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Book Radar

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Writing a Book and More Book Radar!

Dear Book Friends,

How is your week going? I was sick last week, but I’m feeling much better now. Of course, that means that now Ben is sick because he always waits until I’m better to get sick himself (and then he whines about it twice as much as I did). This is our routine. Anyway, all is well! So let’s chat books.

Looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals? Subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers, delivered to your inbox! Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com.

Book Deals and Reveals

out of body book cover

Author Nia Davenport has shared the cover of her YA thriller Out of Body. Davenport says this story is about “two Black teens, terrifying body swapping, and one girl’s race against time to figure out what the heck happened to her and if her best friend has a sinister secret.” It’s out from Balzer + Bray in February 2024.

And here’s the cover of Sarah Mughal Rana’s upcoming debut novel Hope Ablaze. This novel follows the story of a Muslim teen trying to find her voice in post-9/11 America. It’s also out in February 2024.

Next up: check out the cover and an excerpt from the highly-anticipated new thriller from Stacy Willingham. Willingham’s Only if You’re Lucky is out from Macmillan Publishers on January 16, 2024.

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn will be adapting Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books for the BBC. Refn, director of DriveOnly God Forgives, and The Neon Demon, will be the creator and executive producer of the mini-series, which has begun production.

Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced she is writing a book that will focus on leadership rather than politics. Ardern did not announce a release date for the book, but she did say that she was working with a team of publishers — Penguin in New Zealand and Australia, Macmillan in Britain, and Crown in the United States.

Blumhouse TV is adapting Clémence Michallon’s debut novel The Quiet Tenant for the small screen.

The literary criticism magazine Bookforum is returning in August with a new publishing partner: The Nation

Random House Worlds, an imprint of Random House, has announced a collaboration with Marvel Entertainment for an adult novel series that will explore the classic Marvel tradition of What If…? storytelling. The series will launch on March 12, 2024 with What if… Loki Was Worthy? by Madeleine Roux.

These new horror manga and manhwa will thrill, chill, and leave you with horrifying images that will haunt your nightmares — in the best way.

Here are the winners of the 2023 Locus Awards, including the best horror novel, fantasy novel, sci-fi novel, and more.

Book Riot Recommends

Hi, welcome to everyone’s favorite segment of Book Radar called Book Riot Recommends. This is where I’ll talk to you about all the books I’m reading, the books I’m loving, and the books I can’t wait to read and love in the near future. I think you’re going to love them too!

Subscribe to First Edition for interviews, lists, rankings, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.

Prepare Your Shelves!

a twisted love story book cover

A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing

July is seriously right around the corner (what the heck?) which means it’s time to prepare our shelves for all of these excellent July books that are heading into bookstores this coming month. One I’m really excited about? Samantha Downing’s A Twisted Love Story. I know Downing is really well-known and loved for her book My Lovely Wife, but I thought Downing’s 2021 book For Your Own Good was even better (think Election, but a thriller. I can’t get enough of it). But I think her latest one has the potential to be even better.

A Twisted Love Story is all about whatever the opposite of a fairy tale romance is. When things are good between Wes and Ivy, they’re really good. But when they’re bad, it’s catastrophic. Wed and Ivy make up and break up all the time. But one thing they’d rather forget: the night of their worst-ever break up, a night when things got out of control, and someone ended up dead.

Destructive relationships that lead to murder are no good in real life, but reading about them in thrillers is fascinating. And because this is Samantha Downing, you can expect plenty of surprises in this book as well. This is not a regular domestic thriller. It’s one of the cool ones. (cue Amy Poehler in Mean Girls.)

Words of Literary Wisdom

“I’m an abolitionist, which means I’m interested in investing in communities to address problems rather than carceral answers that don’t serve communities at all. Murderers and rapists do great harm, but the carceral institutions in this country do little to mitigate that harm. In fact, they do more harm to individuals and communities. The carceral state depends on a dichotomy between innocent and guilty, or good and bad, so that they can then define harm on their terms, in the name of justice, and administer it on a massive scale to support a capitalistic, violent, and inherently inequitable system.”

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

tabby cat looking up

Look! New cat alert! Okay, no I didn’t get a new cat, but my friend did. Last week, I got to cat sit and spend lots of time with this sweet girl. So everyone, meet Ramona! She’s a cutie. It was really difficult to get her to be still enough to take a picture. You know how cats are.

