Author: Liberty Hardy

THE LUMINARIES Series to Launch on Valentine’s Day and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date January 20, 2021

Sponsored by Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham.

Outside, it was quieter, wilder, and different. Inside, we laughed, we cried, and we grew. Don’t miss this moving picture book from Caldecott honoree LeUyen Pham, celebrating hope, essential and frontline workers, and our community coming together to face the COVID-19 pandemic.

Happy Thursday, star bits! The world feels a little brighter today, and I am excited to “spend” a little time with you, talking about bookish stuff. It has been hard to concentrate on reading this week, but I have been plugging away at it anyway, because I am loving The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. It is over 800 pages long, but so far, is entirely worth it. I’ve also been pecking away at about a dozen more titles. I can no longer remember what it was like when I used to practiced book monogamy!

Moving on, today I have exciting adaptation news, cover reveals, and book talk for you. Plus a picture of Farrokh, looking all regal. Whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you love and hugs. – xoxo, Liberty, Your Friendly Neighborhood Velocireader™

Trivia question time! What classic children’s novel has the alternate title of How Toys Become Real? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Here’s the first trailer for The Luminaries, which is premiering on Valentine’s Day.

American Spy author Lauren Wilkinson is working on the screenplay for the adaptation of Don DeLillo’s Libra.

Lambda Literary announced that applications are now open for four cash prize opportunities for LGBTQ writers.

The You show creators will reunite to adapt Providence by Caroline Kepnes.

Netflix is teaming up with Ibram X. Kendi to adapt his anti-racism books.

Rachel Givney’s novel Jane in Love, about Jane Austen, will be a film.

Queen Sugar has already been renewed for a sixth season ahead of its season five debut. And Snowpiercer has been renewed for a third season.

The US Postal Service Literary Arts series will release a stamp honoring Ursula K. LeGuin later this year.

Here’s the cover reveal for Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black Women in Pop Culture by Zeba Blay.

And the cover reveal for You’ve Reached Sam: A Novel by Dustin Thao.

And one more: Here’s the cover reveal for Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake (Winner Bakes All) by Alexis Hall.

Here’s the first look at the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough.

A Willy Wonka prequel is in the works.

Book Riot Recommends

At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR! (It will now be books I loved on Mondays and books I’m excited to read on Thursdays. YAY, BOOKS!)

Excited to read:

When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen (Harper Perennial, August 3)

I attended a publisher event this week with several Harper authors who have novels coming this year, and this is the one that I was most excited about. It’s a horror novel about a young Black woman named Mira who returns to her southern hometown to attend a wedding for an old friend. The site of the wedding? Woodsman plantation. And while Mira is haunted by terrible memories from when she was young, the plantation is literally haunted by the spirits of slaves. It is supposed to be a creepy horror novel and a powerful indictment of the how this country still clings to parts its racist history.

I know that I REALLY want to read this because after the event, I went to mark it down on my “get this as soon as possible” list, and discovered I had already marked it down. I hope to get my hot little hands on it really soon.

What I’m reading this week.

All’s Well by Mona Awad

¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out to Your Boyfriend in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Lessons on Love, Race, and Sexuality by JP Brammer

The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois: a Novel by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

The Kids in the Hall: One Dumb Guy by Paul Myers

Song stuck in my head:

Burn Down the Mission by Elton John. (Also, I’m still really into listening to songs I loved when I was young. You can listen to a lot of them in this playlist I made!)

And this is funny:

This tweet deserves an award.

Happy things:

Here are a few things I enjoy that I thought you might like as well:

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: People have recommended this show to me a zillion times, so I am finally giving it a try.
Jigsaw puzzles! I got a puzzle caddy! It means I can now do puzzles and stop without finishing them and not have to worry about the cats eating pieces, because I can fold the caddy up and tuck it safely away.
Numberzilla.
Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.

And here’s a cat picture!

My little glamourpuss.

Trivia answer: The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.

