Category: Today In Books

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Amazon Removes Pseudoscience Books

Books unscientifically claiming that autism can be cured with potentially toxic forms of bleach and other pseudoscientific methods have been removed from Amazon. While Amazon confirmed the books are no longer available they did not comment on why, but the move occurred after an article in Wired pointed out the dangers of Amazon stocking these books.

2019 Man Booker International Prize Long List Announced

Highlighting translated fiction from around the world the 2019 Man Booker Dozen has been announced, and congrats to all the authors, translators, and publishers! Check out the thirteen works here and standby for the short list announcement on April 9th–in the meantime you can get your translated work read on!

“What If” Marvel Series In The Works

Disney+ streaming platform and Marvel are working on an adaptation of the “What If” comics which explored alternate histories from what was comic lore and established stories. “One of the confirmed episodes will be an adaptation of What If? Vol. 1 #47 titled What If Loki Had Found the Hammer of Thor?” This sounds fuuuuun!

Sponsored by Putnam Books

Harper Lee Was Also An Artist

While Harper Lee became known for her novel To Kill A Mockingbird she also loved to draw. And was quite good. For the first time 15 of her works, mostly ink drawings, will be going to auction by Bonhams. You can check out the images of some of her caricatures here.

Cookbook Sales Rise

NPD Bookscan data shows that cookbook sales rose 21% from 2017 to 2018 even though the internet and social media offers tons of free recipes. I’m guessing the recent popularity of food shows and docs are driving people to want the physical books in their kitchen but whatever the reason bookstores that specialize in selling cookbooks are certainly thrilled. I for one would like more food memoirs, please.

Let’s Forget The Teaser And Watch The Trailer

While there was lots of jokes and head-shaking at the recent live-action Aladdin teaser the trailer is finally here and it looks really good. I for one want that pink outfit, feel Will Smith was a great choice (he isn’t always blue!), could have done without the earworm, and may have pulled a “how you doin'” at Jafar. Check it out yourself here.

Sponsored by HMHteen’s Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith.

The Library Robots Have Arrived

BookBot is here to return your library books because the future is apparently library robots, not flying skateboards. Google’s Area 120 created the personal delivery robot, now let loose in downtown Mountain View for testing purposes. Click here for more information on the robot testing program, for pictures, and a video–it’s rather adorable.

College Textbooks Still Ridiculously Priced

If you, or someone you know, has attended college in at least the last 20 years, you’re aware that college text books are a challenge for many students to afford. The problem has only gotten worse with time. Publishers are finally recognizing that the prices have left many students unable to purchase the required books, and say new technologies are helping. Advocates say the 1,000% rise in textbook prices since the ’70s is the publishers’ fault, and the new technologies are further limiting. Vox has the breakdown on the issue.

New Harry Potter Game

The follow-up to Niantic’s Pokémon Go phenom is Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. “A co-production with Harry Potter-centric publisher Portkey Games, the mobile game will allow players to venture the real world as wizards and witches, casting spells and entering special challenges to protect the world from Muggle eyes.” While no release date has been announced yet pre-registration is open–you can find this plus more information on the game here.

Sponsored by our What’s Up in YA Giveaway of a $100 gift card to Amazon! Enter here.

Queer Eye‘s Jonathan Van Ness to Publish Memoir

Queer Eye fans rejoice: JVN’s memoir Over the Top is coming this fall! The book will open with a look back at his childhood in a small Midwestern town, where years of judgement and ridicule were unable to dull his unique and resilient spirit. It’ll surely be a testament to embracing individuality and turning pain into something beautiful. Read more about it here.

Vanessa Veselka’s Latest is Going to Knopf

The PEN/Robert Bingham prize-winning author took to Twitter this week to announce that Knopf will publish her latest, The Offshore Grounds. The industry announcement calls it a read in the vein of Nathan Hill’s The Nix and Ottessa Moshfegh’s Eileen and… je suis intrigued! Read the whole announcement here.

#Bookstagram: Where Books Reign Supreme and the Internet Sucks Less

“You may find this hard to believe, but there is a place within social media, tucked away behind the outrage and the trolls and the eye-rolling GIFs, where the weather is mild and disagreements are conducted at reasonable volumes.” The Chicago Tribune dives into the magical realm of #bookstagram, a hashtag with one 28 million posts and some really cute pictures of coffee mugs, unmade beds, books, and sometimes ferrets. Check out the article here.

Sponsored by our What’s Up in YA Giveaway of a $100 gift card to Amazon! Enter here.

Wild Nights with Emily Trailer

An upcoming movie starring Molly Shannon hopes to shed a new light on Emily Dickinson as more than a recluse who wanted her poetry burned. The film is based on letters written between Emily Dickinson and her sister-in-law Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson, “the purported real muse behind her poems.” You can see the film in theaters on April 12th and watch the trailer here.

Where Are My Crime Fiction Fans At?

Agora, a new imprint of Polis Books, has revealed the covers for their first three releases. And “each book is a debut novel, each is about identity, and each tells a harrowing tale of crime and intrigue.” Gimme, gimme, gimme! You can check out the covers here and read more about the novels and authors.

