Month: June 2021

Amazon Renews GOOD OMENS for Season 2: Today in Books

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 29, 2021

Sponsored by Harper Perennial, publisher of The Fiancée by Kate White.

New Exhibition and Walking Tour Highlights Oliver Twist’s London

The Charles Dickens Museum in London has opened a new exhibit that encourages visitors to follow in the footsteps of Charles Dickens and visit the sites that inspired his classic novel Oliver Twist. The exhibit will, according to curator Louisa Price, show how the beloved novel “was shaped by Dickens’s life and his world and the streets around him.” The accompanying walking tour will take visitors to famous places from the novel, including Saffron Hill, which was the home of Fagin’s den of thieves, and Clerkenwell Green, where Oliver is pursued by a mob. Also on the tour is the office of the notorious Mr. Laing, the man who inspired the horrible magistrate in Oliver Twist who presides over Oliver’s pick-pocketing trial. The exhibition and self-guided walking tour (with accompanying audio) opens this Wednesday, June 30th.

Amazon Renews Good Omens for Season 2

Amazon’s six-part fantasy epic series Good Omens, based on the 1990 novel written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, has been renewed for a second season. Michael Sheen and David Tennant will be reprising their roles as angel Aziraphale and demon Crawley. Author Neil Gaiman is also returning to executive produce showrun alongside executive producer Douglas Mackinnon, who will also direct. Since the first season of the show covered a lot of the material in the novel, season 2 will explore storylines that go beyond the source material. John Finnemore and Neil Gaiman will be writing that new material for the show. Gaiman said, “There are so many questions people have asked about what happened next (and also, what happened before) to our favorite Angel and Demon. Here are the answers you’ve been hoping for.”

Navajo Students Write Book About Life in Monument Valley

The Navajo students at Tse’Bii’Nidzisgai Elementary School and Monument Valley High School have written a book filled with oral histories and drawings that capture what life is like in Monument Valley. For the book, entitled Hózhó, A Walk in Beauty, the students in Monument Valley interviewed their grandparents and other relatives about what life used to be like on the Navajo Nation. All proceeds from the book will go towards scholarships for students looking to attend college or other alternate forms of higher education.

The Best Books You’ve Never Heard Of (Summer 2021)

We’ve got your roundup of books you’ve never heard of (ones you won’t want to miss). Get ready to add them all to your summer 2021 TBR.

True Story

New Releases: Late Bloomers + the ’90s

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date June 29, 2021

Thanks for Waiting: The Joy (& Weirdness) of Being a Late Bloomer by Doree Shafrir

Feel like you got a late start? Maybe comparing yourself to your peers and feeling weird about it? Shafrir “was an intern at twenty-nine and met her husband on Tinder in her late thirties,” then had a baby at forty-one. She didn’t feel truly successful until age forty. If you need even more evidence that there isn’t an exact timeline for anyone (no one! do what you want when you want!), check out her memoir.

Galaxy Quest: The Inside Story by Matt McAllister

BY GRABTHAR’S HAMMER, I love Galaxy Quest. I remember watching that movie as an early teen, seeing the girl faint in the audience when Sigourney Weaver and Tim Allen kissed, and being like “…she gets it.” This behind-the-scenes look goes from the origins to the shoot to its release and legacy, also getting into the starships, aliens, technology (THE CHOMPERS, why are they there), and features interviews with the cast. Man. What a great movie. “Let’s get out of here before one of those things kills Guy!”

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

Calvin University historian Du Mez looks at the last 75 years of white evangelicalism and how evangelicals “have worked to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism.” Their heroes are manly men (and Reagan) and “chief among these evangelical legends is John Wayne, an icon of a lost time when men were uncowed by political correctness, unafraid to tell it like it was, and did what needed to be done.” As someone who was steeped in non-denominational-but-definitely-evangelical-leaning Christianity as a teen in the early 2000s, this is the book from this week that I’m most excited about.

House of Sticks: A Memoir by Ly Tran

As a toddler, Ly Tran’s family emigrated from Vietnam to Queens. As she grows up in her new country, she faces the dilemma of pressure to conform to its culture, while also living at home with her parents and their Buddhist faith. We look at a lot of memoirs in this newsletter, and this is ideal if you like a coming-of-age story along with (probably unsurprisingly) a story of family. This was in Vogue‘s Best Books to Read 2021.

