{"id":1954118,"date":"2026-05-25T09:30:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1954118"},"modified":"2026-05-25T09:30:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:30:36","slug":"want-to-read-like-wemby-bring-an-appetite-for-fantasy-to-this-san-antonio-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1954118","title":{"rendered":"Want to \u2018Read Like Wemby\u2019? Bring an appetite for fantasy to this San Antonio library"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Turquoise, pink and orange words mount an exhibit of books immediately noticeable when patrons walk into San Antonio\u2019s Central Library, the bright red building in the middle of the city\u2019s downtown: \u201cRead Like Wemby.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Just to the right of the circulation desk, where people can sign up for a library card and check out books, are some of San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama\u2019s favorite books. Many nod to his love for science fiction and fantasy literature. Some of the books on display include \u201cYumi and the Nightmare Painter\u201d by Brandon Sanderson, one of Wembanyama\u2019s favorite authors, as well as \u201cThe Witch of Whispervale\u201d by R.A. Salvatore and \u201cThe Eye of the World\u201d by Robert Jordan.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

With the Spurs tied 2-2 in the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Public Library, of which the Central Library is one of 29 branches, is taking advantage of the most public hobby of the Spurs superstar: reading. Cate Prazak, a librarian at the Central branch who celebrated the Spurs\u2019 2014 title in the streets, created two reading lists for what the SAPL is calling the \u201cRead Like Wemby\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

It launched May 14, four days before the series against the Thunder started.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe spark is so reinvigorated. You see it everywhere,\u201d Prazak said of the city\u2019s attitude toward the team. \u201cEveryone is so proud of the Spurs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

a.showcase-link-container {
\n display: flex;
\n gap: 20px;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n align-items: center;
\n padding: 20px 0px;
\n border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n text-decoration: none;
\n color: #121212;
\n cursor: pointer;<\/p>\n

.showcase-link {
\n font-family: nyt-franklin;
\n font-size: 14px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 700;
\n line-height: 13.8px;
\n letter-spacing: 1.1px;
\n text-transform: uppercase;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-image {
\n border-radius: 8px;
\n object-fit: cover;
\n width: 200px;
\n height: 150px;
\n margin: 0px;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n width: 120px;
\n height: 120px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inner-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: row;
\n gap: 16px;
\n width: 100%;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-text-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n gap: 20px;
\n justify-content: center;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n gap: 8px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-title {
\n font-family: nyt-cheltenham;
\n font-size: 24px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 500;
\n line-height: 120%; \/* 24px *\/
\n letter-spacing: 0.01px;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 3;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 16px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-excerpt {
\n font-family: nyt-imperial;
\n font-size: 16px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 400;
\n line-height: 139%; \/* 19.46px *\/
\n color: #323232;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 4;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 12px;
\n line-height: 121%;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inputs {
\n .showcase-link-input {
\n width: 100%;
\n font-size: 1rem;
\n background-color: white;
\n margin-bottom: 12px;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-indent {
\n margin-left: 25px;
\n }<\/p>\n

option {
\n width: 100%;
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
\n .native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {
\n background-color: #121212;
\n color: #f0f0ee;
\n .showcase-link-excerpt {
\n color: #c4c4c0;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

\/\/ Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click
\n document.querySelectorAll(‘.showcase-link-image’).forEach((img) => img.removeAttribute(‘onclick’));<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"My<\/p>\n
\n
\n My season inside Wemby\u2019s world: An up-close look at the many dimensions of Victor Wembanyama\n <\/div>\n
\n I covered Victor Wembanyama all season. Here’s what I learned that the rest of the sports world is now discovering.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

One of the lists<\/a> on the SAPL\u2019s website is of print books Wembanyama has been seen reading and related fantasy and science fiction books inspired by his reading habits. Another is a list of titles on Libby, the free e-book and audiobook app. There are about 50 titles collectively across both platforms.<\/p>\n