Miss Marple Returning To Television

Guess this round of news got extra crime-y! Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories has partnered with Agatha Christie Ltd to bring us a new Miss Marple series. Agatha Christie wrote 12 Miss Marple books along with twenty short stories so there is plenty of source material!

Sponsored by our What’s Up in YA Giveaway of a $100 gift card to Amazon! Enter here.

The Harry Potter Franchise Aims To Be More Accessible

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them are now available in the UK with dyslexia-friendly fonts and printed on paper that offers maximum contrast with reduced glare. The novels have been approved by the Royal National Institute of Blind People and there are plans in the works for similar treatment for all the books in the Harry Potter series. Here’s hoping making them available in other countries is top priority.

Native Son Trailer

We are in an amazing time filled with adaptations! Richard Wright’s 1940’s novel Native Son has gotten the adaptation treatment and will premiere on HBO on April 6th. Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks wrote the script, keeping the same characters navigating the city of Chicago but updated it for the 21st century. Check out the trailer here.

The First All-Women-Of-Color Production Of Richard II

You can catch a production of Richard II with a cast and crew of all women of color at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in London. The play is co-directed by Lynette Linton and Adjoa Andoh and Andoh also stars as King Richard II. You can read the review here and hear about it on BBC Radio’s Woman’s Hour.

Sponsored by our What’s Up in YA Giveaway of a $100 gift card to Amazon! Enter here.

Amazon Is Closing Its 87 Pop-Up Shops

The Amazon pop-up stores that had been located in grocery stores, Khol’s, and shopping malls–which usually sold Amazon devices such as Kindles–are closing by the end of next month. Its plans to continue with storefront bookstores continues.

New Tolkien Trailer

The biopic starring Nicholas Hoult as John Ronald Reuel Tolkien and Lily Collins as Edith Tolkien, his wife, has a new trailer you can see here. The film will be in theaters on May 10th.

Rachael Denhollander’s Upcoming Books

Rachael Denhollander–former gymnast, current lawyer, and the first public accuser of Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse–has an upcoming memoir and children’s book. In her memoir, What Is a Girl Worth?, Denhollander will discuss the devastating impact the abuse had, her path to finding the courage to speak publicly, and “illuminate the path to a better way forward.” In her children’s book, How Much Is a Little Girl Worth?, Denhollander will help children see their value so they can learn to develop confidence.

Sponsored by Flatiron Books, publishers of Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao, now in paperback.

Look Up The Best-Selling Book From The Year You Were Born

Today in doing something fun: The UK-based online bookshop Wordery launched a new tool that lets you type in your age and find out the best-selling book from the year you were born. I am The Matarese Circle years old.

One Hundred Years of Solitude Will Be A Series

Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude will be adapted by Netflix into an original series en español. The series will be filmed in Colombia and the executive producers will be Márquez’s sons Rodrigo Garcia and Gonzalo García Barcha.

Good Omens Trailer

Have you been waiting for some Heaven and Hell? Amazon just dropped the trailer for the adaptation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s novel Good Omens. You can see the trailer here and watch the series on Amazon Prime starting May 31st.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Disney Publishing Worldwide.

The Nobel Prize in Literature Award Returns

There will be two Nobel prizes in literature awarded: One for 2018 and one for 2019–2018 having been cancelled last year after the Swedish Academy basically fell apart following rape accusations against the husband of one of its members. In order to earn back trust, the Swedish Academy, and the Nobel Foundation, have listed the steps they’ve taken and will continue to implement.

Libraries Going Green

The New York Library Association created the Sustainable Library Certification Program so that libraries who choose to participate can do their part for the environment. Lindenhurst Memorial Library is the first Long Island library to get their Green Business Partnership status and the third in the state. Read here for how they’re achieving a more green status and, ya know, maybe get some ideas to implement yourself.

The Audie Award Winners Announced

Last night at the Audies Gala, the winners for the 2019 Audie Awards were announced in 24 categories that ranged in genres including Romance and Fantasy to categories including Audiobook of the Year and Multi-Voiced Performance. Check out all the winners here, including sound clips.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Penguin Random House.

Principal Reads Books Live On Facebook

You can find elementary school principal Belinda George live on Facebook every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. reading a book as a bedtime story, which she calls “Tucked-in Tuesdays.” What a great way to encourage reading and make sure every kid gets tucked in with a bedtime story.

New Legal Trouble For Roger Stone

Over a book, of course. Seems Stone has a book about to publish and his legal team failed to mention it to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson who had placed Stone, who is accused of obstruction of justice and lying to congress, under a gag order. This will continue to be a developing story.

The 2019 Women’s Prize For Fiction Longlist!

From 163 entries 16 finalists for the longlist were selected, including seven debuts and a range of genres. Immediately spotted some Rioter favorites–An American Marriage, Circe, Freshwater, My Sister, the Serial Killer–and the top of my TBR list just grew!