After taking last weekend off, I am back with another issue of Book News Corner! I will confess this has felt like something of a slow book news week, at least from where I’m sitting. It may be more to do with me spending the start of the week unpacking and getting the house together, and therefore not being in my usual routine. 

All that is to say, if I miss a big story this week, I wouldn’t be surprised. Still, here’s what I’ve come across, book news wise!

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Audie Awards Finalists Announced

This week, the Audie Awards dropped their list of finalists. The Audies recognize stellar audiobook performances, with categories like “Audiobook of the Year” and genre-specific awards. 

You can check out the full list of finalists on the Audio Publishers Association website. 

(Source: This post from Book Riot’s News Archives)

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American Girl Releases 1990’s Dolls, Complete with Book It! Accessory

Maybe it’s my age bracket, but I feel like everyone has been talking about American Girl’s latest historical dolls this week. The new dolls are twins from the 1990s, meaning the era of blow-up chairs and reading to earn free pizza at Pizza Hut. 

The dolls are fueling major nostalgia and making some 90s babies feel super old. I love that they come with Book It! accessories, as I’ve got fond memories of reading for pizza myself. 

(Source: Basically everywhere, but this link I found specifically from Book Riot’s News Newsletter, linking to the Variety piece above)

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Controversy Over Massive Language Changes to Roald Dahl’s Books

Another story I couldn’t seem to avoid on the internet this week, Puffin publishers released new editions of Roald Dahl’s catalog that have “modernized” language. They’ve changed hundreds of words throughout the texts, and pretty much everyone across the political spectrum is upset about the widesweeping changes. 

There’s no doubt that Dahl’s descriptions of some characters are concerning and cruel by today’s standards, but it does seem a bit like erasure to remove the offending language rather than try to put it in context or open a dialogue about it. I’ll be honest that I don’t personally know how to feel about all of this, but I’ve read a lot of interesting takes on the subject this week. 

(Source: Book Riot News archives)

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And there we’ve got the book-adjacent news of the week! Did you come across any interesting book news that I missed here? I’d love to hear about it! 

I should be back in the swing of things next week and will hopefully have plenty of bookish goodness to share.