Month: February 2019

Jack The Ripper’s Victims Get A Voice

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date February 21, 2019

Hello mystery fans!

Sponsored by Beautiful Bad, a gripping psychological thriller by Annie Ward. Order your copy today at BeautifulBadBook.com.

Maddie and Ian’s love story began with a chance encounter at a party overseas. Now almost two decades later, married with a beautiful son, Charlie, they are living the perfect suburban life in Middle America. But when a camping accident leaves Maddie badly scarred, she begins attending writing therapy, where she gradually reveals her fears about Ian’s PTSD and her concerns for the safety of their young son. Sixteen years of love and fear, adventure and suspicion culminate in The Day of the Killing, when a frantic 911 call summons the police to the scene of a shocking crime.

From Book Riot And Around The Internet

Rincey and Katie discuss recent mystery news–of course that banana pants publishing story–on the latest Read or Dead.

The novel ‘American Spy’ breaks down barriers. It’s also a terrific read

Read Harder: A Cozy Mystery

Joseph Knox’s The Smiling Man Is Right Up True Crime Fans’ Noir Alley

Identity Theft: A Uniquely Old-Fashioned Literary Crime

Tana French: ‘Nobody with imagination should commit a crime. You wouldn’t handle the stress’ (Tana French quit acting to be a writer!)

10 Mystery Manga to Investigate and Unravel

News And Adaptations

Vanity Fair’s Gwyneth Hughes is writing a new drama about Jack the Ripper’s victims

Killing Eve season two trailer!

There’s going to be a season two of You!

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese Developing ‘Devil in the White City’ Series at Hulu

Now On Hoopla Audio! (If you don’t know about Hoopla)

Far From You by Tess Sharpe is an excellent amateur sleuth mystery–Full review) (TW drug addiction/ statutory rape)

Kindle Deals

For fans of revenge For Better And Worse by Margot Hunt is $5.99! (Review) (TW brief discussion about child suicide/ pedophile)

Now on my radar is this Chinese mystery, that sounds dark, written by a medical examiner which is currently $0.99: Murder in Dragon City by Qin Ming, Alex Woodend (Translation)

A Bit Of My Week In Reading

I just started reading a German translated psychological thriller, The Stranger by Melanie Raabe, and a Canadian procedural, The Birds That Stay by Ann Lambert.

And my mystery break is Elizabeth Acevedo’s upcoming With the Fire on High because I would buy and read every word on a cereal boxes if that’s what she wrote.

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. And here’s an Unusual Suspects Pinterest board.

Until next time, keep investigating! And in the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own you can sign up here.

Today In Books

Obama Presidential Library Lawsuit To Move Forward: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date February 21, 2019

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by HMH Teen.

Obama Presidential Library Lawsuit To Move Forward

Protect Our Parks filed a lawsuit to stop former President Barack Obama’s presidential library complex from being built on the South Side of Chicago and U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey just ruled that the suit can move forward. The activists want to protect more than 20 acres of historic Jackson Park while “the city of Chicago wants to ‘lease’ 20 acres of the 500 acre park to the Obama library.”

Poet Arrested For Poem Critical Of Government

Abdirahman Abees, a British citizen, was arrested on January 12th after reciting poems in Hargeisa, Somaliland describing the human rights abuses he’d witnessed. “Mr Abees’ lawyer told the BBC that the poem called on the Somaliland government to reform its prisons and criminal justice systems and was not defamatory.” Amnesty International is demanding his immediate release.

Amy Poehler Keeps Being Awesome

Jennifer Mathieu’s novel Moxie is not only getting adapted by Amy Poehler’s production company, Paper Kite, but Poehler will also be directing the adaptation scripted by Tamara Chestna. Bring on the Riot Grrrl punk movement and feminist revolution!

What's Up in YA

🤩 Grab Some Cheap YA Ebooks

Post author By Kelly Jensen
Post date February 21, 2019

Happy weekend, YA fans!

Let’s highlight a handful of outstanding YA ebook deals. All are current as of Friday morning, February 22, and all are $5 or under.

