Dear Book Friends,
It’s Monday, and I don’t know… I have a good feeling about this week. At the very least, I feel like we’re going to get a lot of reading done, people. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what truly matters? Anyway, let’s talk books.
❤️ Emily
Book Deals and Reveals
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The Nerd Daily has revealed the cover of Sarah Echavarre Smith’s upcoming rom com novel The Boy with the Bookstore. Who doesn’t dream of falling in love with a boy with a bookstore?
Bullet Train, the film adaptation of Kotaro Isaka’s international best-selling thriller Maria Beetle (Bullet Train), has released its first trailer.
Here’s the cover reveal of Airplane Mode: An Irreverent History of Travel by Shahnaz Habib. This book will be available everywhere on January 10th 2023!
Oscar nominee Arian DeBose has been cast in Sony’s upcoming Marvel movie Kraven the Hunter.
After opening its first bookstore in November 2015, Amazon will be closing all of its 24 physical bookstores.
Pantheon has purchased the North American rights to Laila Lalami’s sixth novel, The Dream Hotel. The novel is set in the near future and follows “a museum archivist who gets detained after a predictive algorithm uses her dreams to determine she will commit a crime.”
Disney+ has greenlit its first Dutch drama series Nemesis, which will be an eight-episode adaptation of the best-selling crime novel of the same name by Simon de Waal.
Sketches of fantastical creatures by Dr. Seuss that have never before been published will see the light of day in a series of new books written and illustrated by up-and-coming authors and artists.
Wondering what the most popular children’s books are in each state? Surprise. The results are very white.
Book Riot Recommends
I’m a Contributing Editor at Book Riot, I write the Today in Books newsletter, and I’m a Bibliologist for Book Riot’s Tailored Book Recommendations subscription service. I also have a PhD in English, so I’m basically a doctor of books. Books are my life, in other words, so in this section of the newsletter, let me share with you some upcoming books I’m super excited about. And I think you will be too!
Prepare Your Shelves!
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, March 8)
Make some shelf room right away, because this one’s out tomorrow. Booth is bestselling author Karen Joy Fowler’s examination of the family behind one of the most intimate figures in American history: John Wilkes Booth. And while this isn’t the first book to ever explore the history of the Booth family, this is probably the best one. Disclaimer: I’m not, like, an expert on books about John Wilkes Booth or anything, but this is probably the best book about the Booths.
It all starts in 1822, when Mary Ann and Junius Booth move into a secret cabin thirty miles northeast of Baltimore. There, they start a farm, have ten children, and raise their family. Junius is an acclaimed Shakespearean actor and is away from home for a good portion of the year, leaving Mary Ann to care for their ten children. As the world around the Booths begin to change and the country is on the brink of secession and civil war, the family starts to emerge from their hidden lives to become one of the country’s leading theatrical families. But along with the Booth family’s triumphs come many scandals.
Interspersed with the story of the Booths, Fowler also gives readers a look inside the life of Abraham Lincoln, who at the start of the story is a state congressman in Illinois. Of course, eventually the story of the Booths will tragically collide with Lincoln’s. Even though readers will know where Lincoln’s story will eventually end, this isn’t a story about John Wilkes Booth and Lincoln’s assassination. This is the story of a family and a country in conflict and on the precipice of change.
What I’m Reading This Week
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Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James
Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho
The Atmospherians by Alex McElroy
Sailor Moon: Eternal Edition 7 by Naoko Takeuchi
A Girl is a Body of Water by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
Monday Memes
I have to say the Phenomenal Books Instagram account has really been killing it with the bookish memes. Here’s one I shared on my own personal ‘gram because it definitely hit home. And so now I’m sharing it with you!
Other Things That Make Me Happy
This has been out for a while, but I always return to it when I want to play a game and I need a good laugh. Yes, it’s Monster Prom. If you don’t know what this game is yet, omg yay I get to tell you about it. It’s a dating sim where you play a monster attending a special monster high school. By the end of the school term, you have to get one of the other monsters to go to the prom with you. And what’s even cooler is that this can be played as a multi-player game, which is really unusual for a dating sim. Heads up: the jokes in this game are 100% NSFW, so proceed with caution.
And Here’s A Cat Picture!
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Remember how Murray was curled up all sweet on the chair last week? Well, this is Phantom’s take. Is this comfortable for you, Phantom?
Whatever. It’s cute either way.
And that’s all for today, friends. I hope you have a wonderful week and all your dreams and hopes for the week come true.
❤️ Emily