Category: Today In Books

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

A Cemetery Of Banned Books

Containing over 200 headstones a Kuwaiti artist created the piece close to Kuwait’s annual book fair to protest the government’s recent  ban on thousands of works of literature. Momhammed Sharaf had two goals as he created the piece: “The first was to shed light on the banned books,” he said. “The second is to show people that we can say ‘no’ in a very peaceful way, without manifestations, and without writing in journals.”

Black Panther Actor’s Role Left Him Needing Therapy

Michael B. Jordan discussed how his role as Killmonger in Black Panther was the first character he was unable to leave on set when finished. After realizing he was isolating himself and feeling depressed he sought professional help. We’re glad he was able to seek help and is openly speaking about his experience.

Muppet Arms Ready?

The CW will be adapting Victoria Schwab’s City of Ghosts into a one-hour series. Even if I didn’t already love Schwab I’d be 100% in for a show set in Scotland following a student of paranormal psychology.

Sponsored by Today’s newsletter is sponsored by THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE DUKE, a delightful Regency holiday romance by Janna MacGregor.

Mystery Writers of America Were Asked To Rethink Award Nominee

After announcing that Linda Fairstein, along with Martin Cruz Smith, would be receiving the 2019 Grand Master Award at this year’s Edgar Awards many people asked them to reconsider Fairstein. Linda Fairstein was the prosecutor in the Central Park Five case where five black teenagers were wrongly convicted. “The Five served six to 13 years in prison before their convictions were vacated following the confession of a serial rapist, confirmed by DNA evidence, in 2002. Fairstein has never apologized or changed her position on their guilt.” After consideration Mystery Writers of America withdrew Linda Fairstein’s Grand Master award. You can read their statement here.

Waterstones Book Of The Year Goes To

Normal People by Sally Rooney! The British book retailers award, created in 2012, usually goes to books that are bestsellers leading up to Christmas. Read more about Rooney’s novel and the runner ups.

Exciting Adaptation News

JoAnn Chaney’s thriller As Long As We Both Shall Live, publishing January 15th, already sold its film rights. As someone who read an ARC of the book, I promise this is exciting. It’s going to be a huge thriller in 2019, and it’s perfect for film adaptation.

Sponsored by CADENZA by Stella Riley, an exquisite historical romance in The Times recommended Rockliffe series.

Margaret Atwood Announced On Twitter The Handmaid’s Tale Sequel

Titled The Testaments the new work will publish in 2019 and “is set 15 years after Offred’s final scene and is narrated by three female characters.” Here’s hoping it’s still fiction when it publishes.

60 Years Later

Uncollected poems and an essay by Pulitzer prize-winning poet Anne Sexton have been rediscovered. Her early works, noted as being brighter than the work she’s known for, will be reprinted by the literary journal at the University of Idaho, Fugue.

Netflix + The Roald Dahl Story Company =

The streaming company will be creating family-oriented animated series based on Matilda, The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and George’s Marvellous Medicine. “Netflix says it will ‘remain faithful to the quintessential spirit and tone’ of Dahl’s work, while also building an ‘imaginative story universe’ that extends beyond the author’s books.”

Sponsored by Glimmer of Hope by The Founders of March For Our Lives

NPR’s Book Concierge Of 2018

I know you can’t look anywhere without spotting a Best Of list–’tis the season after all–but I love how NPR’s Book Concierge is designed and how eclectic it is. You’re bound to see favorites while also discovering tons of new-to-you books.

Thriller Without Violence Award Goes To:

Australian novel, On the Java Ridge by Jock Serong. The Staunch prize, this is it’s first year, was created to award a thriller “in which no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered.” Read more about the prize, those who oppose, and about Serong’s novel here.

We Have Another Dictionary Chosen Word Of The Year

Dictionary.com has selected “misinformation” as the 2018 word of the year. “The rampant spread of misinformation is really providing new challenges for navigating life in 2018,” Dictionary linguist-in-residence Jane Solomon told The Associated Press. “Mainstream” and “representation” were among the runner-ups.

Sponsored by Libby, the one-tap reading app from your library and OverDrive.

Publisher Pulls Publication Of Upcoming Graphic Novel

Abrams will no longer publish A Suicide Bomber Sits in the Library by Jack Gantos and Dave McKean after many publicly objected to the Islamophobic comic. The Asian Author Alliance wrote a public letter that was signed by more than 1,000 teachers, writers, and readers: “The simple fact is that today, the biggest terrorist threat in the US is white supremacy. In publishing A Suicide Bomber Sits in the Library, Abrams is willfully fear-mongering and spreading harmful stereotypes in a failed attempt to show the power of story.”

The Fourth Doctor Is Writing A Doctor Who Novelization

Tom Baker has co-written with author James Goss a novelization based on a Doctor Who film that had been planned but never made. You can read more about Scratchman over at EW.

