Author: Liberty Hardy

Welcome back to another Thursday! Funny how that happens. As you are receiving this, I should be on my way back from an overnight trip to Bard College to see Craig Ferguson talk about his new book. I don’t mind field trips cutting in on my reading time, as long as they are book-related. I hope whatever you’re doing, you have a great rest of your week, and remember to be kind to yourself and others.  I’ll see you again on Monday. – xoxo, Liberty

Sponsored by Graphix Books, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc.

From comics rising star Sarah Graley, a fresh and funny middle-grade graphic novel featuring a girl who must save a virtual world… and her own! Izzy has an incredible secret — she can enter the world of her new video game! She meets Rae, a robot who says Izzy is destined to save Dungeon City from the Big Boss. How is this possible?! And how can she fight for this virtual world when she’s got a whole real life to keep up with: her family and her best friend, Eric. Can Izzy survive Dungeon City and save their friendship?

Trivia question time! What author once opened a coffee house and jazz bar, called the Peter Cat? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and La La Anthony are teaming up to make a series from Alexa Martin’s Intercepted.

Colin Firth will star in an adaptation of Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre.

HBO removed the coffee cup from S8 Ep5 of Game of Thrones.

R.L. Stine and Marc Brown signed a deal to create animated content.

Pretty Little Liars author Sara Shepard has a new series, Crown Lake, that will stream with Brat.

Cover Reveals

Lucasfilm unveiled all the covers and titles for The Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker publishing program.

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 Unwilling by Kelly Braffet (MIRA, February 25, 2020)

AHHHHHHHHHHH! I love Kelly Braffet’s novels – Last Seen Leaving, Save Me, Josie & Jack – and I’m so excited because this is going to be her first FANTASY novel!!!! There’s not much of a description yet, just that it’s about a girl who decides she doesn’t have to wait to get magical powers – she can take them. And it’s 600+ pages. I am BOUNCING with excitement!

What I’m reading this week.

The Confessions of Frannie Langton: A Novel by Sara Collins

Slumber Party by Christopher Pike

Home Remedies by Xuan Juliana Wang

Flowers over the Inferno (A Teresa Battaglia Novel) by Ilaria Tuti, Ekin Oklap (translator)

And this is funny.

Follow that bird!

Trivia answer: Haruki Murakami.

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

Happy Monday, my little Nermals. After a news-filled Thursday edition, I have very little news today. But I still have a few great things, including a review of what is going to be one of my favorite books of 2019! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Me, I read a lot of Christopher Pike books. (My favorite book of 2019 is not one of them.) Enjoy the rest of your week and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Sponsored by Libby, the one-tap reading app from your library and OverDrive

Meet Libby. The award-winning reading app that makes sure you always have something to read. It’s like having your entire library right in your pocket. Download the app today and get instant access to thousands of ebooks and audiobooks for free thanks to your public library and OverDrive.

Here’s this week’s trivia question: Whose autobiography is called It Came from Ohio! My Life as a Writer? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

You can now stay in a replica of Hagrid’s hut.

Nicole Chung has sold another book.

Cecil Castellucci is writing a graphic novel memoir.

Twilight in Concert is going on tour.

Holly Black is writing a Maleficent middle grade novel.

Cover Reveals

Here’s the first look at Find Me by André Aciman, the sequel to Call Me by Your Name. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, October 29)

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:

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (Ecco, November 5)

Holy cats, I LOVED this novel. It’s about a twenty-something named Lillian. A once-promising young genius, Lillian has been adrift since being kicked out of an elite boarding school. She still keeps in touch with her school BFF, Madison, who has gone on to marry a senator. So when Madison writes, saying she needs her help, Lillian immediately agrees. What Madison needs is Lillian to be the governess for Madison’s soon-to-be-arriving stepchildren. She can’t hire just anyone, because she needs someone she can trust to keep the family secret. These children catch on fire when they get upset. If word of this leaked out, it could be bad for Madison’s husband’s presidential candidate chances. This is a really sweet, funny novel, and I loved it from beginning to end. I think that it works because Wilson never makes it over-the-top. The kids spontaneously combust, nbd, it’s just accepted. No one seriously questions the science behind it. The book never flies too high, so he has no problem landing it.

What I’m reading this week:

Shut Up You’re Pretty by Téa Mutonji

Tinfoil Butterfly: A Novel by Rachel Eve Moulton

The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel José Older

Home Remedies by Xuan Juliana Wang

Pun of the week: 

How do you throw a space party? You planet.

Here’s a kitten picture:

And this face is why I can never stay mad at Farrokh.

And this is funny.

