Settle into Sunday with the stories Book Riot readers were most interested in this week.<\/p>\n
The 25 Best Dystopian Novels of All Time<\/p>\n
Do you remember your first dystopian book? My sixth grade teacher read\u00a0The Giver<\/a>\u00a0aloud to my class over the course of a week or two, and I\u2019ve spent the last thirty years trying to recover. I must not be alone because Lois Lowry\u2019s genre gateway drug is among\u00a0Entertainment Weekly\u2018s\u00a025 best dystopian books of all time<\/a>. It\u2019s a solid list with a wide variety of nightmare hellscapes and timelines to choose from and a welcome reminder that while\u00a0the current political situation has sent dystopian stories back to the bestsellers list<\/a>, writers have been imagining the worst versions of society for centuries.<\/p>\n BookTok Travel is Ready for Take-Off<\/p>\n EF Ultimate Break, which focuses on experiential travel for 18-35-year-olds, has launched\u00a0a new series of trips inspired by BookTok faves<\/a>. Citing their\u00a0recent survey of Gen Z and Young Millennial travelers<\/a>\u00a0in which 40% reported they are in a book club and 62% expressed interest in visiting destinations related to books they\u2019ve read, the company is now taking ACOTAR fans to the Swiss alps that inspired Sarah J. Maas\u2019s Prythian, inviting Emily Henry fans aboard an Adriatic cruise \u00e0 la\u00a0People We Meet on Vacation, and guiding history-loving Percy Jackson readers around ancient ruins in Rome, Athens, and Cairo. The trips, which \u201cfocus on literary community building,\u201d include book club discussions, themed experiences related to the source material, and visits to literary destinations.<\/p>\n Today In Books<\/p>\n Sign up to Today In Books to receive daily news and miscellany from the world of books.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first travel company to offer book-inspired tours\u2014John Shors Travel<\/a>\u00a0has been taking readers on tours with their favorite authors for years now, and\u00a0Common Ground<\/a>\u00a0hosts \u201cpilgrimages\u201d that encourage travelers \u201cmake meaning through secular texts, treating novels and other forms of non-religious media as sacred,\u201d to name a few\u2014it\u2019s the first one I\u2019ve seen that caters specifically to younger adult readers\u2019 interests and budgets. It\u2019s a smart move, especially at a moment when\u00a060% of Gen Z adults spend at least four hours a day on social media<\/a>\u00a0and nearly half wish TikTok hadn\u2019t been invented. Nothing will make you want to throw your phone into the sea more than an immersive experience out in the world with people to whom you feel genuinely connected. If BookTok can be a vehicle for that, let\u2019s call it a win.<\/p>\n Bookshop.org Sales Are Soaring<\/p>\n Hold onto your butts.\u00a0Bookshop.org has reported a 65% year-over-year increase<\/a>\u00a0in sales in the first half of 2025. This would be an eye-popping number any time, but it\u2019s especially remarkable since\u00a0industry-wide sales are down so far this year<\/a>. CEO Andy Hunter attributes $1 million of the additional revenue\u2014just 5% of overall sales\u2014to Bookshop.org\u2019s better-late-than-never ebook platform, which launched in January and another $1.5 million to its recent\u00a0Anti-Prime Sale<\/a>. What\u2019s driving the rest of the growth? My best guess is that\u00a0anti-Amazon sentiment and consumer boycotts\u00a0<\/a>have hit a tipping point with the kind of left-leaning, middle- and upper-middle-class readers who are willing and able to pay a premium to avoid supporting companies whose policies conflict with their personal and political values. And it doesn\u2019t hurt that inflation and tariffs seem to have lessened Amazon\u2019s ability to offer deeper discounts and faster shipping than other book retailers.<\/p>\n The It Books of August<\/p>\n