Author: Emily Martin

Hello Book Pals!

I know we’re nearing the mid-point of the year, so consider today’s Book Radar newsletter are mid-2022 check-in. How are you doing? Have you done anything fun? Read anything good? Most importantly, have you survived? I would love to hear about it. Let me know! And until then, here’s a little look at what’s up in books.

Book Deals & Reveals

Let’s start with an adorable cover reveal. It’s Boba Time for Pearl Li! is Nicole Chen’s debut middle grade novel, and it’s coming out on February 28th, 2023.

And here’s the cover reveal for Kyla Zhao’s The Fraud Squad, a novel about a woman who schemes her way into Singapore high-society in order to get her dream job.

Here’s the cover reveal for Moses Ose Utomi’s YA fantasy novel Daughters of Oduma, featuring a song from the book’s album. This novel is out on February 7, 2023.

Léa Seydoux has been cast as Lady Margot in Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Dune: Part Two.

A new Marvel comic that reimagines Miles Morales as Thor is receiving a huge backlash for its stereotypical portrayal of a Black characters and a Black neighborhood.

Gill Hornby’s historical fiction novel Miss Austen is being adapted into a four-part miniseries on PBS Masterpiece.

Netflix has adapted How to Change Your Mind, Michael Pollan’s book about his experiences with psychedelic drug therapy, into a four-part documentary series.

The American Library Association has named George M. Johnson as the honorary chair of the upcoming Banned Books Week, which runs from September 18th to 24th.

This year’s winner of English PEN’s PEN Pinter Award is Malorie Blackman, best known for her YA series Noughts and Crosses.

A new report on the reading habits of Americans reveals that over 50% of adults have not finished a book in the last year.

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!

Favorite Books of 2022 (So Far)

So I’ve read a fair amount of books so far this year. Not as many as I was hoping I’d get to at this point in the year. But if you’ve been around for a while, then you know some personal life stuff has come up that got in the way. So it goes for everyone. Anyway, for the 2022 books I’ve read so far this year, here are my faves:

Sundial by Catriona Ward

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

Wahala by Nikki May

Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond

Cold by Mariko Tamaki

I’ve written about all five of these books at some point in the newsletter. But if you haven’t picked up these five books yet, these are the ones I’d recommend you read. What’s your favorite book of 2022 so far? Let me know!

Books I’m Most Looking Forward to in the 2nd Half of 2022

I’ve been really, really vocal about how excited I am for The Weight of Blood, the latest from Tiffany D. Jackson. But in case you missed it, this is hands down the book I’m most excited about reading in 2022, and it’s coming out in September from Harper Collins.

Also coming out in September is another YA horror novel I can’t wait to get my hands on. And that’s The Getaway by Lamar Giles.

Other books that are topping my most anticipated list for the remainder of 2022:

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (July 12)

The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones (August 9)

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (August 9)

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings (August 9)

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales (December 6)

Again, feel free to reach out and let me know what you’re most looking forward to in the second half of 2022!

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.

Speaking of middle-of-the-year wrap-ups, BookTube is full of them right now. A lot of BookTubers are doing the “Mid Year Book Freakout Tag.” Here are some of my faves:

• withcindy (always a favorite)
• Nakia’s Hideaway
• Myonna Reads
• Jordaline Reads

I’m sure that there will be even more released as the month goes on, and I’ll be sure to pop them in here next week. But these should keep you entertained for now.

And Here’s A Cat Picture

Since we’re looking back at 2022 so far while also looking forward to what 2022 will bring us in the second half of the year, I thought this picture was appropriate.

Here is Remy looking outside the window into the sun but also looking back at me to make sure I’m paying attention. It’s a metaphor. For 2022. Right?

Anyway, that is all I’ve got for you today! I hope you’re having a wonderful 2022 so far, and let’s finish this year out stronger than we started! Or, you know, just do you.

💙 Emily

Hello Book Friends!

How was your weekend? It’s still hot here, but at least we got to go to New Orleans over the weekend. So we were still hot, but we were somewhere fun. Look, in case I haven’t made it clear, I hate summer. That’s all there is to it. I know that’s a hot take (pun intended), but it is what it is. Anyhow, let’s talk books. Something we can all (mostly) agree on.

Book Deals and Reveals

Tordotcom has revealed the cover of The Mimicking of Known Successes, a gaslamp murder mystery and sapphic romance from Malka Older, out on March 7th.

Here’s the cover reveal of Spell Bound, the upcoming novel from F.T. Lukens, the New York Times bestselling author of In Deeper Waters and So This Is Ever After. Coming at you on April 4, 2023.

Nerd Daily’s got the cover reveal of The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel, which is releasing on February 14th, 2023.

Here’s the cover of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant YA novel, written by LaLa Thomas. MTV Books will publish the novel in January, and it’s available for preorder now.

LGBTQ sales have increased over the past few years and show no sign of slowing down, with Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End leading the charge.

Pretty Little Liars is back, in the form of Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, a new series set to premiere on HBO Max on July 28th. And HBO Max has dropped the first teaser trailer.

