Author: Liberty Hardy

Happy Monday, book fiends! I know I say it often, but wow, the time goes by so fast. I have been reading like whoa, and also watching a lot of Bob’s Burgers. I cannot decide which of the Belcher children is my favorite. I am tempted to say Louise, because we seem to have similar temperaments, but I really love Gene and Tina, too. (Don’t make me choose!) I hope that you’ve also been able to squeeze in some time to relax and read something wonderful.

Whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you virtual hugs. Please be safe, and remember to wear a mask and wash your hands. And please be mindful of others. It takes no effort to be kind. I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Here’s Monday’s trivia question: The book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family was made into what famous film? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals! 

Gabrielle Union is adapting the memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson.

Jeff Daniels will narrate the audiobook of Jim Carrey’s upcoming novel.

This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay is being adapted into a television show.

Sarah Kuhn announced her upcoming YA novel.

And here’s the announcement for Aliette de Bodard’s next book.

The One and Only Ivan will debut exclusively on Disney+ on Aug. 21.

Del Rey announced a new Star Wars anthology.

A Song For A New Day by Sarah Pinsker is being made into a television series.

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!

Excited to read:

The Cold Vanish: Seeking the Missing in North America’s Wildlands by Jon Billman (Grand Central Publishing, July 7)

Yes, it’s morbid, but I am in the mood for true crime, and this looks super intriguing. It’s about people who have gone missing in North American parks, and the people who search for them. That’s all I know. I just got a copy a few minutes ago, so I’ll let you know how it goes!

What I’m reading this week:

A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry

Kitchen Curse: Stories by Eka Kurniawan

The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India’s Quest for Independence by Anita Anand

Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women by Sarah Bargiela and Sophie Standing

Fortune’s Pawn (Paradox Book 1) by Rachel Bach

Pun of the week: 

What did the mayonnaise say when somebody opened the refrigerator? “Hey, close the door! I’m dressing!”

Here’s a cat picture:

Happy things:

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

• Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.
• Here are livestreams of animals. I particularly enjoy the bat one.
• And more cute animal pictures.
• Music Catch, one of my favorite desktop games. I also still play Lemonade Stand occasionally.
• Disney Emoji Blitz!

Trivia answer: Goodfellas.

You made it to the bottom! Thanks for reading! And tune in Thursday for a review of the amazing book I just read this weekend. (I need a little more time to gather my thoughts!) – xo, L

Happy Thursday! Today I have a little bit of book news, a blurb about my love for Mexican Gothic, a cat picture, and more. I have been sick in bed all week, watching Bob’s Burgers and reading books. It’s not a horrible way to spend time, really, minus the not feeling good part. But I am on the mend and hoping to be back to 100% by the weekend!

Whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you virtual hugs. Please be safe, and remember to wear a mask and wash your hands. And please be mindful of others. It takes no effort to be kind. I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Trivia question time! What is the name of Starr’s father in The Hate U Give? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

The film adaptation of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is streaming for free right now. And here are five more films about systemic racism you can view for free right now.

Here’s the first trailer for the adaptation of You Should Have Left.

Here are 20 happy queer books to check out for Pride Month. And 3 great queer YA books by Black authors. A 6 great audiobooks by queer Black authors.

Here’s the newest cover in C.L. Polk’s Kingston Cycle series.

And here’s the trailer for the I’ll Be Gone in the Dark docu-series coming to HBO, based on the book by Michelle McNamara.

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:

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey, June 30)

You only have to wait two more weeks for this fantastic novel! It was everything I wanted and more. The story of a young wife shut away in her husband’s family’s secluded home, thinking that nefarious things are afoot, is not a new story. But in Moreno-Garcia’s hands, it’s a new excellent version of the story. It’s set in Mexico in the 1950s: After her newly-wed cousin, Catalina, sends a letter begging for help, Noemí Taboada travels to High Place, a stately manor in the countryside, to help her. When she arrives, her cousin says it was a misunderstanding. Catalina’s handsome husband, Virgil, says Catalina has been sick with tuberculosis and doesn’t know what she’s saying. But Noemí doesn’t think Catalina has the right symptoms, and when she herself experiences some super weird and creepy goings on in the home, she decides she needs to intervene. But will the family let her go? Will the house let her go? This is A+++ creepsville territory, a new gem in the gothic genre crown.

