booksSunday, October 4, 2026

Memoirs of detention, migrant fathers, and rare books

Today's book news leans personal: memoirs about detention and migrant fathers, plus a look at the rare book trade in the AI age. The through-line is memory, both individual and cultural, and how we preserve it.

Sources

Memoir and memory

Two memoirs this week dig into family and political history, each asking what we owe the past.

#01www.democracynow.orgOct 4

“No Land to Stand On”: Mahmoud Khalil on His Memoir, Palestine, Fighting Deportation & Suing Columbia

Khalil's memoir turns his 104 days in ICE detention into a broader indictment of the U.S. immigration system. The interview adds context on his deportation fight and lawsuit against Columbia.

20 min readRead original

#02www.brisbanetimes.com.auOct 4

I pretended my father would be OK. I discovered in his memoir that he lied to me too

A personal essay about reading a father's memoir and finding the lies he told to protect his family. It's a reminder that memoirs can be as much about omission as confession.

by Fotis KapetopoulosRead original

The book trade

Meanwhile, the business of books gets a spotlight, from rare volumes to pop culture nostalgia.

#03njmonthly.comOct 4

Meet the New Jersey Man Championing Rare Books in the Age of AI

Tom Congalton's shop is a 15,000-square-foot former school full of rare books. The piece positions him as a counterweight to AI-driven digitization, arguing for the enduring value of physical books.