Author: Sharifah Williams

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Lion Forge.

Publisher Recalls Cookbook After Critics Said Recipes Could Be Dangerous

A publisher recalled a cookbook after readers expressed concerns about the dangers of consuming some of the recipes. Crown Publishing, Rodale and author and Instagram influencer Johnna Holmgren agreed to discontinue the publication and promotion of Tales From a Forager’s Kitchen. Rodale stated that it took “very seriously the concerns expressed by readers regarding the preparation and cooking of recipes with raw ingredients (mushrooms and elderberries).”

First Look At BBC’s Eugene McCable Adaptation

The BBC gave us a first look at its forthcoming period drama Death and Nightingales. The three-part drama based on Eugene McCable’s Irish classic stars Jamie Dornan (The Fall) and Matthew Rhys (The Americans). The novel is described as a story of love, betrayal, deception, and revenge, set in 1885 in a world of spies, and taking place over a tense 24-hour period.

Los Angeles Hosts African American Book Expo

This weekend, Los Angeles County will host the African American Book Expo at the SOL Venue in Carson, California. The Expo, which launched last year in Dallas, brings readers of African American books together with publishers and authors. The event is free and sounds wonderful, if you can make it!

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Flatiron Books and Legendary by Stephanie Garber.

Librarians On The Case, Solving Your Title Conundrums

Librarian sleuths! A team of librarians banded together to solve title mysteries for readers. New York Public Library reader services librarian Gwen Glazer assembled a team of librarians to participate in this “Title Quest” hackathon. Read about this delightful event (and their snacks) here.

Adaptation News

A few adaptation items in today. Apple has secured the rights to develop a series based on Min Jin Lee’s novel, Pachinko. Patrick Wilson, Laysla De Oliveira, and Harrison Gilbertson will star in the Netflix adaptation of Stephen King and Joe Hill’s thriller, In The Tall Grass. And, finally, a Slaughterhouse-Five series is now in development at Epix.

3 Ukip Members Suspected Of Involvement in Attack On Socialist Bookstore

We’ve got follow-up news on the far-right attack on socialist bookstore Bookmarks in London. Ukip has suspended three members suspected of being involved in the attack. According to the report on the incident, “Twelve men, one of whom was wearing a Donald Trump mask, entered the central London shop as staff were closing for the day, knocking over displays and ripping up magazines while chanting far-right slogans. ”

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Doubleday Books.

Harlem Renaissance Classic Will Be Adapted

Nella Larsen’s Harlem Renaissance novel Passing will be adapted for a feature film. Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) is writing the script and will direct; Tessa Thompson (Westworld) and Ruth Negga (Loving) will star in the story exploring racial passing. What a dream team!

Bookstore Attacked By Far-Right Protestors

Twelve men, one wearing a Donald Trump mask, targeted socialist bookshop Bookmarks in an attack over the weekend. The men who entered the London bookshop shouted right-wing slogans at those inside, ripped up magazines, and knocked over displays. The community has rallied around the shop, donating money to replace damaged stock and to increase the store’s security. Bookmarks is planning to host a free public “solidarity” event with author appearances on August 11.

Getting Inked At The Library

Certified Tattoo Studios partnered with The Denver Public Library Friends Foundation, providing bookish tattoos to raise money for the non-profit. Tattoos were $50 to $200 and ranged from Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter to the library logo. What a cool idea!

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by the Magnetic Collection from Lion Forge.

Which Blume Book Do You Want To See Adapted?

Judy Blume asked her Twitter followers which of her books readers would like to see adapted into a movie or series. It sounds like the big fan favorite was Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Hopefully, we’ll see a Blume adaptation update in the near future!

Amazon Pulls Racist Items In Response To Criticism

Amazon had to remove some racist propaganda, including literature, from its site after receiving criticism from advocacy groups. A report from the Partnership for Working Families and the Action Center on Race & the Economy pointed to specific items with white supremacist slogans and hate speech. Though Amazon said it removed those specific items, NPR found more of the same still available for purchase.

