NoneAdd another quarterback to the 2025 NFL Draft class. Georgia signal-caller Carson Beck announced Saturday that he will be going pro after five seasons with the Bulldogs. Beck, in an emotional post on his Instagram account, thanked his coaches and teammates for his time in Athens. “The past five years at the University of Georgia have been nothing short of a dream come true and I will forever cherish the memories that have been made,” Beck wrote. “Thank you Dawg Nation for the time i’ve been here and to those who’ve supported and believed in me, thank you. It’s been an incredible journey and all these moments have ultimately led me to take the next step in my football career. With that being said, I will be declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft. Go Dawgs!” The 23-year-old’s career at Georgia has been a polarizing one. Beck took over the full-time starting reins in 2023, throwing for 3,941 yards (9.5 yards gained per pass attempt) with 24 touchdowns and just six interceptions. At that point, he was viewed by many pundits as a potential first-round pick, but he decided to stay at Georgia for 2024. This year, however, has seen him take a bit of a step back with fewer passing yards (3,485) and double the number of interceptions (12). Compounding matters, Beck got injured on the last play of the first half of the SEC title game against Texas, which forced him to get surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He will now miss College Football Playoff, but he is expected to make a full recovery. A little over two weeks ago, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote that Beck’s draft stock could take a “very healthy hit” because of the injury. This year’s quarterback class is likely to include Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward at or near the very top of the draft.casino cebu 。

Please enable JavaScript to read this content. Just a day after the National Treasury released Sh5 billion for the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), a proposal to save the kitty, which has since been declared unconstitutional by the courts, has been tabled at the National Assembly. Legislators Samuel Chepkonga (Ainabkoi) and Otiende Amolo (Rarieda), in a renewed bid to circumvent the court ruling, have introduced a proposal to amend the Constitution of Kenya 2010 to entrench the NG-CDF kitty and further introduce a Senate Oversight Fund. It also seeks to embed the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) into law. The legislative proposal, to be known as the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2024, was tabled in the National Assembly on Thursday, and seeks to alter the name of the kitty from the National Government Constituencies Development Fund to the National Government Constituencies Decentralized Fund in a move meant to ring-fence it and shield it from legal disruptions. “The entrenchment of the National Government Constituencies Decentralised Fund in the Constitution will ensure that the critical role the Fund currently plays in promoting the participation of the people in the identification and implementation of priority national government programmes is safeguarded, as well as ensuring reasonable access to such services in all parts of the Republic of Kenya, as envisaged in Article 6(3) of the Constitution,” reads the proposal in part. Oversight fund The proposal also advocates for the setting up of a kitty for senators, the Senate Oversight Fund, to be anchored in the supreme law of the land and which Chepkonga and Amolo argue will ensure that the Senate is adequately empowered and resourced to perform its oversight functions as stipulated in Article 96 of the Constitution. “The Senate Oversight Fund shall be a national government fund consisting of monies appropriated from the national government’s share of revenue as divided by the annual Division of Revenue Act enacted pursuant to Article 218 of the Constitution,” further reads the proposal. “The establishment of the National Government Affirmative Action Fund seeks to ensure that affirmative action groups including women, youth, persons with disabilities, vulnerable children and elderly persons have access to minimum financial facilities required for the promotion of enterprise development and provision of social development services at the constituency and county levels,” the Bill further states. Notably, the proposal comes against the backdrop of a court ruling declaring NG-CDF unconstitutional. A three-judge bench in September sounded the death knell for the kitty, noting that it had violated the separation of powers. Justices Kanyi Kimondo, Mugure Thande and Roselyne Aburili also cited failure by the National Assembly to consult the Senate as grounds for the kitty’s un-constitutionalism. They said the fund and all its projects, programmes and activities shall cease to operate on June 30, 2026. They, however, noted that it was not in the interest of the nation or justice to bring it to an abrupt closure. And during his communication to the House on Thursday, Speaker Moses Wetangula acknowledged having received the proposal by the legislators and committed it to the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs (JLAC). “I wish to bring to the attention of the House that I have received a legislative proposal intending to amend the Constitution to entrench NG-CDF, the Senate Oversight Fund and NGAAF in the Constitution. The proposal is co-sponsored by Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkonga and Rarieda MP