Dear Book Friends,
How are things for you this Thursday? I’m back home, and I’m just so happy to be reunited with my sweet cats who have been very cuddly and sweet since I got home. For all my people who have pets, are your pets happy to see you when you get back from a trip? Or do they give you the cold shoulder for abandoning them? Let me know. And now, let’s talk books.
đź’™ Emily
Book Deals and Reveals
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Joan He’s upcoming novel is Strike the Zither, the first book in a new epic YA fantasy duology, and earlier this week, Text YA & Kids revealed the cover. You’ll be able to pick up this one in November.
HBO has nabbed the rights to Dave Eggers’ novel The Every and is now developing a series based on the book, adapted by Rachel Axler.
Earlier today, Palestinian-Canadian author Jackie Khalilieh tweeted the announcement of her debut novel Something More, out from Tundra books in 2023.
Fantasy Cafe has got the cover reveal for Davina Evans’ new queer fantasy novel Notorious Sorcerer. This one will be released on September 13th by Orbit Books.
Netflix has announced the release date for its adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel Persuasion. The film is scheduled to make its debut on the streaming platform on July 15th.
In the latest issue, “Avengers #55,” Marvel Comics has officially replaced Black Panther in their ongoing “Avengers” run with Nighthawk.
Mariner Books has purchased Benjamin Stevenson’s Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, a novel that’s being described as a “blend of classic and modern murder mystery” and “Knives Out and Clue meet Agatha Christie and The Thursday Murder Club.”
Flatiron books bought North American rights to Erased by Anna Malaika Tubbs, author of The Three Mothers. Flatiron says this book is “an examination of and reckoning with the history of patriarchy in America.”
Demon Slayer has released a trailer teasing the new season based on the popular manga series.
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before author Jenny Han has signed an overall deal with Amazon Studios.
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!
Can’t Wait for This One
Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales (Wednesday Books, December 6th)
There are so many things that make this book jump to the top of my most-anticipated list. First and foremost, there’s the title, which… if you read this title and don’t immediately start singing “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” by Taylor Swift, then I don’t know if you have a soul. DO YOU THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN ME?
Phew, anyway. Other things that make this book a must read: It’s romance novel involving a reality tv show—even better, a reality tv DATING show. There’s the whole dating-a-royal thing happening. There’s messy break-ups. It’s an enemies-to-lovers story. Oh, and most importantly, this is a sapphic romance. Sign me up!
Okay, I’ll tell you the plot. It’s been two years since Maya dumped her boyfriend Jordy after he cheated on her. But the guy just won’t get out of her life. She has no interest in him whatsoever anymore and just wants to be rid of him. So why the heck would Maya accept an invitation to be a contestant on Second Chance Romance, a new reality show in which Jordy will re-date his ex-girlfriends in an effort to find “the one that got away”? Revenge, of course. Maya knows if she can just make it to the end, she can reject Jordy and publicly humiliate him.
The only problem with Maya’s plan? Skye, the beautiful, charismatic girl Jordy cheated on her with. How is she supposed to live with this girl for six weeks? (Hint: it’s fine, they’ll fall in love probably)
Words of Literary Wisdom
“You chide yourself for walking too far ahead, for regressing into ’80s song lyrics territory so soon. But then he says, ‘The supermassive black hole at the center of the milky way recently sparked 75 times brighter over the course of a 2 hour period, and twice as bright as it’s ever been in the 20 years astronomers have been monitoring it.’
By now you’re used to him talking Science, but you’re not sure where he’s going with this. ‘One theory,’ he continues ‘is that the event was caused by a star about 15 times bigger than the sun getting close to the edge of the black hole disturbing some gasses, heating things up, increasing the infrared radiation from the edge. But get this, we observed that star getting close to the black hole about a year before we observed the affects on the black hole.’
‘That just shows how vast the universe is, how enormous the distance,’ you say.
‘Exactly! Distances, plural. The distance between the star and the edge of the black hole, and the distance between the black hole and Earth. So, I say all of this to say that sometimes wheels are set in motion long before the spark is manifest. Is that the same thing as fate? I don’t know but…I do know that rare brilliant events take time.'”
— The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
What’s Up in the Book Community?
My iPhone is constantly telling me I spend too much time staring at my screen, which is honestly so rude. But this means I spend a lot of time scrolling around the online book community: BookTube, Bookstagram, BookTok, BookLinkedIn (JK. That’s not a thing… I don’t think). You get the idea. Don’t have the time, energy, or the will to do all of that yourself? No problem. I got you. In this weekly section of Book Radar, we’ll take a look at something cool, interesting, and/or newsy that’s going on in the book community.
I know I’ve hyped a lot of Read-A-Thons lately, but they’re seriously my favorite, and this is another one that’s a must for me! I love the YouTube channel With Cindy, and she is hosting an Asian Read-a-thon in May, in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
THIS YEAR the Read-a-thon is themed around the film Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, which is basically my new favorite movie. So if I don’t participate in this Read-a-thon, who am I? And since I’m doing it, you should too!
Want to know all of the details? Here’s a doc with everything you need to know. Happy reading!
What I’m Watching This Weekend
This weekend, I feel like I’m going to be reading-focused, but there are two new movies in theaters that I’m dying to see: The Northman and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. So maybe I’ll get to see one or both? I don’t know. But these are two of my most highly anticipated movies of the year.
And Here’s A Cat Picture!
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One of my favorite things about traveling is getting to visit with other kitties! This is Indigo, everyone, and she’s a sweet little girl. So glad I got to visit with her earlier this week.
Anyway, that’s all for today! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I can’t wait to catch up with you again on Monday.
đź’™ Emily