You made it to the bottom! High five. Thanks for reading! – xo, L

New Books

Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date January 18, 2021

Sponsored by Solaris, an imprint of Rebellion Publishing.

Magic. Murder. Mayhem. But keep it in the family. Shine’s life is usually dull: an orphan without magic in a family of powerful mages, she’s left to run the family estate with only an eccentric aunt and telepathic cat for company. But when the family descend on the house for the annual Fertility Festival, Shine is plunged into dark intrigue; stolen letters, a fugitive spy, and family drama mix with murder, sex and secrets, and Shine is forced to decide both her loyalties and future…

Welcome back, book fans! There are some exciting things happening this week and I am here for all of it. In the book world, I am particularly excited about the release of The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard. It’s possibly my favorite book of the year already. I read it last summer and I still think about it all the time. And I am also a big fan of Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West, so you bet your sweet bippy that I signed up to hear Hubbard and West in conversation on Thursday!

Speaking of today’s great books, for this week’s episode of All the Books! Tirzah and I discussed some of the wonderful books being released today, such as Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Remote Control, Winterkeep, and more.

And now, it’s time for everyone’s favorite gameshow: AHHHHHH MY TBR! Here are today’s contestants:

The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine by Janice P. Nimura

Last year, I read a fantastic book about the first women to run a military hospital, and now this year, I read another excellent book about two more trailblazing women in the medical field. It’s the story of Elizabeth Blackwell, who defied societal conventions and studied medicine in the mid-19th century, becoming the first woman in America to receive an M.D. Later she was joined by her younger sister, Emily, who also became a physician, and together they founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, the first hospital staffed entirely by women. Nimura does an excellent job setting the scene with her subjects as she explores the sisters’ early years and careers, as well as their complicated relationship with each other. (You can also read about Elizabeth Blackwell in Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine by Olivia Campbell, which is out March 2.)

Backlist bump: No Man’s Land: The Trailblazing Women Who Ran Britain’s Most Extraordinary Military Hospital During World War I by Wendy Moore (Not quite backlist yet, but it’s a really great book and will be out in paperback in April.)

Your Corner Dark by Desmond Hall

And this is a powerful novel about Frankie Green, a young man in Jamaica who is trying to make a better life for himself and his family. But Frankie’s father has been shot in gang violence, and with the mounting medical bills threatening to crush them, Frankie sees no other way to help than to join his uncle’s gang. But he finds himself in a situation he never thought he would be in, and Frankie realizes he should get out as soon as he can—but is it too late to leave? Frankie Green is faced with impossible decisions and a longing for a different life, and readers’ hearts will break for him.

Backlist bump: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

The Crown in Crisis: Countdown to the Abdication by Alexander Larman

I have long been fascinated by Wallis Simpson, the woman who won over the King of England, causing one of the biggest scandals in England’s history. They fell in love, but because Simpson was a soon-to-be divorced American, it wasn’t possible for them to wed, meaning King Edward VIII would have to look elsewhere for his queen. But instead, he abdicated on December 10, 1936, leaving his position as ruler of England and following his heart. Many books have been written about Simpson, but this is a more in-depth look at the whole time period, including their romance, the King’s politics and the attempt on his life, his detractors who wanted him gone for various reasons, and the ensuing scandal over the abdication.

Backlist bump: The American Duchess: The Real Wallis Simpson by Anna Pasternak

Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! I am wishing the best for all of you in whatever situation you find yourself in now. – XO, Liberty

Book Radar

Tessa Thompson Tackles Book Adaptations and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date January 15, 2021

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Tessa Thompson’s new production company will produce adaptations of Who Fears Death and The Secret Lives Of Church Ladies.

Here are Book Rioter’s most anticipated books of 2021!

The Tradition by Jericho Brown has been selected for One Book One Philadelphia.

Here’s the cover reveal for Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond.

The Queen’s Gambit creator Scott Frank’s next project is a limited series adaptation of Mary Doria Russell’s novel The Sparrow.