And that is all for Thursday’s Book Radar, friends! It seems like there’s a cold going around, so I hope you’re staying well. Take your vitamins. Hydrate. Remember to wash your hands.

Emily

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Today In Books

Jennifer Lawrence Opens Up About Being Turned Down for TWILIGHT: Today in Books

Nicolas Winding Refn to Reinterpret Enid Blyton’s Famous Five Books for the BBC

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn will be adapting Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books for the BBC. Refn, director of Drive, Only God Forgives, and The Neon Demon, will be the creator and executive producer of the mini-series, which has begun production. “All my life I’ve fought vigorously to remain a child with a lust for adventure,” Winding Refn said in a statement. “By reimagining the Famous Five, I am preserving that notion by bringing these iconic stories to life for a progressive new audience, instilling the undefinable allure and enchantment of childhood for current and future generations to come.”

Jennifer Lawrence Opens Up About Being Turned Down for Twilight

Recently, on an appearance on The Rewatchers podcast with Bill Simmons, Jennifer Lawrence reflected on how she was rejected for a role in Twilight and how that affected her career. “My life would’ve been totally different,” Lawrence said. “I mean, the work is still the same because I felt similar when I was doing Hunger Games. I have to churn out movies in between so that I’m not only known for this franchise. I was still in a franchise, so I was still trying to counteract the franchise-ness, and I would still be doing that if I was in Twilight.” While Lawrence will not be appearing in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the actress said she wouldn’t turn down the possibility of returning to Katniss Everdeen one day.

Raven Book Store in Lawrence, KS to Host a Queer Book Fair for Adults

The Raven Book Store is hosting a queer adult book fair and pride mixer that the store says will be reminiscent of a Scholastic Book Fair. The free event will take place on Thursday, June 29, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. According to the Raven Book Store website, the event will include “refreshments, snacks, and all the queer books and goodies (think stickers, totes, and other swag) your heart could desire.” The Raven, which has queer owners, managers and booksellers, is partnering with Transgender Kansas, the Lawrence Public Library and the Sexual Trauma and Abuse Care Center for the event, with the goal of showing that Raven is a “safe space where our queer friends can come to hang out, experience joy, and simply be, with no greater pretenses.”

New Horror Manga and Manhwa to Check Out in 2023

These new horror manga and manhwa will thrill, chill, and leave you with horrifying images that will haunt your nightmares — in the best way.

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Today In Books

Colleen Hoover Addresses Controversy Around IT ENDS WITH US Casting: Today in Books

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to Write a Book on Leadership

Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced she is writing a book that will focus on leadership rather than politics. “I didn’t want to write a book that hauled over the internal politics of the last five years, and then someone convinced me that I didn’t have to,” Ardern wrote on Instagram. “That maybe it might be worth expanding on some of things I talked about in my valedictory instead – like the idea you can be your own kind of leader and still make a difference. And so that’s what I’m planning to do.” Ardern did not announce a release date for the book, but she did say that she was working with a team of publishers — Penguin in New Zealand and Australia, Macmillan in Britain, and Crown in the United States.

Colleen Hoover Addresses Controversy Around It Ends With Us Casting

It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover is addressing the casting controversy surrounding Sony’s adaptation of her best-selling novel. Fans seem disappointed that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have been cast in the lead roles, when the actors are considerably older than the characters they are betraying. In It Ends with Us, Lily is 23 and Ryle is 30. Lively, who is playing Lily, is 35 and Baldoni (Ryle) is 39. Hoover said that despite the backlash, she is “extremely happy” with the casting choices and that she actually wanted to age the characters up in the movie. “Back when I wrote It Ends With Us, the new adult [genre] was very popular. You were writing college-age characters. That’s what I was contracted to do. I made Lily very young. I didn’t know that neurosurgeons went to school for 50 years,” Hoover explained. “There’s not a 20-something neurosurgeon. As I started making this movie, I’m like, ‘We need to age them out, because I messed up.’ So, that’s my fault.” Fans have also criticized Lily’s outfits in the upcoming film. To that, Hoover said, “I don’t remember describing outfits at all. I don’t care what they have on.”