It’s funny because it’s true.

Trivia answer: R.L. Stine.

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

Hello, my little page turners! I am having a great week. After struggling for several months, I am finally back in my reading groove! IT’S THE BEST. I feel like my old boney self again! I’ve read a bunch of great books that I can’t wait to tell you about on All the Books and here in the newsletter. Today, I have some fun book-related news for you, and SO MANY COVER REVEALS. I hope whatever you’re doing, you have a great rest of your week, and remember to be kind to yourself and others.  – xoxo, Liberty

Sponsored by Rebel by Beverly Jenkins

Valinda Lacey’s mission in New Orleans is to help the newly emancipated community survive and flourish. But when thugs destroy the school she has set up and then target her, Valinda runs for her life—and straight into the arms of Captain Drake LeVeq. As an architect from an old New Orleans family, Drake has a personal interest in rebuilding the city. Raised by strong women, he recognizes Valinda’s determination. And he can’t stop admiring—or wanting—her. But when Valinda’s father demands she return home to marry a man she doesn’t love, her daring rebellion draws Drake in closer.

Trivia question time!  What author’s first novel was called Property Of and came out in 1977? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s Stolen Picture to adapt Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London.

Laura Linney is returning to Broadway with My Name is Lucy Barton.

Roxane Gay has been very busy. As I mentioned last week, she’s starting a podcast with Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom. She also announced Gay Magazine and a book club.

New Harry Potter LEGO series are on the way!

Rejoice! The third book in Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air series, The Queen of Nothing, has a new release date – and it’s sooner rather than later!

There’s a musical being made of Sarah Silverman’s memoir The Bedwetter.

The Baby-Sitters Club books will soon be on audio.

And Elizabeth Moss will narrate The Handmaid’s Tale audio.

Netflix revealed the projects they’re working on with the Obamas, including an adaptation of the recent Frederick Douglass biography that just won a Pulitzer.

The Spice Girls have joined the Mr. Men & Little Misses cast.

Stay Up with Hugo Best by Erin Somers will be a film.

Nicole Kidman will star in and produce Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty for Hulu.

Jason Bateman and Netflix will be adapting The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak.

Cover Reveals

The cover of Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi has been shared! (Tor.com, January 21, 2020)

Here’s the first look at Come Tumbling Down, the fifth book in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. (Tor.com, January 7, 2020)

Here’s the first look at Dark and Deepest Red, Anna-Marie McLemore’s Red Shoes retelling. (Feiwel & Friends, January 14, 2020)

Here’s the gorgeous cover of The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White. (Delacorte Press, November 5)

This book sounds amazing: Here’s the first look at Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey. (Tor.com, February 4, 2020)

And Julie Andrews shared the title and cover of her second memoir. (Hachette Books, October 15)

And Daniel José Older revealed the cover of Shadowshaper Legacy, the third book in his Shadowshaper series. (Arthur A. Levine Books, January 7, 2020)

And last, but not least, the first look at the cover of Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee and Stephanie Hans.

Sneak Peeks

There’s a Toni Morrison documentary!

The trailer for S3 of The Handmaid’s Tale is up.

And here’s the first look at the new Lumberjanes written by Seanan McGuire.

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:

Tinfoil Butterfly: A Novel by Rachel Eve Moulton (MCD x FSG Originals, September 10)

Mention of this novel just came across my desk, and it’s perfect timing, because I am in a horror phase like whoa. It’s about a woman named Emma who ends up in a weird situation in the Badlands, while trying to outrun her past. She meets a young boy in a tinfoil mask named Earl, who asks her to help get rid of “George.” I’m freaked out already!

What I’m reading this week.

The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel José Older

The Madness Blooms by Mackenzi Lee

The Tachyon Web by Christopher Pike

Second Sight: A Novel by Aoife Clifford

And this is funny.

Anjelica Huston gives no fox.

Trivia answer: Alice Hoffman.

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

Welcome back to another Monday edition of bookish behavior! I hope that your weekend was swell, and that you all managed to read something wonderful. It was a reaaaaaally slow news week again. Hey, you win some, you lose some. I still have a little bit of news and some other things, like trivia, puns, and a kitten picture. Have a great week, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Sponsored by Alfred A. Knopf, publisher of Exhalation by Ted Chiang

From the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others—the basis for the film Arrival—comes a groundbreaking short fiction collection, tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only Ted Chiang could imagine. A portal through time forces a fabric seller in Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. An alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with universal ramifications. The ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radical examination of choice and free will. Including all-new stories as well as classic uncollected works, Exhalation is Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic, and revelatory.

