Month: August 2017

Grimdark ANNE WITH AN E Gets a Second Season: This Week in Books

Post author By Sharifah Williams
Post date August 6, 2017

Netflix’s Anne Of Green Gables Adaptation Is Go For Season 2

Good news for fans of the newest Anne of Green Gables adaptation, Netflix has ordered a second season of Anne With an E, which means more stark aesthetic, troubling flashbacks, and moon-eyed Gilbert Blythe. I think some of us will watch an Anne adaptation no matter how far it strays from the original material. Some of us meaning me. Cool sidenote: Season 2 features an all-women writing team.

How Much Do You Needed A Harry Potter/Breakfast Club Mashup?

You’ll know after watching Mashable’s farcical trailer for Harry Potter in the style of The Breakfast Club. The HP gang is up to some John Hughes level high jinks with all the tropey characters represented, including Snape as Mr. Vernon. The ending will be bittersweet and feature a New Wave song that will give you grief every time it takes its turn on your Remembering Yesterday playlist.

Philip Pullman, Independent Bookstore Champion

Philip Pullman wants to reintroduce fixed book prices to protect independent bookstores. I didn’t know anything about Britain’s Net Book Agreement until this article. Said Agreement required that all books be sold at the same price, aside from occasional discounting in special circumstances. Some, including indie booksellers, bemoan its 1997 dissolution. And when indie shops complained about the heavy discounting on La Belle Sauvage, the first in Pullman’s Book of Dust series, the author himself stepped in to say he wants to reintroduce the minimum price and called indie shops “the lantern bearers of civilisation.”

Get Ready, Get Set, Get Organized

The Millions has kindly offered us ten ways to organize our bookshelves. My current organizational system involves finding the closest open shelf space for any given book in my hand. But, for the more organized (or prospective candidates), you may elect to shelve by color, by importance, or with spines facing the wall for secrecy (what?!).

Thanks to See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt for sponsoring this week’s newsletter.

Lizzie Borden took an ax
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.

Or did she?

In this riveting debut novel, See What I Have Done—which is already gaining outstanding acclaim—Sarah Schmidt recasts one of the most fascinating murder cases of all time into an intimate story of a volatile household and a family devoid of love.

Riot Rundown

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Post author By Devin Service
Post date August 6, 2017

Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by Genius: The Con by Leopoldo Gout.

Three brilliant teens from around the world must work together to stop a vicious warlord, protect their families, and save the world in this fast-paced sequel to Genius: The Game.

Giveaways

Win a Young Adult Prize Pack!

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date August 5, 2017

We have 10 ARCs each of The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke and Glow by Megan E. Bryant to give away to 10 Riot readers!

Here’e what they are all about:

Discover two new titles from AW Teen! In The Girl with the Red Balloon, a contemporary teen, Ellie, is pulled in 1988 East Berlin by a magical balloon. Soon, she is torn between uncovering the truth about her grandfather in World War II, getting home, and stopping a plot to alter history with dark magic. In Glow, join Julie, a contemporary teen, as she uses a thrift-shop vintage painting to reveal the secrets of the Radium Girls. Dual narration through the diary of a Radium Girl presents an equally fascinating and haunting story. Both heart-pounding reads are available September 1!

Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the cover image below:

Book Radar

Sweet Valley High Movie News and More!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date August 4, 2017

Welcome to another Monday rundown of exciting book news! Hope your summer is going swimmingly. Be excellent to each other. – xoxo, Liberty

DEALS, REELS, AND SQUEALS

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley is being made into a television series, with Stephanie Meyer signed on as executive producer.

The Hate U Give film adds Russell Hornsby and Lamar Johnson to its cast.

The film version of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation gets a 2018 release date.

Anthony Bourdain is releasing a comic called Hungry Ghosts.

AMC is turning Sarai Walker’s Dietland into a series, as well as shows based on Ted Chaing’s short story Liking What You See: A Documentary and Victor LaValle’s novella The Ballad of Black Tom.

The Legally Blonde writer is working on a Sweet Valley High movie!

Film rights to Hannah Kent’s The Good People have been acquired by the production company behind Lion.

Brad Pitt’s production company will turn Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler into a film.

The City & The City is coming to TV in 2018. (This is apparently old news, but I just heard about it, so it totes counts.)

The Netflix adaptation of Suburra to air in autumn.

COVER REVEALS

Cosmopolitan has the first look at Alyssa Cole’s A Princess in Theory. (Feb. 27, 2018)

Angie Thomas interviewed Arvin Ahmadi in EW about his forthcoming book Down and Across, and they revealed the cover. (Jan. 30, 2018)

SNEAK PEEKS!