For more nonfiction new releases, 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.

Read This Book

Read This Book: Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

Post author By Jessica Avery
Post date June 29, 2021

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

In a long list of fae-based YA fantasy novels (and it really is a long list, and getting longer, and I am not complaining), Wintersong is uniquely beautiful. The first magical duology that is unapologetically and lovingly inspired by Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, Wintersong is both historical and fantastical, split between 18th century Bavaria and the magical Underground of the Goblin King and his court. Liesl grew up on tales of the Goblin King and his strange, alluring kingdom. But her connection to him does not end with fairy stories. When Liesl was small they were playmates. Then she grew up, and came to think of him as only her imaginary friend, someone she had dreamed up to escape her everyday life as it grew increasingly difficult. Until the day he stole her sister.

Abduction is a common trope in tales of the fae. You see it in old stories like Tam Lin, and in new ones like Labyrinth. And, as in Labyrinth, the abduction of Liesl’s sister in Wintersong serves as a means of drawing the heroine of the story into the realm of the fae, in this case the Underground, in search of what was lost. It’s a journey that never goes smoothly for the quester, but Liesl’s trip into the Underground is more than usually fraught with danger. The deeper she goes the more she realizes how tangled up her entire family is with the magic of the Underground, because it’s family that really drives Jae-Jones’ novel. Yes the Goblin King is a fascinating character, but it is Liesl and her siblings, and her love for her siblings, that form the heart of Wintersong. Everything that she does, even the bargain that she strikes with the Goblin King and its inevitable end, is for her siblings.

If you’re looking for a new fantasy series to sink your teeth into, one with gorgeous world building, a dark and compelling romance, and a deeply emotional, family-driven plot, you want Wintersong.

Happy Reading!
Jessica

Riot Rundown

062921-SparrowFalls-RR

Post author By Natalia Heroux
Post date June 29, 2021

062921-NoDevils-The-Stack

Post author By Natalia Heroux
Post date June 29, 2021

062921-iPad-Giveaway

Post author By Devin Service
Post date June 29, 2021

We’re giving away an iPad Mini to one lucky reader! Click here, or on the image below to enter. All you need to do is sign up for our Daily Deals email and get the day’s best book sales right in your inbox.

The Kids Are All Right

New Children’s Book Releases for June 29, 2021

Post author By Chelsea Henley
Post date June 28, 2021

Sponsored by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Leslie Knope is running for class president! She campaigns all around Pawnee Elementary with her friends, Ann and Ben. In order to win over voters, though, Leslie starts to make some big promises . . . ones she’s not sure she can keep. Will Leslie be able to keep her word and become the best president Pawnee Elementary has ever seen? Filled with colorful, detailed illustrations and brimming with Easter eggs and nods to iconic moments from the show, this hilarious reimagining features a pint-sized cast. The story will introduce Parks and Recreation to a whole new generation and will teach them the importance of staying true to yourself. And waffles. Parks and Recreation © Universal Television LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Hey readers! I’m back with another week of new children’s books!

Make It Fashion by Ava and Alexis McClure and Courtney Dawson

In this fun picture book from YouTubers Ava and Alexis, identical twins realize their differences in taste don’t have to drive them apart. As they prepare for a big fashion show, Ava and Alexis first think they have to agree on every little thing only to run into trouble when they realize one of them may like things fancy and glamorous while the other is more into cool vintage finds.

Dr. Fauci: How a Boy From Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor by Kate Messner and Alexandra Bye

Picture book bios are coming together so fast these days! This one takes on public figurehead Dr. Anthony Fauci, whose long medical career (researching diseases like HIV and most recently, COVID-19) has led to the rise in his public profile. This one goes back in time to Dr. Fauci’s upbringing in Brooklyn, where his inquisitive nature led him to settle on the medical field as a career choice.

