Category: Today In Books

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Henry Holt , publisher of TRUST EXERCISE by Susan Choi. Available now wherever books are sold.

Audible Is Producing Plays

Enjoy the theater from the comforts of your home–or car, or wherever you listen to audiobooks, really. Audible has begun recording plays like An Act of God, starring Sean Hayes, for its million of subscribers. Read more about its Greenwich Village theater leasing, the 11 audible plays available, and its plans here. PS: if you’d listen to Alan Cumming’s read you an IKEA manual you’ll definitely want to click that link and get the deets on his one-man show.

More Digitizing!

Seriously, my favorite news lately is all the things libraries have digitized and made accessible. Looking to see never before seen footage? The Oakland Library has got you covered with newly digitized African American Museum & Library Oakland collection which has “footage documenting California activism and organized labor in the 1960s and 1970s.” Learn more here.

All The Disney+ Deets!

So if you’ve been dying to know when Disney+ (the upcoming streaming service) will be available and how much it’ll cost we finally have the answers: Nov. 12, 2019 and $6.99 per month or $69.99 a year. Netflix probably just shook a little.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by the audiobook edition of The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves.

Digitizing The World’s Biggest Library

Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, has big plans. BIG. Enriching the Library Experience is the five year plan to digitize the Library of Congress’ collection essentially making it accessible world wide: “In the past year, we’ve digitized more than 7.1 million items.” You’re gonna want to read this interview here.

Something Doesn’t Add Up

Remember how the Washington Department of Corrections banned used books being sent to prisoners from nonprofits citing that they’d had too many incidents with contraband items? Turns out when The Seattle Times requested to see the 17 incidents 12 didn’t add up to contraband items from used books–or any books. Get the details here.

Calling ’90s Kids!

There’s a documentary about Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark that delves into the popularity of the books but also how the books are amongst the most banned in modern times. You can watch the Scary Stories trailer here.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Amazon Publishing.

Got Inked For The Library

One of the events for National Library Week, to support the Lawrence Public Library, was Get Inked For The Library. Forty people signed up for a $100 tattoo from Standard Electric Tattooing where all proceeds were donated to the library.You can check out the 8 designs they chose from here and maybe get inspired for your own bookish ink.

Killer Women Mentoring Program

It’s 2019 and the crime genre has been so reluctant on being inclusive that programs like this have to be created: The author collective Killer Women began a mentoring program “for unpublished women from under-represented backgrounds who want to write crime or thriller novels.”

The Man Booker International Prize Shortlist!

The Man Booker International Prize–which aims to celebrate the top translated fiction from around the world–has announced its shortlist! Congrats to the six authors, translators, publishers, and books–yes, books have feelings.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by The Center of the Universe by Ria Voros from KCP Loft.

Librarians Are Google To Prison Inmates

What’s a person to do if they have no access to Google? Ask a librarian of course. The San Francisco Public Library receives about 60 letters a week with questions from prison inmates ranging from helpful resources for when they’re released to questions about technology. And of course for song lyrics. But the process isn’t as quick or easy as just Googling it–read more here.

App Summarizes Business Books Into 12 Minutes

Apparently business leaders are too busy to read the business books on their shelves, so Steve Cunningham created Readitfor.me. The app summarizes the most important business books into 12 minutes–including animated video summaries.

*Muppet Arms* Even More Killing Eve

The second season of Killing Eve just started and already we have news from BBC America that there will in fact be a murderous third season. And looks like the show will continue to change its showrunner/lead writer/producer every season as Suzanne Heathcote will get a crack at running this cat-and-mouse thriller next season.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn.

ALA’s 11 Most Challenged Books In 2018

The American Library Association has released their yearly Top Ten Most Challenged Books, which ended up being 11 books this year. The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracks news reports and voluntary challenge reports–noting that 82-97% of book challenges go unreported. Check out the books here and the reasons cited for wanting them banned.

Audible Class Action Lawsuits Settled

Lawsuits that accused Audible of “bait-and-switch tactics and false advertising and violated consumer protection laws when it limited the number of credits that a user could have in their account” appear to have settled. Audible agreed to give 12 million free audiobooks to the plaintiffs and 8.4 million users will be reimbursed for overdraft fees. I’ll just be over here spending the day thinking about 12 million free audiobooks.

Remember The Looking For Alaska Adaptation?

The Hulu eight-episode limited series based on the John Green novel cast some adults: Timothy Simons (Veep) and Ron Cephas Jones (This Is Us). Feels like we’ve been hearing about this for-EV-er so hopefully this news means it’s kicking into gear and will get to us soon.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by our $100 Amazon gift card giveaway! Enter here.

Dead Bodies and Tiny Mortals

Best-selling author and mortician Caitlin Doughty has a new book coming and its title is brilliant: Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death. She answer real questions from kids on death, dying, and dead bodies. Can Grandma have a Viking funeral? Tiny inquiring minds want to know.