Looking to kick off a fantasy series? Jennifer A. Neilson’s The False Prince is $5. You can also score the first book in one of her other series, The Traitor’s Game, for $2.
Annie Sullivan’s A Touch of Gold is $1. This is a riff on King Midas.

Let’s call this the “fantasy YA books are deals” roundup. Makiia Lucier’s Isle of Blood and Stone is $2.

Want the start of a fairy tale inspired fantasy series? Soman Chainani’s The School of Good and Evil is $2.
Start a political thriller with Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s The Naturals for $2.
Spend $5 and get the first book in Robin LaFevers’s “His Fair Assassins” series, Grave Mercy.
For contemporary fans, Laurie Devore’s How To Break A Boy is $3.
Want something fun? Try Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm for $3.
Katie Cotugno’s first book How To Love is $2.

Going to keep sharing this book while it’s such a steal. Pick up Calling My Name by Liara Tamani. $2.

Don’t miss out on the $2 gem Tell Me Again How A Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan.
I like unlikable female characters (whatever that means) and Frankie by Shivaun Plozza offers up a good one. $3.
And for readers itching for something really different in the YA world, try Sarah Nicole Lemon’s Done Dirt Cheap for $4.50.

____________________

Thanks for hanging out, and we’ll see you next week!

— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Instagram and editor of (Don’t) Call Me Crazy and Here We Are.

Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships Feb 22

Post author By Jenn Northington
Post date February 21, 2019

Hello and happy Friday, Fair Folk and Fremen! Today we’ve got some reading lists, a superhero with bipolar disorder, a queer classic, a review of A Big Ship At the Edge of the Universe by Alex White, and more.

This newsletter is sponsored by Flatiron Books.

After her parents die, Camille must find a way to provide for her sister by transforming scraps of metal into money. But soon she begins to pursue a more dangerous mark: the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Camille transforms herself into a baroness and is swept up into life at Versailles. She meets a handsome young inventor, and begins to believe that love and liberty may both be possible. But magic has costs, and when revolution erupts, Camille must choose—before Paris burns.

Love you some magic and modernity? Here’s a great round-up of fantasy with modern elements.

Here’s a nice piece with the writer from The Unstoppable Wasp, on Nadia Van Dyne coping with bipolar disorder.

I’m super excited that Hadriana in All My Dreams (which I loved) made it into the on-going QUILTBAG+ Speculative Classics column on Tor.com!

Speculatively-related, the 2019 Read Harder includes a task to read a book of mythology or folklore, and here are some suggestions.

I talked about female time-travelers on Tuesday, and if you need more here’s a round-up.

With great power comes great responsibility, and here are eight books about magic wielders grappling with that!

Everyone is very hype about this bot’s writing ability; while I will grant you that the quoted Lord of the Rings-inspired scene is passable (barely) in terms of just basic writing, I can’t help but side-eye the assertion that anyone would mistake it for Tolkien’s writing.

Anyway! On to today’s review, which is a 10-lb plot in a 5-lb book, in a very satisfying way.

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White

Do you need some big, explosion-y fun with a diverse found-family crew of an outer-space starship trying to save the galaxy? Have I got a book for you. I have been describing this book as what might happen if you took some Murderbot and some Firefly and some Fast & Furious and added magic and upped the inclusivity, and I stand by it. (There’s a lot going on, y’all.)

Our two narrators couldn’t be more different. Nilah is an intergalactically famous race car driver with a literal magic touch, poised to become a champion and loving the limelight; Elizabeth, a.k.a. Boots, is the veteran of a horrible interplanetary conflict, is currently a con-artist, and faces constant prejudice because she’s one of the few humans who doesn’t have any magic at all (Muggles being rare in this ‘verse). When one of Nilah’s competitors buys a treasure map from Boots that gets him killed and Nilah accused of the murder, their paths cross, people start getting shot, and then more people start to die. What exactly is it about the fabled warship Harrow that someone is trying to keep secret? Boots, Nilah, and the crew of the Capricious might get killed anyway, so they might as well try to find out.