Geraldine Pu and Her Lunch Box Too by Maggie P. Chang

Though Geraldine loves her lunch box (affectionately named Bianding) and the surprise Taiwanese lunches her grandma packs, her classmates don’t love them so much. When Geraldine is teased about her food, she throws out Biandang and immediately regrets it and must decide how to stand up for herself.

Long Distance by Whitney Gardner

In this fun and surprising graphic novel, Vega’s sent to a wilderness camp to make new friends. But alongside the other campers, Vega realizes this camp is far from ordinary, and they work together to figure out what’s really going on.

Generation Misfits by Akemi Dawn Bowman

In this middle grade novel, Millie jumps from homeschool to an arts academy where she bonds with some of her classmates over their shared love of a Japanese pop group called Generation Love. The girls come together and decide to perform in a school show together, but complications at home and at school threaten to tear them apart.

Until next week!

Chelsea

Swords and Spaceships

Swords and Spaceships for June 29

Post author By Alex Acks
Post date June 28, 2021

New Releases

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Godolia warlords are tightening their tyrannical rule on the Badlands using mechanized weapons called Windups. Eris is a gearbreaker who specializes in destroying Windups, but she ends up in a Godolia prison when a misson goes awry. There she meets Sona, a Windup pilot. While at first they seem to be enemies, they soon learn they’re fighting the same enemy… and maybe falling in love.

When the Sparrow Falls by Neil Sharpson

Agent South works just hard enough to make no enemies in the Caspian Republic, the last bastion of humanity that’s run by an artificial intelligence that allows no deviation. Then a Party official is killed and discovered to be a “machine” and South is given the task of chaperoning his widow–also a “machine,” and someone who bears a strange resemblance to South’s deceased wife.

The Return of the Sorceress by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Yalxi was the Supreme Mistress of the Guild of Sorcerers until her love took both her throne and the diamond heart, which gave Yalxi her magical powers. Now Yalxi is on a mission to get her power and her place back, but making allies isn’t easy; she forged her path to power in blood, and the consequences are coming home to her now as well.

Double Threat by F. Paul Wilson

In the desert of the American Southwest, a cult prays that the “Visitors” will return, vigilant for signs of the “Duad” that will stand in their way. A woman named Daley wakes to find an alien consciousness in her mind that gives her the gift of healing–and won’t shut up. Daley tries to hide her new power, but when the cult discovers her, they decide that she must be the Duad they have to defeat.

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

Briseis has an unusual gift: she can grow plants from tiny seeds to maturity with just a touch of her hand. Which sounds like a great power… if she could control it. When her aunt in rural New York dies, Bri and her parents head to the woman’s dilapidated estate for the summer to get a little breathing room. What they find there is a mystery that centers on a walled garden filled with deadly plants, a place only Bri can enter. Soon strangers are arriving, asking for medicines and potions, and Bri discovers she has a talent for making those, too. But the community has its own dark secrets, and there are those who would harness Bri’s power to make an elixir for mortality, whether she’s willing or not.

A War of Swallowed Stars by Sangu Mandanna

A massive beast is devouring stars one by one as war rages through the galaxy. An exiled prince must face the consequences of his mistakes while a princess has vanished without a trace… and a sleeping god stirs on a hidden planet.

News and Views

Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 Locus Awards!

The 2020 Kitschies short list is out

Accelerated History: Chinese Short Science Fiction in the Twenty-First Century

Stealing Science Fiction : Why the Heist Works So Well in Sci-Fi

SFF has some people on this list: The Early Careers of 12 Famous Novelists

Chris Carter (creator of The X-Files) weighs in on the UFO report that just came out

The Kyo Come to Visit: Clearing Up Some Important Questions in CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner Series

LeVar Burton is going to teach a Masterclass on “the Power of Storytelling”

Vin Diesel wants to do a Fast and Furious musical

On Book Riot

30 must-read queer fairytale retellings for Pride

You have until tonight to register to win copies of My Lady Jane and My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

This month you can enter to win a 1-year subscription to Audible, a Kindle Paperwhite, your own library cart, a $250 gift card to Powell’s Books, an iPad Mini, and a summer reading prize pack.

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.

Today In Books

DUNE Release Date is Delayed Once Again: Today in Books

Post author By Emily Martin
Post date June 28, 2021

Sponsored by What’s Done in Darkness by Laura McHugh.

