon A Book Blog(ger)

Happy New Year! Happy Lunar New Year!

 Hello my fellow bookworms,

Happy New Year and Happy Lunar New Year! This Lunar New Year is the Year of the Snake. According to the NBC News, beginning on January 29th (which is also National Puzzle Day!), this year is about renewal, regeneration, letting go of the past (whether it is anger, lost love, etc.), and start a new beginning. This year is about growth, creativity, and positive transformation - so be sure to clean your home, decorate with red to add good luck, and celebrate with your family and friends (Google).

Photo by RDNE Stock project from Pexels

I hope you have been enjoying the winter weather so far! It has been a mix of warm and cold weather with us, and I am definitely enjoying the warmer part! We already had our first snow, but we have been having a lot of rain, so luckily I have a good stack of books to read ready to go!

February marks the beginning of Black History Month! Libraries all over the United States have some really cool events planned. DC Public Library is hosting "Historically Black Phrases Live!" LA County Library is hosting many different book discussion and live music events. New York Public Library is hosting an innovative Book Design Workshop with Blk + Brwn Book Designers, in which patrons can learn book binding basics! If I lived closer, I would totally go to this event!

Something really cool that the Chicago Public Library is doing is hosting tours of the Pullman National Historical Park Museum. Pullman National Historical Park is a part of the United States' National Parks Foundation, designated in 2015, and the first one in Chicago. In middle school, I had chosen the Pullman estate as a topic for a history project, and thought it to be fascinating and unfair. The town of Pullman became one of creating Pullman cars (a type of railroad car), factories, homes, and basically a ploy that trapped workers in the area. Workers would have their pay deducted if they lived in the town of Pullman. There were many issues with how the workers were being paid, which led to the Pullman Strike of 1894, to which George Pullman was criticized for his policies and experimentation of how he ran his company, town, and factory workers, and the Supreme Court ultimately ordered the Pullman Company to sell its non-industrial land holdings (no more controlling the workers!). The success of the company came back to fruition under the leadership of its next president, Robert Todd Lincoln. I had pictures and postcards from my time visiting the area, but if you happen to visit, please share what you learn / your photos!

There a lot of books, music, and movies that you can consume and learn from this upcoming month. I recently learned there is an audiobook of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous speeches and sermons, which would be a pretty neat experience to hear! If you are not sure what you would want to read/listen/watch, here are some options:

• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby
• By the Book by Jasmine Guillory
• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
• Coming to America
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• A Dash of Salt and Pepper by Kosoko Jackson
• The Deep by Rivers Solomon
• Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
• Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin
• Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
• The Hate U Give
• Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola
• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
• Just Mercy
• Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Essential Box
• The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monae
• Moonlight
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave
• One Night in Miami
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
• Real Men Knit by K. M. Jackson
• Run by John Lewis
• The Unspoken by Ian K. Smith
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates 
• You Should See Me in a Crown  by Leah Johnson 

I know this blog post is a mesh of different ideas, but I finally graduated and I feel I am now back into the groove of blogging again. I would like to leave you with some fun links before I sign off:

• Temptations (the cat treats brand) released a series of fabulously purrfect reads featuring cats as the main characters. Check them out here!

• Book Riot released their annual Read Harder Challenge! I hope to finally tackle some of these fun book challenges this year, now that I do not have to read my homework anymore! :)

• Starbucks partnered with Oprah and is hosting a book club. The one for December featured Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These. It is a short book covering heavy topics, one that was gifted to me by a friend, so I hope to catch up on my reading and read it. The latest title is A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. 

• Goodreads hosted their Goodreads Choice Awards last year, of which you can now see the winners, voted on by readers like you! A few of the currently nominated books that I want to read include:
• James by Percival Everett
• The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
• A Touch of Chaos by Scarlett St. Clair (the last in a series!)
• Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier
• The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
• Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

I wish you all the best this year! Happy early Valentine's Day! I hope you make time for yourself and treat yourself to a good cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate and a good book. 

Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels

Happy Reading! :)