This week I heard about how 404 Media put a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying these books in bulk. They discovered an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys these books (que locura). This news gave me deja vu because in July I read about Anthropic’s Project Panama and Sony’s decision to discontinue disc production in 2028 For an introductory course in history, identity, race, and liberation, these are three books we’d p

Back-to-school season usually means new notebooks, fresh schedules, and figuring out which classes you’re going to rush to in the mornings. But if Xolo Books were designing a college syllabus, we’d make sure the reading list went beyond the traditional canon. For an introductory course in history, identity, race, and liberation, these are three books we’d put on the syllabus.

As a Venezuelan living in the United States, it's been heartbreaking to watch the devastation unfold from afar. Like so many in the Venezuelan diaspora, I've spent the past several weeks checking in with family, reading updates, and trying to find ways to support the people and places I love. The road to recovery will be long, and for many families, including my own, it will come with challenges that won't disappear overnight.

For those of ya’ll who don’t know me my name is Oriana. I am the founder of Xolo Books - an online and pop-up bookstore dedicated to decolonizing your reading habits and promoting diversity in literature.

Pride Month is a celebration of LGBTQ+ communities, but it's also an opportunity to reflect on the power of stories. Books have long offered queer readers what the world sometimes could not: visibility, possibility, and the freedom to imagine themselves fully.

Lately, it feels like we’ve been looking up again. With missions like Artemis II on the horizon and stories like Project Hail Mary capturing people’s attention, there’s been a quiet return to something we don’t always make space for in our daily lives: curiosity. Not the kind tied to productivity or answers, but the kind that simply wonders. What’s out there? What could exist beyond what we know?

April is a month for growth, curiosity, and asking questions, and there’s no better way to do that than through books that challenge the world around us. This month, we’re spotlighting banned and challenged books for young readers (and the young at heart), stories that have sparked conversation, pushed boundaries, and, in some cases, faced censorship for doing exactly what literature is meant to do: tell the truth!!

Women’s History Month is here, and we’re celebrating with a powerful lineup of books that honor the voices, ideas, and resistance of women who continue to shape our world. Whether you

Capricorns aren’t exactly known for wearing their hearts on their sleeves. We tend to process emotions internally and often through reflection rather than display. But every so often, a book finds a way in anyway. It bypasses the composure, structure, emotional self-control, and lands exactly where it needs to. These three books did just that.

As December winds down, we find ourselves reflecting on the year: its challenges, its triumphs, and the stories that carried us through it.