Dear Book Friends,
With every passing day, I feel more and more stressed out. Not just because personally, I’m going through a big move but also because… well… *gestures at the world* Look at this place. This year, as an American, 4th of July feels less celebratory for me than ever before as I keep finding less and less to love about this country. So while I’m moving, I’m thinking to myself can I really move far enough? Is there another planet I can move to and just start over? Is anyone else feeling this way? I hate to be negative and start our week on that kind of note, but hey, I’m just trying to be real with y’all. Yes, even though I’m moving north, I’m still going to say “y’all.” Anyway, you wanna hear about books?
Book Deals and Reveals
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Nerd Daily’s got an exclusive cover reveal and excerpt from Maxym M. Martineau’s upcoming novel, Shadows of the Lost. This one comes out on June 6th 2023 from Sourcebooks Casablanca and will be available to pre-order soon.
Barnes & Noble is releasing a special exclusive edition of Aiden Thomas’ new novel The Sunbearer Trials. This version boasts an exclusive cover and one chapter hand-annotated by the author.
Here’s the cover reveal of the US edition of Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur.
And Reese’s Book Club has the exclusive cover reveal of Lauren Blackwood’s next novel, Wildblood.
Kate Winslet will be starring in and executive producing Trust, a limited series based on Hernan Diaz’s best-selling novel, which was published in May from Riverhead Books.
Pushcart Prize–winning author Sanam Mahloudji has sold the rights to her debut novel, The Persians, to Scribner. The book is scheduled for a spring 2024 release.
Nancy Drew spinoff Tom Swift has been canceled after one season.
Paul Tremblay explains how cult band Hüsker Dü inspired his latest horror novel The Pallbearers Club.
Attorney Tim Anderson has filed a lawsuit against Oni Press, publisher of Gender Queer, as well as author Maia Kobabe.
Here are EW’s picks for the best books of the year (so far).
Annually, the The American Institute of Graphic Arts announces the 50 best book covers of the previous year. Here are the 2021 winners.
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!
Why Didn’t You Tell Me? by Carmen Rita Wong (Crown Publishing Group, July 12)
I think it’s fair to say that a good memoir about a strained mother/daughter relationship is going to hook me every time. Some mother/daughter memoirs that I’ve loved? Adrienne Brodeur’s Wild Game comes to mind. And of course, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. And yes, let’s go ahead and add Carmen Rita Wong’s Why Didn’t You Tell Me? to the list, because this one hooked me, too.
Carmen Rita Wong grew up searching for a sense of belonging, whether it was her childhood in Harlem surrounded by Latina women like her mother or among the exclusively white people she lived amongst in New Hampshire, after her mother married her stepfather Charlie.
Carmen grew up believing that her father was a Chinese hustler named Peter Wong, whom her mother was forced to marry for a green card. But as her mother was dying of cancer, Charlier confessed to Carmen that he was in fact her real father. In fact, neither of these things were true, as Carmen would find out after taking a DNA test.
With her mother gone, Carmen feels like she’ll never get answers to who she is or where she belongs. And worst of all, she’ll never understand why her mother didn’t tell her the truth. This memoir follows Carmen’s search for understanding as she digs into the hidden side of her mother that she never had the chance to know while her mother was alive.
What I’m Reading This Week
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The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
This is Not the Real World by Anna Carey
Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
Monday Memes
This is often me when I’m trying to tell you all about a book I loved. Why is it so much easier to write about stuff you hate? Is hate truly stronger than love?
And Here’s A Cat Picture!
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We’re finishing off Monday strong with an action shot of the two brothers bathing one another. Or I guess Remy is doing most of the bathing in this case. But I think Murray is enjoying it? He seems very relaxed.
And that just about wraps up Book Radar for today. I hope you’re staying safe and you’re doing as well as you can be under our current circumstances. Remember to breathe.
💙 Emily