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This means much more than just the reunion of The Washington Post’s various reviews under one umbrella. The section’s rebirth brings with it a renewed and expanding sense of what our books coverage can and should be.
We will continue to stress books about politics, power and their effects on the lives of everyday people for The Post’s uniquely positioned, globally interested audience. We’ll have original arguments stemming from consideration of books about the forces fueling our tumultuous times, from disinformation and climate change to technological revolutions and reckonings with history. In fiction, we’ll showcase a diverse roster of strong and stylish critics, delve more often into the lives and minds of writers, and engage with the many arguments that are rooted in what and how we read. We’ll help you find (and decide on) everything: bestsellers, obscure gems, prize winners, disappointments and the rest, from here and around the world.
You’ll find us more often on social media, where we’ll ask you more frequently about what you’re reading and thinking. We’ll also keep an eye on older books — those that are newly relevant and those that are timelessly interesting or delightful — knowing that readers want to find great books from wherever and whenever they can.
Book World’s first editor was William McPherson, who was at the helm from 1972 until 1978. He became an acclaimed novelist and was among several Pulitzer Prize-winning critics Book World has nurtured. Others include Jonathan Yardley, who won his Pulitzer before coming to The Post, and Michael Dirda, who remains a vital contributor to our pages as we relaunch. The reviews of our invaluable critic Ron Charles will now run in print on Sundays, and his popular Book Club newsletter (sign up here if you haven’t already) will still go out by email every Friday morning.
Marie Arana, the last editor to oversee the stand-alone Book World section, is the author of several acclaimed books and a true literary ambassador: the first literary director of the Library of Congress and the former director of the National Book Festival, among other influential roles. I want to thank McPherson and Arana and the other editors whose work challenges us to aim high as we reimagine Book World for a new audience.
On the 25th anniversary of Book World, Yardley wrote that McPherson “understood that this section must be many things to many people.” And that remains true. Books encompass everything under the sun, and we will treat them with the broad curiosity that they (and their readers) deserve. We welcome your comments and suggestions as we embark on this new, and also storied, venture with you. You can reach us at bookworld@washpost.com. Thanks for reading.
— John Williams, books editor
A note to our readers
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John Irving has said “The Last Chairlift” will be his last long novel. If so, readers will get their money’s worth. The book is a 912-page sprawl, full of sex, family friction, skiing, wrestling, and even ghosts, who traipse in and out of the action as if to check on how everything is going.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — Six days after Banned Books Week, Escambia County Public Schools superintendent Dr. Tim Smith is implementing a “Restricted Section” in the schools’ libraries.
According to the school system, the purpose of the Restricted Section will be to house books currently under appeal for questionable content. Parents will be given the opportunity to opt-in if they wish for their student to have access to titles housed in the Restricted Section as they are being reviewed.
“While we review disputed books, we want to make sure parents still have the right to make decisions relative to what they believe is and isn’t appropriate for their children,” Smith said. “We feel the implementation of a Restricted Section in each of our school libraries, from which students can access these titles only with parent permission, will best meet the needs of our families as books are under review. The final arbiter of what is appropriate for a child to read is always that child’s parent; not other parents, teachers, or aggrieved members of the public.”
On Friday, the school system laid out its Reconsideration of Educational Media Policy. It says that requests for reconsideration are to be submitted to the school with the title in question. Once the request has been submitted, the school will form a School Materials Review Committee to read the title, review the complaint, consult professional reviews, and consult outside experts as needed. The School Materials Review Committee will then meet to discuss the title and hold a blind vote to keep the title, move the title to another level, or remove the title completely.
The complainant then has the opportunity to appeal the decision to a District Materials Review Committee. The District Materials Review Committee will read the title, review the complaint and appeal, consult professional reviews, and consult outside experts as needed. The District Materials Review Committee will then meet to discuss the title and hold a blind vote to keep the title, move the title to another level, or remove the title completely. The complainant then has the opportunity to appeal the decision to the School Board.
“The School Board has the authority to remove books from its libraries; however, it cannot do so simply because it disagrees with the message of a book or it offends the personal morals of an individual,” said School Board General Counsel Ellen Odom. “Through the review process, if the School Board determines that a particular book is pornographic or obscene, is not suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material presented, is inappropriate for the grade level and age group for which the material is used, or is factually inaccurate or misleading, it can direct the removal of such book.”
The school system said it is currently working on a revised school library collection development policy and educational media review policy to ensure consistency of the review process and consistency with the recently passed House Bill 1467, formally known as K-12 Educational Measure.
According to a study released this month by PEN America, Florida is among the top states with the most book bans. The non-profit said Florida has book bans in 21 of the state’s school districts involving 566 titles. The majority of the banned books contain themes or characters involving the LGBTQ community and people of color.
PEN America estimates that at least 40 percent of bans listed in the Index (1,109 bans) are connected to either proposed or enacted legislation, or to political pressure exerted by state officials or elected lawmakers to restrict the teaching or presence of certain books or concepts.
ECPS staff, in conjunction with the School Board, will hold a special workshop on October 10 at 8 a.m., to discuss School Board Rule 4.06 – Educational Media Materials.
Stay ahead of the biggest stories, breaking news and weather in Mobile, Pensacola and across the Gulf Coast and Alabama. obtain the WKRG News 5 news app and be sure to turn on push alerts.
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Edmontonians lined the street outside a south-central cafe Saturday for a chance to purchase baking, furniture, and small wares and say farewell to the popular community gathering place.
Juniper Cafe & Bistro hosted a sale selling everything from baking, mugs, cups, wall decor, to tables and chairs as a final fundraiser to help owners Kenny Dario and Enid Dufresne-Dario.
The cafe announced earlier this year that it would close its doors for good after the property owners initiated plans to redevelop the Strathearn Centre strip mall.
"It's just been seven years of amazing stories and lots of emotion," Enid told CTV News Edmonton. "We visioned that this would be a place where neighbours would meet other nieghbours, and it happened on a daily basis.
"There were neighbours who lived by each other for years and never gone for coffee before," she added. "And they had their first coffee together here."
Enid shared how the cafe helped create new social bonds between community members, with several having first dates or getting married at the bistro — with even one woman starting to go into labour while enjoying her breakfast.
"We love community," Enid said. "We are just so grateful for the support."
Kenny shared how the local coffee shop had several years of difficulty, starting with LRT construction disruptions to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We have decided (now) to just step back and regain our composure if you will," Kenny added. "Just going to breathe for a minute."
"Now, we just need to sell some things, get some debt paid off, and see what the next chapter looks like," Enid echoed.
The cafe is creating a recipe book that shares stories and how to make its signature dishes.
"(It will have) the recipes, the exact ones they cooked with, and pictures of it," said Tanni Cyr, who is helping with the project.
"There's so many things that have happened at Juniper," Cyr added. "We want to keep this community going. We may not have a location, but we still have the community."
Visit Juniper's website to share a memory from the cafe or pre-order the recipe book.
Cyr said she was surprised to see the large turnout for the final sale of the bistro's wares.
"The support has been amazing," she added. "We have people wanting to buy little bits of Juniper just to remind them and remember the feeling of community when they would come here."
