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Book Radar

The First Look at THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD Adaptation and More Book Radar!

Happy Thursday, readers! How’s your week going? Me, I have been reading up a storm and plugging away at Murder, She Wrote. I am still finding it mostly enjoyable, despite its silliness. I captured several of my thoughts about the show on Twitter the other day. All I can say is that if there was actually a teeny town in Maine with that many homicides, they would have brought in reporters, scientists, and the National Guard to study the citizens! Also, I thought Tom Bosley started out doing a pretty good Maine accent, but as the show goes on, now it sounds like his accent is melting when he speaks. Must be the stress of being the bumbling sheriff of Murdertown, ME. (Are there any sheriffs in television shows from the 1980s that weren’t bumbling? Discuss amongst yourselves.)

Now, let’s get down to business! I have book news coming out my ears, plus a book I can’t wait to read, trivia, cat pictures, and more! And remember that whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you love and hugs. Please be safe, and remember to wear a mask and wash your hands. And please be mindful of others. It takes no effort to be kind. I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty, Your Friendly Neighborhood Velocireader™

Trivia question time! What is widely considered to be the first novel ever written? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

On The Come Up by Angie Thomas

Wanuri Kahiu will direct the film adaptation of On the Come Up by Angie Thomas.

Here’s the first teaser trailer for the adaptation of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.

Gideon the Ninth author Tamsyn Muir has signed a new five-book deal with Tor.com Publishing.

Rachel Howzell Hall’s Elouise Norton detective series has been optioned for television.

Winner, winner: Here are the winners of the 2020 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. And the winners of the Inaugural Ignyte Awards.

Disney announced that the adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s Children Of Blood And Bone will be a Lucasfilm project.

While poking around looking for something, I accidentally discovered that Chemistry author Weike Wang has a new novel coming next year, and Riverhead Books just announced that we can expect a new novel from Lauren Groff in the fall!

Michelle Pfeiffer talked about her role in the upcoming adaptation of French Exit by Patrick deWitt.

Here’s the exciting first look at the cover of How To Find A Princess: Runaway Royals 2 by Alyssa Cole.

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian cover image

And HBO Max released the first trailer for The Flight Attendant, a limited series starring Kaley Cuoco, which is based on the novel by Chris Bohjalian.

Brooklyn Public Library announced the 2020 shortlist for its sixth annual Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize.

Here’s the first look at Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers Is Saving Ballet From Itself by Chloe Angyal.

And more first peeks: Here’s the cover reveal and an excerpt of Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Book Riot contributor Adiba Jaigirdar!

Here’s the first look – and listen – for The Girl With Stars in Her Eyes by Xio Axelrod.

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: 

A Game of Cones (An Ice Cream Parlor Mystery) by Abby Collette (Berkley, March 2, 2021)

I just discovered this book is coming next year, so I wanted to take a moment to mention the first one, A Deadly Scoop, which is out now. It’s a really fun cozy mystery about a young woman who moves back to Ohio to take over her family’s ice cream parlor, and soon finds herself trying to clear her father’s name when he’s accused of murder. It’s delightful!

I also want to shout out cozy mysteries in general. I think in my next life, I want to get hired just to come up with punny names for cozy mysteries and nail polish colors. The inventiveness of some of the titles I see is amazing! Maybe I should write my own series. Hmmmm, what would it be about, though?

GOT IT. “It’s So Weasel to Fall in Love: An intrepid podcast host and ferret owner falls in love with the new proprietor of the local bookstore. But when they are accused of the murder of the town’s parking meter attendant, can she ferret out the truth?” Look, I’m already halfway there, lolololol.

What I’m reading this week.

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

White Magic by Elissa Washuta

The Cold Millions: A Novel by Jess Walter

Hummingbird Salamander: A Novel by Jeff VanderMeer 

Nöthin’ But a Good Time The Uncensored History of the ’80s Hard Rock Explosion by Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock

Song stuck in my head:

Right Down the Line by Gerry Rafferty. (I’m still really into listening to songs I loved when I was young. You can listen to a lot of them in this playlist I made!)

And this is funny:

It’s funny because it’s true.

Happy things:

Here are a few things I enjoy that I thought you might like as well:

And here’s a cat picture!

Pigeons! Are! Exciting!

Trivia answer: The Tale of Genji, written in 1008 by Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu.

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