Barbie announced that the latest historical icon to be honored in its inspiring women series will be Dr. Maya Angelou.

Emma Thompson and Alisha Weir have joined the Matilda musical.

Solaris announced a second New Suns anthology from editor Nisi Shawl.

Here’s the first look at We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman.

Here is Tom Holland in the trailer for Cherry.

Bad Robot is getting into animation. John Agbaje will lead the department and the company will will adapt Oh, The Places You’ll Go! and The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse.

And here is the trailer for the adaptation of Kristen Hannah’s Firefly Lane.

Book Riot Recommends

Loved, loved, loved:

Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 20)

It has been a while since I recommended a thriller, but this gritty debut knocked my socks off! It’s about the host of a popular true crime podcast who uses her air time to help with cold cases.

Elle Castillo used to work for Child Social Services, but after an incident at work, she quit her job. Now she spends her time trying to help find missing children, using her keen detections skills and the popularity of her podcast to amplify her voice.

But there’s one huge cold case that has haunted her—The Countdown Killer, who kidnapped and murdered young women two decades earlier. So she decides to make him the subject of her next show, in the hopes that something will jog someone’s memory after all this time. But then a girl is kidnapped and it has all the hallmarks of the Countdown Killer. Is he back in the game or is there a copycat out there? And can Elle and her listeners figure it out before it’s too late?

This book is INTENSE. I thought the story was fantastically plotted, and pretty believable, while being quite terrifying. It also did a great job portraying trauma and PTSD. Elle wants to solve all the cases so badly, she doesn’t quite know how to let herself rest, which is a very real problem, and the guilt she feels over taking any time for herself, even to sleep, is heartbreaking.

(Just a note that this is about child abduction and murder cases. Content warning for child endangerment, abuse, abduction, and murder; mentions of sexual assault, violence, chemical use, poisoning, fire deaths, and physical abuse.)

What I’m reading this week.

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

Patience & Esther: An Edwardian Romance by SW Searle

The Kids in the Hall: One Dumb Guy by Paul Myers

Blue-Skinned Gods by SJ Sindu

Nowhere Girl: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood by Cheryl Diamond

Pun of the week:

I’ve got a great joke about construction, but I’m still working on it.

And this is funny:

You want a piece of me?!

Happy things:

Here are a few things I enjoy that I thought you might like as well:

Psych: I am now on season five and I must say, I am less invested in the characters and more chuffed by all the references and actors from classic 1980s movies. Ally Sheedy, Jonathan Silverman, Thomas F. Wilson, Cybill Shepherd, Corbin Bernsen—the list goes on and on. I also love the weird pineapple appearance in every episode. 🍍
Jigsaw puzzles! I got a puzzle caddy! It means I can now do puzzles and stop without finishing them and not have to worry about the cats eating pieces, because I can fold the caddy up and tuck it safely away.

Numberzilla. Still not tired of this game.
Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.

And here’s a cat picture!

Zevon is doing the back float on land.

Trivia answer: George Orwell.

Remember that whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you love and hugs. Please be safe, and be mindful of others. It takes no effort to be kind. I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Book Radar

The Final TO ALL THE BOYS Trailer and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date January 13, 2021

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Lashana Lynch will play Miss Honey in Netflix’s Matilda remake.

Keegan-Michael Key will star in the show August Snow, based on the series by Stephen Mack Jones.

Here is the cover reveal for A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee.

And here’s a peek at On Freedom: Four Songs of Care and Constraint, the upcoming book from Maggie Nelson.

Netflix’s The Kissing Booth and To All the Boys franchises will end in 2021.

And speaking of To All the Boys, here’s the trailer for the final film.

The Duchess of York has written a romance novel.

Sarah McKnight has started a No F*cks Given podcast to go along with her guides.

Netflix is making a series based on Michael Connelly’s legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer.

Netflix has also announced that its adaptation of Moxie with Amy Poehler will start streaming on March 3.

