Category: Today In Books

Bloodsuckers Return

Before you roll your eyes at the return of vampires, hear me out: publishing has a habit of taking a book that is super popular (Twilight) and then flooding the market with more of that before pulling the curtain and saying no more. The problem is that the curtain gets pulled before authors of color/marginalized voices are allowed a seat at the table. So hurray for the resurrection of vampire books again from authors we love like Caleb Roehrig and Zoraida Córdova!

Saved From The Bin

By now you’ve probably heard that there are rare editions of Harry Potter books that fetch quite a few dollars in auctions. Turns out that in 2008 a Buckinghamshire teacher spotted some Harry Potter books being thrown away by a library and scooped five of them up, feeling bad for them, and thinking she’d have them for her children–possibly future grandchildren. And what a brilliant momentary choice because it turns out they were rare editions that are now going to auction.

Archie Has His Own Bookclub

In Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s video the other day, where Meghan read Duck! Rabbit? to their son Archie for charity and his first birthday, fans noticed an interesting sticker on the book: “Archie’s Book Club.” Turns out the book was a gift from Oprah, and Archie got his very own book club sticker modeled after the Oprah’s Book Club sticker. Adorable!

Attend BookExpo & BookCon This Month Virtually

After having date changes and then being cancelled, it has been announced that BookExpo and BookCon 2020 will happen this month, virtually of course. All the info regarding programming can be found on their Facebook pages and the dates are May 26-29 for BookExpo Online and May 30 and 31 for BookCon Online. Virtually see you there–or something.

Good Luck

Okay, so this isn’t news, but if you need something “bookish” to take your mind off of *gestures wildly at everything* have fun trying to find the pencil hidden amongst this stack of books. Oh, yeah, the average person apparently can do it in 20 seconds. I have not found it yet. I am not average.

Excalibur!

Tom Wheeler and Frank Miller’s graphic novel Cursed has been adapted into a Netflix series and we have the first look. It’s a fantasy based on Arthurian mythology and here you can get the first look at Katherine Langfor, playing Nimue, wielding Excalibur!

We Have A Date And Teaser!

Watch the first teaser trailer for the Baby-Sitters club series coming to Netflix this July!

Guns N’ Roses + James Patterson Collab Picture Book

Crime author James Patterson’s imprint Jimmy Patterson Books and the band Guns N’ Roses have collaborated on a children’s picture book. The book, named after one of the band’s famous songs, follows the adventures of their manager’s niece and nephew who grew up on the road touring with the band. You can pre-order Sweet Child o’ Mine, which will publish in September and is illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin.

Christopher Pike + Netflix

The Midnight Club by Christopher Pike is being adapted into a Netflix series by the team that created The Haunting of Bly Manor, the followup to The Haunting of Hill House adaptation. Pike is known for his teen horror novels in the ’90s that, at least in my experience, had middle school and elementary students daring each other to read the books. Chain Letter was no joke!

More Story For The Hazel Wood

For fans of Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood and The Night Country you’re getting more! Releasing at the beginning of 2021 (may this cleanse the New Year) will be Tales From the Hinterland, “all of the long-awaited dark and twisted backstories to all of its fairy-tale characters.”

And Another Reading For Charity!

The Lord of the Rings‘ Gollum (Andy Serkis) will read The Hobbit online as a fundraising effort to benefit the NHS.

Bookseller Imprisoned In China Publishes Smuggled Out Poetry

Gui Minhai, a Chinese-born Swedish citizen, is serving a 10-year sentence for selling “gossipy texts on Chinese political leaders” in a bookstore in Hong Kong. Swedish publishing house Kaunitz-Olsson distributed poems on Tuesday written by Minhai, and printed in Chinese and Swedish, that were smuggled out of the Chinese prison: “It would be embarrassing To stop writing poems Because the poetry has been caged.”