Authors of Gay Penguin Book Banned in Florida School Sue Over Don’t Say Gay Law

The award-winning children’s book, And Tango Makes Three, which features a same-sex penguin couple, was recently banned from Lake County School District in Florida due to LGBTQ+ content. Now the authors of the book, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, along with the families of several students, are suing the school district and Florida’s board of education. According to The New York Times, Richardson and Parnell’s lawsuit argues that the Don’t Say Gay restrictions violate their first amendment rights to free speech. Furthermore, they claim the school district “cited no legitimate pedagogical reason for its decision” to ban the book. Richardson said that Tango is similarly age-appropriate to the children’s book Make Way for Ducklings. The only difference? Tango has two dads. Richardson told The New York Times, “There is no substance to any claim that it’s harmful or inappropriate at any age for children to learn that we [LGBTQ+ people] exist.”

How to Get Free Books for Your School Library (And How to Use Them to Host a Book Fair)

Some tips from a school librarian on getting access to free books for your school library, and using those books to put on a book fair.

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Today In Books

Here’s the Cover of IRON FLAME, the Sequel to FOURTH WING: Today in Books

Blumhouse TV Lands Rights to Adapt Clémence Michallon’s The Quiet Tenant

Blumhouse TV is adapting Clémence Michallon’s debut novel The Quiet Tenant for the small screen. The novel, which was published this month by Knopf, was recently described by The New York Times as an “expertly paced psychological thriller.” It tells the story of a serial killer, as narrated by those close to him: his 13-year old daughter, his girlfriend, and his victim. “I read Clémence’s novel in one sitting and was riveted. The story has all the elements of a great screen adaptation,” said Jason Blum, Founder and CEO of Blumhouse. Michallon will executive produce on the project.

Georgia Teacher Fired for Reading Children’s Book About Acceptance in Class

Elementary school teacher Katie Rinderle has been fired under Georgia’s Protect Students’ Rights Act after reading a book about acceptance in her classroom. Rinderle read the international, best-selling children’s book My Shadow is Purple to her 5th grade gifted class at Due West Elementary School in Cobb County, Georgia. After the reading, the class discussed the book’s message of acceptance of oneself and others and wrote “shadow” poems to self-reflect. The district fired the elementary school teacher for introducing “divisive concepts” in the classroom, although they’ve refused to answer what “divisive concepts” means. Rinderle is now working with her union, the Georgia Association of Educators and the Goodmark Law Firm, to fight her unjust termination.

Here’s the Cover of Iron Flame, the Sequel to Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

The sequel to Rebecca Yarros’s bestselling fantasy novel Fourth Wing is coming out later this year, and Books-A-Million has tweeted the cover of the new novel! Yarros’s Iron Flame, the second book in the Empyrean series, will be releasing on November 7. It’s available for preorder now.

15 of the Best New Cozy Mysteries Coming Out in the Second Half of 2023

Grab your TBR. You’ll be adding a whole host of great upcoming cozy mysteries to it for a delightfully murder-y summer and fall.

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Today In Books

Hasan Minhaj Asks Barack Obama Who Really Curates His End-of-Year Lists: Today in Books

Nimona Creator Says Netflix’s New LGBTQ+ Animated Series Has A Powerful Trans Message

Speaking to Hollywood Reporter, ND Stevenson, the creator of Nimona, says the upcoming Netflix series adaptation will keep hold of the important trans message at the heart of its story. Stevenson says Nimona “is a character with a lot of pain and anger at her heart, and that’s why she exists. When I made her, I was doing it for my own catharsis.” Nimona is a futuristic fantasy comic that was published as a graphic novel by HarperCollins in 2016. Netflix’s adaptation will be available to stream starting June 30.

Hasan Minhaj Asks Barack Obama Who Really Curates His End-of-Year Lists

In a recent interview, comedian Hasan Minhaj sat down with former president Barack Obama to discuss many topics, including the truth behind Obama’s end-of-year lists. “I need you to look me in the eyes and be honest with me,” Minhaj asked Obama. “Mr. President, when you do your end-of-the-year lists, do you really read all those books, watch all those shows and listen to all those songs?” Obama immediately replied, “I do.” The former president continued, “Look here’s the bottom line of my playlists, and my book lists and my movie lists: I am very scrupulous about making sure this is stuff I actually like… Unless I’m actually listening to it, watching it, reading it, I won’t put it on there.” Minhaj then asked Obama what would have happened if he didn’t choose his wife’s book, The Light We Carry, as one of his favorite books of 2022. Obama responded, “Well that would be foolish, because we share a bank account.”