The trailer for the remake of Death Wish has dropped. Did you know the original film was based on a book by Brian Garfield?

Netflix released the trailer for its new series, Mindhunter, based on the book by John Douglas. It stars Jonathan Groff, and all I kept thinking while I watched it was, “I will kill your friends and family…“

BOOK RIOT RECOMMENDS

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week!

bluebird bluebird Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke (Mulholland Books, Sept. 12): This novel is fantastic! Instead of Jay Porter, her lawyer character, this one stars Darren Mathews, a black Texas Ranger. Mathews must solve two murders – a visiting black lawyer and a local white woman – that have occurred in the sleepy little town of Lark before tensions between the citizens explode into violence. A timely look at race, law enforcement, and justice.

Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor (Catapult, Oct. 3): This was just longlisted for the Man Booker prize, and for good reason: It’s an extraordinarily well-written look at community and tragedy. In a small English village, a girl goes missing, and doesn’t reappear. As the seasons pass by and the case is not resolved, McGregor details how the village both comes together and fractures. It’s a chronicle of 13 years of births, deaths, secrets and violence. It’s quite a stunner.

AND THIS IS FUNNY

Jomny Sun is always a delight.

The Kids Are All Right

A Peek into an Author/Illustrator’s Studio

Post author By Karina Glaser
Post date August 4, 2017

Hey Kid Lit fans!

I just returned from a two week trip to the wonderful state of Maine! My family and I had such a fantastic time eating great food, hiking in Acadia, and visiting local indie bookstores. We also got to meet so many wonderful authors and illustrators, one of them being the fabulous, award-winning author/illustrator Melissa Sweet! I’m so pleased to show you some photos of her new (gorgeous) studio (and her pets!).

Sponsored by Elizabeth Singer Hunt, author of THE SECRET AGENT JACK AND MAX STALWART series, published by Weinstein Books. A member of Hachette Book Group.

For fans of the award-winning SECRET AGENT JACK STALWART comes a new chapter book series! Jack teams up with his older brother, Max, to solve international mysteries, using their special training as secret agents.

In THE BATTLE FOR THE EMERALD BUDDHA, Jack is temporarily retired from the Global Protection Force and on family vacation. However, Jack and Max are motivated to act when a band of thieves takes the Emerald Buddha from the Grand Palace in Bangkok. On their own, up against one of the smartest and wealthiest villains they’ve ever faced, can the brothers find Thailand’s treasure in time?

Melissa Sweet is truly a master artist. She is so creative in the ways she composes each page, her signature lettering complementing her artwork and collage elements perfectly.

One of my favorite books of hers is Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White. This book could not be more perfect. The recipient of six starred reviews, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Honor, and a Publisher’s Weekly Best Children’s Book (among other honors), Melissa’s illustrations and her use of archival material brings E.B. White’s life to light in a brilliant way. The book is substantive in content yet accessible to all readers, with a treasure trove of original letters and photos. The book itself is like a work of art that readers will want to treasure not only for it’s information but for it’s beauty. Hear Melissa talk about the book with Travis Jonker on The Yarn Podcast. (Side note: E.B. White’s farm is up for sale!)

Another favorite of mine is Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade. Winner of the Bank Street College of Education Flora Stieglitz Straus award, this book is for all curious beings who want to know how the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons began. I loved learning about the initial idea and the mishaps and adjustments along the way, and I especially enjoyed reading about puppeteer Tony Sarg’s imagination and indomitable spirit.

Melissa’s most recently illustrated book, with poems by Carol Murray, is called Cricket in the Thicket. It is a charming book all about bugs! Not only are the poems whimsical and fun, but each page has some interesting fact about bugs that kept me and my daughters saying, “I didn’t know that!” Melissa’s collage work is right on point (for example, the inchworm illustration has adorable drawings of inchworms bordered by tape measure washi tape), and each page is a delight.

One last photo: here she is signing my copy of Some Writer! See a complete list of all her wonderful books on her website.

New Releases!

Here are some of my favorites from this month…

Picture Books

Boo Who? by Ben Clanton (Candlewick Press)
Okay, I loved this book. The new kid (a ghost) wants to fit in, but he can’t join in a lot of their games when he’s a ghost. Boo and his new friends are incredibly endearing and sweet as they navigate new situations and friendships.

