Category: Today In Books

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by The Familiars by Stacey Halls and MIRA Books.

Scientists Studying DNA Of Old Books

After realizing the goldmine of information to be learned from extracting DNA from old bones, scientists are now looking at objects to gather DNA from. Enter the parchment project where Matthew Collins “gathered a team that included geneticists as well as archivists, bookmakers, and historians” to study the DNA of old books. You can read all the interesting research here. My nerd-heart was purring.

Hateful Kansas Bill Attacks LGBTQ+ And Comes For Drag Queen Storytime

Last week Kansas lawmakers introduced a phobic and hateful bill that attacks the LGBTQ+ community, gay marriage, supports conversion therapy, and is trying to ban drag queen storytime from public libraries and public schools. It’s a lot of hate.

Jack The Ripper’s Victims Get TV Series

The Five by Hallie Rubenhold finally focuses on giving voice to the five women who were Jack the Ripper’s victims and Gwyneth Hughes has adapted the book into a TV series and Mainstreet Pictures has bought the scripts. It’s taken a 130 years but here’s to finally focusing on the victims and not the predator.

Sponsored by our giveaway of $100 to Amazon in support of Swords and Spaceships, our sci-fi/fantasy newsletter!

DC Cancels New Comic Series

CitizenGo, an anti-abortion and anti-LGBT campaign, called for the cancellation of the new comic series The Second Coming, which features Jesus returning to earth where he is “‘Shocked to discover what has become of his gospel,’ he teams up with a superhero, Sun-Man, who is more widely worshipped than him.” The creators have requested the rights back and are looking for a new publisher: “I think the religious fundamentalists and critics who are trying to stop Second Coming aren’t interested in protecting Christ so much as their ability to control his narrative … They probably (correctly) suspect that it’s not Christ who’s being parodied, but themselves and how they’ve twisted his teachings of mercy for the powerless into a self-serving tool of the powerful.”

Courtney Milan Accuses Author Of Plagiarism

Courtney Milan wrote a post where she shows passages from her novel The Duchess War and how exact sentences from her book are found in Cristiane Serruya’s Royal Love saying it’s enough proof of plagiarism. This will continue to be a developing story–you can always keep up on Twitter–but so far Serruya has responded by saying it was her ghostwriter and she’s removed the work while she looks into it.

Will Smith Goes Will Smith In Library

While filming Bad Boys for Life in Atlanta Will Smith took an onset break in Buckhead Library to autograph some of his work–in their movie collection. While writing on library property is generally considered vandalism and seriously frowned upon, it’s Will Smith so his signature addition instead prompted the library “to add the films to the Fulton County Library System’s special collection.” Bad Boys indeed–okay, I am sorry for that one.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by James Patterson’s latest thriller, The Chef.

Yes, You Can Play ‘Accio’

Also, names of characters, actors, places, spells–any word coined in Harry Potter is accepted in the spring releasing Harry Potter Scrabble edition. Fun! Check out more rules and where you can purchase here.

Gender Debate Sparked By Upcoming Dr. James Barry Book

EJ Levy announced a forthcoming book about Dr. James Barry, described as “the pioneering Victorian who adopted a male persona to become the UK’s first female-born doctor.” Levy’s announcement used the pronouns “she/her” which received responses from many explaining that it is disrespectful to abhorrent to not use he/him.

Netflix And Marvel Finito

At least, all the shows have now been cancelled. The Punisher will not have a third season, and while Jessica Jones had previously been renewed for a third season it will now officially be its last. While we may see these characters in the future on the Disney+ streaming service, it’ll be at least a couple years since the original contract between Netflix and Marvel “included a clause that keeps the characters from appearing in any non-Netflix series (or film) for at least two years after cancellation.”

Sponsored by our giveaway of $100 to Amazon in support of Swords and Spaceships, our sci-fi/fantasy newsletter!

Marie Kondo, Friend to Thrift Stores

One person’s trash is a charity shop’s treasure! A spokesperson for Goodwill of Western New York joked that they invented The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up author as a way “to get people to donate half of their things.”

It’s morphin’ time!

You remember those Animorph covers, right? Go behind the scenes of the making of the book cover art. (Extra credit if you also remember whose catchphrase that is.)

Does this mean she knows what happens in Avengers: Endgame?

We couldn’t be prouder of former Book Riot contributor Preeti Chhibber, who is writing a tie-in novel for Spider-Man: Far From Home! You can see the cover reveal for Peter and Ned’s Ultimate Travel Journal here and preorder it starting tomorrow.

Sponsored by our giveaway of $100 to Amazon in support of Swords and Spaceships, our sci-fi/fantasy newsletter!

I Want Them All!

DC Collectibles has two new lines being unveiled this weekend for American International Toy Fair in New York and one of them is DC ¡Lucha Explosiva! It’s reimagined the DC villains and superheroes as Luchadores “complete with a revised backstory informed by Mexican history and culture.” Check out the awesome figures here.

It’s Like A Feminist Book Fairy Is Lose In London!

@feministpoetsociety has left 200 hidden postcards around London that have a different feminist poem written on it. You can check out the postcards found so far here and follow the hashtag–or if you’re in London go on a poetry scavenger hunt!

