My fellow readers,

One of the questions posed yesterday was about required reading in school and whether the books were a hit or a miss. This got me thinking, most of the books I read I felt neutral about because I did not resonate with the stories. (And I wasn't able to enjoy the story knowing that I would have to take an exam or write a paper about it.) That being said, my English teachers worked hard to make our discussions about these books fun.

For example, my freshman English teacher also happened to be the drama teacher, so she had us act out scenes from Romeo and Juliet and The Odyssey instead of just reading them out loud. I also remember doing an Odyssey themed obstacle course, where she came up with different tasks related to the trials that Odysseus faces. These experiences pushed me out of my comfort zone—as I prefer to read in peace—but I must admit that they worked because I was able to understand (and remember) the story better.

So, my question to you is, how did your teachers teach literature? Did they lead discussions? Show film adaptations? Come up with creative activities? Assign creative projects? I would love to hear about your experiences. I would also like to know, if you were a literature teacher, how would you teach it?

lily moscowitz is ahead of her time and i love her:

"me: just because mrs spears tired down your long term paper proposal?

lily: no, mia. because she's trying to usurp our individuality by forcing us to bend to corporate feudalism. again."

Now that the fall 2026 PB Readalong books have been announced (🔗here), how many new books did y'all end up adding to your TBR/Interested? One? Two? All of them? Which are you interested in or not interested in?

I already have one that I've read (The Incandescent), but depending on how my reading goes in the fall and how much time I have, I might read Death of the Author and The Ornithologist's Field Guild to Love as well, since I've heard good enough about them before!

Hi everyone, we're excited to share the 4 selections for the Fall Readalong, running September - November! We announce Readalong titles a month in advance to give everyone time to place library holds. The Seasonal Readalong page will be updated soon with the books below, but in the meantime, feel free to add them to your TBR!

How to Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann: A darkly funny horror novel featuring group therapy, fairytale retellings, and feminism.

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh: A sapphic dark academia fantasy set at an elite boarding school, where our heroine is a powerful demonology teacher on a mission.

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor: A genre-bending sci-fi novel that interweaves the story of Zelu, a disabled Nigerian-American writer, with chapters from the novel she's writing, blurring the boundary between the real world and the created world.

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton: A cozy and whimsical Victorian era romcom with 2 rival ornithologists, travel via parasol, and a lot of scheming and flirting.

Excited to read with everyone in the coming months!

Happy reading, Jennifer & Lucy

Book 25 in my Hercule Poirot challenge. This one is another collection of short stories that were initially released serially by Christie, but apparently when the decision was made to release them in a novel, she went back through and strengthened the connections between them. Don't know that I'm too optimistic about this one since so far Christie's short story collections have left me wanting so much more (and not in a good way), but a challenge is a challenge.

Book 25 in my Hercule Poirot challenge. This one is another collection of short stories that were initially released serially by Christie, but apparently when the decision was made to release them in a novel, she went back through and strengthened the connections between them. Don't know that I'm too optimistic about this one since so far Christie's short story collections have left me wanting so much more (and not in a good way), but a challenge is a challenge.