This Beautiful Day by Richard Jackson, illustrated by Suzy Lee (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dloughy Books)
This lovely book begins on a grey, rainy day. But wait – why stay inside when you can enjoy it? As three kids embrace the weather, they discover that there is more to a rainy, gray day than meets the eye.

Me and You and the Red Canoe by Jean E. Pendziwol and Phil (August 8, Groundwood Books)
I can’t even describe how beautiful the illustrations in this book are. Each page is a gorgeous painting depicting a siblings’ camping trip, making you feel like you are right there inside the page.

Pattan’s Pumpkin: An Indian Flood Story by Chitra Sounder, illustrated by Frane Lessac (Candlewick Press)
This retelling of a traditional Indian flood story is a visual treat. Multi-cultural folk stories need to be more prevalent in the books we read to our kids, and I’m glad to have this one for my kids to enjoy.

Middle Grade Books

Zinnia and the Bees by Danielle Davis (Capstone Young Readers)
Isn’t this cover stunning? And did you see that the author commissioned a crocheted version of the cover as well? This is the story of Zinnia and her summer living with bees making a home in her hair at the same time she’s dealing with the disappearance of her brother. A touching, honest book about growing up and finding your way in the world.

Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies by Jonathan Rosen (Sky Pony Press)
Okay, so maybe reading this book made me look at my own rabbit in a whole new way. This book is about twelve-year-old Devin Dexter, where strange things start happening all around him. Then the hot new Christmas toy, the Cuddle Bunny, comes to life, and those bunnies are not friendly…

Who are Venus and Serena Williams? by James Buckley Jr. and Andrew Thomson (August 8, Penguin Random House)
This series is so enlightening, and I particularly enjoyed this book about two of the most successful tennis players in the world. Coached at an early age by their parents, these sisters went on to win number one rankings in singles and doubles. Wow!

The Countdown Conspiracy by Kate Slivensky
Kids going on a Mars Mission? Check. Threatening Notes? Check. Attack on the training base? Check. This book hits all the science/mystery/suspense buttons, and I am here for it.

That’s it for this week! I hope you enjoyed a peek into Melissa Sweet’s studio and found some books to add to your TBR list. Right now I’m reading The Way to Bea by Kat Yeh (9/19, Little, Brown), and Secret Coders: Robots and Repeats by Gene Luen Yang and Mike Holmes (10/3, First Second). What children’s books are you reading and enjoying this week? Find me on social media and let me know! I’m on Twitter at @KarinaYanGlaser, on Instagram at @KarinaIsReadingAndWriting, or send me an email at karina@bookriot.com. Have a great week!

Until next time,
Karina

*If this e-mail was forwarded to you, follow this link to subscribe to “The Kids Are All Right” newsletter and other fabulous Book Riot newsletters for your own customized e-mail delivery. Thank you!*

Giveaways

Win a Year’s Supply of Audiobooks!

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date August 4, 2017

Have you heard of Libro.FM? It’s an audiobook subscription service where, for $14.99 a month, you pick an audiobook that you then own, all while supporting independent bookstores. They have over 90% of the NYT’s best-sellers, plus other titles hand-picked by indie booksellers. We’re giving away a year’s subscription to support Audiobooks!, our weekly audiobooks newsletter about new releases, audiobook news, backlist recs, and more.

Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the image below:

True Story

New Nonfiction on Evolutionary Biology, Fear, and Creativity

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date August 3, 2017

Welcome to August, nonfiction lovers. This month seems to kick off the big fall publishing schedule, although most of the releases I’m thinking about are out closer to the end of the month. This week I’ve got two new titles to highlight, along with a bunch of news about adaptations and another major political memoir announcement. Let’s dive in!

Annotated brings you the story of the world’s most glamorous librarian. Download it for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your podcast player or choice.

New Releases on My Radar

Improbable Destinies by Jonathan B. Losos (August 8 from Riverhead Books) – Jonathan Losos, a biology professor at Harvard University, is a leader in the study of evolutionary biology. In this book, he explores a major debate in the field – convergence versus contingency – through the scientists leading the way in experimental evolutionary science. This book is a little outside my science comfort zone, but I also think it sounds pretty fascinating.

Bonus Reads: Back in 2013, Losos was the author of a popular New York Times blog, Scientist at Work. Improbable Destinies was also recently reviewed in Science magazine.

The Wrong Way to Save Your Life by Megan Stielstra (August 1 from Harper Perennial) – I am a sucker for new essay collections, especially those that are about “fear, creativity, art, faith, academia, the Internet, and justice” and that have a blurb from Roxane Gay. And I think contemplating fears, those that seem justified and those we may move past, is something we all should do more.

