Category: Today In Books

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Lion Forge.

Walmart’s eBookstore Launches

Walmart will sell ebooks online and in stores. According to The Digital Reader, walmart.com/ebooks will be managed and supported via a subdomain by Kobo. And the $99 Kobo Aura will be sold in stores, alongside ebook and/or audiobook title cards, cash value gift cards, and cards for audiobook subscriptions. The question is, will this interesting system work?

New Trailer For The Hate U Give

A new trailer for The Hate U Give premiered. The movie, based on Angie Thomas’s YA novel about a young black girl who witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend at the hands of a police officer, starring Amandla Stenberg in the lead role as Starr Carter, is in theaters October 19. This movie hasn’t stopped building up buzz since it was announced.

Doctor Who’s First Black Screenwriter

Is former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman. Blackman has written more than 60 books for children and young adults, including her Naughts and Crosses series. “I’ve always loved Doctor Who. Getting the chance to write for this series has definitely been a dream come true,” said Blackman.

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

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

Here Are Your 2018 Hugo Awards Winners

Congratulations to N.K. Jemisin who won Best Novel for the third year in a row (and gave us an unforgettable, timely acceptance speech)! Jemisin won for The Stone Sky, the final book in the Broken Earth trilogy. Other winners included All Systems Red by Martha Wells for Best Novella, and “Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™” by Rebecca Roanhorse for Best Short Story. Check out the full list (dominated by women) here.

Barack Obama’s Favorite Summer Reads

Obama came through with another list of books to check out. You may have heard of some of these buzzy titles already, including An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, and Educated by Tara Westover. “This summer I’ve been absorbed by new novels, revisited an old classic, and reaffirmed my faith in our ability to move forward together when we seek the truth,” Obama said of his faves.

Trump Sends Cease-And-Desist To Omarosa’s Publisher

Déjà vu is Trump sending a cease-and-desist letter to Simon & Schuster ahead of the publication of Omarosa Manigault Newman’s White House tell-all, Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House. You may remember that Trump’s lawyer sent a letter to Michael Wolff’s publisher for Fire and Fury (that didn’t go well for Trump). S&S said they “are proceeding as planned with publication of Unhinged by Omarosa Manigault-Newman, confident that we are acting well within our rights and responsibilities as a publisher.”

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Amazon Publishing –  Save the best read for last. Finish your summer reading list with titles as low as $0.99.

It’s like “Spotify for Cookbooks” And It’s Almost Here

If you don’t have the shelf space for all the cookbooks you’d like to own, and your library’s cookbook selection isn’t as eclectic as you’d like, for $8.99 a month you can browse CKBK’s collection of 500+ cookbooks and 100,000 recipes. At least, that’s the plan when it hopes to launch in October/November to those who didn’t pledge to its Kickstarter campaign.

The Weirdest Libraries Around The World

Camels and tanks and fridges, oh my! Electric Literature did book lovers a favor and rounded up a bunch of weird (they meant AWESOME!) libraries around the world. How can I ride the book tank, on a beach, with camel library as my copilot?

And In Get-Popcorn-And-Go-Watch News

In theaters: Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, adapted from Ron Stallworth’s memoir, about a black police officer during the ’70s who tricked the KKK into making him a member. Netflix streaming: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, an adaptation of Jenny Han’s novel, about a teen whose secret love letters get mailed to her five crushes.

And we’re giving away 16 awesome books featured on the Recommended podcast!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by A WILLING MURDER by Jude Deveraux from MIRA Books.

Freeze Drying Process Recovers Damaged Rare Books

The California State Library managed to save hundreds of rare books using a freeze drying process. Over the winter, a ceiling leak damaged the books, some of which dated back to the 1800s. Thankfully, many of these books are ready for reshelving!

ALA Fellow Responds To Tor’s E-Book Embargo

Over at Publisher’s Weekly, the ALA’s appointed digital content fellow, Sari Feldman, addressed Tor’s recent e-book embargo for libraries. Feldman described the SFF publisher’s experiment to learn if library lending is negatively impacting retail e-book sales as a wake-up call for librarians to protect patrons’ access to digital content. “I am ready to take a fire hose to this problem,” said Feldman.

