Month: January 2021

Anthology Based On The 1619 Project Has 87 Audiobook Narrators: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date January 26, 2021

Sponsored by Wings Over Ghost Creek “a page-turning thriller”– D. Cussler.

Anthology Based On The 1619 Project Has 87 Audiobook Narrators

Developed by Nikole Hannah-Jones The New York Times Magazine’s The 1619 Project is a long-form journalism project examining the long shadow of American slavery. Set to release in February, there is also an anthology edited by Keisha N. Blain (Set the World on Fire) and Ibram X. Kendi (Stamped From The Beginning): Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019. And the anthology, which has 90 contributing writers, also has an amazing cast of narrators for the audiobook, which will include 87 voices!

2021 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominations

Mystery readers can certainly find their next great armchair read on the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominations list. If you like a trilogy, and want to travel to Italy: The Sleeping Nymph by Ilaria Tuti. Maybe you want a historical mystery set in a time you rarely read about (1800, Joseon): The Silence of Bones by June Hur. There’s literary mystery (Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara), a book for Sherlock Holmes fans (Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March), British mystery (Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman), a great thriller set on a reservation (Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden), and even a GBBO meets social justice middle grade mystery (From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks). Just give them all awards!

Tarana Burke And Brené Brown Edited An Anthology

And here’s the pre-buy button we all ran to! Activist and founder of the Me Too movement Tarana Burke, and research professor Brené Brown (Dare To Lead; Daring Greatly) have edited an anthology: You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience. You can read the intro conversation between Burke and Brown now, and here’s a list of the contributors!

7 Poets Like Amanda Gorman To Watch

If you too were blown away by the 2021 inauguration poem, “The Hill We Climb,” check out these poets like Amanda Gorman.

True Story

New Releases: Ida B. Wells + Joan Didion

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date January 26, 2021

Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells by Michelle Duster

Ok, this cover is stunning. Written by the great-granddaughter of Wells, this brief (less than 200 pages) biography is a “visual celebration of Wells’s life, and of the Black experience.” I particularly love this promo line: “In 1862, Ida B. Wells was born enslaved in Holly Springs, Mississippi. In 2020, she won a Pulitzer Prize.” A+.

Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty by Maurice Chammah

This is blurbed by Hidden Valley Road author Robert Kolker as “[r]emarkably intimate, fair-minded, and trustworthy reporting,” which as a nonfiction editor, I love to see. Chammah is a journalist for The Marshall Project. Here he looks at “the rise and fall of capital punishment through the eyes of those it touched,” by interviewing lawyers, judges, and death row prisoners.

Nobody’s Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness by Roy Richard Grinker

Anthropologist Grinker “chronicles the progress and setbacks in the struggle against mental-illness stigma” from the 17th century to the 21st. Looking at “cutting-edge science, historical archives, and cross-cultural research in Africa and Asia, Grinker takes readers on an international journey to discover the origins of, and variances in, our cultural response to neurodiversity.” Looks INteresting.

The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship by Deborah Willis

University press book! MacArthur fellow Willis examines over SEVENTY images of Black soldiers in the Civil War and not only dives into the lives of Black Union soldiers, but also includes stories of other African Americans involved with the struggle—from left-behind family members to female spies.

Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Joan Didion

Everyone loves an essay collection. This gathers twelve Didion essays from 1968-2000 that range from the news to fabled William Randolph Hearst property San Simeon to the act of writing. My 2021 thing for this newsletter is going to be pointing out shorter nonfiction, and this clocks in at fewer than 200 pages.

For more nonfiction reads, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

Unusual Suspects

January Mystery Releases For Your TBR

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date January 26, 2021

Goldie Vance: The Hocus-Pocus Hoax by Lilliam Rivera

If you’re a fan of smart and fun teen detectives with spunk, this is a great series–that comes with the bonus of even more reading with the graphic novels it’s based on!– to fall into. The first book introduces the characters and involves a set piece stolen from the monster movie being filmed at the resort where Goldie works (Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit), and this second book is about a magician convention and the mystery of who is stealing all the trick elements. (Review)

The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe

This is already in my top 2021 titles for sure! I love Sharpe’s ability to write tense crime novels with fantastic characters. Her previous novel, Barbed Wire Heart, is perfect for fans of Ozark, and this time she wrote a bank heist gone wrong with three teens determined to get out alive by tricking the robbers. Sharpe manages to run up to every trope, dismantle it, drop it, and give you something fresh, and I am forever looking forward to what she’ll write next.

