Happy Monday! I AM ON VACATION. As you read this, I will be lying on a beach, soaking up the sun and reading a book. JK! I am at home, probably on the couch and maybe wearing pants, but definitely still reading a book. (Why spend money to travel when all you want to do is read??) I plan to get lots of great reading in this week, so I can share it with all of you. I hope that your weekend was swell, and that you all managed to read something wonderful. Have a great week, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty
Sponsored by Valiant Entertainment
Accomplice. Mentor. Savior. And now, Enemy of the State. Seeking to protect other vulnerable superpowered psiots like herself, Livewire plunged the United States into a nationwide blackout, causing untold devastation. After choosing the few over the many, she must now outrun the government she served—and those she once called allies. With the whole world hunting her, what kind of hero will Livewire be…or will she be one at all?
Here’s this week’s trivia question: What American author is godmother to Ernest Hemingway’s son, Jack “Bumby” Hemingway? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)
Deals, Reals, and Squeals!
Casey McQuiston’s forthcoming Red White & Royal Blue is being adapted for the screen.
N.K. Jemisin has written the foreword for the latest edition of Octavia Butler’s classic Parable of the Sower.
The Handmaid’s Tale star O-T Fagbenle will star opposite Scarlett Johansson in the Black Widow movie.
Basic Witches co-author Jaya Saxana will publish Crystal Clear: Extraordinary Talismans for Everyday Life.
Lilliam Rivera has sold her third novel, Pheus & Eury, a retelling of the Greek myth Orpheus & Eurydice that is set in the Bronx.
Jake Gyllenhaal will star in a limited series adaptation of Gary Shteyngart’s Lake Success for HBO.
Love, Simon is in development as a television series.
And Nightfire, a new horror imprint, will be joining the Tor family in 2021.
Cover Reveals
Jasmine Guillory revealed the cover of her fourth novel, Royal Holiday, coming in the fall. (Berkley, October 1)
And here’s the first look at Unsung Heroine, the latest in Sarah Kuhn’s Heroine Complex series. (DAW, July 2)
Sneak Peaks
Here’s the trailer for Brené Brown: The Call to Courage.
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!)
Loved, loved, loved:
The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames (Ecco, May 7)
This is the big, magical historical novel you have been craving. There’s Stella Fortuna, who has escaped death seven (possibly eight) times, first growing up in a small Italian village, then in America, after her parents emigrated just before WWII. It starts out in present-day Connecticut, where Stella and her sister, Tina, have lived next door to one another without speaking for decades. To find out what caused the fight, you have to go waaaaaay back to the beginning. Which is good news for the reader, because everything about this novel is wonderful.
What I’m reading this week:
Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy
Murder by Milkshake: An Astonishing True Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and a Charismatic Killer by Eve Lazarus
Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron
The Valedictorian of Being Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live by Heather B. Armstrong
Your House Will Pay: A Novel by Steph Cha
The Guest Book: A Novel by Sarah Blake
Pun of the week:
What do you do with chemists when they die? Barium.
Here’s a kitten picture:
Farrokh, the book model.
And this is funny.
Lol, insect jokes.
Trivia answer: Gertrude Stein.
You made it to the bottom! Thanks for reading! – xo, L