Otiende Amolo,” the speaker said. Acknowledging a similar proposal which had been introduced before the House by Matungulu MP Stephen Mule and his Gichugu counterpart Githinji Gichimu in November 2022, Wetangula explained that a joint parliamentary ad hoc committee considering the proposal had been unable to conclude its work and table a report despite a 90-day extension and that the numerous court cases on NG-CDF had prompted the introduction of the new proposal. The earlier proposal by Mule and Gichimu had sought to increase the NG-CDF kitty to at least five per cent of the total national revenue. The law currently sets aside 2.5 per cent of the total revenue raised nationally to be shared among the 290 constituencies. Each constituency receives at least Sh137 million which legislators have been using for community development projects. It had also called for the channelling of 0.001 per cent of all the national government share of revenue as divided in the Division of Revenue Act to the Senate Oversight Fund. Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter “This proposal and the earlier proposal introduced by Mule and Gichimu shall thereafter stand committed to the Justice and Legal Affairs committee for consideration. The committee shall expeditiously invite and consider submissions from the Attorney-General, the commissions and independent offices under Chapter 15 of the Constitution and any other body with a law reform mandate,” submitted the speaker. The JLAC committee is now expected to submit its recommendations on the proposals by February 11, 2025, when the House resumes from the two-month-long recess it is on now. Meanwhile, during the debate proceedings on Thursday, members of Parliament gave their input on the new proposal. MP Chepkonga spoke on the protracted battle between the courts and Parliament over the constitutionality of the NG-CDF kitty. “When we appeared before the three-judge bench on the NG-CDF case, it was unknown to me that the young lawyers present were beneficiaries of NG-CDF. Mr Speaker, you can see what people are seeking to do. To disenfranchise members of our communities. We must not accept this. We must entrench these funds in the Constitution to secure the future of our children,” he argued, adding: “The courts have constantly pronounced themselves in a manner we have never agreed with. Now that we are being told that NGCDF is unconstitutional, we are going to make it constitutional and nobody will ever again say it is unconstitutional.” He also credited the kitty for being behind any meaningful development at the constituencies, and, in the process, chided county governors, accusing them of being behind the “adverse” court rulings on NG-CDF. ALSO READ: Parliament moves to increase NG-CDF by Sh10b; Here's why “When you go to our constituencies, the only visible development you will be able to see is that from NG-CDF. The governors, who we actually think have had a hand in these court decisions, have not done much with all the billions they get.” Chairperson of the NG-CDF Committee, Musa Cherutich, also went out to push for the kitty. “The CDF has been very instrumental in terms of construction of schools, school fees for our children and, Mr Speaker, all those who are against it are people who are retired and do not have children in school. They should continue taking care of their grandchildren so that they can appreciate the use of NG-CDF,” Cherutich said. “Without any fear of contradiction, I can say that the only projects which make sense to Kenyans are those done at the constituency level, especially on the education and security sectors. As MPs, we are not part of the management of the CDF funds in this country. We are only patrons and play our role on oversight,” Mule held.Tinubu begins state visit in France

PSV staged a dramatic Champions League comeback against 10-man Shakhtar Donetsk in Eindhoven, winning 3-2 from two goals down in the 87th minute. The visitors went in front after just eight minutes from a quick breakaway, with Yukhym Konoplia setting up Danylo Sikan, whose shot squeezed beyond PSV keeper Walter Benítez. Oleksandr Zubkov doubled Shakhtar’s lead with a superb curling finish in the 37th minute, putting the Ukrainians in control of the match. Despite PSV having numerous efforts on goal, Shakhtar looked largely untroubled until Pedro Henrique was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Johan Bakayoko in the 69th minute. That allowed the hosts to pile on the pressure, but they were kept out until Malik Tillman’s free kick squeezed past Dmytro Riznyk at the near post. Tillman brought Peter Bosz’s side level on 90 minutes with a thumping strike from outside the area. With Shakhtar’s defence all at sea, Ricardo Pepi finished off a passing move with a shot that went in off the post, his 95th-minute winner sparking delirium among the home supporters. Benfica came from behind twice to end 10-man Monaco ’s unbeaten Champions League start, scoring two late headers to grab a thrilling 3-2 away win. Monaco’s Eliesse Ben Seghir got his side off to the perfect start, breaking the deadlock in the 13th minute by rifling home from Aleksandr Golovin’s cut-back. Ángel Di María and Nicolás Otamendi both went close for Benfica before half time, with Monaco’s Breel Embolo smacking a shot off the post soon after the restart. That miss that proved costly when Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis made the most of Caio Henrique’s weak header to steal the ball and equalise. Both sides then had goals ruled out for offside