Carnegie Medal for Children’s Books Goes to a Translation for the First Time

Welsh writer Manon Steffan Ros has won the 2023 Yoto Carnegie medal, marking the first time a translated book has won in the prestigious award’s 87-year history. Ros’s young adult novel The Blue Book of Nebo is set in a post-apocalyptic Wales. Originally published in Welsh, the book was translated to English by the author herself. Judges described the novel as “heartbreaking” and “rich with Welsh heritage.” Ros said she is “absolutely delighted” to have won this award: “I used to see the word Carnegie on the cover of my favourite books when I was a child, so this means a great deal to me.”

Diving Into the Sub-Genre of Oceanpunk

Get to know the world of all things oceanpunk with this guide to the sub-genre and some of the titles it encompasses.

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Today In Books

Marvel and Random House Announce WHAT IF…? Adult Novel Series: Today in Books

Stephen Graham Jones’s Angel of Indian Lake: Read an Excerpt Now

Crime Reads is sharing the cover and an excerpt from Stephen Graham Jones’s Angel of Indian Lake, the exciting conclusion to the horror author’s Indian Lake Trilogy. This new novel sees Jade Daniels returning home to Proofrock only to find the Lake Witch still haunting her hometown. The Angel of Indian Lake is out from Saga Press on March 26, 2024.

Bookforum is Returning Months After Its Closure

The literary criticism magazine Bookforum is returning in August with a new publishing partner: The Nation. The literary magazine originally closed in December. Bhaskar Sunkara, president of The Nation, announced on Thursday that Bookforum’s relaunch would mark a return to form. The Bookforum team is confident that The Nation will be the right partner for the quarterly magazine’s relaunch. “They know how to run magazines,” Michael Miller, Bookforum’s editor-in-chief, said. “Bhaskar himself has worked on a number of magazines, and The Nation has been around since 1865.”

Marvel and Random House Announce “What If…?” Adult Novel Series

Random House Worlds, an imprint of Random House, has announced a collaboration with Marvel Entertainment for an adult novel series that will explore the classic Marvel tradition of What If…? storytelling. The series will launch in 2024 with three titles: What if… Loki Was Worthy? by Madeleine Roux will be out on March 12, 2024. What if… Wanda Maximoff and Peter Parker Were Siblings? by Seanan McGuire will be out in July 2024. And What if… Marc Spector Was A Host to Venom? by Mike Chen is out in October 2024.

Teens Provide Tips for New Dungeons & Dragons Players

Tips from teens for new Dungeons & Dragons players to make the game even more fun and exciting.

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Book Radar

Stephen Graham Jones’ ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE Cover Reveal and More Book Radar!

Happy Monday, Book People!

Looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals? Subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers, delivered to your inbox! Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com.

How goes it? If you were here last week, you’ll know I’ve been under the weather. Well…I am slowly starting to feel better. My voice isn’t 100%, but I am able to squeak out a few sentences every now and then. And lucky, I can still type, so the newsletter show must go on! Let’s talk books!

Book Deals and Reveals

we are the crisis book cover

Tor.com has shared the cover of Cadwell Turnbull’s long-awaited sequel to No Gods, No Monstersentitled We Are the Crisis. The novel is forthcoming November 7, 2023 from Blackstone Publishing.

Crime Reads is sharing the cover an an excerpt of Angel of Indian Lake, the thrilling conclusion of Stephen Graham Jones’ Indian Lake Trilogy. The book is out from Saga Press in March 2024.

Puffin books is sharing the cover of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods, illustrated by Khadijah Khatib. The book is out globally on Sept 26.

We Need Diverse Books has shared the cover of RELIT: 16 Latinx Remixes of Classic Stories, edited by Sandra Proudman, with cover art by Valentino Lasso. This book is out in February 2024.

Everyone’s talking about Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, and thankfully, you won’t have to wait long for the sequel! Here’s the cover reveal for Iron Flame, out on November 7!

Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of The Ex Talk, is back with a new, fun romcom. And ahead of its release, Entertainment Weekly is sharing an excerpt from the book, entitled Business or Pleasure.