Here’s this week’s trivia question: What author subsidized his income early in his career by running local chess tournaments?(Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

George R. R. Martin says unicorns will be in the remaining Game of Thrones books. (Unicornes?)

Outlander is coming to Netflix!

Justina Ireland tweeted the title of the next Dread Nation book.

Unnamed Press is publishing a science fiction collection.

Tim Roth and Clive Owen will star in The Song of Names, adapted from Norman Lebrecht’s novel.

A sequel to Clockwork Orange has been discovered.

Cover Reveals

Here’s the first look at The Chaos Curse (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond #3) by Sayantani DasGupta. (Scholastic Press, March 3, 2020)

And here’s the first look at Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo. (Feiwel & Friends, October 8)

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:

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang (Berkley, May 7)

Esme is working as a cleaner in Vietnam when a woman makes her a strange offer: move to California and marry her son, Khai, a handsome accountant who has never been in a relationship. Esme’s mother talks her into accepting the offer. If she goes to California, she could also look for her father, who left before she was born. But when Esme arrives, it’s obvious Khai isn’t interested in getting married, and only agreed to humor her for his mother’s sake. Can Esme get him to change his mind? And how will Khai deal with his growing attraction to Esme? This book is F-U-N and woooooooooo hot! (It’s not explicit but everything happens on the page.) I adored it. I wish we had a new Helen Hoang novel every month!

What I’m reading this week:

Escaping Exodus: A Novel by Nicky Drayden

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones

Comes the Blind Fury by John Saul

Pun of the week: 

Don’t trust atoms, they make up everything.

Here’s a kitten picture:

Book model.

And this is funny.

Nomnomnomnomnom.

Trivia answer: George R.R. Martin.

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

Hellooooo, and welcome to another Thursday edition of “ZOMG BOOK NEWS.” It has been a miserable week here in Maine. I think I jinxed it by saying how lovely it was last week, lol. But whatevs! I can still read inside, and that’s all that matters. I have some fun book-related news for you today. I hope whatever you’re doing, you have a great rest of your week, and remember to be kind to yourself and others.  – xoxo, Liberty

Sponsored by Courting Mr. Lincoln, the new novel by Louis Bayard from Algonquin Books.

The excitement abounds for master storyteller Louis Bayard’s page-turning tale of love, longing, and forbidden possibilities, inspired by historical events─Courting Mr. Lincoln. Here’s the story of a young Abraham Lincoln and the two people who loved him most, told in the alternating voices of Mary Todd and Joshua Speed. Courting Mr. Lincoln creates a sympathetic and complex portrait of Mary unlike any that has come before; a moving portrayal of the deep connection between the two men; and an evocation of the unformed man who would grow into a revered president. An Indie Next Pick, AppleBooks Best of the Month, Amazon Best of the Month.

Trivia question time!  What author’s first job out of college was writing for the books section in The Village Voice? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel creators are adapting Mary Gabriel’s Ninth Street Women.

Of corsage it is (sorry not sorry): Broadway musical The Prom is getting a YA novel adaptation.

The film adaptation of the Walter Dean Myers novel, Monster, has a new name: All Rise. It will be released in the fall of 2019.

Random House will publish The Beautiful Ones, Prince’s unfinished memoir.

Simon & Schuster will distribute the new Law&Crime Network imprint.

Vans is releasing a line of Harry Potter sneakers.

Jerome Flynn of Game of Thrones joins the cast of The Dark Tower.

Leonardo DiCaprio in talks to star in Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley.

Cover Reveals

Jackson Bird has a memoir coming called Sorted, and revealed the cover on YouTube. (Tiller Press, September 24)

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:

Long Bright River by Liz Moore (Riverhead Books, January 7, 2020)

I looooooove Liz Moore. Heft and The Unseen World are both MAGNIFICENT. So I cannot wait to get my hands on this crime novel about a missing sister and a mysterious string of murders. I’m so on board for Moore to do a novel in every genre, if that’s what she wants to do.

What I’m reading this week.

How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones

Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan

Make It Scream, Make It Burn: Essays by Leslie Jamison

The Invited: A Novel by Jennifer McMahon

And this is funny.

Support your local library.

Trivia answer: Colson Whitehead.

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

Welcome to another Monday, my little Garfields. It was a pretty slow news week last week. I’m sure it was because the news heard I was on vacation, and had nothing at all to do with the holidays. (WINK.) Still, I have a few exciting things to share with you today. I hope that your weekend was swell, and that you all managed to read something wonderful. Have a great week, and remember to be excellent to each other! I’ll see you again on Thursday. – xoxo, Liberty

Sponsored by The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson.