by VAR, before Monaco defender Wilfried Singo picked up his second yellow card just before the hour mark. Despite that setback, Monaco retook the lead as substitute Soungoutou Magassa charged on to Christian Mawissa’s angled pass and drilled home for his first goal for the club. But Di María had the final say, crossing for Arthur Cabral to level in the 84th minute, then picking out Zeki Amdouni to head home the winner four minutes later. Borussia Dortmund eased past hosts Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 to stay firmly on course for a top-eight finish and an automatic place in the last 16. Jamie Gittens fired last year’s finalists into a deserved lead in the 41st minute, finishing well after Danijel Zagorac had spectacularly kept out Donyell Malen’s point-blank header. Ramy Bensebaini headed in Dortmund’s second goal from a corner early in the second half. Forward Serhou Guirassy, back after a short illness, got on the scoresheet late in the game. The substitute broke clear of the Zagreb defence and ran on a deflected pass before slotting the ball through the keeper’s legs. Lille boosted their bid for a top-eight finish with a 2-1 away win at Bologna , whose hopes of reaching the knockout rounds look slim. Ngal’ayel Mukau opened the scoring for the visitors just before the break, and while Jhon Lucumi got Bologna’s first Champions League goal in the 63rd minute, Mukau struck again just three minutes later to earn victory. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Earlier on Wednesday, Red Star Belgrade came from a goal down to thrash visitors Stuttgart 5-1 and earn their first league-phase points in emphatic fashion. Ermedin Demirovic volleyed in from close range to give the visitors a fifth-minute lead but Silas, on loan from Stuttgart, levelled for the hosts seven minutes later. With Red Star’s fans growing louder, their team took the lead in the 31st minute with a fierce volley from Rade Krunic. Red Star were able to break through Stuttgart’s high line at will, wasting chances with two consecutive counters before Silas firing over the bar from close range. Mirko Ivanic then headed in at the far post in the 65th minute to make it 3-1 before another Nemanja Radonjic added gloss to the scoreline with two goals off the bench. Girona ’s struggles in the competition continued as they lost 1-0 at Sturm Graz in Wednesday’s other early kick-off. Mika Biereth’s second-half goal, scored on the rebound after Paulo Gazzaniga’s save, secured the hosts’ first points of the league phrase and their first win over a Spanish side in Europe.

Norman Cook's mum has died, his son has confirmed. Norman - who is also known as Fatboy Slim - shares 24-year-old son Woody with radio presenter ex-wife Zoe Ball . And Wood shared the tragic news in a heartbreaking post on Instagram . He wrote: "Ups and downs of the year. My Granny Ros passed away on Christmas Day, She was an amazing woman and ‘was ready to start her next life.’ That kind of optimism and mentality really inspires me. Losing two Grandparents this year has really made me grow and made me focus a-lot more on family. "The ups: i’m having a blast in New York, was homesick on my Birthday and Christmas but i’ve been working really hard on music and it’s really paying off. My friends over here are so lovely and feel like family. Life always goes on x New year’s resolution is to make every second count... Safe travels Ros and thank you for everything" He shared an image of him reflecting and also a family snap alongside his thoughtful words. The death marked the second grandmother of Woody's to have died this year. In April, former Radio 2 host Zoe announced her mum, Julia, had passed . At the time, the DJ posted a series of final photos of her mum during a New Year's break in the Caribbean four months before her death. Zoe confirmed her mother's death after announcing her pancreatic cancer diagnosis in March. Captioning a picture of Julia on Twitter (X), following her death, Zoe wrote: "sleep tight dear Mama. thank you for teaching us how to love unconditionally, to always show courage and empathy, and how, even in the darkest of days, laughter is the greatest of gifts. we are bereft without you but will hold so tight to each other." Zoe and Woody recently spent time together following her exit from her Radio 2 breakfast show. Zoe was beaming as she shared a glimpse of her 'fairytale' Christmas in New York City with her daughter Nelly and son Woody. Zoe had flown over with Nelly to join her son overseas, with Zoe arriving only hours after she said goodbye to her fans on live radio. In images shared on her social media, Zoe had a ball as she went ice skating with her two children in Central Park. She also shared images of her with her kids in a restaurant as she smiled for the camera. Zoe wrapped up warm in black trousers, a cream-coloured sweat, a thick overcoat and a green scarf. She completed the cosy look with a beanie. Follow Mirror C elebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .Steven V. Roberts: Biden’s surprising pardon of his son helps Trump

GB News blew £100,000 getting rid of 'woke' gender neutral toilets

Canada’s Trudeau meets with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after tariff threatTrackolap Introduces Field Sales Monitoring Solution To Revolutionize Workforce Management

