Author: Liberty Hardy

Hello, my little Monday monkeys! I hope that you had a good weekend. We got a foot of snow here in Maine last week (why do I live here?) and I spent the weekend reading books and being glad that I didn’t have to go outside. (I am an indoor cat.) The end of the year is almost upon us, and there have been a lot of great end-of-the-year book lists. I also made a Best of 2020 book list. It was another tremendous year for books!

Now, for today: I have lots of book news, a cat picture, my new favorite pun, and a recommendation for another awesome upcoming 2021 book. Let’s get ready to rummmmmmmmmmmble! Jk, please read this newsletter in a calm and orderly fashion.

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: Author Zora Neale Hurston was part of which literary movement? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Netflix shared its teaser trailer for the adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone.

Samuel L. Jackson will star in Apple’s limited series adaptation of The Last Days Of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley.

The CW is developing an adaptation of M. K. England’s The Disasters.

Colson Whitehead shared the details of his upcoming novel Harlem Shuffle.

Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life is (finally) going to be a series.

A previously unseen Shirley Jackson story has been published.

Tordotcom Publishing announced Nicola Griffith’s upcoming novella Spear, a queer retelling of Arthurian legend.

Jennifer Lopez will star in and produce Netflix’s adaptation of The Cipher by Nina Guerrera.

Barack Obama released his yearly list of favorite reads.

Here’s the gorgeous cover of This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron.

There’s a Little House on the Prairie reboot in the works.

Disney has picked up Megan Whalen Turner’s The Thief.

Florence Pugh will star in the adaptation of the murder mystery The Maid by Nita Prose.

Noomi Rapace will star in the new adaptation of Hamlet.

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!)

Loved, loved, loved: 

To Be Honest by Michael Leviton (Abrams Press, January 5, 2021)

Do you love cringeworthy memoirs about unusual families that make you feel better about your own relatives? Then do I have a book for you! This is Leviton’s examination of his truth-telling family and the ramifications his honest upbringing had on him.

Leviton was raised to always tell the truth—no matter what. You would not be faulted for thinking this sounds like a lie, because almost everyone thinks Leviton is kidding when he tells them “I always tell the truth.” But he isn’t. His parents raised him to always speak the truth, which sounds honorable, but in fact is terrible for him and his family. He has very few friends, none of his family can get a job because they always tell the truth in job interviews, and he has a hard time finding love. So as an adult, he decides to try lying and see how it goes for him.

While I was reading this, half of me really felt for Leviton, especially the way he is treated by his father. The other half of me was glad I didn’t know him, because I don’t think I could handle someone being brutally honest with me all the time! And that’s the heart of this book: it points out the dozens, if not hundreds, of lies we tell every day, big and small. And it asks a lot of good questions, like, is lying to spare someone’s feelings okay? Why are people angrier for Leviton for telling the truth than lying about what he thinks? To Be Honest is a wildly fascinating memoir with a lot of great points to ponder.

(Content warnings for discussions of mental illness, gaslighting, racism, trauma, infidelity, and some stressful and awkward interactions.)

What I’m reading this week.

A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam

Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson

Star Eater by Kerstin Hall

The Ugly Cry: A Memoir by Danielle Henderson

Lights out in Lincolnwood by Geoffrey Rodkey

Pun of the week: 

I wanted to get six cans of Sprite from the store, but when I got home, I realized I had picked 7 Up.

And this is funny:

Hanif Abdurraqib is by far one of my favorite people on Twitter.

Happy things:

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

• Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Yippee kayak, other buckets! Yep, I am on my fifth or sixth rewatch. Nope, I still don’t sleep much.
• Jigsaw puzzles!

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

And here’s a cat picture!

“Ask me about my cats.” Like, for starters, what the heck is Farrokh doing?

Trivia answer: The Harlem Renaissance.

Remember that whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you EXTRA 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

Hello, book friends! The year is winding down, and so is the book news. Although this year during the quarantine, Hollywood snagged the screen rights to more books than ever, which could mean a lot of exciting trailers and adaptation news in the new year! I just want all the book stuff jammed in my head, all the time. SMOOSH IT RIGHT IN MY BRAIN. Pretty much everything surrounding books makes me happy. And that’s why I love writing this newsletter. It’s a whole other side of the book world! For today, I have exciting adaptation news, cover reveals, and book talk for you. Plus a picture of one of my little orange monsters.

