Reading about the reading life: June 8, 2025 edition

Welcome to another edition of "Reading about the reading life" here at The Itinerant Librarian. This is where I collect stories about reading and the reading life. Basically, these are items related to reading, maybe writing and literacy, that I find interesting and think my four readers might find interesting as well with a little commentary. As with other features I do on this blog, I do it when I have time or feel like it. Comments are always welcome (within reason).

Once more, I find that it has been a while since I have done one of these features; last time was back in 2024. Time can fly when you are just trying to stay alive in the Hard Times. Plus to be honest, I've been focusing a bit more here on writing good reviews and just doing some reading. Anyhow, here are a few items I've read that I thought were interesting and my four readers might appreciate. 

•  Via ArabLit, a look at what people in Gaza read during a war. We find in this story that " just as the human spirit perseveres, so too do books, despite the horrors, destruction, and annihilation in Gaza." 
• In Russia, a segment of the population reads what is known as "Z literature," which is defined as "a subgenre of Russian fantasy fiction characterised by nationalistic, pro-war storylines, has been on the rise since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began three years ago and may be pushing young readers towards enlisting in combat." Story via The Guardian. 
•  Via Arab News, a look at the growth of book cafes in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Speaking of reading establishments, the last bookstore in Greenland recently closed. Via Nordisk Post.  
• From El Diario (Spain), a look at the oldest library in the world, which was founded by a woman in Africa, and it is still running to this day. 
• Via My Modern Met, a look at recent research that shows what happens in the brain when you are reading.  
• Over at Counter Craft, they're looking at the selling of books along with the AI scandal about the fake book list and a bit more.  Article also looks a bit at what is left of professional book reviewing, as it was once done in reputable newspapers and magazines. According to the author, apparently people do not read book reviews any more. Well, I am not giving up. I write reviews mostly for myself to remember what I read, and maybe to share with my four readers; it's also my small bit for reader's advisory. If anyone after that finds them interesting, feel free to drop me a comment. Do you read book reviews? Mine or anyone else's? 

And that wraps it up for this week. As always, comments are welcome, and if you've read anything interesting about the reading life feel free to let me know. Have a great day.