DICK’S Sporting Goods ( NYSE:DKS – Free Report ) had its target price boosted by Loop Capital from $220.00 to $225.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the sporting goods retailer’s stock. Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on DKS. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.95. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on DKS DICK’S Sporting Goods Stock Performance DICK’S Sporting Goods ( NYSE:DKS – Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The sporting goods retailer reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.07. DICK’S Sporting Goods had a return on equity of 42.00% and a net margin of 8.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that DICK’S Sporting Goods will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year. DICK’S Sporting Goods Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. DICK’S Sporting Goods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.45%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in DICK’S Sporting Goods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in DICK’S Sporting Goods in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in DICK’S Sporting Goods in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods during the third quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock. DICK’S Sporting Goods Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an omni-channel sporting goods retailer primarily in the United States. The company provides hardlines, includes sporting goods equipment, fitness equipment, golf equipment, and fishing gear products; apparel; and footwear and accessories. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for DICK'S Sporting Goods Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for DICK'S Sporting Goods and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .None

NFL ends investigation into sexual assault allegations against Browns QB Deshaun WatsonVisiting Libyan official says discussed energy, migration with new Syria leaderDonald Hand Jr. racked up a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds to help Boston College stave off visiting Fairleigh Dickinson 78-70 on Saturday in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Chad Venning added 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting and Dion Brown contributed eight points, eight rebounds and four assists as the Eagles (8-5) wrapped up their nonconference slate with just their second win in six games. Ahmed Barba-Bey, a grad transfer from Division II, exploded for a season-high 31 points to power FDU (4-11). Barba-Bey buried 8 of 9 attempts from the 3-point arc. Terrence Brown added 15 of his 20 points in the second half, as the Knights made it close before falling to 0-10 on the road this season. Bismark Nsiah scored 10 points. Boston College led 70-59 with 3:39 to play when Barba-Bey was fouled attempting a corner 3. He made all three of his foul shots, and after a stop Brown got to the bucket to cut FDU's deficit to six. It was 72-67 when Venning made a clutch turnaround jumper from the high post with 51 seconds left. Boston College let Barba-Bey get loose for his eighth 3-pointer, pulling FDU within four, its closest margin of the half. But Hand drove to the basket and scored with 29 seconds on the clock, and FDU was out of time. The Knights trailed by as many as 12 in the first half, but Barba-Bey kept them in the game. He made a fastbreak layup off Brown's steal and added a 3-pointer on the next possession, turning what was a 10-point deficit to a manageable 29-24 game. Boston College led 38-28 at halftime, with Hand scoring 15 for the hosts and Barba-Bey pouring in 16 for the Knights, including 4-of-5 shooting from deep. FDU pulled within nine points three times in the early stages of the second half, the third coming when Nsiah knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 56-47 with about 10 minutes to go. --Field Level Media

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Luis Echeverri Urrea/iStock via Getty Images Undercovered Dozen Introduction The 'Undercovered' Dozen is a weekly Seeking Alpha editor-curated series highlighting 12 articles on lesser covered stocks from the previous seven days. We hope this provides ideas and inspires discussion. Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given that any particular security, portfolio, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. The author is not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security or other matter. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether any investment, security or strategy, or any product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal and financial situation. The author is an employee of Seeking Alpha. Any views or opinions expressed herein may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank.Seven-time champions Express have an opportunity to move into the top four of the Premier League if they beat Mbarara City on Thursday under floodlights at Hamz stadium, Nakivubo. The Red Eagles are on 13 points in 8 position and victory will see them move to within four points of table leaders Vipers SC who are not in action until Friday. Badru Kaddu’s men have been inconsistent in terms of wins and have registered just one win in the last five matches. In Mbarara City managed former Red Eagle Livingstone Mbabazi, they take on a resilient side that lie just two points below. The Ankole Lions ended a two-match losing streak with a deserved win over newcomers Mbale Heroes last week. Victory for the visitors whose last visit to Nakivubo ended in a stalemate with URA will come into the game very confident. Former Express player Joseph Akandwanaho will take on ex-bosses as he captains the visitors.