Potter Returns To The Big Screen

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is returning to theaters to mark the book’s 20th anniversary (based on the U.S. pub date). All 141 Cinemark XD locations will screen all eight Potter films from August 31 through September 6. Tickets go on sale August 3, and Cinemark will be selling week-long passes.

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Suicide Club by Rachel Heng. A novel about living. Published by Henry Holt & Co.

Tooting All The Horns

Ahem, guess whose children’s book was optioned by Amy Poehler’s production company? None other than Book Riot’s own Contributing Editor Karina Yan Glaser, author of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street! We are super thrilled for her, and cannot wait to see her excellent book come to life onscreen. Congrats, Karina!

Happy Birthday, James Baldwin

The teaser trailer for the adaption of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk gave me the chills. The story follows Tish, a black woman in Harlem, who’s trying to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime while carrying their first child. The film is written and directed by Barry Jenkins, who also wrote and directed the award-winning 2016 film Moonlight.

Rick Riordan Isn’t Having It

Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, clapped back at a random Twitter troll who tweeted this statement to the author: “If you had less gender dysphoria in your ‘kids books’ you might sell more … remember, it is parents who buy them.” In response, the bestselling author broke down the comment to illustrate its intolerance.

We’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of our Recommended podcast, in honor of Season 3! Click here to enter.

We’re giving away our favorite Books of 2018…so far. Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the image below. Good luck!

Happy 38th, Harry!

Snapchat wished Harry Potter a happy 38th birthday with a Bitmoji lens. Snapchatters hopped onto their broomsticks for rounds of Quidditch through the new augmented reality feature. It looks like it’s still available, so choose your House, and catch that Golden Snitch!

The Rise of “Brainy Books”

The Guardian wrote about the rise of “brainy books,” that is, “’long-tail’ nonfiction titles, often works on politics, economics, history or medicine that attempted to synthesise or challenge received thinking on the subject.” The Bookseller was the first to notice the publishing phenomenon, which it called the “brainy backlist,” and the piece notes the enduring success of Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari as an example. Here’s their list of the best brainy books of this decade, led by Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge.

Asian Authors Challenge the West’s Dominance of Fantasy

OZY explored the rise in interest in epic fantasy centered around East Asia written by Asian authors. The article pointed to Jin Yong’s Legends of the Condor Heroes trilogy, which is getting its first English translation, as well as Ken Liu’s The Grace of Kings and JY Yang’s Tensorate series, among other books that have found recent success in the West. And it notes some factors that may be encouraging the publication of these works, including the shift from paper to digital submissions, which makes it easier for international authors to submit their work, according to Carl Engle-Laird, associate editor at Tor Publishing.

We’re giving away $500 of the year’s best YA! Click here, or on the image below to enter:

NY Library Card Gives Free Access to 33 NYC Museums

A new initiative is allowing members of the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens Public Libraries to sign up for a Culture Pass giving them free access to more than 33 New York City museums. This includes the Met, Morgan, Whitney, Frick, Guggenheim, and MoMA. Use it if you’ve got it, and learn more here.

Parable of the Sower Getting Graphic Novel Adaptation

The team that just won an Eisner for the graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Kindred will be back together to adapt Butler’s Parable of the Sower. Writer Damian Duffy and artist John Jennings are taking on the dystopian sci-fi novel, but no word yet on a release date.

IKEA Creates In-Store Reading Rooms

IKEA is creating reading rooms in its Wembley (London) store in partnership with the Man Booker Prize (please make this happen worldwide, please, please?). The reading rooms will be open between July 31 and August 5, and visitors can take home a free book, but all slots must be booked online in advance. “As the boundaries between our work and home lives become more blurred, it’s become harder to switch off. Our homes aren’t the haven they once were. Yet reading for just six minutes a day can be enough to reduce stress levels by more than two-thirds,” the company stated on its website.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Frolic Media. Want More Diverse Historical Romance? Start Here!