As always, it is a delight and an honor to spend this time with you. Whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you EXTRA love and hugs. And please be mindful of others. It takes no effort to be kind. I’ll see you again on Monday. – xoxo, Liberty, Your Friendly Neighborhood Velocireader™

Trivia question time! Who Is Sir Percy Blakeney’s alter ego? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo is being made into a series. (More like “clap when you land a deal” amirite?)

Here’s the new trailer for the second season of A Discovery of Witches.

Lydia Millet’s award-nominated novel A Children’s Bible has been optioned for a limited series.

Ted Chiang’s short story The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling is being adapted into a series.

And here’s the trailer for Bridgerton, coming from Netflix and Shondaland.

MIRA announced two new titles from Mike Chen. (And don’t forget, his upcoming book We Could Be Heroes is sure to be one of my favorites of 2021.)

Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, and Emma D’Arcy have joined the cast of the Game of Thrones prequel.

And Netflix has announced the cast for its upcoming animated adaptation of The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo.

And Tordotcom Publishing is releasing a Christmas ghost story…in 2022: M. Rickert’s Lucky Girl, How I Became A Horror Writer: A Krampus Story.

Here’s the cover reveal for Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur.

And here’s the cover reveal of Jasmine Guillory’s While We Were Dating.

Sarah Pinborough’s book Dead to Her is being made into a series called Savannah.

J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot are developing Burn by Patrick Ness.

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: 

Star Eater by Kerstin Hall (Tordotcom, June 22, 2021)

I have been hearing about this book for months! And now I know a teeny bit more about it, and I am pretty sure it was written specifically to make me happy, because from what I understand, it’s about cannibal priestesses who ride giant cat mounts. I am 1000% ready for it! (Also, I think it’s funny that the author of a book about cannibals was nominated for a Nommo award. Nom nom nom…)

What I’m reading this week.

The Roo by Alan Baxter

The Ugly Cry: A Memoir by Danielle Henderson

Such Big Teeth (The Darkwood Series Book 2) by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

Lights out in Lincolnwood by Geoffrey Rodkey

Song stuck in my head:

Your Heart Sucks My Soul by Bear McCreary. This is from the Knights of Badassdom soundtrack, which is one of my favorite movies. I watch it on repeat while I work on jigsaw puzzles and it delights me to no end. (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:

Great shot!

Happy things:

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

• Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Yippee kayak, other buckets! Yep, I am on my fifth or sixth rewatch. Nope, I still don’t sleep much.
• Jigsaw puzzles!
• Numberzilla.
• Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.

And here’s a cat picture!

“Aw, roast beast is a feast I can’t stand in the least!”

Trivia answer: The Scarlet Pimpernel.

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

Happy Monday, my little monchhichis! I have had a stellar couple of days, because I somehow missed that a new season of Bob’s Burgers had started, so I had 10 whole episodes to watch! It was like Christmas came early for me. It’s the little things that are getting me through this year. I also got a new 1000-piece puzzle and I can’t wait to tear into this monster as soon as I’m done writing today’s newsletter. Oh, and books! I’m still reading books of course, let’s not get ridiculous.

Now, for today: I have lots of book news, my cat’s high school picture, puns, and a recommendation for another awesome upcoming 2021 book. Let’s get started, shall we?

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: What was Hemingway’s last work to be published during his lifetime? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Tara June Winch’s The Yield won the $80,000 Prime Minister’s Literary Award.

Kid Cudi will produce and star in an adaptation of Brandon Taylor’s Real Life.

Julia Roberts will star in and executive produce, alongside Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, the Apple limited series The Last Thing He Told Me, based on Laura Dave’s upcoming novel.

Ashton Sanders has secured the rights for A More Unbending Battle: The Harlem Hellfighter’s Struggle for Freedom in WWI and Equality at Home by Peter Nelson.

True Blood may get a television reboot only six years after it ended.

Here’s the cover reveal for Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon.

Akwaeke Emezi shared more information about their upcoming memoir.

Algonquin Books is releasing a YA horror anthology, co-edited by Amparo Ortiz and Yamile Saied Méndez.

