Category: Today In Books

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Libro.fm

President Abraham Lincoln’s Bible Unveiled In Library’s Public Display

An inscribed Bible gifted to President Abraham Lincoln by women from the Volunteer Hospital of Philadelphia is now on display at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. For an image and to read more about it, click here.

Noelle Stevenson’s Reveals Comics Memoir

Noelle Stevenson (Lumberjanes, Nimona, She-Ra and the Princess of Power) has revealed her graphic memoir which will publish on January 7, 2020. You can check out the cover and some pages of The Fire Never Goes Out here–so excited!

Hoopla Is Expanding

Hoopla–a platform that allows you to check out ebooks, audiobooks, comics, films, music with no hold list from your library–is expanding. While the no hold list section will still remain for content there will also be other models that do require hold lists. For more on this read here.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Libro.fm

Cinderella Was Inducted Into The Library Of Congress

On June 20th, Cinderella kept her glass slippers on as she descended the Library of Congress building’s steps to celebrate the film’s 70th anniversary and its induction into the Library of Congress National Film Registry. Gus Gus must be so proud!

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Game Now Available!

U.S. iOS and Android users can now play Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, a game similar in play to Pokémon Go. Learn more here so you can get to collecting all the magical items!

Strangers Things Season 3 Final Trailer

July 4th is so close but also, when you’re anticipating a new season of a show you love, it seems so far away. Here’s a final trailer released by Netflix to hold you over!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Libro.fm

Petition To Cancel Good Omens Goes Awry

20,000+ Christians, with the Return to Order, petitioned Netflix to cancel the adaptation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens citing “another step to make satanism appear normal, light and acceptable.” Problem is Netflix didn’t make the series, Amazon Prime did. Whoopsie!

Ta-Nehisi Coates On Capital Hill

Yesterday, on Juneteenth, the House Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties held a hearing about reparations for descendants of African slaves. You can see Ta-Nehisi Coates speak here and read more on the history of reparations legislation here.

Wheel Of Time‘s Moiraine Cast!

Wheel of Time fans now know who will play Moiraine in the upcoming Amazon adaptation series: Rosamund Pike. Check out the gorgeous announcement pic, and more on the series, here. Now I wait to see if this erases Pike as Amy Dunne in my head…

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Reckless, the Shattered Chronicles, episode 1 – get it now for only $0.99

10-Hour Lines For New Harry Potter Ride!

It’s summer, and it’s really hot in Florida, so you know people really want a turn on Universal Orland’s new Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure ride when they’re waiting in 10 hour long lines! Seems the popularity of the ride has forced Universal to rethink times and maintenance as they’ve announced the ride will now not be opening until midday for a few weeks. I get the inconvenience but here for safety first.

All the Congratulations to Joy Harjo!

Joy Harjo will be the 23rd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry of the U.S! Harjo, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, is a poet, writer, and musician. She will be the first Native American Poet Laureate and you can read more about her and her poetry here.

Leonard Cohen’s Letters Sell At Auction for $876,000

The novelist, poet, and singer-songwriter, who passed away in 2016, had love letters written to Marianne Ihlen sell at Christie’s for $876,000. You can get a breakdown for some of the letters and their selling price here.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Lifelines by Heidi Diehl.

A Sneak Peek At The Harry Potter Lego Sets

Looks like Barnes & Nobles has an exclusive first sale of the upcoming Harry Potter Lego sets and they’ve released two sneak peek videos, including one behind the magic. The sets will officially be on sale July 1st so be ready to be first–these will sell fast!

UK’s Most Prestigious Children’s Books Award

The Carnegie medal–NOT the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction–was just awarded to Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X, making her the first author of color to ever win. For more on the award, its history, and the amazing Acevedo click here.

Amazon’s The Best Books Of The Year So Far

It’s the halfway mark where everyone is putting out Best Of Lists–which, I totally get because with so many great books released in a year we need two lists. And here’s Amazons 20 top picks (all genres) and then, separated below, the best in each genre. Happy to see a bunch of my personal favorites and to have some to add to my TBR!

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

We’re Getting a Hunger Games Prequel!