If you like thrilling past and present storytelling that slowly unravels a character, run to this book. And if you enjoyed Sadie and No Exit, make this a must-read. Also, the less you know going in the better if you want the full ride experience. Oh, and one more thing: all of Sharpe’s crime novels are awesome, so go read those too. (Review)

Sleep Well, My Lady (Emma Djan Investigation #2) by Kwei Quartey

This is the second in a new part PI series set in Ghana. The first book, The Missing American (Review) is half in the US and half in Ghana and this second one is fully in Ghana. I also said part PI because the books follow Emma Djan and the story of how she’s assaulted while a police officer and becomes a PI instead, and is still a rookie PI at a firm, but also follows many other characters. This time a woman has been murdered and we learn about the people who knew her, and all their secrets, and hers, until we find out the who and why. (TW mentions past child abuse/ child sexual assault/ alcoholism/ ableism/ stalking, peeping Tom)

Picnic In the Ruins by Todd Robert Petersen

An anthropologist, small-time thieves hired to steal maps, a sheriff, lobbyist, and a fixer hired to clean up the “they didn’t do the job right” mess. All those things are why I’m sold and looking forward to reading this one. Also, Liberty really enjoyed it and talked about it on All the Books!

The Conjure-Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher

Originally published in the 1930s, it’s listed as the first detective novel written by an African-American. Following one of New York’s few Black police detectives, Perry Dart, we watch as he tries to solve the murder of N’Gana Frimbo, with the help of a physician and two local boys who want to clear their names.

Dear Miss Kopp (Kopp Sisters #6) by Amy Stewart

If you’re looking for historical crime novels, and especially like when they are inspired by real people, this is a series for you. Stewart even shows research for the inspiration if you like falling down rabbit holes. (Review for first in series Girl Waits With Gun)

Shanghai Secrets (Rowland Sinclair #9) by Sulari Gentill

I read the second book in this historical mystery series, A Decline in Prophets (Review), and very much enjoyed it. It follows a cast of fun characters, led by Australian Rowland Sinclair. This time he finds himself in Shanghai and, once again, there is a dead body and fingers pointing at him, so chop-chop he’s got to solve the murder.

When You Look Like Us by Pamela N Harris

Absolutely one of my top 2021 books–and an excellently narrated audiobook if you audio–about a teen boy trying to find his missing sister. If you’re a fan of Lamar Giles and Tiffany D. Jackson you should run to this one. (Review)

Every Waking Hour (Ellery Hathaway #4) by Joanna Schaffhausen

If you like shows that pair two people in different fields together to solve crime, and one that adds sexual tension (Castle; Bones), this series is perfect for you. (Review for first book The Vanishing Season)

Before The Ruins by Victoria Gosling

For fans of character driven and atmospheric slow burn novels with a mystery told in past and present–with a group of friends at the center.

Reckless by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Jacob Phillips

If you’re looking for a graphic novel, murder, and something set in the ‘80s, this is one of three planned volumes, all standalone complete stories, following “Ethan Reckless: Your trouble is his business, for the right price. But when a fugitive from his radical student days reaches out for help, Ethan must face the only thing he fears…his own past.”

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2021 releases. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations!

Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, 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.

Riot Rundown

012621-EBBEEAC-RR

Post author By Natalia Heroux
Post date January 26, 2021

New Children’s Book Releases for January 26, 2021

Post author By Chelsea Henley
Post date January 25, 2021

Don’t Hug Doug (He Doesn’t Like It) by Carrie Finson and Daniel Wiseman

In this cute picture book about consent, Doug likes many things but not hugs. This is a nice twist on the golden rule of treating everyone as they’d like to be treated, instead asking that everyone simply ask everyone how they’d like to be treated and following accordingly.

