Category: Today In Books

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Diode Editions.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Has A Trailer

The trailer for the Netflix adaptation of Jenny Han’s YA novel To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before dropped today! Letters from high schooler Lara Jean (played by Lana Condor) to her five crushes are released behind her back, making her secret fantasies and hopes public. The movie will be available for streaming on August 17. Give the trailer a watch!

Study Finds Audiobooks Are More Engaging Than Adaptations

An Audible-backed University College London study found that audiobooks are more emotionally engaging than film and television adaptations. The audio and video used to measure the physical reactions of 102 participants included scenes from A Game of Thrones, The Girl on the Train, and Great Expectations. The participants reported that the videos were “more engaging” by about 15% on average, but their physiological responses (heightened heart rates and body temperatures) told a different story.

The Encyclopedia of Concise Concepts by Women Philosophers

The Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists has launched the Encyclopedia of Concise Concepts by Women Philosophers. The site aims aims to introduce “women philosophers who mostly have been omitted from the philosophical canon despite their historical and philosophical influence.” The resource, which includes around 100 entries, and counting, written by recognized scholars, is open to all.

This edition of Today In Books is sponsored by Running Press and Cats on Catnip by Andrew Marttila.

“Forrest Gump” Director in Negotiations for Roald Dahl Adaptation 

Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis is wrapping up talks to adapt Roald Dahl’s The Witches, according to a piece inVariety. If the deal goes through, Zemeckis will serve as both scriptwriter and director. And if “Back to the Future” is any indicator, he’s good at that flavor of multitasking.

Audiobooks Are Making That Paper

Sales data from the American Audiobook Association shows that 2017 was a very good year for audiobook titles. The $2.8 billion in U.S. sales is a 22.7% increase over 2016. Those dolla dolla bills don’t tell the whole story of audio’s popularity, though. According to the same research, 43% of listeners said they downloaded an audiobook from their library.

Go Buy Stuff from Comics Hero Greg Pak

Today on Twitter, Greg Pak announced that through July he’d be donating all money spent at his shop to the excellent organizations RAICES and the Texas Civil Rights Project. We’re not talking his profits. He is giving the entire purchase price. He’d probably raise more if he were offering audiobooks, but go get yourself some amazing comics for a good cause!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li. Published by Henry Holt & Co.

Kid Lit Says No Kids in Cages

A core group of 20 children’s authors released a statement condemning the actions of the U.S. government as the Department of Justice and Attorney General Jeff Sessions enforce a zero-tolerance immigration policy. Kid Lit Says No Kids in Cages is rallying support and funding in response to the separation of immigrant parents and children at the southern border of the United States. Money raised in support of the cause will be given to agencies that directly help the immigrant families and children in crisis, and the goal has been surpassed, with more than $48,000 raised so far.

Oxford English Dictionary Hunts Down Regional Words

The Oxford English Dictionary is asking the public for help in the collection of regional English words from around the world. Their aim is to include all types of English, including standard English, scientific and technical vocabulary, literary words, slang, and regionalisms. The OED has so far been pleasantly surprised by the number of regional words they’ve been able to include. Read the article to find out how to properly use “hammajang,” “munted,” and “frog-drowner” in conversation!

Listen To Alicia Keys Narrate Nina Simone’s Life Story

Along with Ashley Judd and Rowan Blanchard, and more, Alicia Keys has signed on to narrate the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls audiobook. Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli’s Kickstarter-funded book series highlights the lives of 200 influential women throughout history, including artists, athletes, activists, and lawmakers. Listen to an excerpt of Keys reading Simone’s story here.

Don’t forget we’re giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice! Enter here!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson, new from Park Row Books.

The 2017 VIDA Count

The 2017 VIDA Count has arrived. VIDA looked at 15 major print publications over the course of 2017, analyzing how many women and gender minorities are represented. Check out the full report for infographics and the detailed analysis (The New York Review of Books has some work to do).

Carnegie Medal Winner Criticizes “Accessible” Prose

When Geraldine McCaughrean won the CILIP Carnegie medal for her novel Where the World Ends, she used her acceptance speech to warn against the dangers of “accessible language” in books for young readers. McCaughrean said publishers would “deliberately and wantonly create an underclass of citizens with a small but functional vocabulary: easy to manipulate and lacking in the means to reason their way out of subjugation, because you need words to be able to think for yourself.”

