This past summer, it was announced that Practical Magic 2 is officially in the works. Even better, both Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock are set to return as the Owens sisters. But while we may still have a year or two to wait before we return to the cozy and magical cinematic world of Practical

Home Depot’s viral 12-foot skeleton is back in stock, which can only mean one thing: spooky season is just around the corner. We likewise see readers flocking to the horror section at their local bookstores; sales of scary books reliably increase every October. The tradition of telling ghost stories dates back at least to colonial

Election seasons can be unpredictable, and 2024 is set to be no exception. But it turns out that election season book sales are quite stable, despite the volatility that accompanies a high-stakes election. Marketplace analysis shows that certain categories actually sell better from September to November during an election year than during a non-voting year.

If you’ve spent any time on BookTok, you’ve almost definitely heard of “spice” ratings or seen a book rated on a scale of 1 to 5 “chili peppers.” While this taxonomy initially became popular as a TikTok-friendly way of talking about steamy romance, it’s a helpful shorthand to aid readers in finding the kinds of

Romantasy: the hybrid genre everyone is talking about. Unless you’ve been actively avoiding both social and mainstream media, the trend has crossed your path. And it’s still on the rise: at the time of writing, the hashtag “#romantasy” has over 992 million views on TikTok. Books blending fantastical elements with steamy romance aren’t new, but

While most of us became aware of Dark Academia thanks to TikTok, where the hashtag #darkacademia has over 5 billion views, the aesthetic/subculture found its foothold on Tumblr around 2014. Some trace its origin even further back to 1992, citing Donna Tartt’s The Secret History as the genesis of Dark Academia. So what is the Dark

In the weeks leading up to the holidays, boxed sets can sell over four times as much as they sell in an average week throughout the rest of the year. And for good reason: boxed sets are a perfect gift and a solid value for budget-conscious shoppers. The top selling sets are almost always children’s

Witchy season is right around the corner, and every fall sees a predictable increase in consumer interest in witchy books, both fiction and nonfiction. Some readers are leaning into the Practical Magic aesthetic, which has gained a new generation of fans on TikTok. Others are interested in casting spells themselves, or observing Mabon (the autumnal

Researchers have found that divorce rates reliably rise every August. There is speculation that the summer, with vacations and breaks from school, focuses more attention on family and home life, sometimes revealing marital conflict. August also allows some time for the dust to settle ahead of the busy family gatherings of the holiday season. No

On her Substack, author and Pulitzer finalist Rebecca Makkai recently proposed an award honoring backlist titles: “With the Pulitzer Prize announcements for last year coming on Monday, prizes have been on my mind. And specifically, this pipe dream I’ve had for a while now of starting a new and unconventional prize: one that celebrates the

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a reader in possession of some free time must be in want of a Jane Austen reading challenge. July has long been an active month for Austen fans (sometimes called Janeites), with conferences, festivals, tours, and book clubs popping up around the world. Austen died in July 1817,

Cli-Fi (short for climate fiction) is a genre that invites readers to consider the effects of climate change both in their own lives and for future generations. The foundation of the genre is an acknowledgement that climate change is an unignorable crisis. And while it is often speculative, cli-fi is usually grounded in real science.