How to be a Good Literary Citizen in 2025

+ some end-of-the-year lists 📚

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

I’m currently typing this the week before, from the Northwoods, where the snow is seven inches thick and still coming. I just ate leftover cranberry sauce, pulled on thick woolen socks, and admired the view of the glittery-cold lake from the back porch.

My daughter recently asked me if winter is the last season of the year or the first season of the year. I told her that it’s both: it’s a transitional time, when growth feels dormant but much is still happening. And like so many others, I’ve found it’s an excellent time of year to think about new habits I want to cultivate.

One thing I’ve been mulling over lately is how to be a good literary citizen. I’m not just a wrier, or just a reader—I’m part of a larger publishing ecosystem that I can help or hurt. There are so many strong emotions floating around publishing-land, and even I can get a whiff of them way up here among the ice-crusted evergreens. I never wanted to become one of those writers who loudly proclaims their dissatisfaction with their career; I refuse to be a person who tells stories for a living and then demands a certain amount of attention for them as if it’s something I’m owed. I will not dive into entitlement; I will not complain about a lack of certain gifts when I’m given so many others. I want to make good art, and then help the world be a place that’s welcoming to that art. That feels like the best I can do.

You might be nervous about book banning, concerned about the collapse of the mid-list author’s career, or anxious about publishing houses combining/fighting/striking/bein’ wild. But there’s so little you can really do about any of that, for the most part. Complaining is bad for your spirit; worrying gets you nowhere. What can you do? How can you help?

Here are some things you can do that I think will help authors, readers, the publishing industry, and booksellers thrive in the new year.

• Attend bookstore or library events. Every time I yank on my heavy winter coat + leave the house to attend an author’s talk or a literary event, I’m glad I did. Every single time. Celebrate books—off of your computer! With other people! End the Human Doom Loop! It’s such a joyfully creative alchemy that takes place when you get to hear someone talking about their work. These events are also often free, and if they’re paid, you’re typically just paying for a copy of the book. Attendance at bookish events is down across the board, and it really gives life to libraries and bookstores when their events are packed. Breathe some fresh air and talk good books with other people in your community. (Psst—I also enjoyed this recent article on What’s Keeping Librarians Up at Night.)

• Review books. It costs nothing to review a book, but makes a big difference for authors. Taking a minute to give your thoughts on GoodReads or Amazon can be a great way of thanking an author for their art (psst—Take it From the Top could really use some more reviews in both of those places 😉.)

• Share about great books, on or offline. A quick snapshot of a book cover in your Instagram stories. A mention to a friend that you know loves to read. A Facebook post with your recently-read list. Digitally or in-person, just talking about what books you’ve enjoyed lately is truly the best way to support the publishing industry. The opinions of Midwestern, middle-class moms are absolutely vital for the publishing industry. Our voices matter!

• Use your spending dollars on mid-list authors. I totally understand wanting to spend your hard-earned money on books you love, even if they’re by bestsellers. And I absolutely will buy any book J. Ryan Stradal or Anthony Doerr write! But remember the mid-list authors in your budget, too, because those purchases make a large difference when it comes to their ability to continue writing. Y’know? Some New York Times bestsellers will be just that, even if you choose to hop on the library waiting list for their book and instead use your spare change on a mid-list author. If you’re buying books for a baby shower gift, consider getting a more contemporary book than Goodnight Moon or The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Eric Carle’s estate is doing just fine. Or, if you’re attached to the book because you absolutely love it, get two—a classic and a newer title¹.

• Donate books you no longer need. Jails, libraries, daycare centers—there are a lot of places open to book donations. If you have boxes of books sitting unread in your basement, consider donating them to an organization in need! (That being said, be a courteous giver. Nobody wants 40-year-old coffee stained paperbacks that you’ve dog-eared. No offense. Don’t use your library’s donation bin as a garbage can. It’s okay to recycle books that are well-loved but no longer serving you—they’re made of paper! They’re not meant to last forever! Le gasp!) Everyone should have access to literature.

• Buy your books from indie booksellers. Look, I’m not trying to shame anyone for using Jeff Bezosland. They’re cheaper; I get it. But as I’ve written about before, independent bookstores will literally only continue to exist if you and I shop there. No magical fairy is waiting in the wings with a blank check. It’s you and me deciding where to spend our fifteen bucks. I want to live in a world with indie bookstores, where booksellers know their clientele and have real taste, not an algorithm-calculated aesthetic opinion. If you’re currently using Audible, switch over to Libro.fm—it’s an audiobook platform that hooks up to your local bookstore instead of Amazon, and it’s really easy to use.

I was thrilled that Take It From the Top was a Reading Middle Grade Best Book of 2024, a feature on Children’s Book Council’s Hot Off the Press, and a Kirkus Best Book of 2024. Thank you so much to everyone who enjoyed Eowyn + Jules’ story this year!

I also got to chat about it on the Middle Grade Matters podcast, one of my favorites. Shannon is just so delightful to chat with.

Like I said above, if you enjoyed Take it From the Top, a review on your platform of choice would mean so much to me. Thanks in advance!

And lastly, a book (or two) I’ve loved lately for…

Kids: Oh, Christmas picture books! We always love The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie dePaola, but a new-to-us book of Christmas poems this year is Under the Christmas Tree by Nikki Grimes. One of my personal favorites that gets a lot of attention is December is Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson. Yes, it’s about a mouse—what can I say? I have a type.

Middle graders: I recently devoured Saffiyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan. I love anything having to do with the occupation of Paris, and this introduced me to a whole facet of that history I was unfamiliar with—how instrumental the Muslim community was in the resistance.

Adults: I finished The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop over Thanksgiving weekend. It was a really interesting read, especially if you’re a fan of Gilmore Girls or interested in the wild ride that was New York in the 60s/70s. I’m not usually a big celebrity-memoir girl (not snobby! Just…don’t usually them that interesting!) but I did enjoy this quite a bit.

Thanks for reading along!

-Claire-

1. I don’t hate on the classics. They’re classic for a reason! AND…we shouldn’t be afraid of celebrating new books and living authors, either.