When veteran forward Harrison Barnes, another avid reader, first came to the Spurs, he and Wembanyama started a book club that included a couple of other players until it eventually whittled down to just the two of them. Barnes made sure to include books from Wembanyama\u2019s favorite genre, science fiction, and more specifically a favorite author, Sanderson.<\/p>\n

Wembanyama has visited Alien Worlds, a comic book store in San Antonio, \u201cupon occasion,\u201d said David Wheeler, the CEO of Dragon\u2019s Lair, a comic and fantasy store in the city. Though many NBA players are photographed walking down the tunnel of an arena before games to show off their fashion, Wembanyama has often been seen clutching a book in one hand.<\/p>\n

\n

Wemby arrives in OKC with a book in tow!\ud83d\udc7d\ud83d\udcda<\/p>\n

SAS\/OKC I 8:00pm\/et on NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com\/YnaYpoJvXW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NBA (@NBA) January 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In February, a clip of him and Nikola Joki\u0107<\/a> in the locker room during NBA All-Star Weekend went viral.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really brought a book?\u201d the Denver Nuggets center said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah \u2026\u201d Wembanyama responded, deadpanning as if to say, \u201cWhat\u2019s the big deal?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI read before every game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Joki\u0107 covered his eyes and shook his head as if he couldn\u2019t believe it. But the librarians at SAPL were grinning with joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cLibrary people, we\u2019ve been paying attention to those moments,\u201d said Scott Williams, SAPL\u2019s marketing manager. \u201cWe just love the fact that there\u2019s this NBA star, this international superstar right in our own backyard, who also happens to be a voracious reader.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo work for a library in a city where somebody who is that publicly supportive of what reading and literacy can mean for someone is really inspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly 160 copies of the books, physical and electronic, have been checked out or placed on hold since the start of the campaign. The most popular is \u201cAlchemised\u201d by SenLinYu, a 1,040-page, genre-bending novel that centers on a former alchemist recovering from the memories of a civil war, which has the most holds on it as a direct result of the campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love connecting people to new books,\u201d Prazak said. \u201cAnd we hope showing what Wemby loves to read will inspire someone to go find those books.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Close-ups<\/p>\n
\n
\n These are a few of Wemby\u2019s favorite things. (Courtesy of Central Library)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Juspreet Kaur, the chair of the SAPL\u2019s Board of Trustees, came up with the idea for the campaign. She saw an article about Wembanyama\u2019s love of books in MySA<\/a>, a local news outlet, and, Williams said, proposed that the SAPL use the superstar\u2019s hobby to help promote the benefits of public libraries.<\/p>\n

Though Wembanyama has not participated in the campaign, the SAPL hopes he might eventually. The goal is to inspire people of all ages, especially children, to read more. It shows that someone can be one of the best basketball players in the world and also love reading. They want the world to know that reading is cool. Wemby is cool. Science fiction and fantasy and world-building and magic are cool.<\/p>\n

\n

a.showcase-link-container {
\n display: flex;
\n gap: 20px;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n align-items: center;
\n padding: 20px 0px;
\n border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
\n text-decoration: none;
\n color: #121212;
\n cursor: pointer;<\/p>\n

.showcase-link {
\n font-family: nyt-franklin;
\n font-size: 14px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 700;
\n line-height: 13.8px;
\n letter-spacing: 1.1px;
\n text-transform: uppercase;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-image {
\n border-radius: 8px;
\n object-fit: cover;
\n width: 200px;
\n height: 150px;
\n margin: 0px;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n width: 120px;
\n height: 120px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inner-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: row;
\n gap: 16px;
\n width: 100%;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-text-content {
\n display: flex;
\n flex-direction: column;
\n gap: 20px;
\n justify-content: center;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n gap: 8px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-title {
\n font-family: nyt-cheltenham;
\n font-size: 24px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 500;
\n line-height: 120%; \/* 24px *\/
\n letter-spacing: 0.01px;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 3;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 16px;
\n }
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-excerpt {
\n font-family: nyt-imperial;
\n font-size: 16px;
\n font-style: normal;
\n font-weight: 400;
\n line-height: 139%; \/* 19.46px *\/
\n color: #323232;
\n text-overflow: ellipsis;
\n overflow: hidden;
\n display: -webkit-box;
\n -webkit-box-orient: vertical;
\n -webkit-line-clamp: 4;
\n @media (max-width: 600px) {
\n font-size: 12px;
\n line-height: 121%;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-inputs {
\n .showcase-link-input {
\n width: 100%;
\n font-size: 1rem;
\n background-color: white;
\n margin-bottom: 12px;
\n }<\/p>\n