Ben Affleck is in talks to star in the George Clooney-directed film The Tender Bar, based on the memoir by J.R. Moehringer.

Dreamworks is working on an animated Dog Man adaptation, based on the series by Dav Pilkey.

Netflix has landed the new adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front starring Daniel Brühl.

Disney shared a bunch of news the other day, including details of the adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi; an animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid film; and Tony Hale and Kristen Schaal will star in an adaptation of The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.

And speaking of Disney, Rick Riordan shared the first look at the new logo for the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series coming to Disney+.

Here are more details on the new series in the works based on Lois Duncan’s I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Hulu has renewed The Handmaid’s Tale for a fifth season.

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!)

Loved, loved, loved: 

Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, March 2, 2021)

This holiday season, I feel like I am reading on social media that everyone is just discovering the movie The Family Stone for some reason? Maybe because it is now available to stream. I am also a person who was aware of its existence but had never seen it, so I thought, “Awkward holiday family gathering? I’m in.” But on top of being funny, it’s SO sad. Which just happens to be my favorite combination! I can’t say that I loved the movie, but it sure made me cry a lot.

Which brings me to today’s pick, although this one I most definitely DID love. This book gutted me! Jayne and June Baek are two Korean-American sisters with nothing in common. While June is the perfect daughter with the prestigious career and enviable bank account, younger Jayne is untethered and caught in a downward spiral professionally and personally. Jayne has always been envious of what she sees as her sister’s perfect life: June has an amazing job, globs of money, and the admiration of their parents. It has caused a rift between the sisters, and they haven’t spoken in some time, even though they both ended up in New York City.

But then June reaches out to Jayne, who agrees to meet with her, even though she is sure it will only make her feel worse about her own life. But June doesn’t want to chastise Jayne for her lifestyle or brag about her job: she wants Jayne to know she has cancer. Suddenly, everything changes for both sisters. Together, they will work to help Jayne get the treatment she needs and in the process, begin to both heal.

This book was so sharp and frighteningly realistic, it felt at times like I knew these characters. Choi has beautifully portrayed two complicated lives at a crossroads. It broke my heart so many times, but at the end, I felt healed. Yolk is listed as YA, but like her other wonderful novels, it has adult language and situations, so it’s recommended for older teens if you’re giving it as a gift. (Also, the publisher description reads like this is an insurance scam hijinks book, but that’s such a teeny bit of the story. It’s about family, and doing what’s best for yourself.)

(Content warning for mentions of racism, eating disorders, chemical abuse, cancer, mental illness, and child death.)

What I’m reading this week.

Filthy Animals: Stories by Brandon Taylor

Composite Creatures by Caroline Hardaker 

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Pun of the week: 

Which bear is the most condescending? A pan-duh!

And this is funny:

From the people who brought you True Detective comes Bad Detective.

Happy things:

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

• Prep & Landing. Somehow I had never heard of these Christmas specials until this week. They’re adorable! I’m a big fan of the disgruntled Santa’s helper trope.
• Bob’s Burgers. I am rewatching some of my favorite episodes for the fifth time. I love how the show never makes the kids feel bad for being themselves.

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

And here’s a cat picture!

I’m going to use this for Zevon’s senior portrait.

Trivia answer: The Old Man and the Sea.

Remember that whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you EXTRA 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

Hello, Thursday friends! I hope you are having a good week. I have been reading books! I decided a couple of weeks ago that I was watching too much television this year. Sitting on the living room couch to read makes it so tempting for me to just—*click!*—turn on the television. And then all of a sudden, it would be eight hours later and I had watched 20 episodes of Taxi, lol. So I moved some books around and made space for a comfy chair in my office. It has already increased my reading time! And as a bonus, the cats can’t work up enough speed to run across my face in my office, so I don’t have to wear my safety goggles while I’m reading. (Laugh, but it’s true!)

Now, on to shop talk: I have a bunch of fun book-related stuff for you today, plus a photo of the aforementioned offending felines. And as always, it is a delight and an honor to spend this time with you. Whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you EXTRA love and hugs. And please be mindful of others. It takes no effort to be kind. I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty, Your Friendly Neighborhood Velocireader™

Trivia question time! Who wrote The Adventures of Pinnochio? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Ring Shout by P. Djéli Clark is being developed into a series.