Wednesday breakout star Emma Meyers has been cast as the leading role of Pip Fitz-Amobi in the upcoming BBC adaptation of Holly Jackson’s YA murder mystery novel series A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

Blumhouse TV has landed the rights to adapt Clémence Michallon’s debut novel The Quiet Tenant.

Make an impact this month by supporting these classrooms asking for LGBTQ+ books for their students via DonorsChoose.

Book Riot Recommends

Hi, welcome to everyone’s favorite segment of Book Radar called Book Riot Recommends. This is where I’ll talk to you about all the books I’m reading, the books I’m loving, and the books I can’t wait to read and love in the near future. I think you’re going to love them too!

Subscribe to First Edition for interviews, lists, rankings, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.

Prepare Your Shelves!

cover image for Happiness Falls

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (Hogarth, August 29)

If the name Angie Kim is somehow unfamiliar to you, then you’re likely one of the only people who didn’t read Miracle Creek back in 2019. Miracle Creek was one of the buzziest titles of that year, but I think Happiness Falls is going to be even more popular with readers (if that’s even possible). So if you want to be cool and read what all the cool people are reading this August, then prepare your shelves! Angie Kim’s sophomore novel is coming.

Happiness Falls is a character-driven mystery/thriller narrated by 20-year-old Mia, a Korean American girl who lives with her parents, her twin brother John, and her 14-year-old brother Eugene in Virginia. One day Eugene and his father go out for a walk and don’t return for a long time. When Eugene finally comes back, he’s alone and covered in blood. Eugene is the only person who knows what happened to their father…and he can’t speak.

Both a dramatic and moving family portrait and an edge-of-your-seat crime investigation, Happiness Falls is filled with shocking twists and turns at every corner. And it’s out in two short months, so get ready! It’ll be here before you know it.

What I’m Reading This Week

manslaughter park book cover

Manslaughter Park by Tirzah Price

The Troop by Nick Cutter

Orange by Ichigo Takano

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Monday Memes

It’s not that the books aren’t good. And yet…why do I always end up doing this?

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

orange tabby resting in the shade

Before you go, how about a relaxing image of a cat resting in the shade to calm your nerves and to get you through your week? I’m feeling better already just looking at this peaceful little buddy.

And that is all, friends. Have a wonderful rest of your week. See you Thursday!

Emily

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Today In Books

BRIDGERTON Star Nicola Coughlan Teases Romantic Season 3: Today in Books

Cadwell Turnbull Reveals Cover of We Are the Crisis

Tor.com has shared the cover of Cadwell Turnbull’s long-awaited sequel to No Gods, No Monsters, entitled We Are the Crisis. The novel is forthcoming November 7, 2023 from Blackstone Publishing. Turnbull has also sold another trilogy to Blackstone Publishing. Book 1, Transmentation | Transience, is expected to release in fall 2024Turnbull is writing the trilogy as a part of Darkly Lem, “five authors in an impeccably-tailored trenchcoat (Josh Eure, Craig Lincoln, Ben Murphy, Cadwell Turnbull, and M. Darusha Wehm).”

Ferndale Library Staff Grateful for Support in Wake of Anti-LGBTQ Stunt

Earlier this month, staffers at the Ferndale Area District Library in Michigan were surprised to discover that 35 LGBTQ books put out on Pride Month displays had all been checked out and replaced with religiously-themed books. Assistant Library Director Jordan Wright said, “Our first reaction was to get other LGBTQ books we have in the library and put them on the displays in the youth and children’s sections.” Staffers purchased new copies of the books that had been checked out and managed to replace three-quarters of the books on their own.

Ferndale Library staffers later discovered that their library had been the target of a “Hide the Pride” campaign. The library then reached out to their followers on Facebook to ask for support by purchasing books from a list of about 40 titles on an Amazon wish list, or buying the books locally and dropping them off in person. Wright says the library has since closed down their wish list and no longer needs books donated. “We got more copies than we could have possibly imagined,” Wright said. “Overall, Ferndale has been enormously supportive. We’re really grateful to our community for their moral support and their financial support.”

Bridgerton Star Nicola Coughlan Teases “Romantic” Season 3

In a recent interview with People, Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan said if she could summarize the new season in one word, it would be “romantic.” Season 3 of Bridgerton will focus on Coughlan’s character Penelope Featherington and her budding romance with her best friend and longtime crush Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). “I always look at the three seasons like this. I think season 1 was about passion, season 2 was about longing and season 3, I think it’s romance all the way,” Coughlan said. “It’s just so romantic.”