.showcase-link-indent {
\n margin-left: 25px;
\n }<\/p>\n

option {
\n width: 100%;
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
\n .native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {
\n background-color: #121212;
\n color: #f0f0ee;
\n .showcase-link-excerpt {
\n color: #c4c4c0;
\n }
\n }
\n}<\/p>\n

\/\/ Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click
\n document.querySelectorAll(‘.showcase-link-image’).forEach((img) => img.removeAttribute(‘onclick’));<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"Is<\/p>\n
\n
\n Is Giannis the only answer for Victor Wembanyama? Some NBA execs think so\n <\/div>\n
\n Victor Wembanyama could already be the best player in the NBA. He’s 22. How are NBA executives trying to build teams that can challenge him?\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The campaign is not just highlighting San Antonio\u2019s hero but also serving as a love letter to the library as an oft-forgotten staple of communities, and to the written word as a whole, in the age of artificial intelligence and massive changes in how we consume information as a society. According to data from Gallup and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans are reading fewer books per year<\/a> than ever before and spending less time reading<\/a> than ever.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A survey from YouGov shows that almost 40 percent of Americans didn\u2019t read a single book<\/a> over the course of a year. The Washington Post has even called this a \u201cpost-literate era.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

The campaign inspired a second exhibit at San Antonio\u2019s Las Palmas branch. Senior circulation attendant Lila De Los Santos and library assistant Elvia Ramos, both wearing Spurs T-shirts, helped put up a life-size cutout of Wembanyama\u2019s gargantuan, 8-foot wingspan next to some of his sci-fi favorites, incorporating \u201cGo Spurs Go\u201d signs. De Los Santos and Ramos recently took a photo behind the cutout, stretching out their arms, too.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Librarians<\/p>\n
\n
\n Lila De Los Santos and Elvia Ramos with the Wemby cutout. (Courtesy of Central Library)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Children who come into the libraries have taken selfies next to the exhibits, thanks to the staff\u2019s approval of photography inside the library, something that is often prohibited in similar facilities. The Spurs\u2019 generational talent\u2019s chase for a title is too special not to capture.<\/p>\n

San Antonio resident Christy Hernandez, 34, has used the SAPL\u2019s Wemby website list for recommendations for her next read. \u201cSeeing Wemby\u2019s interest in reading has definitely renewed mine,\u201d Hernandez said. She started reading fantasy\/science fiction novelist Sanderson\u2019s books once she realized how much Wembanyana liked the author\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really hope the exhibit leads to a formal collaboration with Wemby,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cI can only imagine what a huge impact it would be on kids to see a role model like Wemby be such a voracious reader.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Summer is the library\u2019s busiest season, and the SAPL staff is hoping Wembanyama will collaborate with them at some point. If Williams could make a pitch to the All-Star, he\u2019d like to start by saying: \u201cThank you. Thank you for bringing awareness to how important connection is with the written word and literature is.\u201d<\/p>\n

And one more thing, Williams said: \u201cGet a library card. Come to the library.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Fred Katz contributed to this report.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turquoise, pink and orange words mount an exhibit of books immediately noticeable when patrons walk into San Antonio\u2019s Central Library, the bright red building in the middle of the city\u2019s downtown: \u201cRead Like Wemby.\u201d Just to the right of the circulation desk, where people can sign up for a library card and check out books, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1954118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1954118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1954118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1954118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1954118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}