Don’t be surprised if your favourite young person’s Christmas list includes a few more books this holiday season. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Don’t be surprised if your favourite young person’s Christmas list includes a few more books this holiday season. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Don’t be surprised if your favourite young person’s Christmas list includes a few more books this holiday season. In recent years, teens and young adults have been digging into books, particularly novels, with greater voracity, thanks in large part to the TikTok, the social media platform and app many parents love to hate. BookTok is a sub-community of TikTok where users can either post their book-related video content or search for existing TikTok posts about books by using the #booktok hashtag. It’s a phenomenon that took off in part as a response to the COVID-19 lockdowns. “During the pandemic, people didn’t really have anything else to do. So they were starting to pick up books and post about them,” says Elissa Hall, who handles McNally Robinson Booksellers’ social media for kids’ books and runs the booksellers’ TikTok account. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press McNally Robinson Booksellers staff members (from left) Elissa Hall, Angela Torgerson and Matthew Montgomery show off titles that garnered a boost in sales thanks to BookTok’s popularity with teens and young adults. The bookstore has tailored its social media approach, title ordering and live events to cater to the spike in interest from these demographics. It wasn’t just new titles that were taking off; popular BookTokers would often post reviews of older books, which would suddenly see a jump in sales and loans at bookstores and libraries. “The big one for us during that period, and which continues to be big, is (Madeline Miller’s) ,” says Shamin Alli, senior sales director at HarperCollins Canada. “That was a backlist title; it was published in 2012, and had fairly consistent sales, but then in that 2020-21 period, it spiked. It’s now gone on to sell over 250,000 units in Canada, across all formats, and still sits in our top title list year over year.” Alli says HarperCollins — which has a specific publicity contact email for “online reviewers and book bloggers” — also saw sales bumps in titles such as Matt Haig’s as well as young-adult titles such as Adam Silvera’s and Tahereh Mafi’s . “Those were titles we were really chasing during that period,” she says. “We were constantly reprinting stock, trying to keep up with the demand. You could see that growth, that excitement online.” Booksellers also noticed the trend of older titles garnering attention, including by Edward Powys Mathers (a.k.a. Torquemada), a puzzle book originally published in 1934 and quietly re-released in 2019. ​​”The publisher didn’t have any stock. It was a curiosity that had probably sold next to nothing,” says McNally Robinson’s Matthew Montgomery, who handles the social media for adult titles. But when it comes to skyrocketing popularity thanks to BookTok, no one can touch Texas author Colleen Hoover, whose 2016 romance novel became a TikTok sensation. “All of a sudden we were getting scores of special orders for a book that had been out of print... we were trying to figure out why on earth people were looking for this book,” says Angela Torgerson, general manager at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location. “That’s when the younger staff pointed out they’d seen it on TikTok.” Why Hoover in particular enjoyed such a bump isn’t clear. “I don’t know if there’s a patient zero for this — I don’t know if there was one person that discovered Colleen Hoover,” says Montgomery. “I think it might have to do with the rise of the reaction video. When you have something that’s so raw, emotion-wise, and somebody has an exaggerated or elevated reaction, it tends to make people curious. “For Colleen Hoover, I’m betting it was luck — it could have been anybody.” topped the bestseller list in 2022, six years after its publication, selling nearly five million copies over the next two years. A film adaptation was released in August 2024, pushing the book back to the ’ top spot. In addition to modern romance novels, fantasy, science fiction, manga and the fantasy-romance mashup dubbed “romantasy” are among the genres that have seen a significant jump in sales and library lending thanks to BookTok. “Fiction about inclusion has been popular as well,” says Wilma Bagay, a school library technician in the St. James Assiniboia School Division. “Some of the books have LGBTTQ+ characters or situations, books that have more of a ‘real’ fiction feel ... the same kind of experiences as a high school student.” A lot of the most popular BookTok titles are relatively easy to spot. Many fantasy titles from wildly popular authors such as Sarah J. Maas, for example, are beefy hardcovers adorned with ornate, -like scripts and art, and sport fancy coloured, deckled edges. Today’s romance novels, meanwhile, aren’t the grocery-store bodice-rippers of old; gone are the open-shirted Fabios and buxom babes, replaced by more modern covers featuring relatable couples rendered in stylized illustrations. Popular examples include Ali Hazelwood’s , Sally Thorne’s and Tessa Bailey’s . “ started out as Rey/Kylo Ren fan fiction. I can’t believe I know that,” says Montgomery, laughing, in reference to the characters. “And so the dude on the cover is kind of drawn to look a little like Adam Driver. You couldn’t put Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver on the cover, so you draw them to look like a reasonable facsimile.” The rise of the romance novel has also seen McNally Robinson venture into new kinds of events. “We had a rom-com book launch this spring, which was outside of our normal,” says Torgerson. “It was massive. We saw customers from different