Books and literature

Staffers at Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama, San Francisco’s City Lights Books and The Nook in Cedar Falls, Iowa, are among 600 booksellers receiving $500 holiday bonuses from James Patterson.

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has signed a law to prohibit book bans in the state and enshrine protections against civil and criminal charges for librarians who comply with the law.

Kamala Harris and breakout star Chappell Roan were among the year’s most talked-about people. Their names were also among the most mispronounced.

Oxford University Press has named “brain rot” its word of the year.

Award-winning author TJ Klune (“The House in the Cerulean Sea”) on when he felt able to quit his day job and when he first felt like he’d made it as a writer.

California Live’s Jobeth Devera is giving us a VIP tour of Arion Press, where the art of old-world bookmaking flourishes under a single roof. This unique institution is America’s last bastion of fine press book production, combining letter press printing, hand-binding, and typecasting in a seamless operation.

California Live’s Amber Pfister heads to IAMLA to meet with author Marianna Gatto to chat about her new book and explore the new exhibit, Creative Minds, featuring Italian inventors in LA. 

California Live’s Jessica Vilchis sits down with Jim O’Heir, who played the loveable Jerry on “Parks and Recreation,” to discuss his new memoir “Welcome to Pawnee.” He shares what inspired him to write the book, the cast member who checked on him most often during the series’ run, and the number one rule they had on set.

California Live’s Amber Pfister joins our sister shows “Chicago Today” and “The Hub Today” to reveal this month’s Banned Book Club read: “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin.

California Live correspondent Laila Muhammad visits Octavia’s Bookshelf in Pasadena where owner Nikki High curates a collection of books by BIPOC authors. The unique bookshop encourages community connection through fun events, guest speakers and more.

California Live’s Jessica Vilchis sits down for a raw and enlightening conversation with the author of “Sin Padres, Ni Papeles.” Stephanie L. Canizales, who is also an Assistant Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley, writes about the struggles this vulnerable community faces while striving for a better future.

California Live’s Jessica Vilchis chats with TODAY’s Al Roker and his daughter Courtney Roker Laga about their new cookbook “Recipes to Live By.” The cookbook is a compilation of cherished Roker family recipes from over the years

California Live’s Jessica Vilchis joins our sister shows “Chicago Today” and “The Hub Today” to reveal this month’s Banned Book Club read: “Beloved” by Toni Morrison.

California Live’s Jessica Vilchis sits down with global communications expert Maha Abouelenein to talk about her new book, “7 Rules of Self Reliance.” The author and podcast host shares tips on how to excel in both your personal and professional life using her playbook to become unstoppable.

The Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to the South Korean author Han Kang for what the Nobel committee called her “intense poetic prose.”

California Live’s Jobeth Devera sits down with Kyla Zhao, a 26-year-old Stanford graduate who spends her days working as a data analyst and her nights crafting change-making chapters. Her novels, centered around women and girls of color fighting to carve their place in male-dominated spaces, have earned her a Forbes 30 Under 30 honor and recognition from the California State...

“The book uses the same techniques as the show to encourage speech and 20 milestones, all through a playful story!”

California Live’s Jessica Vilchis joins our sister shows “Chicago Today” and “The Hub Today” to reveal this month’s Banned Book Club read: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky.

Banned Books Week started in 1982 and draws attention to censorship.

Two new reports provide a mixed but compelling outlook on the wave of book removals and challenges as the annual Banned Books Week begins for schools, stores and libraries nationwide.