MTV is relaunching its book imprint.

FSG announced a new Sally Rooney novel.

Ben Hardy, Dexter Fletcher, Rob Delaney, Sally Phillips and Jameela Jamil have joined Haley Lu Richardson in The Statistical Probability of Love.

And here is more casting news for the Dexter revival.

Here’s a new teaser trailer for the second season of Snowpiercer.

Book Riot Recommends

Excited to read:

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow (Feiwel & Friends, September 7)

It is always so interesting to me how people come to books. Some of us were assigned certain classics in school, or were gifted a great book, or were just curious on our own and picked it up. But as much as we read, there are gaps in our book education. (Which is why we need to figure out how to stop time!)

I myself read a lot of what were considered classics during my days hanging around the library while my mother worked. But somehow, I never read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and I am not even sure why. So I was very excited to hear that the amazing Bethany C. Morrow has a remix of the book coming in the fall, because I think it might be fun to learn the story from a newer perspective. I already know the basics of the original book (I saw the Friends episode), and I am looking forward to reading it with fresh eyes. (There’s also a Treasure Island remix coming from C.B. Lee! You can see the cover reveal above in the news section.)

What I’m reading this week.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

Blue-Skinned Gods by SJ Sindu

Nowhere Girl: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood by Cheryl Diamond

A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins

Intimacies: A Novel by Katie Kitamura

Song stuck in my head:

Within Your Reach by The Replacements. I’ve had it stuck in my head since I watched the last episode of S3 of Psych. (Also, I’m still really into listening to songs I loved when I was young. You can listen to a lot of them in this playlist I made!)

And this is funny:

He needs a lot of recipes to make second breakfast.

Happy things:

Here are a few things I enjoy that I thought you might like as well:

Psych: I am now on season five and I must say, I am less invested in the characters and more chuffed by all the references and actors from classic 1980s movies. Ally Sheedy, Jonathan Silverman, Thomas F. Wilson, Cybill Shepherd, Corbin Bernsen—the list goes on and on. I also love the weird pineapple appearance in every episode.
Jigsaw puzzles! Still on a HUGE puzzle kick. Several of you have asked how I do puzzles with destructive felines in the house, and the answer is: very carefully. I only do 500-piece puzzles, because I cannot leave them unattended or the cats will destroy them. So once I start a puzzle, I am committed to finishing it.
Numberzilla.
Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.

And here’s a cat picture!

This week was the second anniversary of Farrokh and Zevon’s arrival at our house. Here they are, about an hour after they moved in, and about an hour before they unleashed a never-ending swath of destruction. To celebrate their anniversary, they smashed a ceramic statue, chewed through a cord on the blinds, and chased their sister around. So…it was a regular day.

Trivia answer: Seven. (Related: Some of my trivia questions lately have been coming from The Great Literature Trivia Quiz Book: 500 Quiz Questions and Answers about Books by Book Riot contributor Sarah S. Davis!)

You made it to the bottom! High five. Thanks for reading! – xo, L

New Books

Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date January 11, 2021

Sponsored by Flatiron Books, publisher of Tales from the Hinterland by Melissa Albert.

A gorgeously illustrated collection of twelve original stories by the New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood and The Night Country. Journey into the Hinterland, a brutal and beautiful world where a young woman spends a night with Death, brides are wed to a mysterious house in the trees, and an enchantress is killed twice—and still lives. Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans alike, Tales from the Hinterland will include gorgeous illustrations by Jim Tierney, foil stamping, two-color interior printing, and two-color printed endpapers.

Happy Tuesday, star bits! We are almost halfway through January already and I am hip-deep in books! There are a lot of great books coming out today, and I am excited to share a few that I loved. And let’s hear it again for books: hip-hip-hooray! Because honestly, kittens, they are really helping me get through each day. I hope that you have found some wonderful things to read, too, or anything that makes you happy right now.