demographics, customers we don’t usually reach in the same way. “They’d often buy these books at Shoppers (Drug Mart) or Indigo. It was really exciting.” Some books made popular by BookTok may not be quite the right fit for younger TikTok users; the typical trending romance novels, for example, can get a bit explicit, the fantasy novels a bit graphic. “A lot of teenagers are looking for adult books, because 90 per cent of the books on BookTok are adult books,” Hall says. “The majority of the time they don’t really know what the book’s about ... it’s not often there’s an actual book review on TikTok; it’s usually just a short clip of someone reacting.” Indeed, some BookTokers seem to plow through more books than seems reasonably possible, keen on pumping out videos to gain/retain followers. More videos and followers equals more review copies from publishers, whether or not the books are actually being read before videos are posted. The frequency with which some BookTokers post also runs the risk of sapping the joy out of settling in and leisurely enjoying a book. Regardless, post-lockdown the BookTok trend continues as strongly as ever, with young readers scouring bookstores and libraries for the latest trending titles. “I still have students, particularly high school students, that will come in and request certain books that I have yet to purchase or have in my collection, books that are popular on BookTok,” notes librarian Bagay. As BookTok accounts go, few are as big as the aptly named . With more than 275,000 followers and millions of views, likes and comments on each of her BookTok videos, Lauren Hower’s influence has rippled across the TikTok book community. Like many, Hower started watching and posting BookTok videos around the time the pandemic took hold. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Lauren Hower, now a full-time content creator on TikTok, regularly posts two or three BookTok videos each week. “For the longest time I’d just go to McNally; their new releases section is so well curated that I would often just go there and read book jackets and pick up a couple books,” says the 27-year-old. “And then during the pandemic, when you couldn’t go to a bookstore, I started watching videos on Tiktok and finding book recommendations there.” Hower made her first BookTok video as a bit of a joke. “It was titled ‘Books to read on the bus,’ and all the titles were ones that you’d never want people to see you reading on the bus,” she says, laughing. Having caught the bug, Hower kept posting BookTok videos, connecting with other BookTokers with a similar interest in literary fiction (rather than the more popular romance, fantasy and romantasy genres). “Most of the people that were also creating similar book content to me, we had full-time jobs ... BookTok was just a hobby,” Hower says. “And then I just kept doing it; I was kind of obsessed with it, and wanted to see how far it could go.” A hairstylist at the time with an art history degree under her belt, Hower would post at least one book-related video a day on TikTok, eventually deciding to hire a social media manager to see about taking things to the next step. TikTok Winnipegger Lauren Hower (a.k.a. @bigbooklady) shares her interest in literary fiction with her 275,000-plus BookTok followers The move paid off — for the last year she has worked full-time for herself as a content creator, posting two to three BookTok videos per week (which she also posts on Instagram as Reels), along with longer, more lifestyle-oriented videos of her day-to-day life on YouTube, where her channel has more than 70,000 subscribers. “The people who made videos similar to the ones I make, and recommended books similar to books that I recommend, don’t create nearly as much content anymore — that community I forged with those people has tapered off a little bit, and I’ve started moving to other platforms a little bit more,” she says. “I do still consume a lot of content on BookTok, but not nearly to the same extent that I was.” Hower earns revenue through ads and sponsored content on both YouTube and TikTok, although when it comes to books, she’s particular about only working with ones that suit her more literary tastes. “People are surprised that there are videos recommending literary fiction being made,” she says. “If you search BookTok on Tiktok, you’ll mainly see Colleen Hoover-type books, but if you search literary fiction on Tiktok, that’s when you start to find this other subculture within the BookTok community.” Naturally, Hower is reading all the time — either leafing through physical copies of books or listening to audiobooks. And she’s as thankful for the feedback and recommendations she gets from other BookTokers on her posts as she is for the literary discoveries of her own that she’s made on TikTok. “I wasn’t familiar with Toni Morrison’s writing at all until I saw her recommended on TikTok, and she’s now one of my favorite authors — I’ve read most of her work,” she says. “She’s such an iconic writer and her books are considered modern classics at this point, but when I started, I had no idea who she even was.” books@freepress.mb.ca @bensigurdson Ben Sigurdson is the ‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly drinks column. He joined the full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. . In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the ’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Ben Sigurdson is the ‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly drinks column. He joined the full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. . In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the ’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Advertisement AdvertisementBest of the West MBB power rankings: Gonzaga on top despite loss while Oregon soars after big wins

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