What’s the Matter, Marlo? by Andrew Arnold

This sweet picture book about friendship and empathy follows two friends, Coco and Marlo. The two spend most of their time together, alongside Marlo’s dog. But one day Marlo doesn’t want to play and appears to be especially unhappy, but won’t tell Coco what’s wrong.

Avocado Asks by Momoko Abe

This witty picture book features an adorable avocado having an identity crisis. Is an avocado a fruit or a vegetable or something else altogether? To find the answer, Avocado heads to the grocery store to see where they fit in best.

Chef Yasmina and the Potato Panic by Wauter Mannaert

This fun graphic novel follows Yasmina, a vegetarian chef working to take care of her family. When a big potato company starts producing an addictive potato that makes the people who eat them aggressively into potatoes, it’s up to Yasmina to save the day.

The In-Between by Rebecca K.S Ansari

In this creepy supernatural mystery, siblings Cooper and Jess tackle a mystery involving an old English railroad and their neighbor Elena. Meanwhile, Cooper must make sense of his own feelings after their parents’ divorce and his father leaves the family to start a new one.

While I Was Away by Waka T. Brown

This memoir from author Waka T. Brown revisits her childhood. When she was twelve years old, her parents, worried she was losing touch with her Japanese heritage, sent her to Japan to live with the grandmother she doesn’t know very well. This is an emotional and inspiring journey of a girl learning more about herself and her culture.

Until next week! – Chelsea

New Books

Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date January 25, 2021

Sponsored by You Have A Match by Emma Lord.

When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. But she shockingly discovers she’s a sister to shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully. It’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents. They make a plan to meet up at summer camp and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But things never go as planned, do they?

Happy Tuesday, star bits! There are so many great books out today, your head will spin with excitement. This includes a number of great sequels, like A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer, Written in Starlight by Isabel Ibañez, The Mask Falling by Samantha Shannon, and Every Waking Hour by Joanna Schaffhausen, all of which I am eager to get my hands on! And for you Joan Didion fans, her new collection of essays Let Me Tell You What I Mean is also out today.

Speaking of today’s great books, for this week’s episode of All the Books! Patricia and I discussed some of the wonderful books that we’ve read, such as My Brilliant Life, The Girls I’ve Been, The Swallowed Man, and more.

And now, it’s time for everyone’s favorite gameshow: AHHHHHH MY TBR! Here are today’s contestants:

A Thousand Ships: A Novel by Natalie Haynes

I often feel like everyone seems to know the stories of all the Greek gods and goddesses except for me. As if the day this information was taught, I must have been home sick from school. So I often have to have it pointed out to me when a book is a retelling of Ovid’s Metamorphoses or a contemporary Iphis and Ianthe story.

That said, I so love reading books with Greek gods and goddesses, and while I wish I knew a bit more about the source material, it didn’t stop me from loving this award-nominated novel about the women from the Trojan War, including the three goddesses who started the war, the Trojan citizens, Penelope, and the Amazon princess who fought Achilles. And it’s told from the perspective of Calliope, the goddess of poetry. (Which is a fact I know because I looked it up. Seriously, how does everyone else already know this stuff?)

Even without knowing the source material, I found this a compelling and intense book. There was a lot to take in, and a lot of voices are heard from—not all of them without faults—but I found it utterly fascinating.

(Content warning for mentions of slavery, murder, death, sexual assault, violence, slavery.)

Backlist bump: Circe by Madeline Miller

Just as I Am: A Memoir by Cicely Tyson

Cicely Tyson is 96 years old now, which is a lot of living, and she lays it all bare here in this fascinating memoir of one of entertainment’s most talented performers and one of humanity’s most amazing people.

Here are just a few of Tyson’s incredible accomplishments:

She has received four honorary degrees, a Screen Actor Guild Award, a Tony Award, multiple Emmy Awards, a Black Reel Awards, an honorary Academy Award, and the the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which given to her by President Barack Obama in 2016. These are only the tip of the accolade iceberg. And at 96 years old, she is still acting: she is presently making appearances on How To Get Away with Murder. (Which I really need to watch.)

But even though her honors and awards could probably fill a book on their own, this is also the story about a daughter of immigrants who started modeling at a young age and who became the first African American to star in a television drama. Tyson (with help from Michelle Burford) talks about her illustrious career, her faith, her struggles, and all the things in between, with candor and love. I learned so much, not just about Tyson, but also important industry history, and now I also want to watch so many of her performances.