Watch Out For Watchmen

HBO ordered a full series for Watchmen, based on the comic by Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons. We also have the full cast lineup, which includes Regina King and Jeremy Irons (what what). HBO’s first superhero series arrives in 2019.

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Temper by Nicky Drayden.

Soap In A Box

YA Twitter was stirred up by the penis-shaped soap (NSFW images of said soap are in the linked article) delivered in fandom subscription boxes for Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses. The Book Boyfriend Box was not an official marketing item from the publisher. Some criticized erotic merch in a box for a YA book, and some noted that the book is New Adult. The box creator reminded everyone that the book includes explicit sex scenes, and the box was adult-rated. One issue to be addressed is that the box also included erotic fanart and fanfiction, and, as the article states, “for-profit fanfic is generally viewed as copyright infringement.”

Anne With An E Renewed For Third Season

Expect a third season of Anne With an E from Netflix and CBC in 2019. The second season of the series, based on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, is currently available on Netflix and will premiere in Canada on CBC September 23. “Our beloved Anne will be 16 years old when we return to this season full of romantic complications, bold adventures and dramatic discoveries,” said showrunner Moira Walley-Beckett.

Keanu Reeves’ Esoteric Imprint

The headline really makes this story, but the story itself is interesting too: Keanu Reeves is publishing an imprint of esoteric books. Reeves launched X Artists’ Books with his business partner, artist Alexandra Grant, in Los Angeles. Click through for the New York Times’ T Magazine profile of the imprint.

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley.

It’s late summer, war is raging, and families are torn apart by divided loyalties and deadly secrets. In this complex and dangerous time, a young French Canadian lieutenant is captured and billeted with a Long Island family, an unwilling and unwelcome guest. As he begins to pitch in with the never-ending household tasks and farm chores, Jean-Philippe de Sabran finds himself drawn to the daughter of the house. Slowly, Lydia Wilde comes to lean on Jean-Philippe, true soldier and gentleman, until their lives become inextricably intertwined. Legend has it that the forbidden love between Jean-Philippe and Lydia ended tragically, but centuries later, the clues they left behind slowly unveil the true story.

Charleston Says “So Long” To Overdue Fines

Overdue books will no longer earn you late fines in the Charleston County Public Library system. But twist! This policy has actually been in place since JUNE. They kept it real quiet until they were sure it was a policy change they could commit to. But as we’ve written about before, overdue fines aren’t essential to the financial health of a library, and limit access for lower-income patrons. So the change is here to stay!

Dune is Coming For Your Game Night

Have you heard about the new Dune adaptation coming out in 2020? It has inspired a new range of Dune tabletop games scheduled for release ahead of the film adaptation. I would be very much onboard with this trend of remakes and reboots if every single one of them were accompanied by a Cones-of-Dunshire-type tabletop game.

Anne With A Three

The third season of Anne With an E, the Netflix/CBC adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, has been greenlit. People tend to have strong feelings about the tone of the series, either loving or hating how it brings the realness to the beloved story of Anne Shirley. If you haven’t formed an opinion yet, you can watch the first two seasons on Netflix right now.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Lion Forge.

Publisher Recalls Cookbook After Critics Said Recipes Could Be Dangerous

A publisher recalled a cookbook after readers expressed concerns about the dangers of consuming some of the recipes. Crown Publishing, Rodale and author and Instagram influencer Johnna Holmgren agreed to discontinue the publication and promotion of Tales From a Forager’s Kitchen. Rodale stated that it took “very seriously the concerns expressed by readers regarding the preparation and cooking of recipes with raw ingredients (mushrooms and elderberries).”