The odds were apparently in our favor (sorry, not sorry!): in 2020 we’ll be getting the prequel to Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. The novel will be set 64 years before the trilogy and we only have to wait until May 2020! Hopefully soon we’ll get a title and cover reveal.

Language Wars!

The Guardian has taken a look at 19 historical language wars ranging from anger over misspelled signs, Ebonics labeled a language, and the use of “literally” as the opposite of the meaning. An interesting and entertaining read perfect for my Monday stress.

First Look: West Side Story Film

Inspired by Romeo & Juliet, the original West Side Story film is getting a new musical remake directed by Steven Spielberg, set to hit theaters December 18, 2020. You can check out the cast and first look photo here.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Waterhouse Press.

Neither A Borrower Nor A Lender Be

A few months after loaning some treasured books to a friend, the lender discovered her books in a book sale donation pile! I can’t even. But if you want more tales people lending and borrowing with mixed results, they’re right here.

An Angel And Demon But Make It Fashion

There’s lots to love about the miniseries adaptation of the Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett collaboration Good Omens. One of the many delights is seeing Aziraphale and Crowley outfitted in period duds, and you can see some of their best looks here.

More On The Strand vs. NYC

New York’s Strand Bookstore has been given landmark status. And owner Nancy Bass Wyden wishes she could give it back. Listen to her discuss the situation on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

Sponsored by All the Books, our weekly podcast about new book releases!

HMH Recalls & Postpones Book Over Historical Inaccuracies

Naomi Wolf learned during an interview for her new book (Outrages: Sex, Censorship, and the Criminalization of Love) that she had misunderstood what “death recorded” meant and thus had inaccuracies in her book. While HMH had initially stated they were proceeding with the June U.S. release, because they still stood by the overall thesis of the work, they’ve since changed their minds and will be “postponing publication and requesting that all copies be returned from retail accounts.”

University of Oklahoma Library Gets AI Help

The robots are here! To help, of course. The University of Oklahoma’s library website will be getting a helpful chatbot to answer students’ most common questions. But don’t worry, it’s not replacing the human librarians who will be sent any questions it can’t answer. For more on training the AI and the future click here.

Orphan Black Returns!

With Tatiana Maslany! If reruns and the comic weren’t feeding your OB obsession anymore, great news: the story will continue exclusively on Serial Box with a 10-episode series. The audiobook and text formats will release this summer and Maslany will be voicing the project. All the details here.

Sponsored by Fix Her Up by New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey, published by Avon.

Marvel Land Is Coming To Disneyland

A bunch of building permits were approved in Anaheim recently igniting excitement again that Marvel Land is coming to Disneyland in 2020! You can check out the reasons for some of the permits–like a microbrewery, a character meet-and-greet area–here, but we’ll most likely be waiting for real news on the project until the D23 Expo in August.

The Handmaid’s Tale Films PSA

With recent news reports that makes The Handmaid’s Tale feel less fictional, the cast of the adaptation filmed a public service announcement with Harper’s Bazaar and Planned Parenthood. You can watch it here.

The Receipts Are Emails

Seems Nicholas Sparks has a lot of terrible views and The Daily Beast, thanks to a legal battle, has the emails. The author, who runs a Christian Academy in North Carolina, has a slew of emails that show him as phobic, discriminating against mental illness, and, well, you can read it all here.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Penguin Teen.

New Online Anne Frank Exhibit Unveiled

Google has unveiled a new online Anne Frank exhibit that includes the only known video of Frank along with a view into the Amsterdam flat that was her childhood home. Learn more here.

Guardian Research Reveals Picture Book Bias

The 100 bestselling illustrated children’s books in 2018 reveals that what is being presented to children is overwhelmingly a white, male-dominated world. Only five of the books had a main character that was a person of color/minority ethnicity AND of those five books, three were the same character. The data keeps getting worse and you should really read about it here.

Harlequin Unveils Harlequin Studios

Harlequin Studios will be under the publishers umbrella and is already making moves, having secured a deal with Canada’s CTV Network to adapt 20 made-for-TV movies. With more than 30,000 books there’s the possibility for lots of adaptations and network deals to come.