I really enjoyed this; White writes action well, and gleefully combines space opera and magic. I love the idea of a mechanic-mage almost as much as I love cranky, crochety, scarred, magic-less Boots, who grumped her way right into my heart. White has also clearly considered the ramifications of his world-building, exploring the injustices and inequities that might exist as well as the joys and treasures. Nilah’s journey from a pampered, albeit hard-working, diva to a member of the crew was a nice counterpoint to Boots, who is trying her mightiest to stay an outsider. The Big Bad is very big and very bad indeed, and it’s easy to root for these big-hearted, all too human characters.

While this is the first book in a series, the ending wraps up very nicely; White ties up all the major plot threads while leaving the door open for further adventures. The bonus here is that Book 2, A Bad Deal For the Whole Galaxy, is already out! Book 3 is slated for 2020, so don’t barge through them too fast.

And that’s a wrap! You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’re interested in more science fiction and fantasy talk, you can catch me and my co-host Sharifah on the SFF Yeah! podcast. For many many more book recommendations you can find me on the Get Booked podcast with the inimitable Amanda, or on Twitter as jennIRL.

Your fellow booknerd,
Jenn

Check Your Shelf

#copypastecris Scandal, Will Smith “Vandalizes” Library DVDs, and Someone’s Giving Away a Free Comic Store

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date February 21, 2019

Welcome to Check Your Shelf! This is your guide to help librarians like you up your game when it comes to doing your job (& rocking it).

“Check Your Shelf” is sponsored by We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.

Nina LaCour’s Printz Award-winning novel, We Are Okay, is now in paperback! An intimate whisper that packs an indelible punch, We Are Okay is Nina LaCour at her finest. This gorgeously crafted and achingly honest portrayal of grief will leave you urgent to reach across any distance to reconnect with the people you love.

Libraries & Librarians

An update on the controversial library book-scanning program, CDL (“controlled digital lending”). If you’re not familiar with the program or the issues surrounding it, this is an informative read.
Drag Queen story hour updates for San Francisco, South Carolina, Exeter (PA), and Astoria (OR).
(Trigger warning) The New Mexico teenager who killed two librarians at the Clovis library has been sentenced to life in prison.
Andover (KS) Library decides to keep transgender children’s books in the children’s section after a complaint from a parent. Rock on!
A Chicago parks advocacy group has filed a lawsuit that may prevent the construction of the Obama Presidential Library along the lakefront.
Summer Scares, a partnership between the Horror Writer’s Association, United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Library Journal/School Library Journal, releases the First Annual Reading List for libraries.
Library of Congress will be preserving 50 years of Sesame Street for posterity.
Gothenburg, Sweden plans to unveil electric mobile libraries.
WPA’s horseback librarians.
A five-year-old opens his own Little Free Library.
Will Smith autographs DVD cases at an Atlanta library while filming Bad Boys for Life.
Read like a librarian.

By the Numbers

A collection of book & reading stats & resources.
$10,000 worth of rare books were stolen from a Pennsylvania book store.

Award News

Nominees for the NAACP Image Awards for Literature.
Association of Jewish Libraries announce the winners of the AJL Jewish Fiction Award.
British Science Fiction Association Award finalists.

Pop Cultured

Netflix cancels Jessica Jones and The Punisher.
Trailer for Season 2 of Killing Eve.

All Things Comics

Someone’s giving away an Illinois comic shop for free!
8 comics that should be adapted for Netflix.
Mystery manga.

Audiophilia

14 books by, about, and narrated by black women.
A beginner’s guide to listening to audiobooks on an iPhone.
7 Grammy-nominated audiobooks.

Book Lists, Book Lists, Book Lists

50 of the best fantasy novels for kids.
Teachers recommend 22 diverse book choices for all grade levels.
10 essential scary books by women.
15 erotic horror novels.
Best books by authors of color for teens.
16 books “that will make the coldest, deadest heart come back to life.”
11 books to satisfy your true crime obsession.
Literary cameos in 90’s movies. This could be a really interesting display, especially if you look for beyond the 90’s!
New York Times: 52 books for 52 places to be featured in their Travel Section.
Books by the current group of 2020 presidential candidates.
9 books to read after you marathon the Netflix series, You.
Thrillers involving missing, mistaken, or “changed” children.
Read Harder suggestions for the mythology/folklore and cozy mystery challenges.

Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous

RIP: Betty Ballentine, one of the creators of the modern paperback, died at age 99, and author W.E.B. Griffin died at 89.
A roundup of updates on #copypastecris, a plagiarism scandal where a large number of prominent romance authors recently discovered that portions of their books had been plagiarized by Brazilian author, Cristiane Serruya. Courtney Milan posted about this on her blog as well.
A feminist poetry fairy is loose in London.
Artist creates gorgeous landscape art out of old books.
These dresses made from book spines are too gorgeous for words.
Harry Potter Scrabble? Triple word for Gryffindor!
Locked-room mysteries are coming back in a big way.
Your guide to cosmic horror.
If you’re doing an author interview at your library, consider NOT asking them one of these questions.
Andover (MA) Bookstore celebrates its 210th birthday, making it the new (?) oldest independent bookstore in the country.
Cafe owner gives away books to kids who bring in recyclable items.

Level Up (Library Reads)

Do you take part in LibraryReads, the monthly list of best books selected by librarians only? We’ve made it easy for you to find eligible diverse titles to nominate. Kelly Jensen created a database of upcoming diverse books that anyone can edit, and Nora Rawlins of Early Word is doing the same, as well as including information about series, vendors, and publisher buzz.

Thanks for hanging out and I’ll see you again next week!

–Katie McLain, @kt_librarylady on Twitter. Currently reading Unbecoming: A Memoir of Disobedience by Anuradha Bhagwati.

Riot Rundown TestRiotRundown

022119-Collision-Riot-Rundown

Post author By Natalia Heroux
Post date February 21, 2019

Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by Collision: Stories, new from J.S. Breukelaar

A collection of twelve of J.S. Breukelaar’s darkest, finest stories with four new works, including the uncanny new novella “Ripples on a Blank Shore.” Introduction by award-winning author, Angela Slatter. Relish the gothic strangeness of “Union Falls,” the alien horror of “Rogues Bay 3013,” the heartbreaking dystopia of “Glow,” the weird mythos of “Ava Rune,” and others. This collection from the author of American Monster and the internationally acclaimed and Aurealis Award finalist, Aletheia, announces a new and powerful voice in fantastical fiction.

Giveaways

022019-DevilsDaughter-Giveaway

Post author By Devin Service
Post date February 20, 2019

We have 10 copies of Devil’s Daughter by Lisa Kleypas to give away to 10 Riot readers!

Here’s what it’s all about:

West Ravenel is a man with a tarnished past. No apologies, no excuses. However, from the moment he meets Phoebe, Lady Clare, he is consumed by irresistible desire. What West doesn’t bargain on is that Phoebe is no straitlaced aristocratic lady. She’s the daughter of a strong-willed wallflower who long ago eloped with the most devilishly wicked rake in England. Before long, Phoebe sets out to seduce the man who has awakened her fiery nature and shown her unimaginable pleasure. Will their overwhelming passion be enough to overcome the obstacles of the past? Only the devil’s daughter knows…

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

Book Radar

Amy Poehler is Bringing MOXIE to Netflix and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date February 20, 2019

It’s Thursday again! How does that happen?? I hope you’re having a lovely time, or at least reading a lovely book, and have delicious snacks. It’s been kind of a quiet February week so far, but I still have a few fun things to share. Please enjoy the rest of your week, be kind to yourself as well as others, and remember that life is hard – you are doing a great job! – xoxo, Liberty

Sponsored by Beautiful Bad, a gripping psychological thriller by Annie Ward. Order your copy today at BeautifulBadBook.com.

Trivia question time! What is the most expensive book ever purchased? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Amy Poehler is directing an adaptation of Moxie for Netflix.

The Book of M by Peng Shepherd has been optioned for television!

A Paddington Bear series is coming to Nickelodeon.