Bonus Reads: I enjoyed this short profile of Stielstra from Chicago Mag and this Chicago Reader piece about Stielstra based on interviews from her friends and family. The second, in particular, is a fun way to explore writing about an essayist who uses their friends and family in their work.

Hillary Clinton Announces Title of Memoir

Last week, Hillary Clinton announced the title and publication date of her upcoming memoir – What Happened out Sept. 12 – and shared a little bit about the writing process. In a Facebook post, Clinton wrote:

“I’ll be honest: Writing “What Happened” wasn’t easy. Neither is witnessing what we see in the news every day. It’s never been more important to fight back and stand up for what we believe. I hope this book inspires you to keep going.”

The announcement fueled numerous think pieces (including this smart one from Nicole Froio on the book’s historical importance) and a bunch of funny tweets and a lot of speculation about what the book will actually be about. I’m somewhere between excited and skeptical. I would love to see Clinton really talk about the sexist challenges of being the first female presidential candidate, but I’m worried it’s going to be all about Russia and the stupid email scandal. I want reflective and biting… not avoidance and blaming. We shall see in September.

Ta-Nehisi Coates Essays Coming This Fall

I’m a little late on including this news in a newsletter, so apologies for that. Ta-Nehisi Coates will have a collection of new and previously published essays on the Obama era published on Oct. 3 from Penguin Random House. The book, We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy, is a follow up to 2015’s Between the World and Me, which is pretty much a must-read title on race and America. I am definitely looking forward to reading this one.

ODWABDANOTWM Coming to Small Screen

Scaachi Koul’s excellent essay collection One Day We’ll All Be Dead And None of This Will Matter may be coming to the small screen. Playback Online reports that a Toronto company, First Generation Films, has optioned the rights to the collection for a half-hour TV comedy that will also be Koul’s tv writing debut. This sounds so fun!

In Cold Blood to Be Revisited in Limited Series

A “limited series” based on the 1959 Clutter family murders made famous in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood is being planned. Deadline reports:

“The new, limited series will reveal never-before-seen evidence gathered by law enforcement during the original investigation. It also brings to light newly discovered clues as to what really happened the night the Clutter family was killed.”

On My Nightstand

If I’m going to be totally honest with you, dear readers, my entire nightstand is filled with fiction right now. I got a bunch of holds in from the library, so I am immersed in those books at the moment. But when I get back to nonfiction, I’ve got two books I plan to pick up – American Eclipse by David Baron (narrative history about Gilded Age America and the 1878 total solar eclipse) and The Return by Hisham Matar (the 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir about Matar’s “journey home to his native Libya in search of answers to his father’s disappearance”). American Eclipse is because I want to learn more about the eclipse before August 21, and The Return because my book club will be reading it soon.

As always, suggestions, recommendations, and feedback are always welcome. You can reach me on Twitter @kimthedork or via email at kim@riotnewmedia.com. Happy reading!

Giveaways

Win a Copy of THE DYING GAME By Asa Avdic

Post author By Jeff O'Neal
Post date August 3, 2017

We have 10 copies of The Dying Game by Asa Avdic to give away to 10 Riot readers!

Here’s what it’s all about:

The year is 2037. The Soviet Union never fell, and much of Europe has been consolidated under the totalitarian Union of Friendship. On the tiny island of Isola, seven people have been selected to compete in a forty-eight-hour test for a top-secret intelligence position. THE DYING GAME is a masterly locked-room mystery set in a near-future Orwellian state—for fans of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Dave Eggers’ The Circle, and Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games.

Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the cover image below:

Riot Rundown

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Post author By Devin Service
Post date August 3, 2017

Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by Doubleday, publishers of The Clockwork Dynasty, the new novel by Daniel Wilson.

An ingenious new thriller that weaves a path through history, following a race of human-like machines that have been hiding among us for untold centuries, written by the New York Times bestselling author of Robopocalypse.

The Stack

080317-BookPop-The-Stack

Post author By Devin Service
Post date August 3, 2017

Today’s The Stack is sponsored by Book Pop! from Quirk Books.

From July 31-August 11, Quirk Books is hosting Book Pop!, an online comic-con. Quirk’s authors will be taking over it’s socials, visiting sites across the web, sharing original content on QuirkBooks.com. And like any great con Quirk is giving away awesome SWAG, hosting a digital cosplay contest, and has partnered up with geeky companies for an amazing grand prize. Find out more at QuirkBooks.com/BookPop.