Mocha Dick Could Have Been Assigned Reading

Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.

A Jaunt With Malala Yousafzai

Have you ever randomly wondered what Malala Yousafzai’s life looks like now? I did recently when I clocked Kristen Bell’s Joanne in Nobody Wants This (I do recommend) reading Yousafzai’s bestselling memoir, I Am Malala, for a scene. The New York Times‘ Reggie Ugwu got to spend time with the activist and youngest Nobel Peace Prize-winner whose anticipated new memoir, Finding My Way, published last week. They watched The Summer I Turned Pretty together, sat in CeLiberty Row for the W.N.B.A. playoffs, and enjoyed a Dua Lipa concert. The profile reveals the challenges and joys of being an activist often viewed as a celebrity, as well as the slew of internal tensions and conflicts such a singular person wrestles, alongside the beautiful space she’s claimed for herself as an adult. It’s a worthy and, ultimately, sweet read.

Thank Goodness He Changed the Name

I didn’t research this bit of historical trivia about the name of the real-life sea animal who inspired Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick beyond this History Facts page because I feared the Google results, but someone decided Mocha Dick was the perfect name for an understandably destructive albino sperm whale that took out more than 20 whaling ships in the 19th century. That’s it. That’s all there is and I’ll never see that title the same again.

Read the Cards and About This Forgotten Occult Femme

Today’s Halloween treat is deliciously occult-flavored because a deep connection between bookish folks and the occult endures. There are quests for rare occult tomes in real life and in fiction, and you do after all have to read the cards. The cards I speak of are tarot and the most famous of these is the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck. But do you know the woman behind these cards? Occult scholar Arthur E. Waite commissioned Pamela Colman-Smith (Pixie, to her friends) to illustrate a tarot deck, resulting in 80 tarot illustrations. Colman-Smith’s life is the stuff of novels, with the sad ending you would expect for a woman creative surviving the early 20th Century, and her race and sexual orientation are points of research and mystery. Colman-Smith had an even more direct connection to the world of books and publishing as an illustrator of children’s books and folk tales. Read all about this artist who really does deserve more attention.

6 of the Best New Book Releases Out October 28, 2025

In more big book release chatter, Harper Lee’s newest posthumous work hit shelves. This one’s a collection of stories and essays and perhaps has less controversy attached to it than Go Set a Watchman because these are complete works. Find out more about the Lee’s latest and this week’s new books here.