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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
Spotify’s New Audiobook Sync Feature
I’m not alone in reading the same book in multiple formats because Spotify reportedly has a new feature incoming that will allow users to jump around in their audiobook based on where they left off in a physical book. Let me tell you, I was so grateful for the specific labeling and brevity of sections in The Warmth of Other Suns as I switched between my physical copy and my Libro.fm download. The feature would allow readers to scan the page they’re on in a physical book and send that info to Spotify, which would sync the audiobook to the specified section. Mashable reports that readers should also be able to use the feature in reverse to find the correct page in their physical copy, picking up where they left off in the audiobook. The feature hasn’t been formally announced, so there’s no word on when they plan to roll it out.
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Oscar Nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay
And the nominees are: Bugonia (not adapted from a book, but from South Korean film Save the Green Planet!); Frankenstein (adapted from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus); Hamnet (adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s book of the same name); One Battle After Another (loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland); and Train Dreams (adapted from Denis Johnson’s novella of the same name). I was going to place my bet on One Battle After Another because it’s such a timely and dynamic film experience, but when I think about the actual process of adapting a work, Hamnet stands out based on everything I’ve learned about Chloé Zhao’s experience navigating not only O’Farrell’s text but also the works of Shakespeare, as a writer, director, and someone still getting familiarized with the English language. Truly impressive. All this to say, I’m predicting Hamnet for the win.
Unbanned Book Network From We Need Diverse Books
WNDB has launched an initiative to combat book bans and censorship in U.S. public schools and school libraries. Their Unbanned Book Network involves multiple tactics, including supporting authors affected by book bans and donating banned books to participating schools. Texas and Florida are among the states most deeply impacted by bans and censorship that the Network aims to target. I’m curious about how teachers and schools besieged by such bans will get around mandates in order to participate. WNDB posted an application for public schools interested in participating that includes questions about student demographics, literacy rates, and local censorship activity. You can find more information on their site.
Upcoming Romance Books Turned Into Movies for 2026
In case you’re in need of something to watch:
I hope you have all of January blocked off on your calendar. Heck, just block all of winter 2026. Pop the popcorn and grab a cold soda because the romance adaptations are in, and they are fresh. For the romantics, there’s nothing better than watching your darlings on screen, even if it means getting your heart broken alongside your favorite characters.
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