Hear LeVar Burton Read His Novel Aftermath for the First Time
In 1997, actor, director, writer, and book lover LeVar Burton wrote a speculative novel called Aftermath. Now, over twenty years later, Burton is doing something new with an older project: he’s turning it into an audiobook. And you can listen to a preview of the audiobook right now at Entertainment Weekly. When Burton originally released his novel, the book was set in the future, the year 2019. Now, with the year 2019 behind us, Burton looks back on his novel and says he was “astonished by similarities between” his “timeline and unfolding events.” How close does LeVar Burton’s cautionary tale about the future come to our current reality? You’ll have to listen to the book to find out!
Library Book Returned to Sheffield Cathedal 300 Years Overdue
We’ve all been late in returning our library books from time to time, but then there’s late late. Just ask the woman who returned a copy of William Stanley’s The Faith and Practice of a Church of England-Man to Sheffield Cathedral’s lending library—300 years overdue. The cathedral, which was built in 1430, once hosted members of King Henry VIII’s inner circle and survived not only a deadly flood that killed 200 people but several major wars. The book was returned via mail with a note from a woman in Wales who said that her recently deceased godmother asked that the book be returned on her behalf. Hey, better late than never.
Amazon Workers Protest Against Anti-LGBTQ Book Sales
TW: transphobia
Amazon workers are petitioning, protesting, and even quitting over the company’s decision to sell a book that frames transgender persons as mentally ill. There is an Amazon employee-led petition calling for the removal of the book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters in which the author refers to a “trans epidemic” among young people identifying as transgender. At least two employees have quit over Amazon’s sales of this book. Selene Xenia, a software engineer who identifies as trans and had worked at Amazon for seven years, left the company in June after learning that Amazon was planning to continue carrying the title. Xenia said, “The book literally has [craze] in the title and considers being transgender a mental illness in many senses throughout the book.”
The conversations about what books should and should not be sold has sparked a heated censorship debate. For instance, Target discontinued the sale of Irreversible Damage after backlash from activists. However, they later started selling the book again after others cried out that they were denying the author’s right to free speech. Allegedly, Target has once again stopped carrying this book.
Your Guide to Instagram Poetry
Yes, Instagram poetry is “real” poetry. Here’s your guide to Insapoetry, from what makes it so appealing to what Instapoetry writers you should be reading.