The Columbus Letters Mystery

The Vatican celebrated the return of a copy of a letter by Christopher Columbus six years after receiving word that theirs might be a forgery. So far, American officials have returned a stolen copy of the letter to three European libraries in two years. But investigators have yet to figure out whodunnit, when, and whether the thefts are linked.

Don’t forget we’re giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice! Enter here!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by Hangman by Jack Heath, new from Hanover Square Press.

The World’s Most Beautiful Bookstores

Electric Literature has rounded-up the bookstores worth traveling around the world to see, and if these photos are any indication I’d happily live in any of these shops. From grand ceilings and staircases to you’re-gonna-need-a-gondola, start packing now because we all deserve this trip.

3 Writers Diversifying Detective Fiction

While publishing as a whole has a lot of work to do when it comes to inclusion, the crime genre is especially in need of major work: “For every PI novel with a protagonist of colour, there are about 10 books about gruff white cops falling in love with murdered white women, 10 ‘girl’ books about murderous white women, and 10 more about serial killers in Scandinavia,” says Cha. Authors Steph Cha (Juniper Song noir series), Alex Segura (Pete Fernandez series), and AA Dhand (D.I. Harry Virdee series) spoke with the Guardian about their detective novels and the lack of diversity in the crime genre.

Watch The Trailer For The Sinner Season 2

USA Network’s adaptation of Petra Hammesfahr’s The Sinner was such a hit that they decided to continue by turning it into an anthology series. Detective Harry Ambrose is back in season 2, and it appears the creators are continuing with the whydunnit mystery, again with another seemingly kind, innocent appearing character that no one would ever suspect could commit such a horrific act. The series returns August 1st.

AND Book Riot is giving away $500 (look at those zeros!) to the bookstore of your choice! Enter here you lucky people!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by THE EMPEROR OF SHOES by Spencer Wis.

SJP For Hogarth’s Debut Novel

Sarah Jessica Parker’s new publishing imprint, SJP for Hogarth, just released its debut novel, Fatima Farheen Mirza’s A Place for Us. Mirza’s novel concerns the dynamics of an Indian-American Muslim family in California. Parker’s imprint focuses on literary fiction with an emphasis on multicultural voices. You can read the full article for more about the rise of celebrity imprints and Parker’s journey toward helming one.

Restraining Order Issued Against Stan Lee’s Manager

The temporary restraining order follows allegations of elder abuse against Stan Lee’s manager, Keya Morgan. Tom Lallas, Lee’s lawyer, wrote that the Marvel Comics magnate is being isolated and influenced. Morgan was also arrested on suspicion of making a false call to the police, reporting that a burglary was taking place at Lee’s home as two detectives and a social worker were conducting a welfare check on Lee.

Again With The Trademarking

Time for the SFF and romance communities to share eyerolls. We had romance’s #cockygate, and now we’ve got a writer trying to trademark “dragon slayer” for fantasy novels. An application for the trademark has been filed and one can only hope it’s swiftly denied. The application lists a series of “pulp harem fantasies” by Michael-Scott Earle. Yeah, no thanks.

Don’t forget we’re giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice! Enter here!

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

Adaptation Alerts

Every day brings adaptation news. Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties is being adapted for an anthology series, pitched as a feminist Black Mirror (yes, please). Amazon Studios is snatching up all the genre series, and a Deadline interview confirmed that the studio is attached to Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series, which has been in development. And Hyde Park Entertainment Group has acquired the rights to Greg Grandin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Fordlandia for a potential television series, with filmmaker Werner Herzog attached to direct.

8 Employees Quit Indie Bookstore Following Mishandling of Sexual Harassment Claims

The Book Exchange lost eight employees in two weeks. Women who have worked at the Missoula indie came forward to speak about being inappropriately touched by Nabil Haddad, the husband of the store’s owner. Another employee said Haddad followed her around the store for an hour, and she suspected he was taking photos of her. The whole story reads like an awful textbook example of how not to handle sexual harassment complaints, including a totally inappropriate letter from the owner about “appropriate business attire.”

Captain Marvel Might Be The New Face Of The MCU

Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel might be the new face and leader of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The news comes as Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth are reaching the end of their contracts with Avengers 4. Captain Marvel, starring Larson as Carol Danvers, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and Jude Law as Mar-Vell, will be out March 8.