What I’m reading this week.

Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan

Song stuck in my head:

Dim All the Lights by Donna Summer

And this is funny:

THE CUTE, IT BURNS.

Happy things:

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

• Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.
• Here are livestreams of animals. I particularly enjoy the bat one.
• And more cute animal pictures.
• Music Catch, one of my favorite desktop games. I also still play Lemonade Stand occasionally.
• Disney Emoji Blitz!

And here’s a cat picture!

Trivia answer: Maverick.

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

Hello, readers, welcome to another Monday! Thank you to Jamie for filling in on Thursday while I dealt with some things at home. It was a weird feeling to have unexpected life emergencies happen at home with everything going on in the world. But everything is better here now, thank goodness. I have some book news for you today, and a cat picture, of course. But before I get to that I want to say two things in case there was any question about where I stand: 1. Black Lives Matter. 2. I will no longer include any news pertaining to JK Rowling in this newsletter for as long as I write it.

Whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you virtual hugs. Please be safe, and remember to wear a mask and wash your hands. And please be mindful of others. It takes no effort to be kind. I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Here’s Monday’s trivia question:  Who was the first American writer to earn one million dollars? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals! 

Here’s the trailer for Lovecraft Country, coming to HBO.

Here are 45 upcoming books by Black authors you can preorder now. And a list of Black-owned bookstores you can preorder them from.

Here are the 2020 Eisner Awards nominations.

Here’s a look at Simon Stephenson’s Set My Heart To Five, which hasn’t been released yet, but is already being adapted.

Here are 14 summer queer books for your June TBR.

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!

Excited to read:

Secret Santa: A Horror for the Holidays Novel by Andrew Shaffer (Quirk Books, November 10)

Shaffer has written a lot of great, quirky stuff, like a Fifty Shades of Grey spoof, A Sharknado companion book, and Obama-Biden buddy mysteries. Now, he’s throwing his hat into the horror ring with an upcoming book about a horror editor at a publishing house in the 1980s. After she receives a gnome doll at the holiday party, people around her begin to die under strange circumstances, leading her to suspect her gnome doll may be a demonic elf on the shelf.

What I’m reading this week:

White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan

The Lightness by Emily Temple

Wendy, Master of Art by Walter Scott

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

Pun of the week: 

A man sued an airline company after it lost his luggage. Sadly, he lost his case.

Here’s a cat picture:

True story.

Happy things:

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

• Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.
• Here are livestreams of animals. I particularly enjoy the bat one.
• And more cute animal pictures.
• Music Catch, one of my favorite desktop games. I also still play Lemonade Stand occasionally.
• Disney Emoji Blitz!

Trivia answer: Jack London.

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

Hello, readers, it’s Monday again, which seems impossible. I’m going to jump right into the newsletter today. I have a bit of bookish news for you, and a cat picture, of course. Whatever you are doing or watching or reading this week, I am sending you virtual hugs. Please be safe, and remember to wear a mask and wash your hands. And please be mindful of others. I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Here’s Monday’s trivia question:  What character from a 1838 novel was based on Ikey Solomon, a real-life British thief? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reels, and Squeals! 

Paul Feig is adapting The School For Good And Evil for Netflix.

Here are the winners of the 2020 Best Translated Book Awards.

And here are the 2019 Nebula Awards winners.

Gael Garcia Bernal and Nazanin Boniadi will star in an adaptation of People of the Book.

Michael Punke, the author of The Revenant, will release his first novel in almost 20 years.