Here’s Your Happy Moment For The Day

Here’s Meghan Markle reading Duck! Rabbit! to Archie for his first birthday, filmed by Prince Harry. The adorable video was posted to the Save With Stories Instagram account, Jennifer Garner and Amy Adams collaboration with Save the Children and No Kid Hungry. And clearly Archie is one of us, trying to smuggle in a second book while being read to.

Nicole Kidman Keeps Working On All The Adaptations

Nicole Kidman has a first-look deal with Amazon through her Blossom Films banner and has signed on as executive producer to the adaptation of Kimberly McCreight’s A Good Marriage. This is not Kidman’s first time working with McCreight’s work, as her other novel Reconstructing Amelia is being adapted by Blossom Films for HBO. And if you love mysteries you can hear Liberty rave about A Good Marriage on All the Books!

Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Cooperated In Upcoming Tell-All

Releasing August 11th will be Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family. Now, you may be wondering why we’re telling you about yet another tell-all book about the royal family. This one is a bit different in that it’s being said Harry & Meghan cooperated with the authors Omid Scobie (Harper’s Bazaar royal editor) and Carolyn Durand (Elle magazine’s royal correspondent) in order to “finally present the truth of misreported stories.” Fastest pre-buy in the history of pre-buys.

Harry Potter Digital Escape Room

Looking for something to entertain the kids? Maybe the whole family? Or just you, a grown adult who loves HP? Try a Harry Potter digital escape room created by Sydney Krawiec, a Youth Services Librarian at Pennsylvania’s Peters Township Public Library. Did I mention you’ll be learning along the way? Because escaping relies on answering questions and solving riddles about the Dewey Decimal System (told you it was designed by a librarian) and solving math problems (I may be stuck here forever!). Go have fun!

We Have Winners!

The International Board on Books for Young People announced at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (virtually of course!) the winners of the Hans Christian Andersen Awards. The prize for writing went to Jacqueline Woodson and for illustration went to Albertine. All the congrats!

If Famous Celebrities Reading Harry Potter To You Is Your Dream:

Daniel Radcliffe will lead an all-star read-along of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

NYPL’s Most Downloaded Books Right Now

I love seeing what other people are reading, so I always keep an eye out for when libraries, bookstores, etc. give some stats on what is being read the most right now. And if you’re wondering what New York Public Library books have been downloaded the most during quarantine, here are the top ten, with Deacon King Kong by James McBride coming in first. Place your bets now if Harry Potter is on the list!

How Are Virtual Author Events Going?

A big draw for bookstores and authors are author events where authors chat a bit, meet fans or potential fans, and, most importantly, sell some books. In the current world, with social distancing and most bookstores closed to the public, author events have moved to the virtual world. While it’s opening the door for more fans to “attend,” and drawing big audiences, is it still selling as many books?

More Works Digitized!

With the need for staying at home, it’s even more important and beneficial that libraries have been digitizing up a storm in recent years. The newest addition, thanks to a project collaborated by Columbia University, the Free Library of Philadelphia, Haverford College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Bryn Mawr College: 827 paintings and 500+ manuscripts from the Islamic world. Glimpse some beautiful pages!

Stephenie Meyer Announces New (Old) Book

Stephenie Meyer’s long-shelved Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer is coming to shelves in August, telling the story through the eyes of Edward the vampire.

Portugal. The Man Protests Alaskan School District Book Ban by Offering Students Free Copies

For those of you following the Alaskan book banning story, here’s a nice development: Portugal. The Man is a band that is now offering students within the school district free copies of the banned titles. The band hails from Wasilla, which is within the school district that enacted the ban, and they say, “We believe this decision is narrow-minded and unpatriotic, and we are not okay with it…That is why we are putting out a standing offer that if any student/parent in the Mat-Su Borough School District wants a copy of one or more of these books, we will mail them to you.”

From Executive Producers Jordan Peele And J.J. Abrams Comes Our First Look At #LovecraftCountry, Premiering This August On HBO

Hey horror fans, check out this first trailer for Lovecraft Country, a new TV series from HBO based on the novel of the same name. Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff is about a Black sci-fi and horror fan in the 1950’s who must embark on a dangerous journey to find his missing father, and the mundane and supernatural horrors he encounters along the way. The trailer looks amazing, so mark your calendars for the premiere this August.

