Category: Today In Books

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by TarcherPerigee, bringing you Keiko Agena’s No Mistakes.

BEL CANTO Has a Trailer

Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto is getting the film treatment, with Ken Watanabe and Julianne Moore in starring roles. As Rioter Margaret Kingsbury points out, this is the first of Patchett’s books to be adapted into a movie. Something to look forward to in September!

Snakes on a Plane, Except the Plane Is a Library

A Georgetown library closed down for two days while a pest-control company made sure the premises were snake-free. Why? Because library staff found a snake slithering around inside. And then two more live snakes were spotted. The pest-control company eventually found a dead snake, but as the Washington Post reports, “The whereabouts of the other snakes are unknown.”

Celebrate International Cat Day With This Book

There’s a book of cat portraits that’s big in Japan. But these aren’t your everyday headshots. The book is wall-to-wall cat paws. Cute? Weird? You can judge for yourself when the book has its English-language debut in September.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Flatiron Books and Legendary by Stephanie Garber.

Librarians On The Case, Solving Your Title Conundrums

Librarian sleuths! A team of librarians banded together to solve title mysteries for readers. New York Public Library reader services librarian Gwen Glazer assembled a team of librarians to participate in this “Title Quest” hackathon. Read about this delightful event (and their snacks) here.

Adaptation News

A few adaptation items in today. Apple has secured the rights to develop a series based on Min Jin Lee’s novel, Pachinko. Patrick Wilson, Laysla De Oliveira, and Harrison Gilbertson will star in the Netflix adaptation of Stephen King and Joe Hill’s thriller, In The Tall Grass. And, finally, a Slaughterhouse-Five series is now in development at Epix.

3 Ukip Members Suspected Of Involvement in Attack On Socialist Bookstore

We’ve got follow-up news on the far-right attack on socialist bookstore Bookmarks in London. Ukip has suspended three members suspected of being involved in the attack. According to the report on the incident, “Twelve men, one of whom was wearing a Donald Trump mask, entered the central London shop as staff were closing for the day, knocking over displays and ripping up magazines while chanting far-right slogans. ”

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 Doubleday Books.

Harlem Renaissance Classic Will Be Adapted

Nella Larsen’s Harlem Renaissance novel Passing will be adapted for a feature film. Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) is writing the script and will direct; Tessa Thompson (Westworld) and Ruth Negga (Loving) will star in the story exploring racial passing. What a dream team!

Bookstore Attacked By Far-Right Protestors

Twelve men, one wearing a Donald Trump mask, targeted socialist bookshop Bookmarks in an attack over the weekend. The men who entered the London bookshop shouted right-wing slogans at those inside, ripped up magazines, and knocked over displays. The community has rallied around the shop, donating money to replace damaged stock and to increase the store’s security. Bookmarks is planning to host a free public “solidarity” event with author appearances on August 11.

Getting Inked At The Library

Certified Tattoo Studios partnered with The Denver Public Library Friends Foundation, providing bookish tattoos to raise money for the non-profit. Tattoos were $50 to $200 and ranged from Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter to the library logo. What a cool idea!

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 USA Today Bestselling Author Angel Payne

Chinese Crime Novelist Sentenced To Death

More than twenty years ago Liu Yongbiao and Wang Mouming robbed and murdered a family, a crime that inspired Liu’s novels. Twenty-two years later, the crime was solved thanks to DNA evidence (genetic testing strikes again) which led to a confession from Liu and Wang.

Books Related To Anxiety Are Soaring, Says Barnes & Noble

Can’t say I’m surprised by this considering the state of *gestures wildly at everything.* The sale of books related to anxiety are up 25%, according to B&N, and people seeking happiness through books grew by 83%–hope they’re finding it! Read the article to see some interesting sales data by states.

