Category: Today In Books

Bag Of Snakes Not So Welcome At Library

As a fan of all animals I still had a moment of “Where is Samuel L. Jackson when you need him?!” The Madison County Public Library has had to create a policy regarding animals in the library after a year of seeing “a monkey, a rat, spiders, an iguana, a ferret, parrots, chicken, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, dogs, cats and more.” BUT that wasn’t the straw that broke the camel’s back. That straw was a literal bag full of snakes dumped out on the front desk. EEP. But I love that everyone was nice, and the man just really loved his slithering friends.

New She-Ra Character!

If you’ve been loving the Netflix She-Ra series–it’s so good!–get ready for an awesome new character in season 4: “Double Trouble, a non-binary shape-shifting mercenary from the Crimson Waste, who joins forces with Catra and the Horde.” Double Trouble will be voiced by Jacob Tobia, author of Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story.

“Finally” Is An Understatement

In 1939 five African American men were denied library cards at the Alexandria Free Library so they protested by quietly sitting down to read. They were arrested for disorderly conduct. The charges remained unresolved for 80 years, until now: Judge Lisa Bondareff Kemler signed an order officially dismissing the charges.

Marriage Engagement Via Book Manuscript

Ronan Farrow proposed to boyfriend Jon Lovett while Farrow was writing his book Catch And Kill by sending Lovett a draft of the book and asking the question in it: “‘Marriage?’ Farrow wrote. ‘On the moon or even here on Earth.’ He read the draft, found the proposal here, and said, ‘Sure.’”

Will Comic Shops Finally Adapt?

Here’s a look at how comic book sales have been changing from what comics readers are buying to where they’re buying them. And since it looks like sales from the “book channel” (retailers that aren’t comic book shops) are projected to surpass comic book shop sales this year in North America, it is time comic book shops finally adapted to the times. What is missing from this article is the fact that many of these new readers avoid comic book shops because they’ve historically not been welcoming to all.

Fun!

The Charlottesville Area Transit has partnered with Bus Lines Community Poetry for a poetry competition! The theme is “Poetry by You”–so I’m guessing that’s a wide open theme–and must be 10 lines or less.

Will you be watching WATCHMEN?

Adapting a story from one medium to another is always going to result in some necessary changes. Other changes are debatable, and if you know anything about fan culture, you know debates abound. Get up to speed on the difference between the Watchmen comic book ending and the film ending, and find out what that difference may mean for the television series.

Georgia High Schoolers Build Little Libraries

There are 200 little libraries under construction by students in Maxwell High School of Technology’s construction trades program. This is in a county where only 52% of children are kindergarten-ready. The finished libraries will be decorated by local artists and placed in shelters, early learning centers, and other areas where books are needed.

Woman Reunited With Childhood Book

A woman browsing used books in the gift shop of the Museum of English Rural Life found a copy of The Secret Garden that she and her sister had bought new as children. Read the Twitter Moment that tells the serendipitous tale.

PEN America Expanding

PEN America–the nonprofit organization that stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression–has opened six new regional chapters across the U.S. to be led by local PEN members. “At a time of exceptional threats to free expression and open discourse, our chapters will bring years of mobilization, activism and organizing among writing communities across the country to the next level.”

And The Award Goes To…

Filmmakers Elizabeth Coffman and Mark Bosco have just been awarded the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film for their upcoming documentary about Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor. “The Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize was unveiled in March to recognize a documentary filmmaker who ‘uses original research and compelling narrative to tell stories that touch on some aspect of American history.'”

Love For Comics

A program aimed to create comic book libraries at community schools in Ypsilanti, MI keeps meeting and raising their fundraising goals! “’The people who are involved in the comic book community are some of the nicest, coolest people we’ve ever met,’ Furlong said. ‘It’s really cool to see their support come back in this way.’”

First Look At Prince’s Memoir

EW has the first look at Prince’s memoir/autobiography–he died while working on it and Dan Piepenbring went from assisting to finishing it. The beginning of the book is the work Prince had done on it followed by Piepenbring’s annotations on photos and texts based on conversations he had with Prince. The Beautiful Ones will be out October 29th.

Author Of Book’s False Claims To Pay $450,000

James Fetzer, co-author of Nobody Died at Sandy Hook, was ordered to pay $450,000 after a defamation lawsuit by Leonard Pozner, whose son Noah was killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook. “Pozner, who has been a target of conspiracy theorists and stalkers since his son’s death, thanked the jury for ‘recognizing the pain and terror that Mr. Fetzer has purposefully inflicted on me and on other victims of these horrific mass casualty events, like the Sandy Hook shooting,’ the Wisconsin State Journal reported.”

Film About Karl Ove Knausgaard Cancelled

Mads Mikkelsen was starring in an Alexander Payne-directed film with journalist/author Karl Ove Knausgaard as the subject, but Netflix stopped imminent production. “I’ve heard that the subject of the film, journalist Karl Ove Knausgard, was left with an ‘out’ and had a change of heart about having his story turned into a feature.” I have a lot of questions but also LOL.

