LeVar Burton Signs Deal with Pantheon for Two Books

One is going to be an “inspirational memoir,” and the other will be about the “importance of reading” (to be released in 2026 and 2028 respectively). Burton, of course, is beloved by generations of book lovers for Reading Rainbow and has become an outspoken critic of book bans in schools and libraries. His podcast is quite popular as well, and this seems like a real coup for Pantheon and PRH.

First Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction Longlist Announced

I don’t know if I knew that the Women’s Prize was adding a non-fiction award, but it’s a good idea. The range of the finalists is impressive, from memoir to investigative reporting to science to literary history. The winner gets a cool 30,000 pounds. This puts it waaaay up there in terms of cash prizes for non-fiction.

On The Impossibility of Rating Books

Let’s say that giving books MPAA-style ratings was both a) a good idea and b) something we actually wanted to do for some reason. Both of these are untrue, but let’s posit them to get to c) the reality of what this would mean. As this tweet shows, the sheer scale of the number of books, and the time it takes to read them, makes this an absurdity.

Did You Know About Book Riot Deals?

You might already know about Book Riot Deals already, but in case you don’t here is what it is. Every day, our editors comb through what ebooks are on sale, pick some out, put them in a newsletter, and send them out to subscribers. For free. I was browsing today’s deals and was reminded again what a good service it is. The selections aren’t sponsored (this is how most ebook deal newsletters operate. but there is a clearly marked sponsor at the top), so if a pick is in the newsletter, it is because we think people would want to know. So go here to see the day’s picks (and subscribe if you’d like), or just click the image below with a couple of the highlights (just from today!) that are less than 2 bucks: