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 deal for budget-conscious shoppers. The top selling sets are almost always titles—Middle

We’re all familiar with Christmas Creep—the phenomenon of retailers displaying holiday-themed merchandise ever earlier with each passing year. But in 2023, it could be more shopping advantage than seasonal annoyance. Half of consumers are planning to begin holiday shopping before November this year, and many expect to get started in September. Some of this is

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

In You’ve Got Mail, Meg Ryan waxed poetic about the coming of fall and the attendant romance of “a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils.” Even for folks whose school days are long behind them, the back-to-school season can provide a bit of motivation or excitement. With summer vacations over and the holiday crush not yet

Summertime is barbecue season! Here are some of the top trends anticipated for summer 2023, according to Better Homes and Gardens and Barbecue Bible: International inspiration: Global and fusion flavor inspirations are big in grilling this year, whether that’s adding gochujang to a marinade or trying an entirely new technique like chichinga, or West African

We’ve all seen the proliferation of artistic content created by generative AI. From visual art to poetry to music, advanced technology is entering realms once thought to be solely the domain of human beings. At the same time, clips of a TED talk by Ethan Hawke on the value of human creativity have begun to

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,

Teacher Appreciation Week is observed May 2–8 2023, but hardworking educators deserve our thanks year-round. Over the past few years in particular, teachers and other school workers have made it known that they feel overworked and underappreciated. In 2022, the National Education Association (NEA) created a video featuring the thoughts of several educators from across

The end of winter is in sight, and, as gardeners know, it’s time for planting once the ground thaws. In recent years, younger generations have taken up gardening, and Millennials are now the largest group of gardeners in the U.S. Many came to the hobby during lockdown in 2020, but the shift has been observed

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.