For The Honor Of Grayskull

We are getting Little Golden Books in 2019 of She-Ra and He-Man! While we wait for the adorable I Am She-Ra and I Am He-Man I very much recommend the new She-Ra series on Netflix–it’s fantastic!

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Black Balloon, an imprint of Catapult, publisher of Northwood by Maryse Meijer.

Cyber Monday eReading Alert

If you’re in the market for a new Kindle, Nook, or Kobo, watch this page for the best Cyber Monday deals. There are also some great ebook deals to be had, including what amounts to 96% off of three months of Kindle Unlimited for new subscribers.

10 Years Later, We Still Love Bella’s Normcore Lewks

Let memory lane deliver you to 2008, when we were first blessed with the denim and plaid of the first Twilight movie. That Pacific Northwest uniform is a definite mood, and here’s a look back at it and all the awkward adolescence it conveyed.

We Are Dolphinately Here For Julie Andrews In “Aquaman”

Aquaman’s standalone film keeps getting better and better, and it hasn’t even come out yet. Now we hear that Dame Julie Andrews lends her voice to a CGI fish monster?! I’m setting up my tent and sleeping bag outside of my local cinema as soon as I hit “send” on this newsletter.

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Wildcard by Marie Lu

In Delightful News

Paige Thomas, a Boise Public Librarian, has been hiding notes inside books waiting to be checked out. The notes are positive and kind–the type of thing to brighten your day when you find it in your book–as part of her #guerrillakindnessBPL project.

Trailer: Netflix’s Indian original series, Selection Day

Based on Booker Prize winner Aravind Adiga’s 2016 novel Selection Day, Netflix’s new coming-of-age tale will premier December 28. You can see the trailer here.

Protestors Trying To Stop Airport Being Renamed After Neruda

(TW rape) Chile’s busiest international airport may be renamed in honor of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. But many feel this would be a mistake, and send a wrong message, since Neruda described a time he raped a maid in his memoir. “There is no clear reason to rename the airport, and it is happening at a time when women are only beginning to dare denounce their abusers,” said Karen Vergara Sánchez.

Today’s newsletter is sponsored by our $250 All the Books Barnes and Noble gift card giveaway! Click here for more info.

The Oddest Book Title Of The Year

According to the Bookseller’s annual Diagram prize this year’s oddest book title goes to: The Joy of Waterboiling, a German-language guide to cooking meals in a kettle. It beat out other titles such as Are Gay Men More Accurate in Detecting Deceits?, Equine Dry Needling, Jesus on Gardening, and The Secret History of Dung.

A Round-Up Of Black Friday Sales For Readers

Here’s a list of great sales today from ereaders at Barnes & Noble and Amazon to sales at Indie stores, publishers, and small presses.

Wonder What Books College Freshman Are Reading?

The National Association of Scholars surveyed schools that used college common reading program throughout 481 colleges and universities. 67 percent of books assigned were published after 2011 meaning more recent work is being read than classics. Read on to hear about specific books being chose and why.

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Candlewick Press

Chinese Author Imprisoned

Identified by the state-run Global Times only by her surname Liu, writing under the pseudonym Tianyi, the Chinese author was sentenced to more than ten years in prison. Police in the Anhui city of Wuhu, where Liu was sentenced, said the novel described obscene sexual behaviour between males, and was “full of perverted sexual acts such as violation and abuse.”

Reading Fiction Makes You Nicer

An assistant professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, David Dodell-Feder, analyzed 14 previous studies related to whether reading fiction alters one’s brain. His conclusion: there’s a “small, statistically significant improvement in social-cognitive performance,” a finding they call “robust” when one reads fiction over nonfiction or not reading at all.

Netflix’s Christmas Gift

To subscribers this year is Avengers: Infinity War will begin streaming on December 25th. It definitely won’t be spreading any holiday cheer but if you want a blockbuster movie to gather around and watch from the comfort of your home Netflix has got you covered.

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Revell Books

The Tupac Estate + Marvel =

Apparel and accessories that combine Tupac’s lyrics and iconography with Blank Panther images. Check out the collection pieces, rolling out throughout the entire month, which are only available at footlocker.com.

The Winner Of The 2018 $100,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize

Goes to Esi Edugyan for Washington Black! This is her second win, having won in 2011 for her novel Half-Blood Blues. The prize was established in 1994 by Jack Rabinovitch in memory of his wife, literary journalist Doris Giller. French Exit by Patrick deWitt, An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim, Songs for the Cold of Heart by É​ric Dupont, Motherhood by Sheila Heti are the remaining finalist who each receive $10,000.

Michelle Obama’s Memoir The Biggest Book Of 2018?

Becoming is definitely selling to break some records! It sold in the U.S. and Canada more than 725,000 units on its publication day. Barnes & Noble stated that it outsold Fear in comparable first week sales, and has the highest first week adult book sales in three years.