Shein Enters the Bookselling Fray

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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.

Rest in Power, Alice Wong

Renowned disability rights activist and author Alice Wong died at the age of 51 on November 14. I join so many others in grieving the loss of this MacArthur Fellow, Disability Visibility Project founder, and incredible human being who did so much to make this world a better place. Many readers were introduced to Wong’s work through Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century, the excellent collection of writing about the modern disability experience she edited. In a social media post, Wong’s family wrote:

As we mourn the incomprehensible loss of Alice, we share the words she gifted us with from her memoir, Year of the Tiger. “The real gift any person can give is a web of connective tissue. If we love fiercely, our ancestors live among and speak to us through these incandescent filaments glowing from the warmth of memories.”

Read more about Wong’s life, legacy, and work here.

Shein Enters the Bookselling World

Shein took over the world of fast fashion and now the Singapore-based company is coming for books. The major fashion and lifestyle retailer is partnering with used books retailer Alibris to offer a wide variety of books through Shein’s U.S. marketplace. The company sees a growing community of readers interested in physical books, particularly among Gen Z shoppers, with a Shein-conducted survey pointing to romance, fantasy, and mystery as top genres. Does this mean we’re going to start seeing books included in TikTok Shein hauls? Maybe some minimalist printed hoodies decorated with ACOTAR quotes? Of the interest in reading and books, Shein’s general manager made the groundbreaking observation, “This isn’t a trend, it’s a lifestyle.” I’ll be curious about the success of this endeavor, seeing as how there are already so many used books outlets shoppers can turn to, but considering the company’s success so far I won’t discount their ability to compete.

Big Lit Energy

If reading is a key part of your personality and you’re also too online (I see all of us raising our hands), Literary Hub has a bracket for you. Pour one out for the Literary Twitter of yore and weigh in on the “Most Literary Twitter moment, discourse, or personage.” The contenders have been sorted into four categories with quadrants facing off and a final round crowning the winner on November 24th. From the cat person sensation to the inescapable Sally Rooney to the nightmare that was American Dirt, there’s so much to commemorate and so much I’d rather forget.

Read Harder With These Great Books Under 250 Pages

Did somebody say short books? Count me in. We’re all trying to wrap up our reading year, and if you’re trying to cram in a few more books and complete this year’s Read Harder challenge, you’ll want to check out this list of excellent reads under 250 pages.

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