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Happy Thursday, star bits! I hope you all had a chance to check out all the absolutely fabulous new releases that dropped on Tuesday. One could just read April 6th releases for the rest of the year and never run out! I’m giddy just thinking about it. WELL DONE, AUTHORS!
Moving on to today’s newsletter: I don’t have a lot of news for you today, but what I do have is exciting. There’s adaptation news and book talk, plus I’ve included a picture of one of my sassy orange monsters, some trivia, and more! Whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I hope you good bob and we same place again very now. I’ll see you again on Monday. – xoxo, Liberty, Your Friendly Neighborhood Velocireader™
Trivia question time! How many times does the word “castle” appear in the text of We Have Always Lived in the Castle? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)
Deals, Reals, and Squeals!
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Deesha Philyaw’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies has won the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
Elin Hilderbrand’s Summer of ’69 is being made into a series.
Dave Grohl is publishing a memoir.
Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine has joined the cast of The Lincoln Lawyer.
Here’s the first look at Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé.
Queen Sugar season 6 adds new cast members.
Here’s the first look at the cover of Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout.
Blindness by José Saramago has been adapted for Broadway.
The Walking Dead‘s final season will premiere in August.
Four more actors have been added to the cast of Killers of the Flower Moon, including singers Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson.
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:
Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir: Inspired by True Events by Brent Spiner with Jeanne Darst (St. Martin’s Press, October 5)
A noir novel based on actual events that happened to Brent Spiner, aka Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, written by the actor himself, was not something I knew I wanted until I learned about it.
It’s a fictionalization of a series of disturbing letters and a mysterious package that Spiner received in 1991. It ended up involving Paramount Security, the LAPD, and even the FBI. And the book supposedly features appearances by all his beloved costars. I am first and foremost glad that nothing bad happened to him. And now I am wildly curious to find out all the details!
What I’m reading this week.
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Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
The Rock Eaters: Stories by Brenda Peynado
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Gutter Mage by J.S. Kelley
A Calling for Charlie Barnes by Joshua Ferris
Song stuck in my head:
On the Radio by Chip Taylor. This Regina Spektor cover has broken my brain. (Also, 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:
Someone has been adding Paddington to movies.
Happy things:
Here are a few things I enjoy that I thought you might like as well:
- Nailed It! The fifth season of this baking competition show is up on Netflix now and I can feel my blood pressure dropping just writing about it.
- 3rd Rock from the Sun: I have spent the last few years rewatching shows from when I was younger. But I am now starting the fourth season of 3rd Rock, of which I had only seen the first season previously, and I’m delighted. It isn’t that it’s a great show—because it isn’t—but it’s fun to see all the young actors (Baby Jim Beaver! Baby Linda Cardellini! Younger Garry/Jerry/Larry/Terry/Barry from Parks and Recreation!) and the pop culture references, many of which make no sense now if you weren’t alive in the 1990s. Nostalgia has a scientifically proven calming effect on your brain. I’m having so much fun, I may only watch old shows I haven’t seen for the next several months.
- Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.
And here’s a cat picture!
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Strike a pose.
Trivia answer: One.
You made it to the bottom! High five. Thanks for reading! – xo, L