Author: Rebecca Joines Schinsky

It Was a Pleasure to Burn

Dystopian novels are having a moment, and it looks like The Handmaid’s Tale is not going to be the only classic of the genre to be re-adapted for the big screen. HBO announced this week that it will produce a new feature-length version of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Michael B. Jordan will star as the fireman Guy Montag, with Michael Shannon playing his boss, Beatty. As a big fan of Bradbury, Jordan, and Shannon, I couldn’t be more excited. I only wish the subject matter didn’t feel so timely.

So Many Books, So Little Time (Literally)

A new study of 2,000 adults in the UK commissioned to mark World Book Night reveals that 67% would like to read more, but 48% “admit” (interesting word choice, there) they are too busy to read. Rather than wondering how much time these oh-so-busy folks spend on Facebook and TV, I’ll move right along to the survey’s more interesting finding: 26% of respondents say they would read more if they got recommendations from someone they know. The algorithms haven’t won it all, friends! (And perhaps we at the good ship Book Riot should step up our UK awareness efforts?)

Now for Something Completely Different

In what is hands-down the weirdest publishing-related headline in recent memory, the band Insane Clown Posse are being sued for allegedly plagiarizing a poem. And not just any poem. A poem originally published in A 2nd Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul. More questions than answers to be found in this story. I don’t even know.

Bonus unexpected combo: here’s Ludacris rapping a Llama Llama book.

Until next time, happy reading.

Rebecca

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Uncle Joe is On the Way

Following in the footsteps of their presidential partners, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, have secured a joint book deal with Macmillan imprint Flatiron Books. The contract reportedly went into at least seven figures and will include two books from the former veep and one from Jill. No release dates have been set. If you need us, we’ll be over here hoping for a the Bidens will team up with the Obamas for a joint book tour of unspeakable coolness. (Do it for the memes, Joe!)

First “Official” Black Lives Matter Memoir in the Works

Speaking of exciting developments at Macmillan! Patrisse Cullors, a cofounder of the Black Lives Matter movement, has inked a high-six-figure deal (with cowriter and journalist asha bandele) for her memoir, When They Call You a Terrorist. St. Martin’s Press executive editor Monique Patterson won the book at auction, competing against six other houses. Angela Davis will write the foreword.

For the hat trick: This week, Macmillan launched Reading Without Walls, an initiative to encourage kids and their parents, teachers, and librarians to expand their literary horizons. If you’ve seen Book Riot’s own Read Harder Challenge, you know we love this idea.

A Map of Aural Tendencies

This week in Cool Interactive Tech with Questionable Methodology: Audible released data (kind of) about the relative popularity of various audiobook genres across the U.S. Have a scroll and see how much your state digs horror, sci-fi, humor, and more. We’d love to have a peek at the raw data that went into this, but given Amazon’s notorious reluctance to release actual numbers for, well, anything, we’ll have to be content with interesting approximations.

Thanks to Strong is the New Pretty by Kate T. Parker for sponsoring This Week in Books.

Girls being fearless. Girls being silly. Girls being wild, stubborn, and proud. Girls whose faces are smeared with dirt and lit up with joy. Strong Is the New Pretty celebrates, through more than 175 memorable photographs, the strength and spirit of girls being 100% themselves. Real beauty isn’t about being a certain size, acting a certain way, wearing the right clothes, or having your hair done (or even brushed). Real beauty is about being your authentic self and owning it.