Helene Wecker shared the cover of the upcoming sequel to The Golem and the Jinni. It’s called The Hidden Palace.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin shared the cover of his upcoming collection, The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You: Stories.

Rebecca F. Kuang’s Poppy War series is being adapted for television.

Zoraida Córdova announced her debut novel for adults.

Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter is now being adapted for Apple TV+.

EW has the cover reveal of The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon.

Here’s the first teaser trailer for CBS’ Silence of the Lambs sequel Clarice.

Disney is rebooting Judith Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

The 2020 Bad Sex in Fiction award has been canceled.

Ava DuVernay is adapting Naomi, a DC comic, for The CW.

Here’s the trailer for the adaptation of Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos.

The first season of the adaptation of Megan Abbott’s Dare Me is coming to Netflix.

The 2020 Goodreads Choice winners have been revealed.

Here’s the first look at The Invisible Woman by Erika Robuck.

Edward Kelsey Moore’s novel, The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, is being made into a film.

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: 

Second Place: A Novel by Rachel Cusk (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, May 4, 2021)

I am a big fan of Cusk’s Outline trilogy, which I feel still deserves a lot more attention. And yesterday I found out she has a new novel coming in the late spring of next year! This one is about a woman who is visited by a famous artist. It examines their relationship to art and each other, and how it brings out the best of them, as well as their demons. MY BODY IS READY.

What I’m reading this week.

Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi

To Be Honest by Michael Leviton

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

The House Uptown by Melissa Ginsburg

Song stuck in my head:

You’re Welcome by Dwayne Johnson. (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:

Teenagers are brutal.

Happy things:

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

• Prep & Landing. Somehow I had never heard of these Christmas specials until this week. They’re adorable! I’m a big fan of the disgruntled Santa’s helper trope.
• They Can Talk comics. I’m always down for animal jokes.
• Numberzilla.
• Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.

And here’s a cat picture!

I recently got a convertible chair for my office so I can loaf around (read: nap) in my favorite room after I finish work, but Farrokh and Zevon treat it like their dorm room and hang out when I pull out the bed.

Trivia answer: Carlo Collodi.

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

Welcome back to another Monday, book lovers! I hope you had an enjoyable weekend. I am currently writing this on Friday, so you’re in the future. But once I am finished, my weekend plans include reading—of course—and I also want to watch Godmothered, which just started streaming on Disney+. It looks like a good distraction. I’ll let you know how it is!

Now, for today: I have book news, a cat picture, some funny stuff, and a recommendation for another awesome upcoming 2021 book (featuring a zillion alien worms.) Let’s get started, shall we?

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: What color was Anna Karenina’s bag in the Tolstoy novel of the same name? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Raven Leilani has won the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize for Luster.

Author Alissa Nutting’s cartoon Teenage Euthanasia was picked up by Adult Swim.

Netflix released the trailer for Arsène Lupin: Gentleman Burglar.

Akwaeke Emezi is releasing their debut book of poetry in 2022.

Douglas Stuart’s Booker Prize-winning novel, Shuggie Bain, is being adapted into a series.

Hulu has a new Hardy Boys series.

Here’s the first look at Kristen Arnett’s new novel With Teeth.

Furia author Yamile Saied Méndez announced her second book.

The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit stars are hoping to keep author J.R.R. Tolkien’s house from being sold.

And speaking of Lord of the Rings, the new series adaptation just added a bunch more cast members.

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!)

Loved, loved, loved: 

Jillian vs. Parasite Planet by Nicole Kornher-Stace, Scott Brown (illustrations) (Tachyon Publications, July 13, 2021)

Oh, how I adored this upcoming middle grade novel! Jillian is an 11-year-old who has a lot of anxiety about trying new things. She’s very excited when her scientist parents bring her with them for Take Your Daughter to Work Day, because she has always wanted to see their lab. But when they tell her—surprise!—they’ve managed to get her a seat on their next off-planet mission, she is apprehensive. Her parents assure her that it is the safest planet and the dullest mission there is, so she will be just fine.

Famous. Last. Words.