Joy Harjo Is Named U.S. Poet Laureate For A Second Term

Some bright news amongst the pandemic worries: Joy Harjo is continuing with her work as the country’s poet laureate. Her second term officially begins September 1, 2020, and she’ll continue her work on a project called Living Nations, Living Words: A Map of First Peoples Poetry, which aims to built a digital map of Native poets and promote their work. Harjo is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, and she’s written Crazy Brave: A Memoir, An American Sunrise: Poems, and more.

Taco Bell Has A Literary Magazine

Okay, so, yes news not about the current state of the world is scarce right now, but even if that weren’t the case this is just delightful: Taco Bell has a literary magazine called Taco Bell Quarterly. “We think great writing can be about Taco Bell. We think trash can be beautiful. We inject rock and roll fun into writing, start beefs with other lit mags, and will not rest until we find out what Joyce Carol Oates’ go-to Taco Bell order is.” Amazing.

PRH Donates Audiobooks

Penguin Random House has donated 30 audiobooks in partnership with National Prison Radio to stream into the jail cells of 110 prisons. And they’re also partnering with the Hospital Broadcasting Association for a similar program that streams donated audiobooks to 200 volunteer-run hospital radio stations so that patients can listen from their hospital beds.

Hercules

If Disney’s Hercules is one of your favorite animated films you’ll be delighted to know you’re getting a live-action film. Joe and Anthony Russo (Avengers) are producing and Dave Callaham (The Expendables) will write the screenplay for the Hercules legend retelling. Who will be cast? And who will write the music? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Buy Disney Face Masks, Support Charities

Want a Hulk face mask? Maybe you’re more a Baby Yoda fan? Good news: both are available for sale now, along with other Marvel and Star Wars prints and characters. I mean if we’ve got to suffer through this pandemic might as well add a little cute to it. Plus, up to one million of the profits, and 1 million masks, will go to the non-profit Medshare. You can pre-order a pack of 4 masks for $19.99 and they’ll ship in June.

The Edgar Award Winners

The Mystery Writers of America announced the winners of the 2020 Edgar Awards! You can check out the great books that made the finals (Girl Gone Missing by Marcie R. Rendon), see all the winners (Angie Kim’s Miracle Creek), and find your next crime read!

For Library Users With Sonos Speakers

Have you been staring longingly at your Sonos speakers wishing you could listen to your library audiobooks through the Libby app? Today is your lucky day! Overdrive announced that it’s Libby app is now compatible: “To get started, users only need the Sonos app, the Libby app – available from 90 percent of public libraries in North America – and a valid library card.”

Rapping Dr. Seuss

Filmmaker Wes Tank decided to play some Dr. Dre beats and rap Dr. Seuss books and the results are awesome. At the moment there are six rapping/readings of Dr. Seuss books including The Lorax; One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish; Fox in Sox. Have fun trying to rap along with him.

Make The Popcorn

The Danny Boyle directed adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller (who swap playing Dr and creature), will stream for free on the National Theater’s Youtube channel. Today, April 29th, at 7pm UK time you can watch Cumberbatch as the Creature. From May 1st, 7pm UK time, until May 8th you can watch Jonny Lee Miller as the creature.

Newly Created Initiative To Help Women & Non-Binary Comic Retailers

Joining in the fight to help people stay afloat during the pandemic are Kelly Sue DeConnick, Lilah Sturges, Trina Robbins, Vita Ayala–and many more! They are supporting the newly created initiative Insider Art. The initiative will raise money–you’re gonna want to check out all the contributors and contributions–to offer financial assistance to female and non-binary comic book retailers affected by the pandemic.

Update on B&N not selling magazines: Jason Sanford reached out to Barnes & Noble and it turns out that the Good e-Reader article was incorrect, and has since been updated, when it stated they would permanently stop selling magazines. B&N will resume selling magazines in stores when they reopen.