Don’t forget we’re giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice! Enter here!

Sponsored by Candlewick Press

Bill Clinton and James Patterson’s Book Sell 250k Copies

The President is Missing, a political thriller written by former President Bill Clinton and writer James Patterson has sold 250,000 copies its first week. No book has sold this much since Go Set a Watchman, the 2015 Harper Lee prequel/sequel/whatever to To Kill a Mockingbird. The Clinton and Patterson book tour has been marked by scandal already as Clinton got prickly when asked about Monica Lewinsky and the #MeToo movement.

Cover of Marlon James’s “Game-of-Thrones-tinged” Epic Fantasy Revealed

Black Leopard, Red Wolf is the first book in Man Booker prize-winner Marlon James’s upcoming epic fantasy series Dark Star, which he describes as an “African Game of Thrones.” The cover was revealed on EW today (it’s beautiful), and the book will be out in February of 2019. James previously won the Man Booker for A Brief History of Seven Killings.

FX is Adapting Victor LaValle’s The Changeling

Horror fans, this one’s for you: Victor LaValle’s creepy book The Changeling is coming to TV. “Kelly Marcel (Venom, Fifty Shades of Grey, Terra Nova) is attached to pen the script. The project hails from Annapurna Television, the independent studio behind the Fox drama pilot Mixtape and Netflix’s upcoming scripted anthology The Ballad of Buster Scruggs from the Coen brothers.”

We’re giving away $500 to spend at the bookstore of your choice! Click here, or on the image below to enter:

WriteNow Mentees Respond To Lionel Shriver

Lionel Shriver wrote an article claiming Penguin Random House is eschewing quality in order to tick a diversity box. This was in response to an email from the publisher, which stated that, by 2025, its authors and staff will reflect the diversity of UK society. Mentees of WriteNow, a PRH program which “aims to find, mentor and publish new writers from communities under-represented on the nation’s bookshelves” responded to Shriver’s solidly unwoke tirade with an open letter. “Shriver seems to view diversity and quality as mutually exclusive categories. We are compelled to ask: does she truly believe that diverse writers are incapable of penning good books?” It’s a great response–I recommend reading the whole thing.

Introducing The New Apple Books

Apple is embarking upon it’s biggest book redesign ever, according to its senior v-p of Internet software and services. A new Apple Books app will replace the iBooks app with the forthcoming release of iOS 12. Among the new features, Apple Books will include a curated collection of titles, and will introduce audiobook sales directly in the app.

Maryland Lifts Limitations On Prisoner Access To Books

Maryland prison officials have reversed a policy limiting prisoner access to books. Prisoners can now receive book shipments directly from relatives and online retailers. The corrections department also lifted constraints on how often inmates can order through prison-approved vendors. Hurray!

This edition of Today in Books is sponsored by BookishFirst Be You. Be Bookish. Be BookishFirst.

Be the first to discover new books before they are published! Read excerpts, share your thoughts, earn points, and win FREE books. Get 500 points just for joining! Sign up at BookishFirst.com.

Kindle Scammer Gets The Boot

A Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) scammer has been booted from the Kindle Unlimited bookstore. Going by Chance Carter, the scammer directed readers to skip to the last page of the book (“hack jobs written by Fiverr writers”) for the chance to enter a giveaway. Because KDP pays authors for pages read, and can’t tell when readers skip ahead to reach the last page, Carter was receiving about $20 per read. Scammer, your books will not be missed.

In Other Words, Goodbye

I hardly knew ye. Some sad news for bookstore travelers who planned to one day visit In Other Words, a Portland, Oregon indie bookstore perhaps widely known as Portlandia’s Women and Women First feminist bookstore: the shop is closed for business. While it may have been recognized as a pop culture landmark, In Other Words also served as a community space and a feminist resource center. The shop’s statement cited increased expenses and the lack of funds, volunteers, and board members as the reason for closure.

Laurie Halse Anderson’s New Novel

Laurie Halse Anderson, who spoke up about rape through her 1999 semi-autobiographical YA novel, Speak, will again write on the subject with a new novel for young readers. In Shout, Anderson is writing about her experience as a rape victim, and about the experiences shared with her by her readers in the two decades since her first novel was published. “I see my responsibility as helping people move away from ‘me too’ to ‘us too,’ ” said the author.

Don’t forget we’re giving away $500 to the bookstore of your choice! Enter here!