Speaking of today’s great books, for this week’s episode of All the Books! Vanessa and I discussed wonderful books being released today, such as Yellow Wife, The House on Vesper Sands, What Could Be Saved, and more.

And now, it’s time for everyone’s favorite gameshow: AHHHHHH MY TBR! Here are today’s contestants:

Hades, Argentina by Daniel Loedel

This powerful debut is about love and loss, set in a fraught political climate. For years, Tomás Orilla has been in love with Isabel, the daughter of his mother’s friend. The year is now 1976 and Tomás is a medical student. He has moved back to Buenos Aires in the hopes of being with Isabel for good. But their work to fight an increasingly oppressive and violent regime leads to tragedy for them.

Now, ten years later, Tomás is living in America and trying to figure out what he wants from his marriage when he is summoned back to Buenos Aires. There he will have to face the ghosts of his past, and come to terms with his guilt and pain over what happened a decade before, in order to move on with his life.

This is a beautiful, heart-wrenching book, based in part on true events from Loedel’s life. I try not to use the adjective ‘haunting’ very often, but it definitely applies here.

(Content warning for physical violence, illness, infidelity, sexual assault, and murder.)

Backlist bump: Swimming in the Dark: A Novel by Tomasz Jedrowski (Not technically backlist yet, but since 2020 felt like five years long, I’m totally picking it.

The Inland Sea by Madeleine Watts

And here is another tremendous, heartbreaking book! A young writer in Australia takes a part-time job as an emergency dispatch operator for 911. As the weeks go by, the negative effects of listening to people’s cries for help start to seep into her life, and she becomes more reckless with her own life.

Also chronicled is the adventures of her great-great-great-great grandfather, the British explorer John Oxley, who traveled around Australia two centuries earlier believing there to be an ‘inland sea’.

This is a stark look at violence, desperation, climate change, and PTSD, but it’s also incredibly original and a beautiful exploration of second-hand trauma interwoven with the climate crisis.

(Content warning straight across the board, because I read this a long time ago and cannot remember all the specifics. It is pretty bleak, so be prepared.)

Backlist bump: The Hunter by Julia Leigh

That Old Country Music: Stories by Kevin Barry

I am a huge fan of Kevin Barry. I don’t think his work gets nearly enough attention in the US. His last book, the novel, Night Boat to Tangier, was one of my favorites of 2019. His work is always a little funny and a little unusual. This new collection is more of his magic in smaller bites. It’s eleven stories based in Ireland, full of love and life, grief and hope. With some sex and magic sprinkled here and there. It’s a perfect collection for people who like to savor short stories and read them a little bit at a time. (I also highly recommend his novel Beatlebone, which involves John Lennon and a shapreshifter in Ireland in 1978.)

Backlist bump: Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry

Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! I am wishing the best for all of you in whatever situation you find yourself in now. – XO, Liberty

Book Radar

From BRIDGERTON to BOND and More Book Radar!

Post author By Liberty Hardy
Post date January 8, 2021

Sponsored by our Books Worth Talking About prize pack giveaway!

Book Riot is teaming up with Reading Group Gold for a chance to win a stack of books worth talking about! One winner will receive each of the following titles to add to their TBR pile: Here We Are: To Migrate To America… It’s the Boldest Act of One’s Life by Aarti Namdev Shahani, Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson, Jack: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson, The Book Collectors: A Band of Syrian Rebels and the Stories That Carried Them Through a War, Delphine Minoui, Lara Vergnaud (Translated by), and What You Wish For by Katherine Center.

It’s tiiiiiiiiiiiiime for book news! I hope you are all safe and well as we roll into the third week of 2021. The year is off to a bananapants start, so thank goodness we have books to help us get through it. I have a little book news for you today, including details about one of my favorite feminist Westerns, a look at one of my new favorite books, and also great round-ups of 2021 titles, a groan-worthy joke, a cat picture, and trivia! Let’s get started, shall we?

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: Sir Walter Scott is known for his historical novels about which country? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)