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

Community Aid Network MN Book Drive

If you’re looking for additional ways to support people in MN who are dealing with ICE making their communities unsafe, the Community Aid Network MN, which supports families in need of donated items, is running a book drive. They’re working with local schools to distribute books to kids staying at home, and they’re mostly in need of Spanish titles for ages 0-11. Find out how to donate here.

An Update On the FOURTH WING Adaptation

Michael B. Jordan, whose production company is set to produce the adaptation of Rebecca Yarros’s bestselling Empyrean series for television, announced an update about the TV series, which was first announced in October 2023. Jordan said:

“We are making sure that this is going to be a[n] exciting show that delivers on all of the things the fans want and some of the things that they won’t be expecting either,” Jordan explained. “But trust me, I know how beloved this franchise IP is and we’re diligently… We’re in the lab, we’re cooking up. We got it. It’s coming. It’s early stages, but I feel how much people care about this one. It’s not lost on us.”

Yarros, who’s serving as an executive producer, has also expressed happiness about the scripts she’s read so far. Exciting news for fans, but perhaps not as exciting as getting a premiere date.

Taking That Romance Novel Heartthrob to Bed

In Obvious News is Obvious Land, a good chunk romance readers often take their stories beyond the page and into their bedtime fantasies. Talker Research conducted a survey on behalf of lubricant company K-Y, and this insight was among the results. A third of the 2,000 readers who submitted a response imagined a character from their romance reads as a sexual partner. They also found that more than half of the respondents believe that there’s more openness about women speaking up about their intimated desires. K-Y, of course, is focused on how comfort is portrayed, specifically when it comes to lubricants. Get the spicy details here.

The Generational Impact of Book Bans on Teens

These young people have grown up under a regime that has taught them the only thing that matters when it comes to reading books are cherry-picked passages and counting profanity, as modeled by partisan parental rights groups. These young people have had varying levels of access to their schools or public libraries, as well as to digital tools, including informational databases. While students from well-off backgrounds in states where book censorship is rampant will be fine (that’s by design), many will begin their higher education at a significant disadvantage compared to peers from states where literary access has been better protected.

Read the full story here.