Author Robin DiAngelo Gets Second Book Deal

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo became Beacon Press’s fastest-selling book so it’s not surprising that they’ve acquired a second book from DiAngelo. It’s still untitled–has a lot to live up to after the first–but we do know that the “new book will look at the ways in which white people form alliances with one another, and the need for them to break those alliances in order to support racial equality.“

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Fierce Reads.

Dream Of Owning A Comic Shop?

And want to live in Illinois? Your dream might come true. Carmelo Chimera is the owner of two comic store fronts and doesn’t have the time to run the business being that he’s a full-time lawyer and also writes graphic novels. But rather than selling he’s decided to pass it along to a new owner. If you think you’d be the perfect owner Chimera is asking people to submit $25 and answer the question of “What makes a good comic book store?”

One Of The Inventors Of The Modern Paperback Passed Away

Betty Ballantine, who along with her husband helped invent the modern paperback, passed away at 99-years-old. If you read something today it should really be Betty and Ian’s awesome life story that started with them using a $500 wedding gift to begin importing books.

I Am SO Ready!

Season 2 of Killing Eve premieres April 7th on the BBC at 8p.m. and they were so kind to give us a little poem and trailer on Valentine’s Day. Is it April 7th YET?!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by ‘Until the Last Star Fades’ by Jacquelyn Middleton – available until February 15 for only $1.99!

Banned Punjabi Poem Gets English Translation

Khooni Vaisakhi by Nanak Singh was a poem written in 1920 on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and banned after publication because of its critique of the British Raj. Singh wrote the poem after being at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919 where he fainted, after British troops opened fire on the unarmed protestors, and his body was piled with the dead. The once lost manuscript has been rediscovered and is being published in English.

Julie Murphy’s Next Book!

Has another adorable title and sounds as amazing as her previous works! Dear Sweet Pea will be her first middle-grade novel and it sounds so good. It follows a seventh grader who intercepts the town’s advice column letters and answers them herself. You can see the cover and read more about it here.

Could it be…SATAN?

The series adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens, releasing on May 31 on Amazon, has found its Satan: Benedict Cumberbatch. “Gaiman said that Cumberbatch’s Prince of Darkness will be ‘a giant, animated Satan’ who appears ‘400 foot high.‘” You can see Cumberbatch’s Satan for the first time on the sixth episode of the series.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by The Lost Man by Jane Harper.

Will The Harry Potter Films Get A Reboot?

Harry Potter–er, Daniel Radcliffe thinks so. During a recent interview he said he thinks it’s inevitable: “It will be interesting to see how long those films stay… it feels like there’s a sacredness around them at the moment, but that’ll go, the shine will wear off at some point,” he laughed. “It’ll be interesting if they reboot them and just do the films again or do a series; I’m fascinated to watch.”

Cool Project

Husband-and-wife team, Robert Dawson and Ellen Manchester, have been traveling to libraries around the world and photographing them as part of a long-term Global Library Project, partially supported by the Fulbright Global Scholar fellowship. Read more about their travels and see some pretty pictures here.

Here For This!

It does feel like studios are out here adapting all the books and I am so very much here for it! Recent news, that sounds awesome, is Freeform will be adapting Jennine Capó Crucet’s Make Your Home Among Strangers into a drama series. It’s a “cross-generational drama that follows both a Cuban American girl who struggles her freshman year at an elite New England college and the chaotic family she leaves behind in Miami, all set against the backdrop of the explosive Elian Gonzalez trial in the 1990’s.” Make the popcorn!

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

Medieval Historians Unearth Amazing Story

An Archbishop of York’s register from 1304 to 1405 just revealed a wild story of a nun who not only faked her death, but made a body dummy for burial in order to escape the convent to pursue “the way of carnal lust.” I am totally here for this non-compliant nun–omg someone write a romance!

Anne of Green Gables Ballet

Will tour Canada and the U.S. beginning in September. So far, we know the ballet’s tour, an adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic novel, starts September 28th in Halifax, N.S. For further announcement of dates and places you’ll have to keep checking in here.

Marvel Rising: Heart of Iron Upsets Fans

The upcoming hour-long Disney special Marvel Rising: Heart of Iron is receiving criticism for changing the character Riri Williams’ appearance by straightening her hair and giving her a “decidedly less Afrocentric look.” For images and fans explanations of why the change is hurtful and harmful click here.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by How Long ‘Til Black Future Month – the “Dazzling” (NYT) first collection of short stories from three-time Hugo Award winner N. K. Jemisin.

Jimmy Carter Won A Grammy

Again! This time he won the 2019 Grammy for spoken word album for his audiobook Faith: A Journey for All. And he’s the third-oldest winner in Grammy history at age 94.

Timbaland Publishing Children’s Book

Nighttime Symphony, illustrated by Christopher Myers, will be a “melodious bedtime story which uses nighttime city sounds to create a lively lullaby.” That sounds super fun and check out the cover, it’s beautiful.

Teaser For Disney’s Live Action Aladdin

In case you missed the teaser drop for the upcoming Guy Ritchie-directed Aladdin and have always fantasized about a Smurf-y Will Smith, here you go. And yes, that is all I’m going to say about it.