Former Rioter Sarah Knight’s The Life-Changing Magic Of Not Giving A F*ck is being adapted into a series.

Jake Abel but has been announced as the audiobook narrator for Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun.

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!

Excited to read:

The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado, Dani (Illustrator) (DC Comics, September 29)

I am a huge fan of Her Body and Other Parties and In the Dream House, so of course I was out of my mind with excitement when they announced that CMM was penning her first comic! It’s about an illness that causes people to forget in Shudder-to-Think, Pennsylvania.

What I’m reading this week:

Hench: A Novel by Natalie Zina Walschots

Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? Police Violence and Resistance in the United States edited by Joe Macaré, Maya Schenwar, and Alana Yu-lan Price (It’s being offered for free right now.)

Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Margaret Jull Costa (Translator), Robin Patterson (Translator)

The Professor and the Parson: A Story of Desire, Deceit, and Defrocking by Adam Sisman

The Mask Falling by Samantha Shannon

Pun of the week: 

What did the duck say when she purchased new lipstick? Put it on my bill.

Here’s a cat picture:

This is what happens when you fold them while they’re still wet.

And this is funny.

Writers gonna write.

Happy things:

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

• Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.
• Here are livestreams of animals. I particularly enjoy the bat one.
• And more cute animal pictures.
• Music Catch, one of my favorite desktop games. I also still play Lemonade Stand occasionally.
• Disney Emoji Blitz!

Trivia answer: Fagin from Oliver Twist.

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

Happy Thursday! I hope you had a lovely week and were able to fit in some time for yourself to do things that make you happy. Like read books! That’s why we’re all here, right? I managed to read a few great books over the long weekend, and finish up Steven Universe, too – now I need to see the movie! I also watched the new Hannah Gadsby special on Netflix. I think she is a genius! There is no one who makes me laugh more.

Other than reading, and more reading, I don’t have any upcoming plans. It’s h-o-t here in Maine now, so I will be hiding from the sun the next several days, for sure. But I don’t mind staying inside because that’s where the cats and books reside. They are my favorite things!

Before I share all the bookish news I have to tell you, please remember, whatever you are doing or not doing this week, you are doing a good job! I am sending you virtual hugs. This is hard, but we are doing what is necessary, and I’m so proud of us! I hope you are safe, and please remember to be kind to yourself and others. Thanks for subscribing, and I’ll see you again on Monday! – xoxo, Liberty

Trivia question time! What author issued a public statement in January of 1999, reminding the world that the third millennium really began on January 1, 2001? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Reese Witherspoon and her production company will adapt The Cactus by Sarah Haywood.

There’s a Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series in the works.

Bryan Washington has been named the winner of the £30,000 Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize.

Naomi Novik’s upcoming YA novel A Deadly Education is getting a film adaptation.

Here’s the trailer for Love, Victor, Hulu’s Love, Simon-inspired series.

J.K. Rowling is offering The Ickabog, a “political fairy tale,” serialized for free on its own website ahead of its publication.

Bill Clinton and James Patterson are writing a second book together.

Lauren Oliver announced that the Netflix adaptation of Before I Fall starts June 8th.

Here’s the amazing cover for What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo.

The Gossip Girl reboot has been postponed.

David E. Kelley and Netflix are developing an Anatomy of a Scandal adaptation, based on the novel by Sarah Vaughan.

The television rights for Juno Dawson’s young adult series have been optioned.

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:

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins (St. Martin’s Press, January 5, 2021)

I know a lot of people love Jane Austen retellings, but I myself am a big fan of Jane Eyre retellings. Which is why I am so excited for this one! I love the Rebel Belle series that Hawkins wrote, so I am extra-excited for her first adult novel, a Southern gothic present-day twist on Jane Eyre, set in a neighborhood of McMansions in Alabama, where Jane meets widower Eddie Rochester.

What I’m reading this week.

Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Margaret Jull Costa (Translator), Robin Patterson (Translator)

Stranger in the Lake: A Novel by Kimberly Belle

The Professor and the Parson: A Story of Desire, Deceit, and Defrocking by Adam Sisman

The Mask Falling by Samantha Shannon

East of Hounslow by Khurrum Rahman

Song stuck in my head:

Let Her Dance by The Bobby Fuller Four

And this is funny:

The new age of working from home.

Happy things:

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

• Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.
• Here are livestreams of animals. I particularly enjoy the bat one.
• And more cute animal pictures.
• Music Catch, one of my favorite desktop games. I also still play Lemonade Stand occasionally.
• Disney Emoji Blitz!

And times like these call for a bonus cat picture!

Farrokh, fierce guardian of the Harrow galley.

Trivia answer: Arthur Clarke.

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

Happy Thursday! While I am excited we are “spending” this time together today, I am a little sad we will have to wait until next Thursday to talk again, because Monday is a holiday. It will go by fast, though! I promise to save all the best news I hear about to share with you next week.

As soon as I finish writing this newsletter, I have to record next week’s episode of All the Books! and then I have a four-day weekend. I AM SO EXCITED. It’s supposed to be lovely here in Maine and even hot – possibly 80 on Friday! (“Birds singin’, squirrels makin’ lots of rotten little squirrels, the sun beaming down in a nice non-fatal way. It’s very exciting. I can’t wait to see if I freckle.”) I plan to read a lot of books, watch the last episodes of Steven Universe, and possibly attempt to bleach my hair because I am tired of looking at these red roots.

Now, on to the newsletter! I have a few things to share with you that I am VERY excited about! Remember, whatever you are doing or not doing this week, you are doing a good job! I am sending you virtual hugs. This is hard, but we are doing what is necessary, and I’m so proud of us! I hope you are safe, and please remember to be kind to yourself and others. Thanks for subscribing, and I’ll see you again on Monday! – xoxo, Liberty

Trivia question time! Which Stephen King novel was once offered in a limited edition with an aluminum-coated asbestos cloth cover? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty is being made into a Netflix series!

Here’s the cover reveal for Across the Green Grass Fields, the newest installment of Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series.

Taika Waititi is leading a star-studded cast of supporting actors in a reading of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach on YouTube.

Edgar Wright is going to adapt Tade Thompson’s The Murders Of Molly Southbourne.

Here’s the first look at Veronica Schanoes’ debut story collection, Burning Girls and Other Stories.

Here’s the first look at Adriana Herrera’s new department store romance Here to Stay.

Charlie Jane Anders announced her first YA novel.

Holly Black announced her upcoming Cardan novella.

HBO Max will adapt L.C. Rosen’s Camp, which is out this coming Tuesday.

These Women, the new Ivy Pochada novel that came out this week, is being made into a series.

Bill Gates shared his summer reading picks.

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:

The Arrest by Jonathan Lethem (Ecco, November 10)

I love, love, love Lethem’s novel As She Climbed Across the Table, and many of his other novels, so I was delighted to learn this week that he has a new novel for us at the end of 2020. (2020 is going to end, right??!) The description says it’s “an utterly original post-apocalyptic yarn about two siblings, the man that came between them, and a nuclear-powered super car.” And it’s set in Maine, which is even more exciting for me!

What I’m reading this week.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

East of Hounslow by Khurrum Rahman

Weird Al: Seriously by Lily E. Hirsch

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Song stuck in my head:

Who Needs You by The Orwells

And this is funny:

Oooooooooops.

Happy things:

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

• Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.
• Here are livestreams of animals. I particularly enjoy the bat one.
• And more cute animal pictures.
• Music Catch, one of my favorite desktop games. I also still play Lemonade Stand occasionally.
• Disney Emoji Blitz!

And times like these call for a bonus cat picture!

THE CUTE, IT BURNS. Pigeon watching has never been more adorable.

Trivia answer: Firestarter.

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