Public Library System To Boycott Publisher

Public libraries speaking out against Macmillan’s recent announcement to start a two-month embargo on multiple e-book copies for libraries has now elevated to a boycott for one system. The King County (WA) Library System will stop buying embargoed e-books from Macmillan and will instead use the money to purchase from publishers without embargoes.

People Just Want To Get Haunted

Irish novelist and poet James Joyce is currently buried in Zurich beside his wife, but Ireland wants him. “The Battle of the Bones” is becoming just that as arguments over should-he-stay-or-should-he-go have erupted.

More Atwood At Hulu

Margaret Atwood’s documentary Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word After a WordIs Power will stream on Hulu starting Nov. 19th. The doc follows Atwood and her late partner Graeme Gibson around the world as they attended events and interviews stars of The Handmaid’s Tale adaptation. And fans of Tatiana Maslany can catch her reading Atwood’s poetry–Not as Helena, although I’d pay big bucks to watch that.

Boston Public Library Wedding Giveaway!

If your dream wedding is in a library and you want to get married in Boston on February 2, 2020 have I got a giveaway for you! Four couples will get to say “I do” in the Abbey Room at the Central Library in Copley Square and all the wedding details are taken care of. Amaze! You have until November 15th to enter and you can check out all the details here.

Australian Booksellers Ban Ronan Farrow Book

Ronan Farrow’s new book, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, alleges that former National Enquirer Editor in Chief Dylan Howard helped shield Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump from publicity about sexual assault accusations. Howard has apparently hired lawyers “on three continents” in order “to suppress Farrow’s book.” Farrow tweeted: “Some Australian outlets—Booktopia, Amazon Aus—caved and banned it due to frivolous legal threats free speech group @PENamerica called a ‘reprehensible attempt at censorship’ from AMI’s Dylan Howard. Thanks to all complaining and defending the free press.”

Amy Adams And Laura Dern Team Up

They’ll be executive producers adapting Claire Lombardo’s The Most Fun We Ever Had at HBO. The novel is a multigenerational saga following four sisters raised by parents with an idyllic marriage and sounds like a perfect adaptation for HBO and these women. More details here.

Our Next Catwoman!

The next Batman film has cast its Catwoman: Zoe Kravitz! I’ll be honest, The Batman starring Robert Pattinson wasn’t an adaptation I was paying much attention to until this casting, and now they have my full attention. Learn more here, including the other actresses who tested for the part.

Netflix Wants MOAR Adaptations

Netflix will not only be at the Frankfurt book fair, it’ll be giving its first keynote session there. Honestly I just wanted to share this quote dripping in shade: “The difference with Netflix, Luegenbiehl said, is that it means business when it options a book. She told Deadline: ‘Where we go on a different path is that when we option, we option with an eye toward making it and not so it just sits in option. We love to make great stories.’”

Calling All Animal Lovers!

And Robert Downey Jr. lovers! The newest film based on Hugh Lofting’s 1920’s books starring Doctor Dolittle has a trailer! Watch Downey Jr. and a ton of animals–voiced by a ton of great actors–in the Dolittle trailer here.

Hiking The Appalachian Trail To Raise Library Funds

The Dorcas Library in Maine is only able to open for 24 hours every week due to lack of funding, so the library director Faith Lane has come up with a plan: hike the entire Appalachian Trail to raise funds. While I commend her efforts, I always find stories like these frustrating because all public libraries should be properly funded for the community. You can check out all the details here.

Read, Then Watch

Or watch, then read–whichever order you prefer. The New York Public Library has put together a great list of author’s books and their Ted Talks. I don’t know about you but I find Mondays to be a perfect day to watch some inspirational, smart, interesting videos and to make my TBR stack even higher. It’s gotta reach the sky!

Fun!

Haworth, known as the home to the Brontë sisters, held a two-day steampunk festival and the attendees sure know how to dress for an event! Check out the amazing costumes, tea duelling(!), and learn more about the science fiction subgenre here.

The Japanese Bookstores Of Honolulu

In the early 1900s, Japanese people made up over 40% of Hawaii’s population. Yet the Honolulu library didn’t stock materials in Japanese, and even refused to serve Japanese people. A Japanese bookstore culture flourished in response. Read more about this little-known piece of history here.

Up On The Roof

The principal of Wiregrass Elementary School said he would spend a day on the school’s roof if his students logged 150,000 minutes of reading over the summer, and…they recorded 161,000 minutes. Watch him read student-selected books with a megaphone while delighted kids look on from below.

Professors Speak Out For Jennine Capó Crucet

Newsweek spoke to professors whose syllabi include Jennine Capó Crucet, the author whose books were burned by students following a talk at Georgia Southern University. Find out why those professors bring her work into their classroom here.