Instead, upon arriving on the planet, their shuttle crashes, her parents are severely injured, and now it is up to Jillian to get them back. Not exactly how she saw her day going when she got up that morning. Thankfully, Jillian does have the help of SABRINA, a sentient, sarcastic nanobot-ish shapeshifter AI, who changes into things she needs, or can separate and be two places at once. SABRINA is like the genie from the animated Alladin movie with the personality of the Flight of the Navigator robot.

So with SABRINA’s help, Jillian will have to find food and shelter and keep her parents safe for five days while waiting for their return portal, all while fighting off teeming masses of invasive green worms, who seem to want to eat them! As the days go by, Jillian finds her strength and faces her fears to save herself and the ones she loves.

The planet and the aliens are cool, the story is action packed and occasionally intense, and the characters are wonderful. I really loved SABRINA, the snarky not-robot cloud thingy.

(Content warning: Child peril, parental accidents and injuries, anxiety, animal death, gore.)

What I’m reading this week.

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

The House Uptown by Melissa Ginsburg

The Eighth Wonder of the World: The True Story of André the Giant by Bertrand Hébert and Pat Laprade

Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

Pun of the week: 

You should wear glasses while doing math. It improves division.

And this is funny:

Big guffaws and nostalgia feels, all in one tweet!

Happy things:

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

• Check, Please. If you haven’t read this comic yet, I suggest you drop everything and read it now. It’s available on her website or in two trade paperbacks. I like to reread it every few months and make heart eyes.
• Bob’s Burgers. I am rewatching some of my favorite episodes for the fifth time. I love how the show never makes the kids feel bad for being themselves.

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

And here’s a cat picture!

Okay, but…why though?

Trivia answer: Red.

Remember that whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you EXTRA 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

It’s Thursday and it’s time to talk books! (When isn’t it, amirite??) I am full of excitement this week as we roll into the first week of December. It might be the caffeine, but I’m pretty sure it’s because there are so many amazing books coming out next year that I am buzzing with joy! I counted the titles on my 2021 master list and it’s already over 1600 books long, lolsob. But I won’t let it stop me from adding more!

I have book news, book excitement, cat pictures, trivia, and more. It was a week short on book news, but still full of spirit. And as always, it is a delight and an honor to spend this time with you. Whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you EXTRA love and hugs. And please be mindful of others. It takes no effort to be kind. I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty, Your Friendly Neighborhood Velocireader™

Trivia question time! Daniel Peggotty is a character who appears in which Charles Dickens novel? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell has been named Waterstones Book of the Year.

ReedPop is retiring BookExpo and BookCon.

Mariah Carey shared her favorite books of the year.

Natasha Trethewey’s Memorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir is being adapted into a series.

Here’s the first look at Victoria Aveyard’s Realm Breaker.

Here’s more about the new Lauren Groff novel coming in 2021.

Clive Barker finally got the rights to Hellraiser back.

John Cena is the latest celebrity to announce a book.

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: 

Fatal Fried Rice: A Noodle Shop Mystery by Vivien Chien (St. Martin’s Paperbacks, March 9, 2021)

If you have been reading the newsletters for any amount of time now, or listening to All the Books!, you know that I am a big fan of Chien’s cozy mystery series about Lana Lee. Lana is a young woman who returned to her hometown after a series of disappointments and started working in her family’s Chinese restaurant. Of course, because they are mysteries, in each book people wind up dead and Lana’s family and friends—and once even Lana—are suspects, and she must work to solve the cases to save them. If you are looking for, fun, light mysteries, I recommend starting at the beginning with Death by Dumpling!

What I’m reading this week.

Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

Bloodline by Jess Lourey

Appleseed by Matt Bell

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith III

Song stuck in my head:

Cringe by Matt Maeson. (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:

Awwwwwww, what’s in the box???

Happy things:

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

• Check, Please. If you haven’t read this comic yet, I suggest you drop everything and read it now. It’s available on her website or in two trade paperbacks. I like to reread it every few months and make heart eyes.
• David Morse. I am a total fangirl and recently had a Morse marathon: Twelve Monkeys, Extreme Measures, The Rock, and The Long Kiss Goodnight. 1996 was a good year to be a Morse fan.
• They Can Talk comics. I’m always down for animal jokes.
• Numberzilla.
• Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.

And here’s a cat picture!

What a poser.

Trivia answer: David Copperfield.

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