• In a month — hell, a year — loaded down with bad news, I urge you to read Seattle author Nicola Griffith's triumphant blog post celebrating an exciting new literary award:

I did that. Me. A global $50,000 prize to support stories about women—by writers from nearly 60 countries—happened because I wrote one blog post about something that’s bugged me for years: that books about women don’t win awards.

• Would you care to guess what Donald Trump reads? Is "not much of anything" your answer? The good news is, you're right! (The bad news is: you're right.)

• It is not every day that you get news of a new Earthsea story from Ursula K. LeGuin. It's set to be published in an omnibus edition in 2018:

Readers may be unacquainted with “The Daughter of Odren” considering it was published two years ago and only as an ebook. The story is set in the familiar world of Earthsea, and in an Odyssean key, focuses on a daughter — Weed — awaiting the return of her father, Lord Garnet. According to a blurb on fantasticfiction.com, “Odren” is “a hauntingly beautiful tale of betrayal and revenge.” With the publication of the all-in-one Earthsea, it will be the first time “Odren” appears in print.

• The Spectator says the secret to enjoyable holiday reading is to bring a smaller selection of books, so you're not overwhelmed. This is wrong. The secret to enjoyable holiday reading is to take a lot of books and to pass the books on to free libraries and other readers as you go, thereby making your bag lighter as your vacation continues.

• Gird your loins: Twilight author Stephenie Meyer has written a spy thriller for adult audiences, and it will be published in November of this year.