I'm a publicist at Penguin Random House. Here's what caught my eye in book news this week:

• Rage Bait Lit: Harper's Bazaar shared a really compelling article this week on how the books taking over internet conversations (Yesteryear, Famesick, Strangers) are all tied to controversial takes, messy truths, and angry women (AKA, the reality TV of reading). I'm really curious what's next to come in this "genre" and whether we'll soon tire of the rage bait bit.

• Quiet Romance: The popularity of The Other Bennet Sister, the new book-to-TV adaption that has been relentlessly ad targeting me, might suggest that more subtle love stories are in store for the future. Frankly, this sounds like a relief from the fast-burning, no yearning romances topping charts recently.

• Audio: Spotify’s aggressive expansion into audiobooks is seemingly paying off—they're on track to generate $100 million in Audiobooks+ subscriptions, and users spent 60% more time streaming audiobooks in 2025 than in 2024.

• LitRPGs: Gamified novels (aka books that borrow tropes from tabletop or video games) are taking over, with the newest Dungeon Crawler Carl facing an outpouring of love. I find it especially interesting how all eight audiobook versions of this series is on Audible's bestseller list—I suppose it makes sense that gamers would want immersive reading experiences.

• Book Zine!: Riverhead, an imprint of PRH, has launched The Eddy—a physical newspaper promoting their catalogs, complete with crosswords and all. I absolutely adore this marketing nod to analog audiences. 

All opinions & observations are my own.