A-Z Queer YA Recommendations for Pride

From Annie on My Mind to Zara Hossain Is Here, this alphabet of queer YA recommendations is perfect for Pride month!

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Book Radar

BRIDGERTON Shares First Images from Season 3 and More Book Radar!

Hi Book Friends!

Looking for fascinating stories, informed takes, useful advice, and more drawn from our collective experience as power readers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and bookish professionals? Subscribe to The Deep Dive, a biweekly newsletter to inform and inspire readers, delivered to your inbox! Your first read (The Power Reader’s Guide to Reading Logs & Trackers) is on the house. Check out all the details and choose your membership level at bookriot.substack.com.

How’s it going? I guess I partied too hard in Portland because I lost my voice and have just been talking in ASMR voice for most of the week. It’s very relaxing, probably, but not great for teaching fitness classes, which is what I do when I’m not reading or writing about reading. Anyway, since talking is out of the question at the moment, let’s focus on books.

Book Deals and Reveals

the imposition of unnecessary obstacles book cover

Tordotcom has shared the cover of Malka Older’s The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, the follow-up to the cozy space opera detective mystery The Mimicking of Known Successes. The cover art and design is by Christine Foltzer. The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles will be available February 13, 2024.

Author Shane Hawk has shared the cover of the upcoming Indigenous dark fiction anthology Never Whistle at Night.This collection of “wholly original and shiver-inducing tales” is out from Vintage on September 19.

Netflix has released the first official photos from Bridgerton Season 3, which follows the love story of Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton. Season 3 is loosely based on Bridgerton author Julia Quinn’s fourth book, Romancing Mister Bridgerton.

Netflix has also released a trailer for its live-action adaptation of One Piecebased on the best-selling manga series of the same name written by Eiichiro Oda. One Piece premieres on Netflix on August 31.

Cosmopolitan has shared an exclusive cover reveal of Holly Back’s The Prisoner’s Throne and an interview with the author. The book, which is the second part of Black’s new Elfhame duology, is set to publish on March 5, 2024.

During a Q&A at the Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday, The Haunting of Hill House director Mike Flanagan gave an update on his proposed version of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series.

Bestselling author Leah Johnson has announced that she’s opening a bookstore! The author of You Should See Me in a Crown set up a GoFundMe to support the project, and she has already reached her goal! Loudmouth Books will be opening soon in Indianapolis. In the meantime, you can buy books from their Bookshop page.

Lashana Lynch will be starring opposite Eddie Redmayne in the Peacock and Sky series adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal.

Six authors have been shortlisted for the 2023 Miles Franklin award, Australia’s highest literary honor.

A new queer indie bookstore is splitting profits with LGBTQ authors and spreading queer joy and literacy with a rainbow book bus.

Here are the books 11 of the biggest and most interesting book clubs have chosen as their picks for June 2023, including Yellowface by R.F. Kuang.

Esquire has released a list of 20 of the best queer books out this year so far, and it’s a diverse mix of genres and styles.

Book Riot Recommends

Hi, welcome to everyone’s favorite segment of Book Radar called Book Riot Recommends. This is where I’ll talk to you about all the books I’m reading, the books I’m loving, and the books I can’t wait to read and love in the near future. I think you’re going to love them too!

Subscribe to First Edition for interviews, lists, rankings, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books.

Can’t Wait for This One!

dear wendy book cover

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao (Feiwel and Friends, April 16, 2024)

We’re keeping with the green and purple book covers for this round of Book Radar. Are you feeling it? Okay, but no, seriously, I didn’t just pick this book because it’s purple, even though that is my favorite color. I chose it because it’s a new YA contemporary novel about two asexual, aromantic characters. And, yeah, it’s exciting seeing more books with that kind of rep in them. Which is why I can’t wait for this one (and its purple cover)!

Sophie and Jo are both asexual, aromantic students at Wellesley College. Despite knowing that she’ll never fall in love, Sophie Chi runs an Instagram account, doling out relationship advice to all of her classmates. But nobody but her roommate knows that she’s the true face behind the “Dear Wendy” account. Meanwhile, when Joanna “Jo” Ephron created “Sincerely Wanda,” she didn’t think it would take off and become as popular as “Dear Wendy.” And yet here she is, a rival to the oh-so-popular Instagram account.