Apple’s Foundation Gets A Release Date and New Trailer

AppleTV+ has announced that its upcoming adaption of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation will premiere on September 24, and they’ve released a new trailer for the series too. The show will star Chernobyl’s Jared Harris as Hari Seldon, a mathematician who can predict the future using the law of mass action and statistical mechanics. He foresees the collapse of the galactic empire, and so he gathers a following of those determined to preserve humanity’s “legacy.” Foundation also stars Lee Pace as Brother Day, Leah Harvey as Salvor, Laura Birn as Demerzel, Terrence Mann as Brother Dusk, and Cassian Bilton as Brother Dawn.

HarperVoyager Has Purchased Janelle Monáe’s Debut Fiction Collection

HarperVoyager has purchased American singer-songwriter and actor Janelle Monáe’s debut collection of Afrofuturistic short stories. The short stories are an expansion of Monáe’s third album Dirty Computer, and to write the stories the singer was joined by “an array of collaborating storytellers.” Monáe said, “As a reader and writer of science fiction since childhood, it is a dream to have the opportunity to expand ‘Dirty Computer’ into a literary project. Writers, specifically Black, queer and genderqueer, are at the forefront of pushing the creative boundaries of sci-fi and speculative storytelling. I’m honored to be collaborating with a new generation of creators as we expand this tale, that began with an album and emotion picture, into a larger world of new and familiar characters.”

Dune Release Date Pushed Back Yet Again

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, a film based on the 1965 Frank Herbert sci-fi classic of the same name, was originally slated to release in 2020. But due to the pandemic, its release date was pushed back to October 1, 2021. Now, Dune‘s release date has been pushed back yet again, this time to October 22, 2021. Dune is one of the many Warner Bros. titles that’s scheduled to premiere on HBO Max and in theaters on the same date. It’s the first of two movies planned for the book. This first film will cover the first half of the novel, and the second as-of-yet unnamed film will cover the second half. HBO Max also plans to release a prequel series.

Take Our Pandemic Reading Habits Survey

The pandemic isn’t over just yet, but as we get closer to some version of “normal,” now seems like a good time to reflect on how our habits have changed in the past year. We’re interested in how your reading lives have (or haven’t) changed since the pandemic. So take our reading habits survey, and we’ll be back in a week with the results!

New Books

Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date June 28, 2021

Hell of a Book by Jason Mott

This novel examines racism and police violence through the story of a Black author out on a book tour, who may also have an imaginary traveling companion, and Soot, a young Black boy who lived in a rural Southern town in the past. I watched an interview with Jason Mott a few weeks ago, where he talked about this book, and I was transfixed! It sounds excellent. He got the idea during a not-very-pleasant book tour he went on for one of his earlier books. Book tours can be difficult! Getting moved to a new city day after day and missing your home and family is hard.

Backlist bump: The Returned by Jason Mott

Leaving Breezy Street: A Memoir by Brenda Myers-Powell

Several of my favorite books this year have been hard-hitting memoirs, and this one sounds like I’ll be adding it to the list. Powell recounts her young life, working as a sex worker at fifteen to support herself and her two babies, and the ensuing two decades she spent moving all over the country. This is her story of how she decided she wanted to change her life, and how she found self-love and acceptance. Powell now advocates for victims of sex trafficking, and is on the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.

Add to your TBR: Taking Down Backpage: Fighting the World’s Largest Sex Trafficker by Maggy Krell

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

And finally, I am always up for an over-the-top thriller, and Riley Sager certainly writes them! This one is about a college student whose best friend has been murdered by the Campus Killer. Looking for a break, she shares a ride with a stranger, Josh, to help with the long drive back home to Ohio. But the longer she spends time in the car, the more holes she finds in Josh’s stories and she begins to suspect she’s just hitched a ride with a killer. This is like an isolated mystery on wheels! It also reminds me a little of No Exit, my favorite thriller of the last several years, so fingers crossed!

Backlist bump: No Exit by Taylor Adams

Next week it will be time for another amazing megalist! YAY BOOKS. 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