Links: Wicked, Libraries, & More

Hey, everyone! How’s the energy today? Bad? Same here!

Please just know that this community is here for you. I’m not sure what else to say besides that.

I’m doing a lot of gaming (World of Warcraft has lured me back in, if only just to mindless fly around a mine nodes) and cross-stitching. My cats are getting lots of pets and kisses and I will happily hold onto my partner’s phone, at their request, so they avoid doomscrolling.

I’m hoping there are things, big or small, that you’re all doing for yourself.

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Celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday (250th!) by having your own Pride and Prejudice experience. Colin Firth not included.

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Public libraries are killing it on social media, per usual.

 

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A post shared by Bourbonnais Public Library (@bourbonnaispubliclibrary)

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This one is straight from a press release that was sent to us that may be of interest:

Berkley Publishing joins several other publishers, over 50 authors—including bestsellers like Carley Fortune, Christina Lauren and Ali Hazelwood—and more than 15 romance bookstores to amplify a Valentine’s campaign to raise awareness and funds for VOW for Girls, a nonprofit organization working to end child marriage. Shockingly, every 3 seconds, a girl under 18 is forced into a marriage that robs her of opportunities and exposes her to unimaginable hazards—including domestic and sexual violence. Just this week child marriage made headlines with the passage of a law in Iraq that allows girls as young as 9 to be forced into marriage, a devastating step backward for human rights and a stark reminder that girls’ rights are under increasing threat around the world.

With romance novels generating over $1 billion annually and 82% of romance readers identifying as women, political activist and romance novelist Stacey Abrams saw an incredible opportunity to connect the passionate romance community with a mission to protect girls worldwide. Romance fiction thrives on stories of empowerment and choice, creating strong female characters who find joy, resilience, and agency. At the heart of this campaign is a simple belief: every girl deserves to be the protagonist in her own story and decide her own future, free from the pressures of forced marriage.

Participating authors and publishers will all amplify the campaign and ask their communities to give. Bookstores are also creating Galentine’s Day events aligned with the campaign, and others are donating a portion of sales. VOW and Berkley are delighted by how warmly the romance community has embraced the cause and come up with unique ways to support.

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I finally watched Wicked! I enjoyed it, all snug in my bed with some popcorn. And then the algorithm gods decided to send me this. Sure, why not!

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Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!