Tensions between the two accounts grow online, but in real life, Jo and Sophie find themselves bonding over their shared aroace identities. The two even join forces to set up a campus organization for other a-spec students. But will the two remain friends when they discover their true identities?

Words of Literary Wisdom

“It came down to that flexibility of a person’s mind. An ability to withstand horrors and snap back, like a fresh elastic band. A flinty mind shattered. In this way, he was glad not to be an adult. A grown-up’s mind…lacked that elasticity. The world had been robbed of all its mysteries, and with those mysteries went the horror.

Adults didn’t believe in old wives’ tales. You didn’t see adults stepping over sidewalk cracks out of the fear that they might somehow, some way, break their mothers’ backs. They didn’t wish on stars; not with the squinty-eyed fierceness of kids, anyway. You’ll never find an adult who believes that saying “Bloody Mary” three times in front of a mirror in a dark room will summon a dark, blood-hungry entity.

Adults were scared of different things: their jobs, their mortgages, whether they hung out with the “right people,” whether they would die unloved. These were pallid compared to the fears of a child—leering clowns under the bed and slimy monsters capering beyond the basement’s light and faceless sucking horrors from beyond the stars. There’s no 12-step or self-help group for dealing with those fears.

Or maybe there is: you just grow up. And when you do, you surrender the nimbleness of mind required to believe in such things—but also to cope with them. And so when adults find themselves in a situation where that nimbleness is needed…they can’t summon it. So they fall to pieces: go insane, panic, suffer heart attacks and aneurysms brought on by fright. Why? They simply don’t believe it could be happening. That’s what’s different about kids: they believe everything can happen, and fully expect it to.”

The Troop by Nick Cutter

What I’m Watching This Weekend

I started watching the new season of Black Mirror a few days ago and it is so good! Excited to have the show back after what seems like 1,000 years!

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

tuxedo and orange cat on lap

The cats are trying to help me heal by sitting in my lap, staring at me, and just being like, “Hey Mom, talk! You can do it!” Cats truly are the best nurses.

And that’s a wrap on Thursday’s Book Radar, friends! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I’m excited to see you next week. Take care!

Emily

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Today In Books

WEDNESDAY’s Emma Meyers to Star in A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER: Today in Books

Read an Excerpt from Rachel Lynn Solomon’s Business or Pleasure

Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of The Ex Talk, is back with a new, fun romcom. And ahead of its release, Entertainment Weekly is sharing an excerpt from the book, entitled Business or Pleasure. This sex-positive friends with benefits romcom follows the story of an awkward one night stand that turns into a surprising business opportunity. Business or Pleasure is out from Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on July 4.

Wednesday‘s Emma Meyers to Star in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Wednesday breakout star Emma Meyers has been cast as the leading role of Pip Fitz-Amobi in the upcoming BBC adaptation of Holly Jackson’s YA murder mystery novel series A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. “I am so unbelievably excited that Emma is our Pip. She is phenomenal and this role was truly always meant to be hers,” Jackson said in a statement. “And we found our perfect Ravi in [newcomer Zain Iqbal]. I can’t wait for us all to be able to watch their scenes. I smile every time I see them together, because I know that we’ve pulled off the impossible, and Emma and Zain are the only two people I would trust to bring these characters to life. Everyone’s going to be just as thrilled as I am.” The six-episode series will be directed by Dolly Wells from a screenplay written by Poppy Cogan, Zia Ahmed, Ajoke Ibironke, and Ruby Thomas.

Hello Sunshine Partners with TikTok to Bring Underrepresented Stories to Life

TikTok is teaming up with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine to sponsor the next chapter of Reese’s Book Club’s LitUp Writer Fellowship Program. LitUp aims to “give underrepresented female storytellers funding, mentorship, and marketing.” The TikTok community will be able to follow the program on the @ReesesBookClub TikTok channel. In a statement, Reese Witherspoon said, “We are thrilled to work with TikTok and the #BookTok community to expand our LitUp initiative, where we will work together to continue identifying, elevating and amplifying underrepresented storytellers and bring their stories to life.”

The Most Requested LGBTQ+ Books in Classroom Libraries — And How to Help via DonorsChoose

Make an impact this month by supporting these classrooms asking for LGBTQ+ books for their students via DonorsChoose.