Candy Canes Are Cancelled

The trailer for NOS4A2 has dropped and no I could NOT bring myself to watch it in full screen mode. The adaptation of Joe Hill’s haunting work of horror looks all kinds of creepy and wonderful. But yeah, no, never touching a candy cane again.

One Door Closes but City Hall Opens

Drag Queen Story Hour has had a lot of people in their feelings, driving many libraries to pull sponsorship and cancel the programs altogether. When this very thing happened to Atlanta drag queen Terra Cotta Sugarbaker, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms invited her to read to children at city hall instead. Don’t know what I love more here: the story itself or this positively delightful drag name.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Maybe a Mermaid by Josephine Cameron and Macmillan Children’s.

Canadians Push Back On Library’s Metal Detectors

In February the Millennium Library in Winnipeg began “checking bags and scanning patrons age 13 and older for metal objects.” The public has opposed while the library has defended the new policy citing a recent increase in violence and threats at the library. Due to the public’s outcry, the City of Winnipeg committee voted “to ask library services to detail just how many security incidents there are at the Millennium Library — and to look at other options to make patrons feel safe.”

A One-Woman Broadway Play Based On Maya Angelou?

GIVE ME THIS NOW! “Phenomenal Woman will be a one-woman show drawing from Angelou’s writings, along with ‘some private musings that have never before been made public,’” said producers David Michael Rich and J. Todd Harris who hope to have it ready for a 2021 Broadway staging.

It’s The Weekend Here’s A Must-Read Long Read

Here is a long read from The Guardian that takes a deep dive into the romance genre’s very long running issue with racism and diversity.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling.

What A Time To Be Alive!

On April 10th, at 8:30PM ET, authors Marlon James and George R.R. Martin will be at the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe, New Mexico to discuss Black Leopard, Red Wolf. It will be moderated by Andrea L. Mays and for those of us who can’t make it in person The Verge will live stream the conversation on Facebook and Instagram Live. Is it too early to start making all the popcorn?!

This Keeps Getting Better And Better

Netflix made all our hearts happy when they announced they’d be adapting the sequel to Jenny Han‘s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and now their is amazing casting news. Holland Taylor (The Practice, Legally Blonde ) and Sarayu Blue (I Feel Bad, No Tomorrow) have joined the cast!

The Fight Against Washington State’s Decision to Ban Book Donations to Prisons

The non-profit Books for Prisoners recently discovered that Washington State’s Department of Corrections had implemented a new policy essentially banning used publications within state prisons: “Effective March 25, 2019, facilities will no longer allow or accept used books into the facility from non-profit vendors.” You can sign Books to Prisoners petition to stop the ban here, and read Pen America’s statement on Washington State’s misguided and harmful decision here.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Own It.: Make Your Anxiety Work for You by Caroline Foran.

Scribd Starts Original Content With Mueller Book

Scribd, the ebook and audiobook subscription service, has now started to produce original content and it’s started with Mueller’s War by Garrett Graff. Graff, a journalist, has written about Mueller’s time in the Vietnam War when he served as a Marine. If that’s not your thing, don’t worry, they’ll be releasing one new original work a month and the upcoming lineup will have works from Roxane Gay, Mark Seal, Hilton Als, Peter Heller, and Paul Theroux.

Girl, Wash Your Face Author Accused Of Plagiarism

Rachel Hollis’ success as an author of Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing–along with the Instagram content she posts to millions of followers–is being called out in various places claiming that Hollis borrowed from others without giving credit. Ya know, plagiarism. You can see the accusations and examples here.

Netflix Didn’t Cancel The Umbrella Academy

Netflix renewed the adaptation of Gerard Way‘s graphic novel for a second season! I for one am now torn between reading all the volumes in the comic book series or waiting to finish the show–which should I let spoil the other for me?!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Babymoon by Hayley Barrett and Juana Martinez-Neal.

Microsoft Closing Ebook Program And Taking Back Your Library

The Microsoft Store no longer has a books category. If you’d previously purchased or rented ebooks you will only have access to them until the beginning of July and then they will disappear. While Microsoft will offer refunds this feels like a big reminder of why DRM-locked media is something I’ve never been a fan of.

Jenny Lawson Will Open A Bookstore

Author and journalist Jenny Lawson plans to open a bookstore in San Antonio (YAY!) and wants to hear your ideas for what makes a bookstore amazing. Also, you know, if you spot a great space in San Antonio, let her know. Read her announcement here.

$1.25 Million Pledge To Classroom Libraries

Author James Patterson will be donating $250 each to 4,000 teachers and $500 each to 500 teachers with three or less years experience to help them purchase books. And Scholastic Book Club will match Patterson’s donations with book club bonus points. Teachers have until July 31st to apply for the grant–make sure you share this with your teacher friends.