Let’s Find Some Happiness Ourselves With Adaptation News Roundup

Hillary Clinton and Steven Spielberg are adapting Elaine Weiss’ The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote. Fellow Contributing Editor Karina Yan Glaer’s The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is being adapted by Amy Poehler’s production company (We’re forever muppet arming!). The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, based on Archie Comics, will premiere October 26th on Netflix. Watch the teaser trailer for James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk. The hug to your soul romance novel The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang sold TV/Film rights and I need this now!

And we’re giving away 16 awesome books featured on the Recommended podcast! Pet a Luckdragon and enter!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by the Magnetic Collection from Lion Forge.

Which Blume Book Do You Want To See Adapted?

Judy Blume asked her Twitter followers which of her books readers would like to see adapted into a movie or series. It sounds like the big fan favorite was Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Hopefully, we’ll see a Blume adaptation update in the near future!

Amazon Pulls Racist Items In Response To Criticism

Amazon had to remove some racist propaganda, including literature, from its site after receiving criticism from advocacy groups. A report from the Partnership for Working Families and the Action Center on Race & the Economy pointed to specific items with white supremacist slogans and hate speech. Though Amazon said it removed those specific items, NPR found more of the same still available for purchase.

Potter Returns To The Big Screen

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is returning to theaters to mark the book’s 20th anniversary (based on the U.S. pub date). All 141 Cinemark XD locations will screen all eight Potter films from August 31 through September 6. Tickets go on sale August 3, and Cinemark will be selling week-long passes.

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 Suicide Club by Rachel Heng. A novel about living. Published by Henry Holt & Co.

Tooting All The Horns

Ahem, guess whose children’s book was optioned by Amy Poehler’s production company? None other than Book Riot’s own Contributing Editor Karina Yan Glaser, author of The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street! We are super thrilled for her, and cannot wait to see her excellent book come to life onscreen. Congrats, Karina!

Happy Birthday, James Baldwin

The teaser trailer for the adaption of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk gave me the chills. The story follows Tish, a black woman in Harlem, who’s trying to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime while carrying their first child. The film is written and directed by Barry Jenkins, who also wrote and directed the award-winning 2016 film Moonlight.

Rick Riordan Isn’t Having It

Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, clapped back at a random Twitter troll who tweeted this statement to the author: “If you had less gender dysphoria in your ‘kids books’ you might sell more … remember, it is parents who buy them.” In response, the bestselling author broke down the comment to illustrate its intolerance.

We’re giving away a stack of books from Season 2 of our Recommended podcast, in honor of Season 3! Click here to enter.

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by The Magnetic Collection at Lion Forge.

Each morning, an old fisherman heads to sea, leaving his doting wife at home, awaiting his return. When he doesn’t return one evening, the village assumes his death. His wife refuses to give up hope. She consults a fortune teller who sees his visage in a crepe . . . alive in Cuba. Convinced her husband is still alive, she sets off on an improbable mission to save him.

Completely wordless, this heartwarming adventure is a testament to the power of sequential storytelling and the power of love itself. A Sea of Love is in stores now from Lion Forge!

The Hate U Give Cover Artist Talks About Her Illustration

Artist Debra Cartwright gives maybe one of the most interesting interviews about the process behind book cover design, specifically her work on Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give. “Actually, in design school at Parsons I took a book-cover design class, and my teacher must be cracking up, because he told me, ‘I don’t know if this is for you.'” Just goes to show.

Bon Voyage, Voyage

Introduced in 2014, the Kindle Voyage e-reader is now no longer for sale by Amazon in the US, UK, and at least four other European countries. Honestly, the Kindle family doesn’t seem incomplete without it. There’s the entry-level Kindle, and slightly fancier Kindle Paperwhite. And you can splurge on the waterproof Oasis if you want to do some shower reading (she types, not at all from experience). But if you just HAVE to have a Voyage, there are a few refurbished ones out there.

Readers Watch Videos Too

Bookish YouTube videos are big, even if YouTube says so itself. According to the platform, the BookTube community has earned “over 200 million views and, compared to this time last year, engagement with them is up 40 percent.” While we’re on the subject, check out Book Riot’s YouTube channel!