The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything– everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome’s got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter. Cussy’s not only a book woman, however, she’s also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy’s family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she’s going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler.

Here’s this week’s trivia question: What author wrote a rock song called “Frankenstein Monster Song?” (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Letitia Wright has landed a major role in the new adaptation of Death on the Nile.

In this week’s Stephen King adaptation news: AMC is adapting Sleeping Beauties, and Legendary is turning his short story Rest Stop into a film.

Here’s more deets on Roxane Gay’s upcoming podcast with Tressie McMillan Cottom.

Nnedi Okorafor is creating a TV series company for Africanfuturist stories.

Demi Moore is writing a memoir.

There’s a Grateful Dead graphic novel coming in 2020.

Cover Reveals

Tegan and Sara revealed the cover for High School, their upcoming memoir. (MCD, September 24)

And here’s the look at NPR host Scott Simon’s first children’s book: Sunnyside Plaza. (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, January 21)

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:

The Whisper Man by Alex North (Celadon Books, August 20)

PRO TIP: Don’t read a description of this book. I think it’s best if you know nothing about it. That’s what I did, and I was surprised several times! I read the jacket after, and a couple of the things that surprised me are right there in the description, so DON’T READ IT. I’ll just tell you that it’s a thriller about a serial killer, and an identical crime that occurs two decades later. IT’S SPOOKY. I started this late at night, and an hour into it, I was like, “NOPE NOPE NOPE. Putting this down to look at pictures of puppies before I sleep, kthnxbye.” That might sound terrible, but it’s my ideal sign of a scary book!

What I’m reading this week:

Make It Scream, Make It Burn: Essays by Leslie Jamison

Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

Warchild by Karin Lowachee

Ship of Smoke and Steel (The Wells of Sorcery Trilogy) by Django Wexler

Pun of the week: 

I was addicted to the hokey pokey… but thankfully, I turned myself around.

Here’s a kitten picture:

In which Zevon poses with a book he’s too young to read.

And this is funny.

Give this tweet the Pulitzer.

Trivia answer: Margaret Atwood.

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

Welcome back, book fans! It’s a gorgeous week here in Maine. I haven’t been able to take vacation like I thought, but that’s okay, I’m still in my favorite place, doing what I love, so I don’t mind. (Although I need some marathon television watching time! I still haven’t seen Shrill or the newest season of Grace & Frankie.) I also had a great time as a guest this week on What Should I Read Next? with Anne Bogel. I welcome any and all chances to talk books! And speaking of which: I have some fun book-related news for you today. I hope whatever you’re doing, you have a great rest of your week, and remember to be kind to yourself and others.  – xoxo, Liberty

Sponsored by Flatiron Books

Welcome to Finale, the final book in Stephanie Garber’s #1 New York Times bestselling Caraval series! It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist. Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend. After uncovering a secret, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change him. Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun.

Trivia question time! Who wrote Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)

Deals, Reals, and Squeals!

Shrill has been renewed for a second season.

File under sad: Saga is coming to an end.

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is getting a Chinese remake.

Anthony Daniels, the man in the C3-PO suit, is writing a book.

Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed are writing a novel together called Yes No Maybe So.

Lina Rather’s Sisters of the Vast Black sounds amazing.

And so does Alicia Jasinska’s upcoming book!

The Bone Season is going to be a television series.

An unseen Kafka work may soon be revealed.

Cover Reveals

Here’s the first look at The King of Crows, the last book in Libba Bray’s Diviners series. (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, February 4, 2020)

And here’s the first look at Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson. (Riverhead Books, September 17)

Sneak Peeks

ZOMG. Here’s the official trailer for Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle!

Here’s the first trailer of S2 of Big Little Lies, now with 100% more Meryl Streep.

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:

Stormsong (The Kingston Cycle Book 2) by C. L. Polk (Tor.com, February 20, 2020)

The new title and cover for the follow-up to Witchmark are out! And this one is about Miles’s sister, Grace! SO EXCITED. If you haven’t read Witchmark yet, I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s an almost-alternate Edwardian era novel with queer romance, witches, and murder. Two words: GREAT FUN.

What I’m reading this week.

Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron

Murder by Milkshake: An Astonishing True Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and a Charismatic Killer by Eve Lazarus

The Binding by Bridget Collins

The Ascent to Godhood (The Tensorate Series Book 4) by JY Yang

The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

And this is funny.

Wellllllll, this is funny if you watched the first episode of the new season of Game of Thrones. Which I did, and this made me LOL.

Trivia answer: Shirley Jackson.

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