Just a few weeks following his tea with the Queen of England, it has been announced that Paddington Bear is set to star in Paddington in Peru, the third installment in his hit franchise.

Lady Gaga is in talks to play Harley Quinn opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the upcoming follow-up to 2019’s Joker. The sequel film is also set to be a musical, with a working title of Joker: Folie à Deux.

As mentioned last week, James Patterson said in an interview that white men authors face “another form of racism” and that it is difficult for them to get writing jobs. Here’s what authors have been saying about Patterson’s comments.

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!

What I’m Reading This Week

All the Bad Apples by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

The Perfume Thief by Timothy Schaffert

This is Not the Real World by Anna Carey

Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier

Monday Memes

Here’s a nice collection of book-related tweets that are extremely relatable. Tag yourself. I’m the person who panics whenever someone asks me what my favorite book is.

And Here’s A Cat Picture!

The cat tree is a very popular destination for these cats, especially my orange boy Murray. Here’s one where he looks especially relaxed but also still like a weirdo.

And with that, we’ve reached the end of Book Radar for Monday! I hope you’ve had a good time. I certainly have. Now off to do more Monday things.

💙 Emily

Dearest Book Friends,

I hope you’ve been having a great week! It’s been in the high 90s all week down here in Mississippi and also we’re getting lots and lots of rain. Summer in the south is really something, and I’m not going to miss it at all after we move. Speaking of, we’re getting closer and closer to our moving day! And we’re getting excited. The cats have no idea what they’re in for, but we’ll worry about that on another day. For now, let’s talk books

Book Deals and Reveals

LGBTQ Reads has an exclusive cover reveal of Anna-Marie McLemore’s latest novel Self-Made Boys. The book is a trans reimagining of The Great Gatsby, publishing on September 6, 2022 as part of Feiwel & Friends’s Remixed Classics series.

Jess Sutanto has announced her next book: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. The novel is scheduled for a March 2023 release.

Here’s the new trailer for the Netflix adaptation of Persuasion, which premieres on the streaming platform on July 15th.

Reese Witherspoon announced the release of her new children’s book Busy Betty, which will hit shelves this fall.

Spiegel & Grau has acquired North American rights to A Heart That Works, a memoir by actor Rob Delaney. The book will be published in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook, read by the author, on November 29.

Alexis Hall’s novel Glitterland is getting a brand new cover. This new edition of the novel is available for preorder and will be released January 2023.

And here’s the cover reveal of Sarah Underwood’s sapphic reimagining of The Odyssey, entitled Lies We Sing to the Sea. This one’s out from Harper Teen in March 2023.

Fellow D&D fans, there’s finally a romance novel for us! Elise Bryant’s upcoming YA rom com follows the story of a D&D Dungeon Master and the lead singer of a punk band as they fall in love through chance meetings on holidays over the course of one year. Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling comes out on January 31, 2023.

Michael Gray Bulla’s debut YA novel If I Can Give You That is coming out in February 2023, and here’s the cover reveal!

Penguin Random House’s Dial Press imprint has acquired world rights to a currently untitled memoir by Chelsea Handler. The published described the book as “a hilarious and romantic account of Chelsea’s path from worshipping at the altar of autonomy and self-reliance to falling in love and becoming a tender, open-hearted, committed-at-all-costs girlfriend.”

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!

Can’t Wait for This One!

Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!

Words of Literary Wisdom

“The thing about losing someone is that it doesn’t happen just once. It happens every time you do something great you wish they could see, every time you’re stuck and you need advice. Every time you fail. It erodes your sense of normal, and what grows back is decidedly not normal, and yet you still have to figure out how to trudge forward.”

— The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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.

Of course, you know I had to acknowledge the Internet backlash against James Patterson and his comments about how hard it is to be a white person.

If you’ve somehow missed this, here’s a rundown of what James Patterson said last weekend. Of course, there was an immediate response from the book community on Twitter. Needless to say, Patterson’s comments did not go over well. And yes, the author has since apologized for the remarks, but I’m not sure you can put that racist genie back in the bottle, Jimmy. My heart does go out to the struggle that millionaire white men go through every day.

What I’m Watching This Weekend

Well, I haven’t yet watched the new season of Stranger Things. Why? Because Ben and I are rewatching the first three seasons before we dive into Season 4. So no spoilers! I’ve been trying to avoid all Stranger Things talk. After all, we’re still on our Season 1 rewatch right now, so give us time!

JUSTICE FOR BARB!

And Here’s A Cat Picture

So since I’ve been told by multiple people that this photo should be Murray and Remy’s album cover, I have to ask. What’s the name of their band? What kind of music is it? And what’s the name of this album? Let me know.

If you’re wondering about my sweet little Cersei, she’s still on the mend. Her ankle is doing better, but the medicine is making her feel sick, so she’s not really wanting to eat now. Anyway, hopefully I’ll have better news to report next time.

For now, I hope you have a great weekend, and I’ll talk to you next week!

💙 Emily