We’re giving away our favorite Books of 2018…so far. Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the image below. Good luck!

Happy 38th, Harry!

Snapchat wished Harry Potter a happy 38th birthday with a Bitmoji lens. Snapchatters hopped onto their broomsticks for rounds of Quidditch through the new augmented reality feature. It looks like it’s still available, so choose your House, and catch that Golden Snitch!

The Rise of “Brainy Books”

The Guardian wrote about the rise of “brainy books,” that is, “’long-tail’ nonfiction titles, often works on politics, economics, history or medicine that attempted to synthesise or challenge received thinking on the subject.” The Bookseller was the first to notice the publishing phenomenon, which it called the “brainy backlist,” and the piece notes the enduring success of Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari as an example. Here’s their list of the best brainy books of this decade, led by Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge.

Asian Authors Challenge the West’s Dominance of Fantasy

OZY explored the rise in interest in epic fantasy centered around East Asia written by Asian authors. The article pointed to Jin Yong’s Legends of the Condor Heroes trilogy, which is getting its first English translation, as well as Ken Liu’s The Grace of Kings and JY Yang’s Tensorate series, among other books that have found recent success in the West. And it notes some factors that may be encouraging the publication of these works, including the shift from paper to digital submissions, which makes it easier for international authors to submit their work, according to Carl Engle-Laird, associate editor at Tor Publishing.

We’re giving away $500 of the year’s best YA! Click here, or on the image below to enter:

NY Library Card Gives Free Access to 33 NYC Museums

A new initiative is allowing members of the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens Public Libraries to sign up for a Culture Pass giving them free access to more than 33 New York City museums. This includes the Met, Morgan, Whitney, Frick, Guggenheim, and MoMA. Use it if you’ve got it, and learn more here.

Parable of the Sower Getting Graphic Novel Adaptation

The team that just won an Eisner for the graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Kindred will be back together to adapt Butler’s Parable of the Sower. Writer Damian Duffy and artist John Jennings are taking on the dystopian sci-fi novel, but no word yet on a release date.

IKEA Creates In-Store Reading Rooms

IKEA is creating reading rooms in its Wembley (London) store in partnership with the Man Booker Prize (please make this happen worldwide, please, please?). The reading rooms will be open between July 31 and August 5, and visitors can take home a free book, but all slots must be booked online in advance. “As the boundaries between our work and home lives become more blurred, it’s become harder to switch off. Our homes aren’t the haven they once were. Yet reading for just six minutes a day can be enough to reduce stress levels by more than two-thirds,” the company stated on its website.

We’re giving away our favorite Books of 2018…so far. Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the image below. Good luck!

Never-Before-Seen Malcolm X Writings Sold At Auction

There have been myths about unseen pages from The Autobiography of Malcolm X since the early ’90s and now we know that it was true. An unpublished chapter (titled The Negro) and the manuscript (which shows Malcolm X and Alex Haley negotiations) were on sale Thursday at a Manhattan auction house. The chapter sold to New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the manuscript to Schomburg. Here’s to the items no longer being hidden in private collections and may the story of why a chapter was cut after Malcolm X’s death finally come out.

You Could Be In The Next Wonder Woman Film

Spend money that will go to some worthy causes and you could win a trip to London, meet Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins, and the pièce de résistance: they will give you an ’80s makeover–’80s hair included!–and you will be an extra in a scene of Wonder Woman 1984! Talk about Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Amandla Stenberg Talks Harnessing Racist Hunger Games Harassment For Good

In the same week that Titans actress Anna Diop is dealing with racist harassment from “fans” of the franchise, Amandla Stenberg spoke with Alanna Bennett about her similar experience. The star of The Hate U Give talked about the racist backlash she faced at twelve when she played Rue in The Hunger Games adaptation and how, “I realized that I had a platform that could be impactful if I harnessed it.” And that she certainly has.

And remember we’re giving away $500 of the year’s best YA fiction and nonfiction so far! Eat a four-leaf clover and enter!