Abrams Kids announced a new book in their Questioneer series.

Dune, starring every actor ever apparently, now has a release date.

Neil Gaiman is reviving Jim Henson’s Storyteller.

There’s a show in the works based on the upcoming book, The Five, about the victims of Jack the Ripper.

Cover Reveals

Book Riot has the cover reveal for I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest. (Roaring Brook Press, June 4)

Former Rioter Preeti Chhibber is writing a Spider-Man tie-in! Here’s the first look at the cover. (Marvel Press, June 4)

And Epic Reads reveled the cover of Nocturna by Maya Motayne. (Balzer + Bray, May 7)

Sneak Peeks

Here’s the trailer for HBO’s documentary about Theranos, the company exposed in Bad Blood.

And here’s the trailer for the Mötley Crüe biopic, based on their book The Dirt.

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 learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR! (It will now be books I loved on Mondays and books I’m excited to read on Thursdays. YAY, BOOKS!)

Excited to read:

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (Redhook, September 10)

This was brought to my attention by an early reader who thinks I will love it. And it does indeed sound wonderful! It’s about magical doors, and sprawling mansions, and strange books that tell stories about their readers. SIGN ME UP!

What I’m reading this week.

Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor

Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang

Ragged Alice by Gareth L. Powell

And this is funny.

This is certainly how I want to go.

Trivia answer: Bill Gates bought ‘Codex Leicester’, one of Leonardo Di Vinci’s scientific journals, for $30.8 million.

You made it to the bottom! High five. Thanks for reading! – xo, L

Today In Books

Scientists Studying DNA In Old Books: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date February 20, 2019

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by The Familiars by Stacey Halls and MIRA Books.

Scientists Studying DNA Of Old Books

After realizing the goldmine of information to be learned from extracting DNA from old bones, scientists are now looking at objects to gather DNA from. Enter the parchment project where Matthew Collins “gathered a team that included geneticists as well as archivists, bookmakers, and historians” to study the DNA of old books. You can read all the interesting research here. My nerd-heart was purring.

Hateful Kansas Bill Attacks LGBTQ+ And Comes For Drag Queen Storytime

Last week Kansas lawmakers introduced a phobic and hateful bill that attacks the LGBTQ+ community, gay marriage, supports conversion therapy, and is trying to ban drag queen storytime from public libraries and public schools. It’s a lot of hate.

Jack The Ripper’s Victims Get TV Series

The Five by Hallie Rubenhold finally focuses on giving voice to the five women who were Jack the Ripper’s victims and Gwyneth Hughes has adapted the book into a TV series and Mainstreet Pictures has bought the scripts. It’s taken a 130 years but here’s to finally focusing on the victims and not the predator.

Kissing Books

#CopyPasteCris and New Releases

Post author By Jessica Pryde
Post date February 20, 2019

Well, folks. It’s been a heck of a week in Romancelandia. We haven’t even made it a quarter of the way through the year, and we’ve topped #cockygate. That’s something, huh? I don’t even know how to approach it, so I’ll let other people speak for me.

Sponsored by our giveaway of $100 to Amazon in support of Swords and Spaceships, our sci-fi/fantasy newsletter!

Swords and Spaceships is our biweekly newsletter about all things sci-fi and fantasy literature, and we’re giving away a $100 gift card to Amazon to one lucky reader! Enter HERE by signing up for the newsletter (if you win, send us a pic of all the SFF books you buy with it!), and enjoy a regular dose of your favorite genre news, recs, and more, in your inbox.

Over on Book Riot

If you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, Carolina puts all the things down in one place. Basically, It’s been discovered that Kindle Unlimited author Cristiane Serruya, aka #copypastecris, pulled whole passages from other romance authors’ works. As of Tuesday night, when I’m writing this, the count had made it to over 25 books. She’s pulled all her books from Amazon, but the Goodreads reviews are delightfully vicious. Apparently it was *ghostwriters* who did it, not her. She entered the RITAs, y’all. :insert mind-blown emoji:

Since we’ve had to go through this for the past few days, now is a good time to enter to win a waterproof Kindle Paperwhite (now through February 28). Maybe hold off on Kindle Unlimited for a while, though…

I want to watch all of these ballets.