(Content warning for discussions of violence, racism and racialized language, and chemical use.)

Backlist bump: Becoming by Michelle Obama

Everybody Has a Podcast (Except You): A How-to Guide from the First Family of Podcasting by Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, Griffin McElroy

And this was a fun read! As someone who hosts a podcast but has no idea how to go about doing it myself, it was really interesting to see all the different aspects to brainstorming, performing, and producing your own. And it’s a how-to guide written my favorite way: with delightful self-deprecating humor! The McElroys have hosted several podcasts, including The Adventure Zone, and they take turns breaking down the different things you’re going to need if you want to a) start a podcast b) make that podcast a success and possibly c) make money off the podcast. (Which I am sad to report is very rare, considering there are almost one million podcasts out there now.)

I was thoroughly charmed the whole way through and now I feel like I have the tools if I ever decide to start my “Stephen Tobolowsky/Kurt Fuller/Xander Berkley Appreciation Show” podcast. Although I could have used more info on what to do if you are still terrified of recording and get the flop sweats, even after recording almost 300 episodes of your show. Er, asking for a friend.

Backlist bump: The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins by Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, and Carey Pietsch

Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! I am wishing the best for all of you in whatever situation you find yourself in now. – XO, Liberty

Today In Books

Bookstore Categorizes Books By Emotions: Today In Books

Post author By Jamie Canaves
Post date January 25, 2021

Bookstore Categorizes Books By Emotions

Capital Hill, Seattle has a new bookstore, Oh Hello Again, with a different organizational structure than what you may be used to. Rather than by genre and alphabetized, the books are categorized by emotions. So sections have titles like “Being an Outsider (or Wanting to Be Left Alone)” and “For PMS and When You Don’t Want to get Out of Bed”. I will now spend the day creating categories for this bookstore in my head.

Book Club Starts Community Fridge For Food Insecure

Inspired by community refrigerators in New York City that she learned about from National Public Radio, Maureen Davis talked to her book club about upgrading from their replenishing of blessing boxes to starting a community refrigerator in order to feed people who are food insecure. After getting the Skowhegan Regional Chamber of Commerce of Maine to agree, the refrigerator will be at the chamber of commerce office for a month on a trial run. The power of book club.

Bhanu Kapil Wins TS Eliot Poetry Prize

Known as one of the UK’s most prestigious poetry honors, the TS Eliot Poetry Prize has awarded the 2020 winner: How to Wash a Heart by Bhanu Kapil. “Chair of judges, the poet Lavinia Greenlaw, said How to Wash a Heart had been chosen unanimously by the panel – herself and the poets Mona Arshi and Andrew McMillan.”

The History of the Spelling Bee

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a national tradition. But what fascinates us about middle-schoolers spelling?

Check Your Shelf

Get to Know Amanda Gorman

Post author By Katie McLain
Post date January 25, 2021

Swords and Spaceships for January 26

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date January 25, 2021

New Releases

We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen

Two archrivals meet at a memory loss support group after having their pasts erased: Jamie, who uses his powers to read and erase the memories of others to hold up banks; and Zoe, who uses her powers of super speed and strength to mostly deliver fast food. They soon realize that the keys to their missing pasts lie in each other. As outer threats begin to mount, they must learn to trust each other–and themselves.

Dealbreaker by L.X. Beckett

Rubi Whiting has convinced the galactic governing body that humanity deserves a seat at the table… and the responsibility of fixing its own problems. But humanity isn’t being welcomed universally into the galactic community of worlds, and there are those who would happily sabotage its stumbling attempts to stand on equal footing.

Wings of Ebony by J. Elle

After her mother is murdered on her doorstep, Rue is taken away from her neighborhood and her sister, Tasha, by the father she never knew and whisked away to the hidden island of Ghizon. There she learns she is half-god among magic wielders who thrive on human suffering. She escapes to visit Tasha on the anniversary of their mother’s death and discovers her falling under the influence of those that took everything from them. Rue must embrace her true identity and powers if she’s to save her sister and her home.