More Bleak Survey Results On Diversity In Books For Young Readers

I promise there are bookstore cats in here, but first: we had that report about only 1% of children’s books featuring BAME main characters; now, we have another report from the UK telling us that “the percentage of young adult books written by black and minority ethnic (BME) authors has declined steadily since 2010.” Neither of these results came as a surprise, but, hopefully, they’ll serve as a challenge for publishing to make some serious changes.

Peter Dinklage As Rumpelstiltskin

Game of Thrones may be coming to an end, but Peter Dinklage isn’t done with fantasy. We might be seeing him as that wily fairy tale character in an upcoming film, which he would also produce. Oh happy day! Patrick Ness, author of The Knife of Never Letting Go, is writing the script.

Happy Friday!

Bookstore cats, as promised. Meet Hudson, Owen, Parrot, and more bookstore cats from around the Bay Area. Visit them, let them smugly judge your bookstore haul, give them treats, and pet them until they grow weary of your presence.

And don’t forget–we’re giving away $500 of this year’s best YA books (so far)! Click here to enter.

We’re giving away $500 of the year’s best YA! Click here, or on the image below to enter:

“The Lottery” Gets Film Adaptation

Shirley Jackson’s classic short story, “The Lottery” (or, that one high school reading assignment that emotionally wrecked me), is getting its first film adaptation. Jackson’s son Laurence Hyman will serve as an executive producer, and Jake Wade Wall (The Hitcher) is writing the screenplay. “I liked what Jake was doing in developing it and bringing up to the present day. It’s [sic] has a dystopian, Handmaid’s Tale feel about it, which makes it very timely,” said Frank Marshall, whose company Kennedy/Marshall will lead the production team.

Haruki Murakami’s New Novel Declared Indecent

The ruling comes from a Hong Kong tribunal in regards to the Chinese-language edition of Murakami’s Kishidancho Goroshi, or Killing Commendatore. This means bookstores and libraries will wrap the book with a notice warning about its contents, with access restricted to those over the age of 18. A petition signed by almost 2,000 people is calling for a reversal of the decision.

Who Is Anna March?

Where to even begin with this story… The Los Angeles Times wrote an in-depth piece about the bonkers, and in many cases damaging, career of what appears to be a literary grifter known (more recently) by the name of Anna March. Even Celeste Ng chimed in with a story about an interaction with March. You have to read the piece to get the full picture of how March positioned herself at the center of the literary world, and left so many people and organizations in the lurch.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Workman Publishing, publisher of Engineering for Cats by Mac Delaney.

The Man Booker Prize 2018 Longlist

Has been announced. Those 13 books selected by a panel of five judges, up for the £50,000 Prize, include Warlight by Michael Ondaatje, The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner, and Washington Black by Esi Edugyan. A graphic novel, Sabrina by Nick Drnaso, has also been chosen for the first time. The shortlist will be announced on September 20.

Gender Bias In The Man Booker Shortlist

Speaking of the Man Booker: AI is clapping back at misogyny in the Man Booker shortlist. Well. What actually happened is, an IBM study that used artificial intelligence found an abundance of gender bias in works shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize between 1969 and 2017. This includes stereotypes in the descriptors used to identify the characters, their jobs, and their roles in the books. Quelle surprise.

WorldCon Programming Sparks Anger

Today, WorldCon took down their original program and released an apology in response to a hailstorm of tweets and high-profile public withdrawals from the science fiction convention. Across the Twitterverse, the SF community, particularly marginalized creators, pointed to serious issues with the programming, including misgendering a Hugo finalist, rejecting an #OwnVoices panel because members don’t know what #OwnVoices means, taking private Facebook photos for use in the program…this is just a sampling. Read up on it here.

And don’t forget–we’re giving away $500 of this year’s best YA books (so far)! Click here to enter.