First Look At BBC’s Eugene McCable Adaptation

The BBC gave us a first look at its forthcoming period drama Death and Nightingales. The three-part drama based on Eugene McCable’s Irish classic stars Jamie Dornan (The Fall) and Matthew Rhys (The Americans). The novel is described as a story of love, betrayal, deception, and revenge, set in 1885 in a world of spies, and taking place over a tense 24-hour period.

Los Angeles Hosts African American Book Expo

This weekend, Los Angeles County will host the African American Book Expo at the SOL Venue in Carson, California. The Expo, which launched last year in Dallas, brings readers of African American books together with publishers and authors. The event is free and sounds wonderful, if you can make it!

And don’t forget, we’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of Recommended, in honor of the upcoming third season of the podcast! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by BookishFirst.

In Idris Elba News

He’s joined the production of Ghetto Cowboy, an adaptation of Greg Neri’s novel, as producer and cast member. The story is inspired by Philadelphia and Brooklyn urban horseback riders and are tickets on sale yet? But wait there’s more Idris Elba news! In you-better-not-be-toying-with me: It’s being reported that James Bond producers do have Elba as the frontrunner for Bond when “the progressive move” “‘will happen eventually.'” Not my favorite quote but please GIVE ME ELBA BOND ALREADY.

Booker Prize Longlist Sells Out Graphic Novel From Stores

In it’s-just-an-honor-to-be-nominated: Looks like landing on the Booker longlist as the first graphic novel to make the longlist has created a demand that has left no stock in stores for Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina. “According to book sales monitor Nielsen BookScan, Sabrina has sold more than 1,500 copies in the two weeks since the Booker longlist was announced.”

See Artifacts From Famous Authors From The Comfort Of Your Home

Thanks to the New Yorker’s paid visit to the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library you can watch a video of Declan Kiely, the Director of Exhibitions, show and talk about historical artifacts from famous authors. This is why the internet exists.

And we’re giving away 16 AWESOME books featured on the Recommended podcast! (Yes, they’re awesomeness required all caps.)

Sponsored by Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh, published by Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. 

Justin Timberlake Will Share ‘Intimate’ Photos in New Book

Justin Timberlake’s upcoming book Hindsight: and All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me will include an “intimate collection of images.” Says Timberlake, “My story has been filled with so many amazing people that have helped me become the artist I am today. Reflecting on those moments, spotlighting some of the important people and places that have informed my music, and getting the opportunity to share my story is something I am very grateful for.” The book is out October 30th.

Dan Brown Reveals Collectors Editions of His Biggest Books

The Da Vinci Code, Inferno, and The Lost Symbol will be re-released in paperback with new collectors edition covers, making this the first re-design of the books since their initial publication. The new editions will be available August 21st.

Why Little Women Endures

There’s a new book about the history of Little Women and why it’s still so popular and important to so many people.”Rioux suggests that the novel’s appeal and influence over so many readers and writers has everything to do with this kind of unexpected complexity. Little Women is, in fact, propelled less by its sweetness and light than it is by its internal frisson: between Marmee’s placidity and her declaration of anger, between the family’s love of their father and his infuriating uselessness, between the novel’s embrace of the values of sentimental womanhood and their clear association with death and abjection.”

Today’s edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Megabat by Anna Humphrey, illustrated by Kass Reich

Anti-Semitic Graffiti on Home of Elie Wiesel

The Romanian childhood home of Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, was covered in anti-Semitic graffiti late last week. The crime occurred “months after Romania’s Parliament passed a law in June to prevent and combat episodes of anti-Semitism,” making it the first case to fall under the new law. Romanian police are investigating, and are considering suspects.

Millennials Are Killing the Classics Along with Diamonds and Bar Soap, or Something

This is a bad take for a number of reasons, the least of which being it’s considering sales data from years when millennials were too young to be purchasing books. But also because the author doesn’t seem to understand what a “classic” is, and because millennials actually read more than any previous generation.

A “Deleted” Novella from WHEEL OF TIME is Coming in 2019

Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson’s A Memory of Light had a deleted scene that was published in the Unfettered anthology in 2013–now, the 2019 edition will contain another.