Brother Red by Adrian Selby

Driwana is a soldier who works for a merchant guild, guarding their caravans. During a bandit attack, she discovers a corpse hidden in one of the caravan’s wagons. The body is of one of the Oskoro people, and thus a priceless object. As Driwana investigates where the body came from and where it was intended to go, she finds herself on the trail of a great evil that leaves deceit and corruption in its wake.

Written in Starlight by Isabel Ibañez

Catalina has lost everything: her throne, her people, her best friend. She’s been banished to the Yanu Jungle, but she won’t stop trying to escape and regain all she has lost. She’s rescued by Manuel, the son of a general. Together, they will search for the lost city of gold that could buy allies for them both. But first they must find a way to stop the corruption that’s threatening to destroy the jungle and its people from within.

Time Travel for Love and Profit by Sarah Lariviere

After a terrible freshman year in which she loses her only friend, math prodigy Nephele invents time travel to give herself a chance at a do-over. Only instead, she traps herself in a time loop where time advances without her. On her tenth shot at the ninth grade, she has a teacher who used to be a classmate, and finally has a new friend in a student named Jazz. She’s also figured out how to undo her time loop, but why go back to the past when she has something worth staying for, now?

News and Views

Interview with E. Lily Yu at Lightspeed

R.B. Lemberg made a thread of quotes from Ursula K. Le Guin’s poetry on the third anniversary of her death.

Constelación Magazine has released its first issue to Kickstarter backers and subscribers. They’ll start releasing one story a week on their website this week.

Stampede Ventures and wiip are adapting the first book of Embers of War.

Shiv Ramdas: Supernatural or Super Unnatural – An Examination of Postcolonial Horror

An amazing Twitter thread that uses That Bernie Sanders Picture to show the relative size of ocean animals. Also, the Bernie meme hits The Fellowship of the Ring and WandaVision.

The biopic about Tove Jansson is coming to the US, Canada and UK!

Rest in peace, Mira Furlan, who played Delenn in Babylon 5. JMS has written a beautiful eulogy for her.

Finn deserved better – and so did Black Star Wars fans

A Texas Lawyer cited Lord of the Rings in a pro-Trump lawsuit, to the utter bafflement and/or fury of a lot of Lord of the Rings fans (for example).

In other legal news, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have filed for dismissal of their lawsuit against Wizards of the Coast without prejudice.

Space station detectors found the source of weird ‘blue jet’ lightning

Important dinosaur butthole discovery

On Book Riot

A battle guide to the top 20 military fantasy books

10 female assassin books about death, justice, and survival

You have until January 24 to enter to win a copy of Tales from the Hinterland.

This month you can enter to win $100 to the bookstore of your choice, a 1-year Kindle Unlimited Subscription, or your own library cart.

See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.

Kissing Books

It’s a New Dawn and a New Day

Post author By P.N. Hinton
Post date January 25, 2021

New Releases

Here are some of the new releases for this week. Get your wallets ready, because some of them look really good!

Follow Me Under by Helen Hardt

The Cowgirl’s Surprise Match by Nina Crespo

Won’t Go Home Without You by Cheris Hodges

The Bachelor Cowboy by Jessica Claire

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

The Architect by Nikki Sloane

The Would be Witch by Rita Boucher

If you love cowboys, then this is the week to either mask up and go check out some of the new releases or to fill your virtual shopping cart.

And, if you also have a frugal nature like me, here are a few deals. Heads up, these were the prices as of the submission of this newsletter so they may have changed.

Deals

Matzah Ball Surprise by Laura Brown, which just sounds delightful by the title alone is on sale for $0.99

Virgin River by Robyn can be picks up for $1.99. If you’re a fan of the show and have never read the book, now is a good time to pick it up!

Not Dead Yet by Jenn Burke, the first in a paranormal trilogy can be snagged for $1.99

Alyssa’s Cole Let Us Dream is currently $1.49. I read this last month and just adored it. I’m never dissatisfied with Alyssa.

Also there are quite a few books in the aforementioned lists if you’re going to join me next month on a read-a-thon adventure! Be sure to also check out the romance books you may have missed in 2020.

And that’s it for now. Follow me over on Twitter where I post semi-regularly as @PScribe801. Until next time!