And there’s still time to enter to win a six-month subscription to Fresh Fiction.

Deals!

Looking for a real book with a royal romance? Check out Nana Malone’s Cheeky Royal, which is 99 cents right now. The hero doesn’t want to rule, and hopes to give the crown to his long-lost brother? But he also can’t stop thinking about the girl next door. Or something. This is one of many royals books in her repertoire, so if you like this one, try the others.

Or maybe you’re looking for something by a trans author? Anna Zabo’s Syncopation is 3.99 right now. (And so is Counterpoint…and Reverb, if you want to preorder it…) Syncopation is the blow-you-away start to the series about a band finding its way, member by member. The first one is also of-note, as one of the protagonists is aromantic. He feels sexual attraction, but doesn’t experience love like alloromantic people. Since it’s Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week, this is definitely a sexy way to learn more about this way-too-underrepresented group in romance.

New Releases

It’s a good week of releases! I’ve started a few, and am looking forward to seeing how they play out. Hopefully, good. With sexy consent and body positivity.

Crashing into Her
Mia Sosa

The third book in Sosa’s Love on Cue series, this one opens where we left off: the aftermath of Tori’s wedding. (If you’re interested in her love story, check out Acting on Impulse). Eva, Tori’s best friend, hooks up with her cousin Anthony, and sparks fly. They’re both happy they don’t live anywhere near each other, because neither of them is into relationships. But when Eva decides to move to LA—much to the chagrin of her father, who thinks a career as “an exercise teacher” is sub-par—she has potential to do stunt work. Except her trainer is the stunt man who stunted her around a hotel room a year ago. What could possibly go wrong?

Love By The Letters: A Regency Novella Trio
Grace Burrowes, Vanessa Riley, and Kelly Bowen

All three of these authors are on my list of Authors To Read This Year (even though I’ve owned at least one book by each author since well before this calendar year began). This trio is all about people whose lives change with the offer of wealth, whether for good or bad. Burrowes’ book involves a bluestocking and an eager school master. Riley’s has a second son learning how to set up a business from an ambitious modiste. And Bowen’s has an architect with a crumbling manor clashing with the steward who took over when her father died. Talk about a trio!

The Scandalous Diary of Lily Layton
Stacy Reid

When Lily Layton loses her diary…which is obviously scandalous from the title of the book…Oliver finds the perfect woman. But only on the pages of a book. He doesn’t know the owner of said thoughts. He might have met her in a secret rendezvous…but he doesn’t know who she is either? Really, Oliver needs to meet some people, but that’s another story for another day. For now, he has to figure out if the woman he wants is a woman he can marry.

Devil’s Daughter
Lisa Kleypas

WALLFLOWERS MEETS RAVENELS?!?!?! This is basically the book we’ve all been waiting for, and I honestly don’t care what it’s actually about. Yes, I have a copy. No, I haven’t read it yet. Yes, I will tell everyone how amazing it was when I finally get there.

Also: that cover!

Misadventures of a Curvy Girl
Sierra Simone

I am going to admit: I almost gave this book a Hard No, because one of the heroes shares a name with my husband’s 21-year-old nephew. But it’s Sierra Simone, and it’s about a curvy girl and two corn-fed Kansas Golden Boys. What is not to want?

Appetites & Vices
Felicia Grossman

A historical romance set in Philadelphia with a Jewish heroine? I think yes. There’s also a fake engagement meant to help her make her way back into society and make him a little money. But we all know how that kind of relationship goes, when there’s chemistry involved. I have heard nothing but good things about this book, and can’t wait to read it!

Also, a note that Once Ghosted, Twice Shy is now available in paperback!

NOTE: After the last note about a book, another reader sent me a message about D.I.L.F, which I also hadn’t read. The hero of that novel exhibited excessive creeper behavior, including masturbating loudly so she would have to listen after she said she wasn’t interested and yeah. Thanks, Melissa, for sharing.

As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback or just want to say hi!