Dear Book Friends,
How was your weekend? Nothing new to report here, except… I don’t want to jinx it, but maybe my reading slump is over? I’m starting to feel optimistic about my reading goals for the month, and I feel like I might actually get a good deal of reading done. I’m back in the game! Maybe. I don’t want to announce it and ruin it. But I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of April goes. How is April going for you? Feel free to let me know! And now, let’s talk about books some more.
💙 Emily
Book Deals and Reveals
 |
We’ve finally got a cover for Celeste Ng’s highly anticipated new novel Our Missing Hearts! This one’s coming out in October.
Another exciting cover reveal: Penguin Teen has revealed the cover of Malinda Lo’s A Scatter of Light, a coming-of-queer-age story and companion novel to Last Night at the Telegraph Club.
Can’t get enough cover reveals? Have another. Tin House has revealed the cover of the gothic historical suspense novel The House in the Orchard by Elizabeth Brooks.
Locke & Key, the Netflix series based on Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s comics, will end with its forthcoming third season.
Netflix has added nine actors to its cast for XO, Kitty, the upcoming To All the Boys spinoff series.
HBO Max is in early development of not one but two scripted series based on the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Robert Downey Jr., who played the Holmes in the popular Guy Ritchie feature films, will executive produce both shows with Lionel Wigram.
Knopf will be publishing three new books in its Millennium series, which launched with Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The next three books in the series will be written by Swedish author Karin Smirnoff. The first one will be released on September 5, 2023.
Also, guess what? Despite the rise of “book bans” in the US, queer romance novels have never been more popular.
The International Booker Prize has announced its 2022 shortlist. The winner will be announced May 26th at a ceremony in London.
And here are the 2022 Hugo Award finalists!
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!
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Prepare Your Shelves!
The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe (Harper Voyager, April 19th)
I know that The Memory Librarian probably doesn’t need any help from me to hype it up at this point. After all, it’s a collection of queer sci-fi short stories written by the wonderful Janelle Monáe. But you know, if there’s even one reader who didn’t know about this book. If there’s that one person reading this who says to themselves, “Janelle Monáe has a book coming out this month?!” Or even, “Who the heck is Janelle Monáe?!” Well then, I am here for those people to help guide the way.
The Memory Librarian is not only one of my most anticipated books of the year, but it is plenty of other peoples’ as well. And why is that? Because Janelle Monáe has proven herself as an innovative voice with many talents. She’s a critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter. She’s an actor. She’s a fashion icon. And she’s an activist. Just to name a few of the many things that make her a really cool human.
The Memory Librarian is like a literary tie-in for Monáe’s high-concept album Dirty Computer, set in a world in which thoughts can be erased or controlled. This collection expands on the totalitarian existence imagined in Dirty Computer. And to fully flesh out this sci-fi world, Monáe is also collaborating with several talented contributors, including Yohanca Delgado, Eve L. Ewing, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, and Sheree Renée Thomas—just to name a few.
This one is coming out in one week, so prepare your shelves, and strap in for a wild ride.
What I’m Reading This Week
 |
Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
The Peregrine by J.A. Baker
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Monday Memes
This meme format is an oldie but a goodie. Make it about books, and it’s just so, so relatable.
Other Things That Make Me Happy
I don’t know if I’ve really talked much about it here, but I’m a huge sucker for all things astrology. I’m a Libra Sun, Capricorn Moon, Gemini Rising. How about you? Anyway, I feel like a good 1/4 of my Instagram feed is all astrology stuff and astrology memes. So as you can imagine, I was really excited to see these Bridgerton astrology memes on Buzzfeed Books. I figure there are a lot of astrology/Bridgerton fans in this world, so hopefully this will make other people happy as well!
And Here’s A Cat Picture
 |
‘Round here, there are a lot of cats on yoga mats. Any time the yoga mat hits the floor, the cat hits the yoga mat. I have some pretty cool videos from this session in which Murray found ways to interact with me and challenge me while I got my workout on. The bonus of at-home workouts, am I right?
Anyway, this mat is fine, but I’m in the market for a new yoga mat, so if you have a fave, let me know about it.
Alright, that’s all, y’all. Let’s go kick Monday’s butt! Talk soon!
💙 Emily