Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
How Would You Describe Your Year in Reading?
I’ve missed The Millions as they’ve been on hiatus this year, so I’m delighted to see their annual Year in Reading tradition continue, even if in abbreviated form. If you don’t find something new to read among the highlights from 18 contributors, I don’t know what to do for you. In a year defined by AI slop, I will always be grateful for thoughtful and wonderfully idiosyncratic reading lists from real people.
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Hot Greek Summer, Here We Come
The first official trailer for Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation of The Odyssey has dropped, and I don’t know what to say besides put it in my veins. The cast is stacked beyond belief: Matt Damon. Anne Hathaway. Tom Holland. Zendaya. Jon Bernthal. Elliot Page. Charlize Theron as Circe, and, in truly god-level casting, Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy. It’s a good day for book nerds when one of our best living directors gets a blank check to produce an adaptation of a ten-thousand-year-old story. You’ll know where to find me on July 16. Let’s do this.
A Reading Challenge for Audiobook Lovers
Resolution season is upon us. Expand your literary horizons with 2026 with Libro.fm’s listening challenge. Its 24 challenges like “listen to an audiobook by a disabled author,” “listen to a genre you’ve never tried before,” and “read an audiobook with a buddy” are designed to help you shake up your reading habits and discover new faves. A personal rec from me: for challenge #6, “listen to an audiobook read by the author,” check out Heartbreak by Florence Williams, which incorporates entries from the author’s audio journal and conversations with friends and experts as she sets out to both recover from her own heartbreak and simultaneously research the science of heartbreak. A true one-of-one listening experience.
What We’ve Learned Returning to the Great Books
The New Yorker‘s Jay Caspian King recently wondered, “If you quit social media, will you read more books?” It didn’t work out that way for him, so I humbly submit that he (and maybe you?) should try it the other way around: if you read more great books, you will spend less time on social media. That’s been one of the best effects of having read 14 Big Books in 14 weeks for the Zero to Well-Read podcast. More brain-on time means less mindless scrolling. I don’t have time for it, and more important, I don’t want it. Another big lesson? High school is the wrong time for most of the classics. The Great Gatsby hits different when you’ve got some life experience—some regret and disappointment, some longing, some perspective—under your belt. If it’s been a while since you checked in with the canon, I think you’ll want to check out the show.
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